I’ve made the decision not to allow comments on the posts here at WebExDesign.com/Blog. This does not mean that I don’t want to talk to anyone though, really it doesn’t.

Feel free to “talk” to me through the contact form or you can email me by clicking on the email address in the sidebar. If you have a blogging question… I’m here for you. If you have a design, shopping cart, email list, blogroll, doamin name, database, or cpanel question just ask.

The reason for this decision was mainly that this blog is more for informational purposes than anything else. I don’t want to make anyone feel they need to comment on posts that mean nothing to them. I will be posting on some of the websites we’re currently working on and maybe mentioning updates and changes to various software programs. I will also talk about Wordpress, my beloved and preferred choice of all blogging platforms.

While I hope that the posts are interesting to some, I am not living in such a state of denial that I believe this blog will rank among the top blogs in any category. See I am not completely crazy after all!

On September 8th, 2006, Sergeant First-class Merideth Howard died when a car bomber slammed into a Humvee carrying 15 people. Howard, 52, died that Friday while on patrol in Kabul. She is the oldest female soldier killed in action since fighting started in Afghanistan in 2001.

Family and friends of this Waukesha soldier had this to say about Sgt. 1st Class Merideth Howard’s dedication.

Howard’s husband, Hugh Hvolboll, said he and his wife enjoyed traveling the world together to places such as Mexico, Spain and Hawaii. He says she joined the Army Reserves in 1988 and went to Afghanistan in April. She was a member of the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade in support of the Tenth Mountain Division.

Her cousin, Susan Utley, says Howard didn’t expect her unit to be called up. According to the cousin, Howard thought it was a bad idea for her unit to go and she turned out to be right.

Howard worked as a firefighter before she began a career as a fire-safety consultant out of their Waukesha home.

Her husband remembers that she had gorgeous blue eyes. He says meeting her was like meeting his soul mate, and that it felt like they’d known each other forever.

Merideth Howard, as an American citizen I am sincerely and forever grateful for your courage and your sacrifice. I want to thank your family for all they have given for the cause of freedom. I will remember you, and I will teach my children to remember you. We are forever in your debt.

Information Sources:
The Milwaukee Channel
Channel NBC 15

Some Gave All is a tribute blog with the important goal of honoring every fallen soldier since the inception of the war in 2001, by name. If you have a blog of your own, your participation in this project would be greatly appreciated. Please get involved today, we need your help.

How to get credit for being extremely kind and willing to help yet exert little, if any, effort.

Let’s just say a BIG blogger posts a request on her blog for help. You happen to see it because you read her frequently to learn the true art of blogging. Although you rarely comment at her blog because really, does she even read past the 100th comment anyway?

So here’s what you do. You send her an email, perhaps something like this:

Hi [Big Blogger Lady],
I know how frustrating HTML and PHP can be. If you’re still having problems feel free to email me and if I can ever help you, I’d be more than happy to do so. Of course, you’ll have to come through on your end and prove to really be my best friend. I’ve always wanted a friend. I’ll make us each a beautiful graphic for our sidebars with BFF across the front and then add a coffee cup and some flowers and maybe some hearts, pink and purple hearts, oh, oh I have an idea… we can get matching t-shirts and take pictures of ourselves doing something crazy together like, like… sticking drinking straws up our noses and laughing hysterically. I’ve heard that’s what friends do with each other. Ooooo, I hope you’re as excited as I am!!!

What do you mean you don’t need my help?

Lauren
http://webexdesign.com/blog

Now it’s very important to add your link to the bottom because otherwise Big Blogger Lady will have no idea who you are and well, we can’t have that.

With in a few hours, Big Blogger Lady, frightened by the thought that she is now in contact with a potential stalker, will respond like this:

Bwahahahaha.

Uh, yeah. I think I can live without a BFF graphic.

You are funny,

[big blogger lady]

Please note: there is no request for help.

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Okay, quick tip for new or semi-new bloggers.

Claim your blog in Technorati. It’s really quite easy and it helps everyone you link to or write about. It also gets your blog noticed by others who use Technorati to search for blog posts about specific subjects. Technorati currently tracks, oh I don’t know, maybe 4 bazillion blogs. It’s a great place to find new bloggers who write about things that you’re interested in.

