“…there’s no such thing as Flickr Pro, because today, with cameras as pervasive as they are, there is no such thing really as professional photographers, when there’s everything is professional photographers. Certainly there is varying levels of skills, but we didn’t want to have a Flickr Pro anymore, we wanted everyone to have professional quality photos, space, and sharing.”

- Marissa Mayer,Yahoo! CEO

HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE? Sorry, that’s my frustration talking.

I must say I am NOT happy with this Flickr revamp. They redesigned it yesterday and it looks like Tumblr threw up on it. It’s not user friendly.

Let me explain what I find wrong with the redesign:

What I find wrong with Flickr #1
(Click to enlarge)

On this first image, my problems are labeled #1 and #2.  For  issue #1, my problem is the three dots is not intuitive.  I had to click around before I figured out that where the rest of the menu of options was located.  I think for this, a small down arrow would have made more sense.

Issue #2′s problem is that I do use collections.  I have a collection of sets of photos taken in Georgia.  I have another collection of photos just taken in Savannah.  Sure, there is overlap, but for a person looking for Savannah photos, they don’t have to bother scrolling in sets or the Georgia collection on non-Savannah photos.  Instead of putting collections in the drop down menu, place a link next to the Sets button.

What I find wrong with Flickr #2
(Click to enlarge)

In this second image, I am now in the sets. The box labeled 3 shows an example of what Flickr ruined with its new look.  It is hiding the details of the photo.  I chose that photo to represent that set because it’s a rabbit in Christmas lights.  You can’t tell what it is now.

What I find wrong with Flickr #3
(Click to enlarge)

However, if you go into the set, you’ll see the thumbnail is now showing all of the bunny.  Why can’t it be consistent? And if you look at what I have labeled 4a, you’ll see that I have images and nothing else.  Maybe I have a story with that photo?  I can’t display it with an excerpt, unless I use this type of URL with Flickr:

Flickr Backdoor

Shouldn’t I have the option to use that style as my default. By the way, it only works for the photostream and nothing else:

What I find wrong with Flickr #4
(Click to enlarge)

In this shot, I can have an excerpt display if I had one, but take a look at note 4b. Even using this URL, the site is wrong in saying I have NO PHOTOS!

But wait! There’s more!

What I find wrong with Flickr #5
(Click to enlarge)

Take a look at the item labeled 5. It simply says where the photo was taken. In the old Flickr layout, it had it displayed on the map. What is someone saw this photo and wanted to visit Babyland General. Did you know it has since moved since I took this photo? By taking away the maps for those that like and uses the geomapping feature, this new layout has taken that feature from us.

And back to sets again. What if you had a long description that featured HTML? Well, this new layout doesn’t comply:

What I find wrong with Flickr #6
(Click to enlarge)

Take a look at that! You can’t read the FULL DESCRIPTION without a hover over. And what about my other pet sets? I am trying to help you. This REALLY ruins the link I have handy for my Historical Markers collection.

These are just the little things I have noted for now. There is MORE wrong with this new layout than I have noted. They taught me in my IT class that form follows function. An impressive graphical user interface is worth nothing if your program doesn’t work. What good was this redesign if it broke what was working with Flickr?

And then let’s go back to Ms. Meyer’s quote?  According to that logic, this is a professional photo:

I KNOW this is a horrible photo.  The point being that some of use, even as amateurs, adopted a Pro account because we like sharing our photos with family, friends, and strangers. We know our photos aren’t that great.  As for those that are professionals, are you really going to tell me my shot of foot taken with my old cell phone from 2004 is just as great as my professional quality photos? Or can even compare to my friends of professional quality?

I told my little sister to assume that Yahoo! would ruin Tumblr based on its past with Flickr.  And that was before this redesign.

Let’s just say I am disgusted.  And if you read the Feedback on the Help Forum, you’ll see I’m not alone.

Memories, moments you recall
We should be remembered for the
Greatest of them all
You can’t begin to live someone
Else’s life
Or you’re own will pass you by

I saw Iron Man 3 today yesterday. I enjoyed it very much. I never saw Iron Man 2 at the theater. I did see the first one at the theater 5 years ago when it came out.

Yes, I said 5 years ago.

