Saturday, August 04, 2007

The Post With No Name

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.
~Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day"


Yesterday, as I was hopping around to some of the Friday Feast blogs, I came across one with a sticky post asking everyone to stop using word verification on their blog comments because it was such a pain. This person enabled comment moderation instead.

I wondered which one of those options is the lesser of evils? Do YOU hate comment moderation or word verification more? Should I stop with the letters (which seem to be getting longer and longer) and enable moderation? Should I just get over the spam and slimy comments I received more than a year ago and have neither?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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Worked on edits a little yesterday. Wrote the next scene to my short story in my brain last night as I was drifting off to sleep -- now I just need to get it written down before I forget it. Read a few more pages of Gay's novel (yes! I'm a beta reader -- and I'm so excited about it) and wished there were more hours in the day.

I didn't do much work on the website I'm building because I spent all day trying to figure out how to create a form using HTML that actually works. I never did. The form is lovely, but it doesn't send the information anywhere, nor does it link to the confirmation page. I'm mystified and defeated.

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In Pillar Place: Monarch, we had some changes.

I gave Otto a closer look yesterday, and it appears he stopped his transformation into a chrysalis about 3/4 of the way through. The very top, next to the lid, still looks like a pillar. It seems the odds are good that Otto, dear Otto, is not going to complete the transformation into a butterfly.

I moved all but three pillars (Andy, Anne and Clarisse are still too small) into a second box I made up and they immediately started climbing (all except Bob, the smallest -- he just ate). When I went to bed, seven were in various places on the walls and roof. I expected little "J"'s all over the place this morning. Instead, all but two of them returned to the floor and their food. Odd.

There was also a tragedy in the world of Monarchs yesterday -- across the street from our library is a huge field (1 -2 acres) full of milkweed, and most likely full of butterbabies. I assumed they would be safe since all the construction was occurring across the street.

I was wrong. Some time between Monday and yesterday THEY MOWED. All those little butterbabies... gone. Ground up beneath the blades of a mower or starving to death with no food.

DD sobbed inconsolably. I felt like joining her. According to Monarch Watch, habitat destruction in the US and Canada is one of the biggest reasons for the monarch butterfly population decline, followed by pesticide use.

In Pillar Place: Swallowtail, Lily hatched but promptly fell, laid on her back for an unknown period of time before I found her, and messed up her wings. We did what we could (very little, really) and then put her outside in a flower patch and hoped for the best. Several hours later, we checked and she was gone. Eaten or flown? We decided to believe she managed to pump up her crumpled wing and flew.

I'm not certain my heart can stand another year of this. This year may be the last Pillar Place.

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I'm disappointed there is not a picture for this quiz... but -- here you go!







What Fruit are You? (Detailed personality description.)



YOU are an ORANGE! You experiment, are independent, curious, create different approaches, and create change. You learn best when you can use trial and error, produce real products, can compete and are self-directed. You tend to have trouble meeting time limits, following a lecture, and having only a few options or choices. You need to delegate more responsibility, be more accepting of others' ideas, and learn to prioritize. Ideal job: Some kind of scientist.
Take this quiz!





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Me? A scientist? LOL...

How fruity, um, what fruit are you?

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I almost forgot! It's day four of:



What makes me happy? My flowers :-) I'd show you, but my camera isn't speaking to my computer. I suppose I could show you other peoples pictures, just so you have a taste:

My liatris is blooming:



And my gallardia:



Yeah... flowers = happy.

10 comments:

Ceri Hebert said...

Word verification doesn't bother me at all when I'm leaving comments. I'd rather do that than have to wait for the message to be accepted. I'd rather have someone do the word verification on my blog rather than me okay it because I don't visit my blog daily.

I got some writing done on a new wip (giving myself a break before I plunge into editing).

Sorry about poor Otto and Lily. I hope Lily is free and happy now. And what a shame about the field being mowed. I guess most people don't even think of the whole picture before destroying plantlife.

Judy said...

Mornin', M! I disabled word verification about a year ago (whenever the big blog party was) and I have to admit, I've not missed it at all. Personally, I don't have time to do the comment moderation (heck, I hardly have time to read my comments... it's a good thing they come to my mailbox!!). I think in the year I've disabled it, I've gotten one spam comment... and it was just apropos of nothing.. lol. It wasn't a BAD comment, if you get my drift. Just my nickel's worth (trying to allow for inflation here... if you see it on the web it may or may not be true)

That being said, word verification has never STOPPED me from commenting on a blog either. If I have something to say, I'm gonna say it :-) (Yeah, I know, it surprises me too... lol)

Gay said...

I don't have either on my blogs, and even with my name, haven't had comments that I worry about... I do have all comments e-mailed to me, though, so I can hastily remove anything at all iffy.

I used to do moderation, but found it too time consuming to have to log-in. Reading them is better.

Sorry about the mowing... so sad.

Acrobat Professional (latest version) has the ability to make forms really easily, then include them in Dreamweaver so they automatically send the forms to you, supposably (they always try when I just want to make a form I can fill out and attach to an e-mail because I'm too lazy to fax... machine is upstairs).

I don't have forms on any of the sites I manage.

Anonymous said...

As a commenter, I find word verification somewhat annoying, but as a blog owner, I don't much care for having to moderate stuff. But usually, I only have to moderate periodically. Most of my regulars' comments are pre-approved. :)

I got:

YOU are a BANANA!

You plan, fact-find, organize, and follow directions. You learn best when you have an orderly environment, have specific outcomes, can trust others to do their part and have predictable situations. You tend to have trouble understanding feelings, dealing with opposition, and answering "What if" quesitons. Try to express your own feelings more, get explanations of other's views, and be less rigid in general. Ideal job: Some kind of buisiness man/woman.

Alice said...

Sorry to hear about Otto and the butterbabies. :( I hope Lily did fly away, free.

I actually hate moderation more. I don't mind keying in the verification... Just my opinion...

Jen said...

I'll take word verification over moderation any day...

Melissa McClone said...

Word verification, hands down. If I had to moderate posts, it might take a day for them to reach. I've been so busy this week I haven't had much time to comment so it would be the same with moderate. That's not fair to the posters, IMHO.

Dru said...

I prefer word verification to the comment modification.

What program are you using for your website? I use Frontpage and when I had forms, I had them sent to me via email.

oh bummer about the lost butterbabies. That makes me sad.

YOU are a MELON!

You debate points of view, find solutions, analyze ideas, and determine value/importance. You learn best when you have access to resources, can work independently, are respected for your intellegence, and follow traditional methods. You tend to have trouble working in groups, being criticized, and convincing people of your views. You need to accept imperfection, consider all alternatives, and consider others' feelings. Ideal job: Professer.


I hope you have a good Saturday.

Marianne Arkins said...

Sounds like word verification wins, hands down... Very Interesting.

Thanks for all the condolences on the butterbabies. I'm still sad.

Dru, I use FrontPage, but it says I can't have them emailed if I'm using a disk based website (and hosting remotely, like I am), but I can't get it to feed into a text file or a database either. I swear, I'm ready to throw a tantrum...LOL.

anno said...

So sorry to hear about the mown field and the lost butterbabies. All they had to do was wait a little while longer...

Love the pictures of your liatris and your gallardia -- beautiful!