Did I hear someone crying? It must be that woman over there in the fetal position shaking her head uncontrollably. She obviously has herself convinced that she couldn’t possibly do this without some directions. Okay calm down, Sweetie. Just look below:

1. Go to Technorati.com
2. In the upper, right side of the page you’ll see the word JOIN, click it.
3. Fill out the form and follow the remainder of the prompts.
4. Once you are a member search for your blog in the search bar to ensure no one else has already claimed it. I never heard of it happening but it’s a mad, mad world. You just never know.
5. Now go to the HOME page and scroll down to the bottom of the page in the left hand corner in green type you’ll see the link to Claim Your Blog. Click it and again follow the prompts.

It’s an easy process and you’ll feel all grown up when you’re done. I almost promise.

If you’re so proud of yourself that you’re bursting buttons maybe you should take on adding your blog to The Truth Laid Bear. It’s another site that helps people find you. Go ahead I know you can do it.

I’ve felt so bad lately about the fact that Some Gave All was started with such great intentions and then simply fell by the way side. Those soldiers committed themselves unto death for our freedom and I wasn’t able to commit my time, and yes I admit it, a little heartache too.For me it is a difficult blog to be involved in because of the constant reminder of death. But you know? I’ve been looking at it all wrong. I should be encouraged by the willingness of these brave men and women to lay down their lives for our freedom, the freedom of strangers. I should be encouraged, proud and grateful, as should you.

We’re looking for all the help we can get in order to bring Some Gave All back. Whether or not you’ve written a tribute to a fallen soldier in the past, would you please consider choosing a soldier’s name and writing tribute. Sadly, there are still thousands of names from which to choose.We are also looking for additional administrators. These volunteers will help by checking the email account and updating the links to the tributes on the list of names. So, if you think you may have some spare minutes in your day, let me know. I’d be grateful for any help you can give.

That’s what Akismet is doing daily, eating lots of comment spam!

I just want to take the time to publicly thank Ben (who, I have been informed, has a wife) from OpenSwitch for advicing me to give this plugin for Wordpress a try. It was such a pain to open Thunderbird each morning only to find that a mere 2 of the 71 comments on my site were not junk/spam/garbage.

I’m telling you, Akismet frees up so much of my time I’m seriously considering [insert earth-shattering idea here that would take up an extreme amount of my time, because I really can’t come up with anything other than “learn how to write” and we all know that is not going to happen] and if I do, the world ultimately has Ben, my new hero, to thank.

So here’s the thing. I’ve noticed that various bloggers as of late have decided to take a break from blogging. Some have hinted that they may not even come back from their break.

As I read many of these posts, my heart sinks a little. I start thinking that maybe I should have commented more or told them how much I appreciate their writing ability. Day after day I’ve been reading their posts, enjoying their photos and feeling like I am really getting to know them and then all of the sudden BAM, they’re slamming their door in my face. I know they don’t see it that way because, well, they didn’t even know I was on their porch, peaking into their lives.

Then after my initial sadness I do what any woman who NEEDS blogging, which includes other bloggers too obviously, would do - I give myself a little pep talk. You may have heard it in your own head, it goes something like this:

“Oh, don’t worry, she’ll be back. She has to come back, that girl is fully and completely addicted to blogging just like the rest of us. So she’ll be back real soon. She just needs a little break; we all need a break now and then. When blogging becomes a chore then a break is warranted. But she’ll be back, count on it.”

And just when I get myself all calmed down, I decide to go on with life so I check my feedreader for new posts to read. Lo and behold the only new posts are from the bloggers that are on a break. Which obviously proves the addiction I mentioned but could it possibly prove something else?

When the pressure to write is gone, does the joy come back? Do the words begin to flow again? Do some of us bloggers maybe put unnecessary demands on ourselves? To be funny? To be smart? Interesting? Things that most of us probably are a whole lot more of when we’re not trying to be?

Well, that’s my theory anyway.

And because I’m kinda struggling with posting and I can’t really think of anything of interest to blog about lately, I have an idea. I’ve decided that I’m going to take a break for like a year. No two. Or maybe this will be my last post forever. Yeah, that’s it, forever. I’m done for good.

Good-bye.

Okay then, see you tomorrow.