I guess I need to stop talking about Chris so much…

In the course of re-consolidating my blog content, I’m noticing that a few topics that got imported here really belong on my other main blog. This makes deciding which blog to post a specific article or comment to confusing for me, as the writer, and you as the reader.

So over the next few days I’ll be clearing up the confusion as best I can, moving posts around while attempting to preserve the timeline.

Jeber’s will be, as it was initially intended, primarily a personal blog addressing my life and some of my interests. Since my primary interests are technology, the internet and online communities, Jeber’s will be where I explore tech and social networking. I’ll be importing from my tech-oriented blog all the posts there, then making that URL a pointer to this site. All my posts on social issues will be relocated to the blog I mentioned above.

My hope is that not only will this make it easier for my readers to locate content, but also it will permit me to blog more often with fewer sites to maintain. Currently I’m spread a little thin.

My newsletter will reflect the content and interests of this site.

Comments, suggestions, advice? Please let me know.

Not mine, the website’s.

I need to figure out how to change the CSS to have the background image only display once and stay in place while the columns scroll in front of it.

Any CSS wizards want to offer advice? It would be appreciated. I’m combing through my library trying to find a solution, but no joy yet.

I had already decided to dump e107, the CMS I was using on this site, and replace it with something better (easier to manage, faster loading, cleaner looking) when Word Press released version 2.5 out of beta. The timing was perfect. After trying out many platforms intended for both blogging and website creation, I’ve come to accept that Word Press offers the best experience for the website builder. I never could have created a layout, added all the widgets I wanted, imported posts, set permissions and had it all up and running within the same 5 hour window it took with Word Press had I used Dreamweaver or Contribute.

I’m composing this and you’re reading it on Word Press 2.5. There isn’t much different to see on your side of the screen, but the backend has undergone a major overhaul. The control center has been entirely redone, not so much with new controls and options as a reorganization of the former controls. It was a bit intimidating at first. I kept losing track of where I had to go to change a widget or add a link. Even the interface of the posting page has been redone. Selecting a category for a post has moved down below the fold, a less convenient place than before. With several scrollable windows on the page, it can be an awkward process getting down to those lists. The settings and plugin controls have been inexplicably moved to the right of the menu bar, separate from the other major options. I’m not sure what the point of that is, but once I adjust I don’t think it will be a real issue.

The inconveniences are few, though, while the improvements are worthwhile. I was able to import posts from three other blogs quite easily using the import option. The widget controls are much easier to use than in previous versions, and all the widgets I was using on other, older blogs, still functioned properly under this version.

I still wish we could change the color scheme of the backend. I’m so tired on what I call “internet blue”. I’m getting to where I won’t, if at all possible, have a blue layout on any of my sites.

All in all this appears to be a worthwhile upgrade. If you give in to the constant nagging on your older version of Word Press to upgrade your blog, just be sure you follow the upgrade suggestions. A full backup is always necessary, and don’t casually overwrite the /contents folder if you have plugins or themes you want to keep.

Now I have three more blogs to upgrade before it gets too late. If I can avoid checking FriendFeed for two hours, I should be able to get it done.