Glob Lab

Changing the Web Page Icon

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:39:00 +0000

Um the top on the URL bar, you see some websites have an icon for their page, well you can either save 'favicon.ico' in the root of your webserver, which is easy enough if you have access to it. If you however have a blog or free webspace, you can try this trick. In your HTML, find the heading '< head>' and then below paste the following code :-

< link href='favicon.ico' rel='shortcut icon'/>

And that's it. You can change 'favicon.ico' with a utl to the correct location.

Great little trick that adds something extra to your website.

Setting Up Your Own Webserver - Local PC

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:16:00 +0000

I decided to play around with some PHP, and a couple web pages on my local machine to get used to it.

The easiest way i found to install PHP, MYSQL and Apache, was to install a program called WAMP. It can be downloaded here, and is easy to setup and install. Once it's installed it's as easy as loading up a browser and typing 'localhost' or to click the WAMP icon down near the system clock.

I was going to play around with some images and found that I would need the GD Library, more info here. The new main page for the GD library is here.

Luckily though after some investigation I found that it was installed as a standard service in version php 4.3.x and after in PHP.

To turn it on, click WAMP icon, PHP Settings, PHP Extensions and then select PHP_gd2 tp start it, and TADA it's done.

Ref: #1, #2, #3

Top 25 Rules of Running

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:51:00 +0000

In most cases, these rules started out as a lightbulb over one runner's head. After a while, that runner told a few running buddies (probably during a long run), word spread, and before you know it, coaches were testing it, sports scientists were studying it, and it evolved from idea to theory to accepted wisdom. Along with each of the rules we present, however, we list the exception. Why? Because, as you also learned in grade school, there's an exception to every rule.

1. The Specificity Rule
The most effective training mimics the event for which you're training.
This is the cardinal rule of training for any activity. If you want to run a 10-K at seven-minute-per-mile pace, you need to do some running at that pace. "Runners are best served by running at goal pace and in the expected environment of that race," says Ann Snyder, Ph.D., director of the human performance lab at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Exception: It's impractical to wholly mimic a race--particularly longer distances--in training because it would require extended recovery. So, when doing race-specific training, keep the total distance covered shorter than the goal race, or run at your race pace in shorter segments with rest breaks (interval training).

2. The 10-Percent Rule
Increase weekly training mileage by no more than 10 percent per week.
Joe Henderson, the first editor of Runner's World, and Joan Ullyot, M.D., author of three women's running books, first popularized the 10-percent prescription in the 1980s. "I noticed that runners who increased their training load too quickly were incurring injuries," says Dr. Ullyot.

The Exception: If you're starting at single-digit weekly mileage after a layoff, you can add more than 10 percent per week until you're close to your normal training load.

3. The 2-Hour Rule
Wait for about two hours after a meal before running.
"For most people, two hours is enough time for food to empty from the stomach, especially if it's high in carbohydrate," says Colorado sports dietitian and marathoner Cindy Dallow, Ph.D. "If you don't wait long enough, food will not be properly digested, raising the risk of abdominal cramps, bloating, and even vomiting."

The Exception: You can probably run 90 minutes after a light, high-carb meal, while you may need up to three hours after a heavy meal that's high in protein and fat.

4. The 10-Minute Rule
Start every run with 10 minutes of walking and slow running, and do the same to cool down.
"A warmup prepares your body for exercise by gradually increasing blood flow and raising core muscle temperature," says Jerry Napp, a Tampa Bay running coach. "The cooldown may be even more important. Stopping abruptly can cause leg cramps, nausea, dizziness, or fainting."

The Exception: It takes less than 10 minutes to rev up on warm days.

5. The 2-Day Rule
If something hurts for two straight days while running, take two days off.
Two straight days of pain may signal the beginning of an injury. "Even taking five days of complete rest from running will have little impact on your fitness level," says Troy Smurawa, M.D., team physician for USA Triathlon.

The Exception: If something hurts for two weeks, even if you've taken your rest days, see a doctor.

