Week Of Solitude

[Jeffro]

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that next week, I will be offline for the most part as I take this opportunity to Reformat my PC as well as my Notebook. It's been a longtime coming and I need to get it done now rather than later.

Also, I need this week to refocus. January was a hell of a month for me and I'm so happy to see WPTavern succeeding right out of the gate. However, there are a number of things I must do that requires my full attention. It's hard to provide that attention when I'm worrying about the next episode of WordPress Weekly or my pre-recorded segments that I do or the next episode of Perfcast etc.

I need this time to realign my priorities, get my ducks in a row and scale back what it is I'm doing.

Some things I'm hoping to accomplish during next week:

Reset My FeedReader - One of the worst things I've done is to use someone else's OPML file as a starting point for my RSS reader. It's now filled with crap I never look at. So starting over and building my subscriptions from the ground up will put me in a better position to keep track of all things WordPress.

Redesign WPTavern - I've come across a new theme lately that I think I will most likely port WPTavern over to. I've received complaints that the design is simply too dark and the contrast is too high. Although I like the dark design, I must admit that it is much darker than I think it needs to be. Also, this new theme should make it alot easier to keep tabs on certain categories on the blog as well as providing a complete overview with regards to what is happening in the WPTavern community. Last but not least, the new theme has support for advertising spots which I didn't think of when hacking around the current theme. While I don't plan on making everything super bright, I simply just want to lighten things up around here.

Also with the site redesign, there is a very good chance that the forum will undergo a change as well. How drastic that will be I don't know yet but it shouldn't be a huge change.

Get OIO Publisher Setup - Today, I spent some time installing OIO Publisher and although it's now installed, it is going to need some time for me to configure everything to the point where it can run on its own without my intervention. So by the end of next week, I should have advertising spots set up on the blog and forum.

All in all, I just need time to figure out what the fat is regarding what it is I'm doing and trim it away. I'm disappointed in the amount of content I've produced for the WPTavern website and I'm disappointed in a few other things as well which is why I must refresh myself and realign everything to meet the needs of WPTavern as well as some of the other things I do.

Thank you for understanding. Starting this Saturday, I'll be reformatting my cyberworld so its more in tune with what I'm doing rather than dealing with a big mixed up mess.

[LarryMonte]

Other than the OIO stuff, you just described my agenda to a tee. Old FrankenPuter needs a fresh install but I just haven't had the guts to do it yet. Hell, I still have SP3 sitting in the wings waiting for installation. lol

I know exactly what you mean about other people's OPML file. I got mine from Steven Hodson, so you can imagine there are just a FEW subscriptions involved there. lol As much as it pointed me to some great blogs, it's somewhat overwhelming to try to keep on top of it all. I got to the point where I just started over with my own subs. Much easier on the head. :)

Ummm... enjoy your week? Can't decide if it sounds fun or not. ;)

[Jeffro]

Hell, I still have SP3 sitting in the wings waiting for installation. lol

I know exactly what you mean about other people's OPML file. I got mine from Steven Hodson,;)

Great to hear from another fan of Steven Hodson. If you've followed me at all during the past two years, you'll know I'm a big fan of his as well.

As for SP3. I say put it on a disc and then perform a slipstreamed install of Win XP with SP3 on your machine. You'll save a ton of time. Slipestream disc is essentially Windows XP With SP 3 installed on it.

[andrea_r]

I admit I'm kinda jealous. Don't know if I could go for a whole week.

That being said, it's *always* good to step back and reassess what you're doing.

And I'm glad to hear there's a new design coming. I find this one a bit hard on my old tired eyes. ;)

[williamsba]

Good luck Jeff! We'll try not to burn the Tavern down while you are away :P

[LarryMonte]

Great to hear from another fan of Steven Hodson. If you've followed me at all during the past two years, you'll know I'm a big fan of his as well.

He's a personal friend of mine. Lives a few blocks away from me. He was the only person who made a grocery delivery to me when I was sick and couldn't get out on my own.

And yes, your blog was in his OPML file. One of the few I transfered over when building my own subs. :)

[Kit]

Good luck Jeff! We'll try not to burn the Tavern down while you are away :P

Somebody watch the door and lemme know when he drives away. Christina, you stand by to crank up the music.

[tekzt]

We should listen to this while jeff is away and do the things this song inspires us to

[flick]

Enjoy your time off! :)

[Vix]

It's good to have time away to decompress and get everything sorted out.