Sorry I was not able to do a “What Is Open on Monday” post today, the day you probably most need it with cabin fever insanity reaching record levels and with the kids all out of school. To those of you that e-mailed or Tweeted me wondering where my 4-1-1 post was, I apologize that I was not able to personally get back to you with tailored activity ideas like I normally try to do.
You see, my road has not been plowed, and we are three city blocks of waist-deep snow from any major roads. We’ve tried carrying the kids on our backs down to the highway, but they start hysterically crying and fighting with each other every time we try.
My husband (the one whose job pays the mortgage) was feverishly working from home today while I fiendishly tried to occupy the kids and keep any blood-curdling screams from reaching his conference calls to his team all morning. I also had to clean a disgustingly dirty house that four people and two animals have not been able to leave for 72 hours before our neighbors arrive tonight for a Snowmageddon drinks, dessert and more drinks party.
So those of you that wanted to know what was open, that means that your road has been plowed. It means you are able to leave and go somewhere. Anywhere.
So while I am sincerely sorry I could not help you, I also ENVY YOU.
However, I obviously have power and Internet and thus I am well-aware that I am totally enviable and blessed myself. My friend Jodifur in Potomac? She texted today that she expects to be out of power until FRIDAY. Other friends in Rockville just returned home from the Bethesda Marriott where they took refuge with their four kids for a few days and found $300 worth of groceries rotten in their fridge.
These are hard times people. (Yummm, Hard Times, how I miss you.)
I’d suggest we all virtually hold hands and sing Kumbaya around virtual fires, but at our house we ran out of firewood over here on Saturday.
But you know what we still have over here? Heineken, La Crema, 10 pounds of frozen edamame and a huge box of World’s Finest chocolate bars that my kid is supposed to sell for a school fundraiser. Things could be worse.
Yes my friends, I’ll be here all the week. Try the veal.
By publicly complaining on Twitter about my problems and questions with Echo, I received excellent, personal customer service from JS-Kit executives Chris Saad, Khris Loux and Philippe Cailloux.
I learned that there was nothing wrong with my Echo transition from Haloscan. Echo just doesn’t store all the same data on their dashboard as Haloscan.
Echo Live does not store text from comments on the dashboard, only on your site beneath your posts.
Echo Live does not give blog owners the email addresses of their commenters due to privacy. Instead of authenticating comments by adding your email address, like on Haloscan previously, users authenticate their comment by logging in via Twitter, Facebook and other authentication options.
So now I’m unable to simply say “Leave a comment and I’ll draw a winner” and then email the winner, since I won’t have your email address. If I’d like to handle giveaways through comments, I can reply directly to your comment and hope that you’ll receive, depending on if you’ve opted to receive emails regarding replies to your comment.
I didn’t know that less information would be available to me after paying for a formerly free service. Maybe in time the pros of this new software will outweigh the cons. We’ll see. Let me know how you like the new commenting system in the comments or via email, and I’ll let you know in time whether I’m liking it too.
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This post was formerly titled “JS-Kit Echo Sucks So Far”
How’s that for a ranty, SEO-friendly, crazy ignorant blogger title?
Here’s the reason for the new system for commenting on posts, and why all giveaway entries are now being handled with the email address apissgiveaways@gmail.com:
I used to have all my comments for A Parent in Silver Spring and A Parent in Silver Spring Reviews handled by the free commenting software Haloscan. When I would log onto to Haloscan, I would have access to the email addresses of commenters and comment entries for giveaways.
I initially installed Haloscan because Blogger does not do trackbacks and would only allow comments from those logged into Blogger. I wanted to be able to both send and monitor trackbacks and allow comments from everyone while keeping this website on lovely, free, Google-owned Blogger. Over time I came to really prefer Haloscan’s commenting system over the commenting system provided on Blogger and was very glad I had installed Haloscan.
On December 14 I logged on to Haloscan to access the email addresses of commenters and draw winners’ names for giveaways. Upon arriving at Haloscan I was informed that JS-Kit had acquired Haloscan, and I could either download all comments, or pay $9.95 for all my data to be converted to Echoand receive uninterrupted service.
JS-Kit and Echo have received favorable coverage in the media and I knew that companies like Discovery were using this commenting software. I wasn’t aware that JS-Kit had acquired Haloscan, but then keeping up with tech news isn’t my top priority. I quickly caught up on Tech Crunch and then blithely plopped down my credit card info, logged onto Echo and went to my new Dashboard to access your comments and email addresses.
Your comments weren’t there. None of the old trackback or comment data from my websites’ Haloscan account were there. And it’s still not there. I should have downloaded the data and terminated the relationship. But I didn’t. I took them at their word that my service would be uninterrupted. They did not say the data would be lost or delayed.
I do not know if I upgrade to either the White Label or Echo Pro if I will have access to them. Or if I will receive a response and better customer service. I know $9.95 is a pittance, and I’m happy to spend more money on this site if it gives you guys a better experience. But not for suckage.
Maybe it’s just taking JS-Kit awhile to convert all the Haloscan info over. And while I await a response from the JS-Kit support team, I am not touching anything in my websites’ code.
However, I was led to believe from language I read on the former Haloscan website and in a generic email from JS-Kit that by paying for the formerly free service, that all would carry on as before…and better. And it has not.
I hate going ranty. It’s just so bloggy. I’m an online writer. A freelance writer. I just happen to have this resource blog too, right?
(Insert cricket chirps.)