6. The Familiar-Food Rule
Don't eat or drink anything new before or during a race or hard workout.
Stick to what works for you. "Your gastrointestinal tract becomes accustomed to a certain mix of nutrients," says Dallow. "You can normally vary this mix without trouble, but you risk indigestion when prerace jitters are added."

The Exception: If you're about to bonk, eating something new is probably better than eating nothing at all.

7. The Race-Recovery Rule
For each mile that you race, allow one day of recovery before returning to hard training or racing.
That means no speed workouts or racing for six days after a 10-K or 26 days after a marathon. The rule's originator was the late Jack Foster, the masters marathon world record holder (2:11:18) from 1974 to 1990. Foster wrote in his book, Tale of the Ancient Marathoner, "My method is roughly to have a day off racing for every mile I raced."

The Exception: If your race effort wasn't all-out, taking fewer recovery days is okay.

8. The Heads-Beats-Tails Rule
A headwind always slows you down more than a tailwind speeds you up.
So expect to run slower on windy days. "I disregard the watch on really windy days because headwinds cost me 15 to 25 seconds a mile, and I only get a portion of that back after I turn around," says Monte Wells, a longtime runner in Amarillo, Texas, America's windiest city. "The key is to monitor your effort, not your pace. Start against the wind, so it's at your back in the second half."

The Exception: On point-to-point runs with the wind at your back, you'll fly along faster than usual.

9. The Conversation Rule
You should be able to talk in complete sentences while running.
A recent study found that runners whose heart and breathing rates were within their target aerobic zones could comfortably recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Those who couldn't were running faster than optimal.

The Exception: Talking should not be easy during hard runs, speedwork, or races.

10. The 20-Mile Rule
Build up to and run at least one 20-miler before a marathon.
"Long runs simulate the marathon, which requires lots of time on your feet," says Gina Simmering-Lanterman, director and marathon coach of the Denver Fit training program. "And knowing that you can run 20 miles helps you wrap your head around running 26.2."

The Exception: Some coaches believe experienced marathoners can get by with a longest run of 16 to 18 miles, while other coaches suggest runs up to 24 miles.

11. The Carbs Rule
For a few days before a long race, emphasize carbohydrates in your diet.
"Carbo-loading" became the marathoner's mantra after Scandinavian studies in 1967 suggested cramming down carbs following a period of carb depletion produced super-charged athletes. Experts now say simply emphasizing carbs a few days before a race over two hours works just as well.

The Exception: There's a word for carbo-loading during regular training or before a short race: gluttony.

12. The Seven-Year Rule
Runners improve for about seven years.
Mike Tymn noticed this in the early 1980s and wrote about it in his National Masters News column. "My seven-year adaptation theory was based on the fact that so many runners I talked to ran their best times an average of seven years after they started," he recalls.

The Exception: Low-mileage runners can stretch the seven years to well over a decade before plateauing.

13. The Left-Side-Of-The-Road Rule
To keep safe, run facing traffic.
"While running, it's better to watch the traffic than to have it come up from behind you," says Adam Cuevas, a marathoner and chief of the Enforcement Services Division of the California Highway Patrol. It's the law in California and many other states to run on the left side unless you're on the sidewalk.

The Exception: The right side of the road is safer when running into leftward blind curves where there's a narrow shoulder. The right side can also be safer if there's construction on the left side.

14. The Up-Beats-Down Rule
Running uphill slows you down more than running downhill speeds you up.
So, you can expect hilly runs to be slower than flat runs. "You don't get all of the energy that you expend going uphill back when you run downhill," explains Nimbus Couzin, Ph.D., a marathon-running physics instructor at Indiana University Southeast. "That's because when your feet strike the ground on a descent, a lot of energy is lost."

The Exception: When you run point-to-point with a net elevation drop, your average pace should be faster than on a flat course.

15. The Sleep Rule
Sleep one extra minute per night for each mile per week that you train.
So if you run 30 miles a week, sleep an extra half hour each night. "Sleep deprivation has a negative impact on training," says David Claman, M.D., director of the University of California-San Francisco Sleep Disorders Center. "The average person needs seven and a half to eight hours of sleep, so increase that amount when you're training."

