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.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
• 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.
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.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
• About more upcoming posts & edits
Life has been busy for me lately, so posting has not been a priority. With the Summer heat kicking in, I do not plan to fish as often as I'd like. Morning and evening hours are more comfortable and do not require repeated applications of sunblock. Afternoon temperatures creep up into the 90's and very few clouds help block out the sunshine. It can be brutal and skin cancer is not on my list of things to have later in life.
As for upcoming posts, the one on casting in close quarters is done and scheduled to post later today. I'm working on the twitching technique post right now and contemplating whether or not photos will be necessary. I have not even begun typing my notes on the Zoom Finesse Worm post. I will also need more time to evaluate the Big Bite Baits Rojas Fighting Frog. I tried it out during the spawn and did not come up with anything. I also learned that the bait is on the light side. Now that I'm adding a weight to the setup and have some smaller 3/0 and 2/0 hooks, I'm going to try to force myself to use this bait. After all, flipping baits like Sweet Beavers are supposed to do well on area lakes. I might also try it as a jig trailer. I have more experience using the Yo Mama, but have not caught any fish on it yet. The Strike King Elite Buzzbait has been in my lineup for a while now, so I can probably go ahead and get a head start on that post.
Being on Twitter has also set a few post ideas into motion. An FLW Magazine editor asked followers about our top choice of soft plastic lures. I have written a post already which uses the topic as a springboard to a much deeper discussion, but I want to edit it some more before giving it the final heave into blog land.
I also edited the Cross Lake Map post this afternoon. I included some explanations for particular landmark names. Anglers here know many fishing spots by the signs and other visual aids lining the bank. You won't find those names on any GPS or topo maps.
Don't forget that you can add me on Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter. It makes following my blog a lot easier.
As for upcoming posts, the one on casting in close quarters is done and scheduled to post later today. I'm working on the twitching technique post right now and contemplating whether or not photos will be necessary. I have not even begun typing my notes on the Zoom Finesse Worm post. I will also need more time to evaluate the Big Bite Baits Rojas Fighting Frog. I tried it out during the spawn and did not come up with anything. I also learned that the bait is on the light side. Now that I'm adding a weight to the setup and have some smaller 3/0 and 2/0 hooks, I'm going to try to force myself to use this bait. After all, flipping baits like Sweet Beavers are supposed to do well on area lakes. I might also try it as a jig trailer. I have more experience using the Yo Mama, but have not caught any fish on it yet. The Strike King Elite Buzzbait has been in my lineup for a while now, so I can probably go ahead and get a head start on that post.
Being on Twitter has also set a few post ideas into motion. An FLW Magazine editor asked followers about our top choice of soft plastic lures. I have written a post already which uses the topic as a springboard to a much deeper discussion, but I want to edit it some more before giving it the final heave into blog land.
I also edited the Cross Lake Map post this afternoon. I included some explanations for particular landmark names. Anglers here know many fishing spots by the signs and other visual aids lining the bank. You won't find those names on any GPS or topo maps.
Don't forget that you can add me on Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter. It makes following my blog a lot easier.
Friday, May 15, 2009
• Now on Facebook; New posts
I have expanded my horizons yet again. I signed up on Facebook. I think it's funny that I went to Twitter before Facebook, but now I'm on both, so there you have it. Not everyone uses Myspace. Not everyone understands Twitter. I'm sure quite a few readers or visitors are on Facebook. I'm not sure how I will use Facebook. I uploaded lots of images and a few videos on Myspace already. I'm not really in the mood to go through all that again for Facebook, but I might have to go ahead and put myself through that hell. I've set it up so my blog feed gets published on my Notes page. My status updates should get converted to Twitter updates if the Twitter Facebook app works the way it said, but we'll see.
So if you would like to add me, go right ahead. Here's the link.
http://www.new.facebook.com/people/Bass-FishingDem/1766908472
See you there!
I'm also working on the Strike King Red Eye Shad post. I've put it off long enough, I think. My life has been a little distracting lately and the weather has not cooperated with fishing. We've had a lot of rain. Now the Summer heat and humidity is sliding right in. I have a rough version of the Red Eye Shad post, but because I have yet to catch any fish on one, I'm a little stumped. I do have some thoughts on the lure. That's about all I can offer. I will hopefully have it ready to go before the week end begins.
A new post will be published using the scheduler featuring pics of some of the fishing paraphernalia I have at my workspace. I have drink coasters scattered around with a fishing theme on them as well as a fishing themed coffee mug that I use to hold pens and pencils in on my desk.