Well, today I am owning my mommybloggyness. I’m going very bloggy ranty low-techy ignoranty. Pretty soon I’ll start talking about health care reform.
But it’s all to explain to you why things look different around here and to warn you other Haloscan users that have not yet been selected to transition to Echo.
Now I’m off to go find some Precious Moments clip art to paste in my margins, tickers to display my children’s ages and a plug-in that will play Taylor Swift when you arrive at my page! LOL. (And that’s the first time I’ve ever used that acronym. Ever.)
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UPDATED: The JS-Kitexecutives on Twitter have been very concerned about my problem. Thus I am now one of those public complainers on Twitter. Yay me, I’m now one of those annoying squeaky wheels.
UPDATED AGAIN: The fabulous Andrea just sent me this new design element for my site. It goes perfectly with my mommybloggy rant and I <3 it!
The Washington Times has recently revamped their online edition and has recruited teams of writers for their Communities section. I was honored to be asked to head up the Family Today section on parenting and family topics, and I will be writing on WT several times a week.
It’s the time of year when we volunteer at food banks or soup kitchens, write checks to charities and call those old people in our family that possibly don’t remember our names.
Maybe we hear that sappy Chistmas Shoes song on the local all-Christmas-all-the-time radio station and are inspired to pick up a second bacon egg and cheese bagel for the guy standing outside our coffee place. Or we pick up a Private Benjamin Special Edition Barbie on mega clearance for a Toys for Tots drive.
Or at least we think about doing these things, right?
I have a simpler, cheaper and equally important holiday kindness activity to suggest: Invite that single mom you know over for your holiday dinner.
UPDATE: The winners of Jonas are Tricia, fokxxy, Tina, and Sara. The winners of Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana are Alexa, Kathryn, Maggie and Jordan. Thanks everyone!
Here’s a sample of the type of product reviews (usually a giveaway for readers) I feature over at APISS Reviews. Since tweeny sitcoms are always having spin offs and guest star appearances, as detailed in this article in the October 22 issue of TIME about Walt Disney teen stars, I thought I’d bring my Disney teen star giveaway over from my spin off blog for a guest star appearance on APISS. Follow?
Anyways, in support of the Disney teen star factory and in the name of wholesome entertainment for our kids (and the possibility of winning swag you can give them for holiday presents), I have two scream-inducing DVDs to give away to you:
I’m going to confess to watching the Jonas Brothers’ TV show on Disney with my son today. Although I’m sure the target audience are girls that think these guys are dreamy cute, my almost six year old son thinks they are a crack up. Today one of the guys (I think it was the intense Nick) had a crush on a girl. He has a fantasy montage of himself singing a tender love ballad while she’s walking around the school with massive angel wings that take people out, slam lockers and crash all the vases on a school table labeled “Vase Club.” Charlie thought this was the height of hilarity.
Then I realized what the show reminded me of: The Monkees. You know, it’s a comedy show about a band that is a band in real life but they don’t act like sex symbols and instead just goof off and sweetly pine for girls and get into scrapes and sing their songs. Don’t tell me you didn’t watch The Monkees as a kid in the ’80s, when they inexplicably had a big popular rerun following and play on local networks and cable. Kind of like how Scooby Doo is puzzling current parents as every 2009 kid’s favorite cartoon with all its Scooby versions of the show dominating cartoon, kids and nostalgia cable channels. (How old shows are brought back to newfound popularity with later generations…now there’s an article I’d like to read. Or get someone to pay me to write.)
I haven’t yet watched the Wizards/Hannah/Zack and Cody mash up, but that was another concept that was killer: This three-part special episode was shown one part each on the three hit Disney tween shows. And now they’re all together as one movie on the DVD.
And if you skipped all that blather, here’s the info you need: Leave a comment with YOUR favorite sitcom of your own kid/tween/teen years to win one of four copies of the Jonas Rockin’ the House Volume 1 DVD and four copies of the Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana DVD. Subscribe to APISS Reviews via RSS or email, and you’ll win a second entry. Winners will be drawn randomly in one week.
I’ll be posting the APISS weekend picks soon…as soon as I pull my tired arse up off the floor, finish putting my kids to bed for the eight millionth time tonight as they scream “Two more minutes, pleeez!” and profusely apologize to every editor I’ve begged work from by ALL CAPS emailing “Two more days, pleez!”
(Insider freelance writing secret: infantile spelling, punctuation and missed deadlines? Totally the way to get the great assignments and regular work!)
How about you guys? Are you really going to traipse out on Saturday and Sunday at 9am to cider festivals and childrens theater performances and interesting art exhibits? What about yoga classes and fun runs and birthday parties and then smokin’ date nights? Because I used to be all about packing the weekend as full as possible, live live live! like Auntie Maime, you can go to bed early on Monday! Tired mommies and hungover hussies, whatever!
But this kid-in-full-time school stuff is tiring. I thought having one child gone all day would be easier, but it’s busier in a different way. The driving, the lunch-packing, the pep-talking. Kindergarten is serious biz. I feel like Burgess Meredith and Charlie’s Stallone, and I’ve just got to keep making him spit, tell him to keep hitting and get back in there.
So when I do post those Weekend Picks, I just want there to be full disclosure – we won’t be going to any of them. I’m going to lay around reading Elle Decor and make soup and drink beer and play Monopoly with my kids. Our big field trip will be to the park or to the movies to see Shorts, if we’re feeling all wild.
Which brings me back to my questions – what are you guys doing this weekend?