The Exception: The extra sleep may not be necessary for some high-energy folks.

16. The Refueling Rule
Consume a combination carbohydrate-protein food or beverage within 30 to 60 minutes after any race, speed workout, or long run.
"You need an infusion of carbs to replace depleted muscle glycogen, plus some protein to repair and build muscle," says Nancy Clark, R.D., author of Food Guide for Marathoners. "Ideally, the carb-protein ratio should be 4-to-1. Some examples would be 150 to 300 calories of low-fat chocolate milk, a recovery-sports drink, flavored yogurt, or a bagel and peanut butter."

The Exception: Immediate refueling is less important if you aren't running hard again within 24 hours.

17. The Don't-Just-Run Rule
Runners who only run are prone to injury.
"Cross-training and weight training will make you a stronger and healthier runner," says TriEndurance.com multisport coach Kris Swarthout. "Low- and nonimpact sports like biking and swimming will help build supporting muscles used in running, while also giving your primary running muscles a rest."

The Exception: The surest way to run better is to run. So if your time is limited, devote most of it to running.

18. The Even-Pace Rule
The best way to race to a personal best is to maintain an even pace from start to finish.
Most of the 10,000-meter and marathon world records set in the last decade have featured almost metronome-like pacing. "If you run too fast early in the race, you almost always pay for it later," warns Jon Sinclair, the U.S. 12-K record holder and now an online coach (anaerobic.net).

The Exception: This doesn't apply on hilly courses or on windy days, when the objective is to run an even effort.

19. The New-Shoes Rule
Replace running shoes once they've covered 400 to 500 miles.
"But even before they have that much wear," says Warren Greene, Runner's World gear editor, "buy a new pair and rotate them for a while. Don't wait until your only pair is trashed." Consider shoes trashed when the spring is gone.

The Exception: A shoe's wear rate can vary, depending on the type of shoe, your weight, your footstrike pattern, and the surfaces you run on.

20. The Hard/Easy Rule
Take at least one easy day after every hard day of training.
"Easy" means a short, slow run, a cross-training day, or no exercise at all. "Hard" means a long run, tempo run, or speed workout. "Give your body the rest it needs to be effective for the next hard run," says Todd Williams, a two-time U.S. Olympian and online coach at pushthepace.com. Apply the hard/easy rule to your monthly and yearly training cycles by treating yourself to one easy week each month, and one easy month each year.

The Exception: After the most exhausting long runs and speed workouts, especially if you're 40 or older, wait for two or even three days before your next tough one.

21. The 10-Degree Rule
Dress for runs as if it's 10 degrees warmer than the thermometer actually reads.
To put it another way, dress for how warm you'll feel at mid-run--not the first mile, when your body is still heating up. This means choosing the right apparel. (See the "Dress for Success" table) "On cold days, the new soft-shell tops and tights are light, warm, and breathable," says Emily Walzer, fabrics editor for Sporting Goods Business Magazine. "On warm days, wear a lightweight performance fabric next to your skin, which will disperse sweat through evaporation."

The Exception: There's a limit to how many clothes you can take off without getting arrested, so if it's in the 70s or warmer, wear minimal lightweight, light-colored apparel.

22. The Speedwork-Pace Rule
The most effective pace for VO2-max interval training is about 20 seconds faster per mile than your 5-K race pace.
The best way to increase your aerobic capacity and long-distance speed is through VO2-max interval training. A pioneer of VO2-max training is Jack Daniels, Ph.D., coach at the Center for High Altitude Training in Flagstaff, Arizona. "By stressing your aerobic system," he says, "this pace optimizes the volume of blood that's pumped and the amount of oxygen that your muscle fibers can use."

The Exception: The exact pace is closer to 10 seconds faster per mile than 5-K race pace for fast runners, and 30 seconds faster per mile for slower runners.