Two other posts I'm toying with involve techniques. The first is a casting technique I've fine tuned after being forced to fish in close quarters between cypress trees. The second is a twitch technique I tend to use with a variety of lures. It's similar to the twitch I use to walk the dog with a Zara Spook, but other lures benefit from the technique, so I figured I would write about that too.
So if you would like to add me, go right ahead. Here's the link.
http://www.new.facebook.com/people/Bass-FishingDem/1766908472
See you there!
I'm also working on the Strike King Red Eye Shad post. I've put it off long enough, I think. My life has been a little distracting lately and the weather has not cooperated with fishing. We've had a lot of rain. Now the Summer heat and humidity is sliding right in. I have a rough version of the Red Eye Shad post, but because I have yet to catch any fish on one, I'm a little stumped. I do have some thoughts on the lure. That's about all I can offer. I will hopefully have it ready to go before the week end begins.
A new post will be published using the scheduler featuring pics of some of the fishing paraphernalia I have at my workspace. I have drink coasters scattered around with a fishing theme on them as well as a fishing themed coffee mug that I use to hold pens and pencils in on my desk.
Two other posts I'm toying with involve techniques. The first is a casting technique I've fine tuned after being forced to fish in close quarters between cypress trees. The second is a twitch technique I tend to use with a variety of lures. It's similar to the twitch I use to walk the dog with a Zara Spook, but other lures benefit from the technique, so I figured I would write about that too.
Monday, April 6, 2009
• Edited Shimano Callisto; New Header Image; Skirt Post Coming
If you have visited my blog in the last 24 hours, you might have noticed something new. I went to work on a header image in Photoshop yesterday. It's still a little quirky because I can see some minor pixelation around the letters. Otherwise, I think it looks pretty good.
I also edited the post on taking the Shimano Callisto apart. I covered taking off things from the handle side. I went all the way down to the level of the drive gear. Not sure how many people that will help. I plan on doing that for some of my other reels in the near future, or at least on ones that are no longer under the basic warranty.
I also wrote a post last night about replacing jig/spinnerbait/buzzbait skirts using parts from a pen with the aid of a paperclip. I'll proofread it and post some time later.
I also edited the post on taking the Shimano Callisto apart. I covered taking off things from the handle side. I went all the way down to the level of the drive gear. Not sure how many people that will help. I plan on doing that for some of my other reels in the near future, or at least on ones that are no longer under the basic warranty.
I also wrote a post last night about replacing jig/spinnerbait/buzzbait skirts using parts from a pen with the aid of a paperclip. I'll proofread it and post some time later.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
• Fixed Some Code, New Posts
My intro at the top of my blog which describes how to get around was not being properly displayed in IE7. Nobody let me know. I found out when I saw a screen shot of my page in my BlogCatalog profile.
What went wrong?
I had the text set to justify. Justified text is a well known problem area among web developers. Some browsers just don't know what to do with it. I use Safari and Firefox on a Mac. The text had been rendered properly. Apparently IE decided to be the black sheep. Big surprise, I know. Anyway, I set the code in the table to align to the left and then used the p align="justify" instead. Justified text always looks cleaner assuming the browser handles it as intended.
New Posts...
Rain is hitting Shreveport all week in the form of thunderstorms, so I won't be posting many fishing reports. I've written rough drafts of my Gander Mountain Competitor rod post and Vicious Fishing Line Conditioner post. Each should be ready this week. I'll probably schedule them and let Blogger do the work for me. I also have rough drafts of the posts on Vicious Fluorocarbon and the Strike King Red Eye Shad.
I'm trying to think up another frog related post seeing as how topwater season is almost here for me and likely already coming to life for anglers in much warmer waters. Expect the Strike King buzzbait post to come along soon.
What went wrong?
I had the text set to justify. Justified text is a well known problem area among web developers. Some browsers just don't know what to do with it. I use Safari and Firefox on a Mac. The text had been rendered properly. Apparently IE decided to be the black sheep. Big surprise, I know. Anyway, I set the code in the table to align to the left and then used the p align="justify" instead. Justified text always looks cleaner assuming the browser handles it as intended.
New Posts...
Rain is hitting Shreveport all week in the form of thunderstorms, so I won't be posting many fishing reports. I've written rough drafts of my Gander Mountain Competitor rod post and Vicious Fishing Line Conditioner post. Each should be ready this week. I'll probably schedule them and let Blogger do the work for me. I also have rough drafts of the posts on Vicious Fluorocarbon and the Strike King Red Eye Shad.
I'm trying to think up another frog related post seeing as how topwater season is almost here for me and likely already coming to life for anglers in much warmer waters. Expect the Strike King buzzbait post to come along soon.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
