Starting Out

So, starting out with a new idea...


I just finished making one of Dad's wish-list changes to the website, and discovered along the way that you shouldn't hotlink directly into someone else's pictures. This is seen as bandwidth theft, and some people react very negatively to it. I'd link to some stories I read, but they aren't all appropriate for this audience... However, I reached the conclusion that this site I was trying to link to for days was blocking the hotlinks, so I found a workaround and put it on the site. If any of you have a favorite view from the APOD you'd like to see in the rotation, send me the link and I'll add it to the list.

Now, I'd like to find a way to make the site more interative. Right now, I am the only person who writes content, and I'd like for everybody to be able to write and respond. It seems that blogs are a good way to do that, since each family member could have their own identity. The trick is how to integrate that onto the website itself. I have been researching ways to display web feeds (RSS) of blogs on websites. Thus: this blog... It is the pilot, and we'll see just how easy it is to setup a 1) blog account; 2) RSS feed; 3) feed display section on the website.

Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be easy. Either way, I'll keep trying. I'll be in touch soon!

John