23. The Tempo-Pace Rule
Lactate-threshold or tempo-run pace is about the pace you can maintain when running all-out for one hour.
This pace is about 20 seconds slower per mile than your 10-K race pace, or 30 seconds slower per mile than 5-K race pace. "The key benefit of this pace is that it's fast enough to improve your threshold for hard endurance running, yet slow enough that you don't overload your muscles," says Daniels. The ideal duration of a tempo run is 20 to 25 minutes.

The Exception: The exact pace is less than 20 seconds slower per mile than 10-K race pace for faster runners and slightly more than 30 seconds slower per mile than 10-K race pace for slower runners.

24. The Long-Run-Pace Rule
Do your longest training runs at least three minutes per mile slower than your 5-K race pace.
"You really can't go too slow on long runs," says RW "Starting Line" columnist Jeff Galloway, "because there are no drawbacks to running them slowly. Running them too fast, however, can compromise your recovery time and raise your injury risk."

The Exception: Galloway says you should run even slower on hot days.

25. The Finishing-Time Rule
The longer the race, the slower your pace.
How much slower? Jack Daniels and J.R. Gilbert spent years compiling a table (see "Predict Your Performance") that shows how much you should expect to slow down from one race distance to the next. "We did some curve-fitting to come up with a formula that generates a pseudo-VO2-max for each race time," says Daniels. They sweated the math; now you just need to sweat the race.

The Exception: Terrain, weather, or how you feel on race day could all throw off the table's accuracy.

Ref: #1, #2

How To Run - A Quick Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:26:00 +0000

Well here is the first post about how to run and a few good pointers and the process I will be using to get into.

Now there is a road race held near my home town that is 10km, and hopefully by that time i'll be running 10km no worries. I do have a nigling ankle injury from moving house that has prevented me from playing Racquetball for the last 2 months, but hopefully that is well on the way to the mend, well soon know i guess.

Now a large part of this info is from Cool Running and their article called "The Couch-to-5K Running Plan".

Their article is all about beginner's running and a schedule they have developed to get new runners off the couch and running 5kms in just two months.

Most people get turned off of running simply by trying to start off too fast. Their bodies rebel, and they wind up miserable, wondering why anyone would possibly want to do this to themselves. This sounds a lot liek what happen to me if i didn't have a quick look for this guide, I think I am fit, but i'm sure I'll find not as fit as i thought.

"You should ease into your running program gradually. In fact, the beginners' program we outline here is less of a running regimen than a walking and jogging program. The idea is to transform you from couch potato to runner, getting you running three miles (or 5K) on a regular basis in just two months.

It's easy to get impatient, and you may feel tempted to skip ahead in the program, but hold yourself back. Don't try to do more, even if you feel you can. If, on the other hand, you find the program too strenuous, just stretch it out. Don't feel pressured to continue faster than you're able. Repeat weeks if needed and move ahead only when you feel you're ready."

Each of the sessions the describe take about 20 or 30 minutes, and only three times a week which happens to be the amount of moderate exercise recommended by numerous studies for optimum fitness.

This program will get you fit. (Runners who do more than this amount are doing it for more than fitness, and before long you might find yourself doing the same as well).

Be sure to space out these three days throughout the week to give yourself a chance to rest and recover between efforts. And don't worry about how fast you're going. Running faster can wait until your bones are stronger and your body is fitter. For now focus on gradually increasing the time or distance you run.

"There are two ways to follow this program, to measure your runs by time or by distance. Either one works just as well, choose the option that seems easiest for you to keep track of. If you go with the distance option, and you are not using a track to measure the distances, just estimate. It's not important to have the distances absolutely exact."

Before setting out, make sure to precede each session with a five-minute warmup walk or jog. Be sure to stretch both before and after.

The schedule

Noe here are some tips that I also found :-

1. Stretch before and after a run.
Be aware that although the benefits and/or drawbacks to this are controversial, there remains enough evidence to warrant some stretching at each workout. Stretch out each muscle group, holding each stretch for at least 15 seconds.

2. Learn the basics of good form.
Keep your arms at waist level, relax your hands, and maintain good posture. Avoid bouncing and try to land softly in order to reduce stress on your knees and other joints. Take note that most distance runners land on their heels or midfoot and roll forward to the toe. If you try to run on your toes for too long your shins will start hurting and your calves will get tight.

