Later this month, something new and unusual—the World Premiere of a brand-new, never-before-seen original film! I'm pleased and honored that my friend Bob Burnett has chosen The Online Photographer as the venue for the first public presentation of his new short film "Edward Hopper and Marshall's House."
You might recall that Bob wrote a post about Marshall's House here in 2015. After a working life creating short films for a far-flung clientele, this was a personal project for Bob.
Coming your way this month. Something to look forward to. (Let this also be the annual reminder to the forgetful amongst ye that Valentine's Day fast approacheth. "Forget it not.")
No comment
Speaking of comments, as I was in the previous post, yesterday we passed 200,000 of them. But that count doesn't include the featured comments, so it's low by one or two tens of thousands or so. A big blanket thank-you to everyone who has taken time to share their thoughtfulness with the rest of us across the years.
We had a lovely soft snowfall all day yesterday. However, you
should not shovel your driveway twice when you have the flu!
Finally, a further bit of housekeeping: I have been working (with TypePad's help) on transitioning to a mobile-friendly design. It will change the look of TOP and some of its features. But TOP is a great deep creaky edifice, a hodgepodge built helter-skelter. If, in the coming weeks, it disappears permanently, you'll know that we broke it and could not un-break it (and that Yr. Humbl. Ed., plunged into silence, is plummeting into penury with the velocity of a hawk falling on a rabbit). Keep your fingers crossed...that being as effective a hedge against disaster as anything.
Mike
Original contents copyright 2018 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Yonatan K: "With the goal of increasing the comment count even further, I offer up this question...is the velocity of a hawk plunging on a rabbit the same as the velocity of a European sparrow tied to a coconut?"
Mike replies: It's the type of rabbit that's the problem. Some rabbits are no ordinary rabbits. They're the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodents you ever set eyes on.
I hope you make a (offsite) comprehensive backup first! Such a big change should be recoverable from backup.
Posted by: AC | Thursday, 08 February 2018 at 04:08 PM
Before switching over something as important as this site I usually wait until I have 2 or 3 unmovable deadlines with zero room for error and no backup plan before doing so.
It does get the blood flowing ;)
Jim
Posted by: Jim Metzger | Thursday, 08 February 2018 at 04:19 PM
I’m sure this has come up before, but TOP is already mobile friendly without your needing to change it. A double tap expands the text to fill the width of the screen, hiding the ads but still allowing the comments to be read. It’s very readable on both iPad and iPhone in this way without resorting to Reader, which hides the non-featured comments.
[I know, but the trouble is that Google doesn't consider it mobile-friendly, and Google downgrades sites that don't pass its test. So I've been losing traffic (or not attracting as much new traffic) since the rules changed. I really have to change the site to make it pass Google's test, or I'll continue to lose ground. --Mike]
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Thursday, 08 February 2018 at 04:29 PM
With the goal of increasing the comment count even further, I offer up this question...
Is the velocity of a hawk plunging on a rabbit the same as the velocity of a European sparrow tied to a coconut?
[It's the type of rabbit that's the problem. Some rabbits are no ordinary rabbits. They're the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodents you ever set eyes on. --Mike]
Posted by: Yonatan K | Thursday, 08 February 2018 at 04:35 PM
I've been setting up a Typepad blog in recent weeks. Well, I thought, that bloke Mike with the photography blog seems to do alright with Typepad, I'll give it a go...
I've gone for one of the Design Lab themes; it seems much easier to me as I don't really want to get involved with all this CSS stuff. I've tried before and it just makes me crazy. Design Lab themes also adapt for mobile devices, so one of those themes was the way to go, for me.
There's still a lot to think about, though. I'm nearly ready. I hope to be going live over the weekend. Don't worry, it's not another photography blog! : )
Posted by: Roger Bradbury | Thursday, 08 February 2018 at 05:05 PM
Beautiful, and striking photo.
I hope you keep your color scheme. I tend to open a lot of sites on my smartphone and yours is the most easily retrieved.
Posted by: anthony reczek | Thursday, 08 February 2018 at 10:44 PM
Mike wrote “[It's the type of rabbit that's the problem. Some rabbits are no ordinary rabbits. They're the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodents you ever set eyes on. --Mike]”
So wrong, rabbits are not rodents but lagomorphs (Lagomorpha) though the rest of the statement is true :-) .
