• Some modifications

I was getting frustrated with the header image because the text just didn't look right. While that text in my header has drawn a lot of fire in the past, I continue to feel that the message needs to remain clear. Can't lose sight of what got me blogging in the first place.

So the new header lightens things up a bit. I gave it a slicker look with a different font of a lighter tone. I moved the text down to the next section of the blog and kept the heading simple. Added a cool little Dem Donkey image with Photoshop to kick things up a notch. I also tossed in a customized Louisiana license plate with my handle. When put together as one, I think the new image has a lot more punch, visually.

When I moved the other text down, I ended up shifting the "Getting Around" section down too. That left a huge hole in the html table to the right where I keep links to social networking, popular posts, and my upcoming posts list. I didn't like that empty space, so I scanned my sidebar for two items that would fit. I could have moved the section related to star ratings over, but that would have required some rehashing of the table tr's and td's (for those of you familiar with html). I just didn't have the patience for it. Moving short items from the sidebar up to the top was just easier.

Since I get visitors from other countries on a fairly regular basis, the Google translate widget really is more ideal when located at the top. Then I moved the Snapshots code up too. While the Snaps section fits, I'm not sure if the script will run properly. Hopefully it won't interfere with other javascript on the page. I've had trouble with the Outbrain ratings not loading from time to time and sometimes the Snaps script itself drops.

That's all for now.

• IE 6 Layout Problems Fixed

I periodically check to make sure my site loads properly in other browsers. My blog did not look right in IE 6. Although Internet Explorer 6 is an outdated browser, many visitors appear to still be using it. Even some government computers still have IE 6 installed. Because a significant number of visitors are still using IE 6, I figured I had better investigate and fix one problem with my layout.

Here's what was happening. The sidebar on the far right of the page was getting shifted down and out of alignment with the rest of the site. After doing some searching, it appears IE 6 does not render certain Blogger layouts properly to begin with. That's the price you pay for using an outdated browser.

However, I wanted to make sure this was the case, so I fiddled around with my template.

Being a Mac user on an equally outdated PPC system, I don't have access to a PC running IE 6 to do any tests. I have to resort to third party browser preview services like NetRenderer and Browsershots. Under IE 7, IE 8, and Firefox for Windows, my blog showed up fine. Under Firefox and Safari for Mac OS X, everything looked fine too.

So after diving into my template, I checked the sidebar width settings. Nope. That wasn't it. Being the tinkerer that I am, I expanded the width of my outer wrapper. Low and behold, that fixed it.

Hopefully visitors see what I see now.

• Going back to popup comments

The comment form was nice, but one bug has been getting on my nerves over the last few months. For anyone using their Google/Blogger account to leave a comment, they have to be logged in ahead of time. If they aren't logged in, it's impossible to log in via the comment form setup. The thing is, most of the time, these visitors aren't aware they are not logged in, so they write up a comment and post it without realizing what they just said disappears into oblivion.

So as of right now, I'm going back to the popup window style comment form. Hopefully logging in via that window works.

Let me know if there are any problems.

• Updated Feed Email

Feedburner offers a feed subscription service with email delivery. The subscription form and links can be found in the sidebar for each individual blog. Since adding this feature, feed (at) emailalias.cjb.net has been the feed delivery email I have used. Some email spam filters may interpret that address as junk mail, so starting today, my feed will be delivered via my gmail address, bassdem (at) gmail (dot) com. The transition will not be noticeable until I post something new and the feed gets updated. This transition should happen without any disruption in the subscription service, but if problems do arise, I might revert to the previous email setting.

A notification email has been sent to my email subscribers. Please update your email filters accordingly.


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• Comment/Google Account Bug

I recently discovered that there is an apparent bug in the Blogger commenting system related to embedded comments. When anyone visits a Blogger blog and decides to post a comment via an embedded comment form, they are presented with a field to type their comment and a drop down menu to select an identity. The first one on the list in the drop down menu is Google Account.

If you are already logged in to Google, your username should show up automatically. If you are not signed into Google, "Google Account" is listed. If one decides to select Google Account, nothing happens. No options to log in are provided.

I suspect visitors have come to my blog and posted comments using this option only to have their well thought out post disappear into oblivion once they clicked the Post Comment button. I've seen more than a few comment-form entries in my StatCounter visitor log. I am fairly certain at least a few have been affected by this bug.

Other bass fishing bloggers use the embedded form, so I'm not the only one who is affected. Many other blogs on Blogger now employ the embedded form. I'm not sure how widespread the problem actually is, though.

I have modified the instructions above the comment form to let Google users know they need to be logged in first, but I'm still left with a difficult decision. Do I go back to the pop up window comment form? Do I stay with the embedded form? I don't know the answer to that question yet.

• The Visitor Slump Begins

Since starting this blog, I've observed an interesting phenomenon that only occurs certain times of the year. The thing about bass fishing is that it's a very seasonal sport. Anglers can be just as finicky as their bass counterparts when it comes to weather. At some point during late summer, visits start to dwindle. Most of my hits come from Google searches, not subscribers or repeat visitors, so when searches start to die down, hits follow.

Over the last week or two, I have noticed visitor numbers drop. Although it depends on the stat monitor in question (ie: TopFishingSites vs my account at StatCounter), that obvious trend has started to emerge again. It is subtle, but present nonetheless.

So what's going on this time of year to make things cool off? Fall is almost here, so you would think anglers would be vamped up and ready to fish another fun season. Fall has always been a fun time of year for me. Nah. Spring is long gone. The summer heat has turned lakes into fishing famines for many of us. The heat alone keeps a lot of anglers indoors. School is starting up across the country, so kids can't goof off on the computer anymore. It's back to the grind for them.

In late autumn, the numbers really drop and don't pick back up again when we all start thinking about the spawn. It would appear at first glance that when anglers don't fish, they also decide not to go online in search of all things fishing. At some point, lakes will start dipping into those tough 50 degree temperatures. After that, the deep freeze sets in turning your favorite fishing hole into ice as far as the eye can see.

It will be interesting to see how Twitter changes. I have not been a Twitter member for long, but most of the anglers on Twitter are a little more die hard about this sport than others. Hopefully the info out there will keep everyone's attention.

But this won't stop me from posting. In fact, I still have a lot of things to cover that are on my to do list. It has made me consider sticking to more seasonal topics in hopes of attracting visits from people searching for answers to those kinds of questions. In February, things will start to pick up again and when it does, some of the posts I will have written during the down time will attract new visitors.