3. Breathe.
Breathe naturally or focus on a breathing technique. Some argue that the best breathing technique is inhaling oxygen through the nose, fully expanding the lungs, and exhaling through a widely opened mouth. Your nose is a good filter for air, especially while running outdoors, which prevents you from accidentally swallowing bugs. Exhaling through your mouth allows your body to get rid of more carbon dioxide and heat with less effort.

4. Foot Work.
If you’re like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

Warnings:

1. Always stretch after you run. It may not seem like you need to stretch after, but it helps you get rid of lactic acid, which is what makes your muscles ache! Also, by stretching after your run, you need not worry that you are stretching cold muscles. Pre-run stretching, while not inherently unsafe, is more likely to cause injury if not preceded by a warm-up.

2. Please consult a physician or other health-care professional before beginning any running program. This is most important if you are over 35, have bone or joint problems such as arthritis, or have risk factors for heart disease. Your body will thank you later for starting out at your healthiest.

3. Don't feel pressured to continue faster than you're able. Repeat weeks and move ahead only when you feel you're ready.

4. Don't skip the warm-up, and be sure to walk for a bit when you've finished, to allow your body time to cool down gradually.

5. Always consume adequate amounts of fluids before after, and during (if runs last more than 45 minutes or so) your runs, especially in the heat. If you feel at all thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

Ref: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6

Running For Fitness/Exercise/Tone Up

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:15:00 +0000

Ok so 2006 hasn't been good for the body, due to sitting in front of a PC for a lot fo time for work and no regular exercise, I find that, well I've put a bit of weight on or filled out in places ..

Now I haven't gotten fat or overweight, but got a little pot belly, legs are a bit flabby, so it's more to tone up a bit, and turn more of it into muscle ..

Along with that, exercise is good for you, and makes your work better, and all those sorts of things, so as of tomorrow I will be starting to run ..

My aim is to just be able to run 5km non stop, which semms highly possible judging by the few guides i've read, so we'll try that out. (More info in a following post).

Also my aim is to tone up a few bits and pieces . .

So lets see how we go, and if we can improve a bit, along with this I might throw a few other exercises in, as the running plan is for 2 months 3 times a week, which leaves me a few other days to fill in ..

So lets get this show on the road ..

How do I change the Email-This-Post icon In my Blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 10:48:00 +0000

I found this intersting FAQ, which i thought may be handy to soem of you, i'm still deciding on a icon collection for the site that I like, but here is some info for changing that icon.

If you are using our Email This Post feature, then it automatically uses a little icon of an envelope as the link. It's a pretty nice little icon, but we realize that some people may want to change it to something else. Here's how.

First of all, let's look at the code that is generated automatically for this link. It'll be something like this:

< a href="http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=1234567&postID=1234567890" title="Email Post"> < span class="email-post-icon"> < /span>

We'll make a note of that, so we can modify it later. Once we have that, what we'll do is to actually go back to the settings and turn the email feature off. This seems counter-intuitive, but it will work. All the setting does is create the links for you, and we're going to create the links on our own, so we don't need it.

Now, go back to the template tab and decide where you want to put the email links. Next to the byline for each post is usually a good place, but you can put it anywhere in between the tags. The old link (that we removed) was inserted by the <$BlogItemControl$> tag, so next to that would be a good place, as a default. Once you've picked a spot, put this code there:

< a href="http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=XXXXXX&postID=<$BlogItemNumber$>">EmailThis!< /a>

Replace XXXXXX with your own blog ID and replace EmailThis! with any text or image that you want. That's all there is to it!

Ref: #1

How to add Social Bookmarking Links to Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 08:48:00 +0000

Now this is a fairly simple thing to do but you should have a basic understanding of HTML before you proceed.

What are these buttons you ask, well theese are buttons on your blog that allow customers to submit your article to Digg, Del.icio.us and Slashdot at the click of a button, which helps you to get more traffic, and share your blog post to others who may be interested in it.