It got me to thinking how I have grown and not grown in those past 5 years. Want the proof? Take a look at my Flickr account. I did look back at the photos of that time as I was geotagging them. Certain things have stayed the same, like enjoying movies that make me think and taking cell phone shots. Some things are different, like the people I hold dear to me.

But why I am posting a song by Richard Marx about the elderly? I posted it because all the while I was going down memory lane, the quotes lyrics above just kept playing in my head.

Back to the movie. I don’t want to spoil it, but I laughed so hard at the post credits scene. Better than the second one. On par with the first one. After the movie, I ended up going out and finally getting The Avengers on DVD and watching it again tonight.

1. Industry :: Standards
2. Jerry :: Springer
3. Detour :: Road Construction
4. Mug :: Shot
5. Steer :: Beef
6. Link :: A HREF
7. Harmony :: Fluttershy
8. Epic :: Fail
9. Suspect :: Crime
10. Translate :: French

And yet in life, some people are lamps.  They are there whether it’s in real life, on the Internet, their memories, or their manifestion in your dreams. They just light the way.

Last night, I had a dream that involved on such lamp in my life.  Actually, it was the guy that introduced me to LAMP.  He was such a nice kid and bright, too.  Nothing more happened in the dream than two people running in each other at the store and just talking and laughing.  And smiling.

In my life, he was a lamp that lit my on final path to finish up my degree.  His little bit of help ended up making my life better in the long run. I think his presence in my dream last night was my mind reassuring me that the path I’m on now is still the right path for me.

And speaking of LAMP, I really do wish I had to time to get back into it. It could be frustrating, but fun when I got something to work.  I should get my old computing books from storage and play with it all again.

1. Pork :: Rinds
2. Work :: I need a dayoff
3. International :: Date Line
4. Board :: Game
5. Idea :: Light Blub
6. Spinning :: a record
7. Relations :: people that like to use you
8. Dresser :: I need a better TV stand
9. Poster :: Boy
10. Inappropriate :: Behavior

1. Flashlight :: Light Painting
2. Criminal :: Minds
3. Gathering :: Place
4. Passed :: Gas
5. Medal :: Gold
6. Renovation :: Costly
7. Sweat :: Pea
8. South :: Side
9. Ginger :: Cat (See below)
10. Jersey :: Shore

I love him, but he’s a brat!

I was watching the Braves game and seeing a post from a friend asking about the different Fox Sports networks. It got my brain going. I starting thinking about how the Braves used to be seen nationally and how you can’t really see them outside of Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and parts of Western North Carolina. And how I used to live at Ft. Bragg and now they wouldn’t be able to get the Braves. And then I started wondering if the boy I really liked at 14 was still a Braves fan. And then I though tweeting that and then just came to the conclusion to just write a blog entry.

But instead of dwelling in the past, let’s talk about my present.  And a giant present to myself.

I bought a house.  It’s going to cost me a fortune.  But, it’s mine.  I don’t have to share it with anyone except my cats and dog.  However, my dad is going to set up a room here and tonight, my sister Nicki is staying the night.  She’s in the living room at this moment watching TV as she works on a school project.

It’s a nice home. It’s not the dream home in Ascot in Fayetteville, NC I wanted and hope to share one day with Ryan.  Yes, looking back to those dreams when I was 14 I feel silly but living up to some of them.  Actually, this house is much better than those homes.  It’s only a few years old.  but it’s spacious. It’s big enough that it my farther or Nicki are here, we have the luxury to be alone if we want.  So, I don’t have kids running in the back yard, but I’ve got a fence for my dog.  PupPup has finally started to realize the fenced yard is hers.

While some dreams have yet to still come true, I am proud to have this house.  I got financing all on my own.  I’m not rich, but I keep my credit in check.

The funny thing about this house is that the neighborhood reminds me of the behind our house in Augusta.  That subdivision hit hard times and was not completed when we left Augusta.  This neighborhood is not complete because of the housing collapse a few years ago.  But, there are houses here, people here, it’s rural feeling, but still in the Savannah city limit, and quiet.  Nothing like living next door to I-285 in Atlanta.

In case you didn’t know, it was St. Patrick’s Day over the weekend. I had the big parade day off.  So, I called upon Gennie, also known as Dizzy Girl, and asked did she want to go to the parade.  She agreed, so we went.

