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“Genesis” a new beginning.


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“I have been watching you ESP, all this jumping around from live-journal to word press…to now a self-hosted website, I cannot keep up with your blogging activities! I am hanging on to this agave perilously to await your next venture”.

Well Mr Spinner Dragonfly, I have to say, this is my final move…I am officially done.  I hope if you have been following the ESP, and put up with all of these changes and moves around the blogosphere, you have finally ended up here and updated for the FINAL time, your CSS feeds. I apologise for any inconvenience.  Hopefully this new self-hosted format will remain a constant for the next few years, and I can relax for a while, even though I have a whole bunch of code and navigation to learn and implement. I think it is a start in the right direction, I hope!

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“I am warning you ESP…one more move and there will be trouble, you hear me?”

Please drop me a line and let me know what you think of the new patch…your feedback would be appreciated!

ESP.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Cheryl September 6, 2009, 9:05 pm

    Whew! As long as we don’t totally LOSE you I’m ok with the changes. I can’t figure out where you find the time to do all the things you do but sure hope you keep the blog up. Its just too much fun. (also informative and educational with great photos and tons of humor…yeah, I love ya!)

  • Bob Pool September 6, 2009, 9:16 pm

    I’m not trying to be picky or anything but I like the all black better. I think it makes your photos stand out better than on any other blog I visit. Do you think you will be able to put in all the accent pictures from the movies like usual? It just wouldn’t be ESP with out them.

    The semi camo, dinosaur shirt on the hobbit looks good. I think you better stay still for a while. I’ve heard some of them can cast spells.

  • ESP September 6, 2009, 9:41 pm

    Hi Bob.
    Thanks for your feedback. I am already looking into adjusting the content area to a much darker area, just not quite sure how you do it yet. All the accent pictures will work even better having a larger visual area to work with! I agree it would not be the patch without them!

    If I move again, I have it on the highest authority from the head witch of the ESP coven, that a really awful spell will be cast on me…the witches are not happy with all this hopping around, and, trust me, you most certainly do not want to mess with the ESP Witches!

    Thanks for following me Bob.
    ESP.

  • Cheryl September 6, 2009, 9:57 pm

    Hey ESP,

    Hope you’re enjoying your new site and are settling in nicely. I’m looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us! My only comment is the photos are loading really slowly for me. Granted, I have a slow DSL connection, but that might be something to consider (for those of us who are too “thrifty” to pony up the money for really high speed). Could you maybe make the photos a little lower res or a little smaller? Just a thought. I agree with Bob…a darker background will really set the photos off.

  • ESP September 6, 2009, 11:32 pm

    Hi Cheryl.
    I will look into my photo resolution size…this is all new to me! I hope I can ultimately speed it all up for you, and everyone else. So happy you made it over here and I hope to have a LOT of issues resolved as the ESP moves forward. I am trying to figure out the darker background, but it is not so easy when you are not using an existing service / template, (code is not my strong-point!). I do like the new larger format and I am sure over the course of the next few weeks I will get to grips with all the new systems and menus, and make the ESP a more streamlined blog experience.
    Thanks for your feedback. I really do appreciate it.
    ESP.

  • Germi September 7, 2009, 12:26 am

    I LOVE the new format and I think the huge pictures are amazing! I am a big fan of your photos, and being able to see them in such glorious detail is fantastic.
    I will follow you just this ONE MORE TIME … and am linking to this new site in my blogroll and in the body of my newest post (I mention that I am jealous of your nursery/smoothie outings)
    I know lots of people are fans of the all-black … and it is very ‘Patch-y’, but this lighter background really makes it easier to read – but whatever! I’ll read your blog no matter what – so do what you want!
    Best!
    Ivette

  • ESP September 7, 2009, 10:45 am

    Hi Ivette.
    Thanks for coming over and YET AGAIN and re-linking to the patch. So happy you like the new “larger” format, there is a lot more space to work with. I still have a long way to go to whip the site into the shape I have in mind. I am running “Thesis” and there is a lot of flexibility and customization you can do…if you know how, right now I am struggling, but I know it will get easier.
    I think I will try a darker background when I get round to it…right now there are a million things I need to sort out!

    So happy to have you back in the patch Ivette, and I PROMISE you, no more moves!
    A rather busy…ESP.

  • Gail September 7, 2009, 1:47 pm

    Made the move easily. Love the big pictures and the bigger print. Some of us need the big print. :)

  • Linda Lehmusvirta September 7, 2009, 2:21 pm

    I love the new site. Pictures a little slow, but I too have a slow DSL. However, I do like the brighter background–easier to read for my black-challenged eyes. Maybe a compromise? But really, good job all the way around and fabulous pictures & commentary.

  • ESP September 7, 2009, 4:59 pm

    Hi Gail…glad you made the move easily…I wish I could say the same! Your book was invaluable in this process by the way.
    ESP

    Hi Linda, I am working on reducing the image resolution in the future. Glad you like the new layout, lots of tweaking in here to do still. Thanks on the pictures.
    ESP

  • Pam/Digging September 7, 2009, 9:27 pm

    I agree with your commenters who prefer the lighter background to the black. White type on a black page is hard on the eyes. But I’ll always be reading the Patch, however you configure it. I’ve updated your feed in my RSS reader, and I will update your link on my blog just as soon as my devoted guru has figured out how to get the spam hackers out of it. (He’s been working all afternoon and evening to update my blog to the latest version of WordPress and oust hacker code and is not a happy camper at the moment. I owe him big-time.)

  • ESP September 7, 2009, 10:32 pm

    Hi Pam. Thanks for the update and for your feedback. It has been an intense weekend here in the patch, in more ways than one, as you will see in my next post! The move to being a self-hosted blogger has been quite the experience, my brain is about to explode with the steep learning curve that comes with the new territory. I think for the time being, I am over the worst…he says confidently!
    Glad you like the new look, I hope it is a little easier on the eyes.
    Good luck with your hacker ousting…I am sure I will have to deal with this soon enough.

    ESP.

  • Jenny September 8, 2009, 5:57 am

    This one works really well for me. Downloads quickly, nice large pictures(I have started doing the larger pictures on my blog although I have to go in and change the html to do it, which takes time) and immediate comment access. That was a real problem with the first blog you had. All that scrolling. I am hoping that I won’t have to put in all my info next time I comment and it will just appear. Like someone else said- I don’t know how you have the time to do all this. A post like yours would take me absolute hours to do. Looks like someone is wearing a camouflage suit! Is he trying to creep around the plants unnoticed?

  • ESP September 8, 2009, 10:22 am

    Hi Jenny, great, glad to hear that this format works for you, and I hope the commenting system is a little more intuitive! I started from scratch, new blog, new theme, new server, new mail, new domain etc…to get it all up and running has taken me 4 solid days and hundreds of passwords later. I am finally comming up for air and seeing a tiny light at the end of a very complex process, at least for me. I have worked in some pretty heavy 3D software, with lots of levels of navigation, so this prepared me pretty well for this experience, and for producing my “longer” posts! It is slower right now though as I am figuring things out as I go. Side by side images are proving hard to do right now!!!

    He does match the foliage pretty good, he also has a similar coloration to the dragonfly, lets hope he does not start flying around the ESP, he is hard enough to keep tabs on him, on the ground!
    Thanks for your feedback J.
    ESP.