What is social networking ?? Well here is a bit of info on a couple. Digg is a user-defined news site similar to Slashdot only better. Del.icio.us is an online social bookmark site that allows you to have all your bookmarks in one place and access them from any computer connected to the Internet. Technorati has mastered tagging for blogs if you have blogware you already have a link for the Technorati Cosmos.

All these tools are HIGHLY effective at getting more traffic, getting Google to index your site constantly and getting submerged into a niche online community that will get you “social traffic.”

Now there is this good site here, but unfortunantly it doesnt not support blogger (bets) the new version of Google's Blogspot, so it wasn't useful for us.

So here is a guide for adding the links onto blogger beta.

1. Sign into blogger beta
2. Click on template and then Edit HTML
3. Click on Expand Widget Templates
4. Find these lines of code:

< class="'post-footer-line">
< class="'post-labels'">
< cond="'data:post.labels'">
<>
< values="'data:post.labels'" var="'label'">
< href="'data:label.url'" rel="'tag'">,
< /b:loop>
< /b:if>

5. Copy paste the following code right underneath it and your done:

< a expr:href='"http://digg.com/submit?phase=3&url=" + data:post.url' target='_blank' title='DiggIt!'>< img alt='DiggIt' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/61822091.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://del.icio.us/post?url=" + data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Del.icio.us'>< img alt='Del.icio.us' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/65682475.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.furl.net/storeIt.jsp?u=" + data:post.url + "&t=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Furl'>< img alt='Furl' border='0' src='http://www.furl.net/i/favicon.gif'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.simpy.com/simpy/LinkAdd.do?href=" + data:post.url + "&title= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Simpy'>< img alt='Simpy' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/70286063.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.spurl.net/spurl.php?url=" + data:post.url + "&title= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Spurl'>< img alt='Spurl' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/83344081.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://myweb2.search.yahoo.com/myresults/bookmarklet?u=" + data:post.url + "&=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Yahoo web'>

< img alt='Yahoo' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/41626225.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://reddit.com/submit?url=" + data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Reddit'>< img alt='Reddit' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/16304077.gif'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.newsvine.com/_tools/seed&save?u=" + data:post.url + "&h= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Newsvine'>< img alt='Newsvine' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/61968867.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?url=" + data:post.url' target='_blank' title='Add to Technorati'>< img alt='Technorati' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/78708502.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://wists.com/r.php?c=&r=" + data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Wists'>< img alt='Wists' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/42818025.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.blinklist.com/index.php?Action=Blink/addblink.php&Description=&Url= " + data:post.url + "&Title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Blinklist'>< img alt='Blinklist' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/89442389.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://cgi.fark.com/cgi/fark/edit.pl?new_url=" + data:post.url + "&new_comment= " + data:post.title + "&linktype="' target='_blank' title='Add to Fark'>

< img alt='Fark' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/19670459.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://blogmarks.net/my/new.php?mini=1&simple=1&url=" + data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Blogmarks'>

< img alt='Blogmarks' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/7577931.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://smarking.com/editbookmark/?url=" + data:post.url' target='_blank' title='Add to Smarkings'>< img alt='Smarkings' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/21598036.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://ma.gnolia.com/bookmarklet/add?url=" + data:post.url + "&title= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Ma.gnolia'>< img alt='Ma.gnolia' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/44917000.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://segnalo.com/post.html.php?url=" + data:post.url + "&title= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Segnalo'>

< img alt='Segnalo ' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/43631499.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.indiamarks.com/post/new?weburl=" + data:post.url + "&pagetitle= " + data:post.title"&pagedesc="' target='_blank' title='Add to Indiamarks'>

< img alt='Indiamarks' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/2094indiamarks.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://blinkbits.com/bookmarklets/save.php?v=1&source_url= " + data:post.url + "&Title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Blinkbits'>< img alt='Blinkbits' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/87284454.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://de.lirio.us/rubric/post?uri=" + data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to De.lirio.us'>< img alt='De.lirio.us' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/50964829.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.netvouz.com/action/submitBookmark?url=" + data:post.url + "&title= " + data:post.title + "&popup=no"' target='_blank' title='Add to Netvouz'>