We ended up getting on a shuttle that was going to charge $20. It was a private shuttle we mistook for the CAT shuttle. We did NOT take it. It was going to charge $15 for one way.  Oh yeah, there were plenty of organizations out there trying to make a killing off the day.  If you can charge for it, they will! We ended up finding the $5.00 CAT shuttle and took that.  Thankfully, it wasn’t much different than taking a MARTA shuttle to a Braves game.

We got downtown about half an hour before the parade begin.  We went looking for a place, but the streets were crowded.  Fate was on our side. I looked down the street we were on and saw my brother-in-law. My sister, his wife, had to work.  He had the day off, so he went to the parade with his family as is there tradition.  My family’s tradition was to watch the parade at home. Gennie and I ended up hanging out at their cornered off spot.  It was the tail end of the parade route, but we got some good shots.  The only bad part was that I forgot sunscreen and my right upper arm burned. I got a little burn on the right side of my face, but my hat minimized that.

After the parade, we went to the Savannah History Museum in hope that the CAT shuttle return line died down.  It did not. Took us an hour to get on a bus.

On the ride home, she and I were talking about how long we’ve known each other.  We found each other through our blogs.  We both happened to be in the Savannah area and be about the same age. One of the first times I went to meet her was at our college.  It was funny.  She was volunteering at for the College Republicans club event. (Newsflash – being aligned to the Republican party does not mean we’re hateful people. We’re both moderate persons that are center-right minded.) I came out to visit her. A state senator came out to the event.  So did WTOC, the local CBS affiliate. As I was talking to her, the state senator came up to me, started talking to me, all right in front of the news crew.  Later that night, my face was plastered across local TV as being a College Republican.

She and I like to think in terms of Savannah social media, we’re old hat.  We were doing it all before doing it all was cool.  We tried to set up some social media get togethers, but the big attempt we made was a bust. In this day and age, we’re just one of many fish in the pond.  I wish our attempts had worked. One of the things I wish I could find is just a social photography club in Savannah. Nothing competitive.  Just a learning experience.  There’s lots I want to learn.

But back to the holiday at hand: The entire set for my photos from St. Patrick’s Day 2013 is on Flickr. At least we have Flickr!  And I’m blogging this and will follow with a Tweet.

Just a note about the photo.  This is my photo.  I have seen it circulate in a few places without my credit. While I am honored and really don’t mind it being used in social media, I just wish credit had been given. If you like it, I have more on my Flickr account we might like to look at.

Today, I logged into MySpace.  And I found my Imood indicator.  I forgot all about it! When you are depressed all the time, it makes no sense to update it.

So, today, I have tweaked the sidebar.  I added me Imood indicator and added a Twitter panel. I wish the old Twitter php code I had still worked.

And speaking of Twitter, looks like it’s going to kill Tweet Deck. I really like Tweet Deck. I don’t like to use everything in a browser.

The other day, I mentioned the need to runaway that I had.  For one of those runaway moments, I got in my car and drove and drove until I found a place I had never been before.  The place was called The Smallest Church in America.  I had my camera on with me and spent about an hour at the church.  That hour was one of the most most peaceful ones ever.

It’s a road side attraction everyone should visit. Christians can feel closer to God.  Non-Christians can take a break and feel one with a peaceful feeling. Or if you want to observe how people express their faith, this place is a good place to make those observation.  People leave all sorts of reminders and trinkets at the church. In the back of the church is a stained glass window of Jesus. And I chose to make that my day 58 photo of my 2013 Project 365.

When I am on I-95 and I have a chance and energy, I always make a stop here. If I have cash on hand, I leave it to help pay for the cost of running the place. Some days, I think I want to marry in this church.

As for nearly 5 years after that first moment I stepped into that church, I can see I am really a different person.  Just this past week, I made a business trip on my own.  I had to do some training for work and went to the Orlando office.  I never thought I could do something like that 5 years ago, even after I had already made two solo trips to Atlanta for job interview.  The different between then and now is that thankfully, back them, I had a loving couple in Atlanta helping me, allowing me to stay with them, and cheering me on.  I didn’t have any one in Orlando other than a hotel room.  Doesn’t sound like much, but believe me, it is.

I guess I should get off this thing now and go live life a bit more.