[Tell that to the manky Scots git Tim the Enchanter. Apparently the Rabbit of Caerbannog is a rodent and also a rabbit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCI18qAoKq4
--Mike]
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 03:23 AM
Mike,
If you are contemplating a redesign, I have a comment on the matter of Featured Comments...
Ahem. Several times, you have done me the honour of featuring my comments, which is very much appreciated, believe me. However. It is sadly the case that Featured Comments lack any link back to the commenter's own blog or website.
Now, it would be uncharitable and cynical -- very, very, very cynical -- to suggest that the *only* reason a person makes a comment is to attract traffic back to their own humble efforts. But... It does seem harsh, doesn't it?
And if you feature *this* comment I'll have to get on a plane, hire a snowplough, and come and sort you out. That hammering on the door? that's me, making a Featured Visit. You have been warned.
Stay warm.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Chisholm | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 03:56 AM
Look, that rabbit’s got a vicious streak a mile wide. It’s a killer!
+ 1 more comment :)
Posted by: Not THAT Ross Cameron | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 04:29 AM
TOP is just about the only place on the internet where the comments match the quality of the content.
Regarding the coconut: I'm going to theorise that the coconut might be a lifting body and the hawk is therefore going to reach the ground first.
Posted by: Tom | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 09:25 AM
Baby/bathwater, please all/please none, damned if you do...
Good luck
Posted by: Michael Mejia | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 09:53 AM
Mike, have you thought about all the lost revenue bloggers face with people who use RSS readers to access your (and my) blogs? They don't see the ads. Ever. Or, in some cases the affiliate links. I'm toying with the idea of killing RSS readers and other methods that allow people to read my content remote from the actual site. We are writing for "free" anyway, why make it easier to ignore the little parts that earn us income? I'm certain I'll lose half my readers overnight but what does that say about THEIR commitment to our communal process ?
Posted by: kirk tuck | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 11:11 AM
From July Google will start marking http sites as insecure which may affect you.
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 11:33 AM
I understand about the mobile culture, but it's discouraging to allow that Google has this type of influence. For a photography blog to cater to mobile displays seems imprudent. I need my reading glasses to appreciate photos on tablets (or less) and I miss proper calibration no matter how good the resolution. If a mobile-friendly page goes wrong, I would hate to lose this site for viewing on my desktop monitor.
Sometimes better is the enemy of good (I can think of several other cautionary clichés).
Posted by: PhotoDes | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 06:51 PM
Mike,
those rabbits that are foul, cruel, and bad-tempered are that way because bloggers keep referring to them as rodents. They ain't rodents, and it's not safe to call them that. : )
Posted by: Roger Bradbury | Friday, 09 February 2018 at 06:55 PM
It's true; lagomorphs are rarely very tolerant, and when you think they are, they're just biding their time.
Posted by: steveH | Saturday, 10 February 2018 at 02:06 PM
This is getting rather “meta”, but “+1” for the Monty Python reference. I begin to think you also listen to the BBC radio cricket commentary too while writing ;-)
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Saturday, 10 February 2018 at 02:25 PM
Good luck with the move.
If you can get out of bed and do something like lifting a shovel then you don't have the 'flu.
Posted by: Simon E | Sunday, 11 February 2018 at 02:06 PM
what happened to bakers dozen--color? did I miss something?
Posted by: will wright | Monday, 12 February 2018 at 10:04 AM
Re Kirk Tuck's comment about RSS reader... I read TOP via the RSS feed but, because I like the site so much, and assume it will benefit Mike, I click through to read all the posts that interest me on the site itself.
Aside from hoping this helps Mike I also click through because I want to read the latest Featured Comments (and sometimes the rest of the comments), which might not appear in my RSS reader. Another reason why they are such a good idea I think.
Without the RSS feed there would probably be periods when I wouldn't visit the site at all, given all the other demands on one's attention these days. The feed ensures I miss nothing and keeps me coming back regularly.
Posted by: Phil | Wednesday, 14 February 2018 at 05:29 AM