< img alt='Netvouz' border='0' src='http://www.netvouz.com/web/images/netvouz16.gif'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.rawsugar.com/pages/tagger.faces?turl=" + data:post.url + "&tttl= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Rawsugar'>

< img alt='Rawsugar' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/56440303.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://scuttle.org/bookmarks.php/pass?action=add&address= " + data:post.url + "&title=" + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Scuttle'>< img alt='Scuttle' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/50964829.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.shadows.com/features/tcr.htm?url=" + data:post.url + "&title= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Shadows'>< img alt='Shadows' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/30177473.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.connotea.org/add?continue=return&uri=" + data:post.url + "&title= " + data:post.title' target='_blank' title='Add to Connotea'>< img alt='Connotea' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/62985973.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://www.linkagogo.com/go/AddNoPopup?title=" + data:post.title + "&url= " + data:post.url' target='_blank' title='Add to Linkagogo'>< img alt='Linkagogo' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/72022024.png'/>

< a expr:href='"http://feedmelinks.com/categorize?from=toolbar&op=submit&name=" + data:post.title + "&url=" + data:post.url' target='_blank' title='Add to Feedmelinks'>< img alt='Feedmelinks' border='0' src='http://img2.imagepile.net/images/ycc2106/72832979.png'/>

Now that's a lot of links and is a bit over kill, so i'd only use the one's you look at or regularly use.

One other note, is that I would put the following code in there so that the links are on a seperate line from the other data, a simple '< p>' at the start and a '< /p>' at the end and it will look a little neater.

Now for a huge list of social bookmarking links there is this site here., obviously adding that many will just look overkill on your blog, so i'd advise not to do it.

Happy social networking ..

Ref: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5

Site Meter / Counter

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 01:24:00 +0000

Ok so i've got the website up, now it's time to continue customisation, i need a stat counter for the page, after a little research on the net, a common thing i found was that a lot of them had limitations, whether it being a payment after a couple months, a payment from the begining or what not. Some limited the amounts of traffic to 25,000 etc a month, now i dont think i'll be hitting that anytime soon, but that's fine.

I found Site Meter which is free. It's quick to sign up and easy to get going. Took a couple minutes and then I had an email with a link to the HTML code to put on the site, which is as easy as creating another HTML/Java script element again.

I didn't fancy the default site meter counter, so i went onto the website and changed my selection in the meter style config page, which again was simple. Their list of meters is somewhat limited, but will do fine for now.

Ref: #1

Adding a RSS Feed To Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 21:51:00 +0000

Now this is pretty easy to setup, firstly head over to www.feedburner.com, and there is a simple tutorial to run through for setting it up for your blog.

Once you've run through this, it's as easy as copying the generated code to your website, you can no see my little RSS feed to the right.

How to Hide or Remove Blogger Navbar

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:54:00 +0000

Ok I wanted to take the blogger navbar of my blog to try and neaten the whole blog up a bit, this is how you go about doing that :

1. Login to Blogger Beta In the Dashboard
2. Click on the Link Template
3. In the Template click on the Link Edit HTMLHere
4. I placed the code just above the line that says :

/* Variable definitions

Here is the code :

#navbar-iframe /* Indicating to the Navbar ID */
{
height: 0px; /* Reducing the height of the Navbar to 0px */
visibility: hidden; /* Reducing the visibility to hidden */
display: none; /* Remove the display option(indirectly hiding it */
}
Method 2:(source:Bloggeratto)
#navbar-iframe{opacity:0.0;filter:alpha(Opacity=0)}
#navbar-iframe:hover{opacity:1.0;filter:alpha(Opacity=100, FinishedOpacity=100)}

For those who are still using blogger version you can implement the method 1 by replacing #navbar-iframe with #b-navbar and the hack does work out well.

Now the most important question is, will Blogger allow this to happen ??

