windom windom windom, new and improved!

[ilanarama]

Those of you who followed the Amazing Sailing Adventures of Britt and Ilana a few years back will be happy (I hope!) to know that (1) we're doing it again this year, and (2) I have revamped our Windom site and added a shiny new weblog for you to follow along at home.


Yep, we're running away to sea again. This time we're planning on coming back, though; this is going to be something on the order of an eight month cruise (and if I hear you singing "three hour tour," I will KEEL you). Current plan is to leave as soon as we can (which is probably going to be late this month), do the minimum needed to get back in the water, and then move the boat to Fort Myers, FL, where we'll finish making Windom seaworthy again. Then we'll go to the Bahamas via the Dry Tortugas and the Florida Keys. There is a possibility we will visit Cuba. In early summer we will return to somewhere on the east coast north of Florida.

When we did our original trip, either blog technology didn't exist or wasn't pervasive enough for us to know about it. When we had web access from libraries or internet cafes, or through our cell phone modem (while on the US coast), I updated our site by ftp. When we were out of the country or at sea, we had only email over ham radio. I emailed our logs and photos to my dad, who uploaded them for us.

Our website is on an old Sun we donated to a friend - it's free, but we don't have many services. I guess we could get a real host, but that would be work. So instead I poked around for options, and found the combination of Blogger weblog maintenance site and flickr photo sharing site looks like it will do what I want. It's actually pretty cool. LJ has really made me appreciate the nifty automatic features of real weblog software, as opposed to my old method which required building all the links and formatting by hand. I can post by email to Blogger, and it will update my site automatically; or I can post by email to flickr, attaching a photo, and both the photo and text will be uploaded. I think. I'm still messing around with it.

Since I sort of understand css (i.e., I can copy and paste approximately the right parts) I went ahead and redid the rest of our site, other than our old logs, to match the (very simple) style I chose. It looks so clean and pretty now! (At least, to me.)

If anyone is interested, I can (try to) syndicate the "current logs" weblog to LJ. I don't think it will show the pictures, though. I know that this is a bigger pain for all of you, but most of the people who followed our site don't use LJ. I did play around with using LJ for the weblog, by the way, but embedding a journal in another website didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to.

Anyway, any constructive criticism of the layout, font, concept, whatever is welcome. Be nice, and realize that my skills may not be quite up to whatever you suggest :-)

Comments

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

The syndication includes a link to the original individual entry, so if the pictures don't come through (and they might, depending on the syndication used), they can follow the link to see them.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

It's "Atom" feed, whatever that is. Hmm. I guess I could, you know, actually follow the link and learn about it.

[alembicresearch.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to seeing your
many mega-pixels of clear blue sky,
and endless blue ocean!

Did you get a new digital camera for the job?

I'm curious, because I'm looking for a new one myself
for my trip down to Central America in January (to bad
our pathes aren't going to be crossing).

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Be careful! Information is dangerous!

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

Bon voyage. I wish you favourable winds and trusting fish.

[nothings.livejournal.com]

I emailed our logs and photos to my dad, who uploaded them for us.

*cough*

But seriously, cool! Good luck and bon voyage and smooth sailing and such adventuring off into the perilous waters of accepting website criticism!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

*facepalm*

Um, I guess you're just, er, nothings to me. I really did completely forget that you kept things going. I think. Did you? Am I just dreaming this? Didn't my dad do it at one time?

This is the problem with getting older. Everything sort of condenses down into a mush.

Forgive me my brain lapses, please.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

UN-altered REPRODUCTION and DISSEMINATION of this IMPORTANT Information is ENCOURAGED!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Here, fishie fishie! Let me tell you, this is one thing we miss desperately. What passes for "fresh" here isn't worth thinking about. Unless we go into the mountains and catch trout.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

We haven't yet, but we are going to get a new one that has an underwater use housing. We really want to be able to take snorkeling pictures.

And yeah, bummer we won't see you! It was fun having you aboard in Florida.

[idlerat.livejournal.com]

Have a great time-- I'm sure you will. And know the fandom will expect more nude pictures! ;)

[nothings.livejournal.com]

I did it for a while and then your dad did it for a while. I don't know what the ratio of durations was; it may be that he did it for a lot longer than I did. Hmm, thinking about it, I probably did it for less than a year, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, nothing to forgive--I just thought it was amusing that you'd forgotten. But I know how that sort of memory thing goes. Plus I screwd up my HTML anyway.

[bowdlerized.livejournal.com]

Looks greatthe way it is, IMO. I'd definitely appreciate an LJ feed if you can manage it.

[sambushell.livejournal.com]

I don't think you chose the right icon for this post...

Congratulations on the againing!