Well i have been looking in to Bloggers terms of service of whether we can actually hide or remove Blogger Toolbar. The answer to that would be an YES or NO. It could be argued in both the ways. Blogger specifically does not mention that you should not remove or hide the navbar but there is always the condition that if there is no option to change the content then it means that you should not modify the content. Anyway the topic is really arguable in both the sides and hope blogger updates its terms of service. Here is the terms of service of blogger

By creating your BlogSpot Site, you agree that Pyra has the right to run such advertisements and promotions.You also agree that you will not attempt to block or otherwise interfere with advertisements displayed on your BlogSpot site via JavaScript or any other means. Doing so is grounds for immediate termination of service. The manner, mode and extent of advertising by Pyra on your BlogSpot Site is subject to change.You also agree that you will not attempt to block or otherwise interfere with advertisements displayed on your BlogSpot site via JavaScript or any other means. Doing so is grounds for immediate termination of service. The manner, mode and extent of advertising by Pyra on your BlogSpot Site is subject to change.

Personally i think it looks a lot neater.

UPDATE: Now why this makes it look a lot neater, you will want to put a quick link to the following page - http://www2.blogger.com/home so that you can quickly make a new post or edit yoru blog's settings.

Ref: #1, #2

Changing Blogspot Background To Image

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 12:38:00 +0000

Ok so i've picked one of Bloggers standard blog templates, and now it's time to start cutomising the blog a little, I thought i'd start with customising the background image to see what is involved with that.

1. Firstly you need to upload your background image somewhere, this can be done on many of the free hosts, either google pages, image shack, etc, a quick search in google will turn up plenty to put yoru background image up.

2. Login to the Dashboard. Click on Layout under name of blog you want to add picture to. Click on Edit Html tab next to Page Elements tab. This opens the Edit Template page.

3. It's always a good idea to make a backup of the template before you start editing, so do this now.

4. Now scroll down in Edit Template text box till you come to the following :

body {
background:$bgcolor;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Georgia Serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}

This is part of the code CSS that describes the whole background of your blog. To add an image here you have to add the following code before the '}' at the end :

background-image:url(WEB URL OF YOUR PICTURE );
background-repeat:no-repeat;
background-position:120% 10%;
background-attachment: scroll;

The code will now look like this :

body {
background:$bgcolor;
background-image:url(WEB URL OF YOUR PICTURE);
background-repeat:no-repeat;
background-position:120% 10%;
background-attachment: scroll;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Georgia Serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}

Instead of the words "WEB URL OF YOUR PICTURE" copy paste the URL of your picture that you uploader in step 1. Now for an explanation of what the different commands mean :

The 3rd line describes the position of the image. The first figure (120%) controls horizontal placement. The second, vertical (10%). Negative percentages will move the image up or to the left, in relation to the containing element. The repeat attribute controls tiling. If instead of 'no-repeat' you add 'repeat-x' it will tile horizontally and 'repeat-y' will tile it vertically. The scroll attribute means your picture moves along with the textwhen you scroll up or down. If you want the picture to remain fixed while your text scrolls past it or over it when you use it as a background then change 'scroll' to 'fixed'

Now i had to add 'repeat-x' into the code above as i used a simple image that tiles horizontally across the page.

There is more info on the CSS code here.

Ref: #1, #2, #3

UPDATE: I've made a few posts now and found that the background image was moving around, after some investigation, it was the 'background-position:' that was causing me grief. Because it was percentage based above it was moving as the blog grew. To fix this i changed it to the following :

background-position:0px 85px

Which will put it 0 pixels from the left and 85 pixels down, more info here on the other options for this bit of CSS.

Ref: #1

First Post + Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Wii Blog) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 11:55:00 +0000

What does GLOB mean, well i have thought up one meaning, but i think i leave it as a surprise for latter, but hey feel free to post some comments of what you think it is ..

This blog is the glob labs where all the Glob is conjured up. Perhaps it's a backwards Blog, who know's ..

The winner will be getting SFA, but hey it's the thought that counts ..

Basically there be some random posts and some useful info stored here to see how we go, so bookmark my blog if you will, and enjoy some randomness and some hopefully some great content ..

Remember social networking is your friend, add me in, share me around, everybody needs a bit of glob in their life ..