ScribeFire proved pretty simple to set up: just enter your blog’s URL and it fetches most of the technical details itself. You can add brand new posts or even work on your existing posts. One done, they can be published directly or scheduled for publication at a specific time. They can be saved as drafts or private posts as well.

ScribeFire supports categories, tags and custom fields. You can add a custom permalink as well. The only niggle is the inability to upload images from your hard disk. One hopes the developers are working to iron this out since it is a significant drawback.

~PD

That’s right, I was convinced to change the names of major characters in The Secret of Fezar. Thus, “Kinnel” and “Tasil” took a tumble along with some key concepts and other names of people and places.

The siblings are now called Yavi and Fahe. It wasn’t as easy as doing a search and replace. These were well-know, well-fleshed characters, and changing the names was almost like saying goodbye to them and reincarnating them as new people.

Yes, Tasil and Kinnel will be missed, but I feel the change is for the better. I am liking the new names, but more significantly they fit better with my world. Also, “Tasil” was not an original name, since a Tasil exists in the Shadow in Eternity series, albeit in the background (Wahid’s wife, if anyone remembers Wahid).

All these changes were the direct result of some astute feedback from my editor. It also spurred me to work on a date and time system for the world the story is based in. More on that later.

Goodbye, Kinnel and Tasil.

~PD

This can’t be stressed enough: Make really you sure your URL says exactly what you think it does. If you slip up, you could end like the following sites who dashed the expectations of their visitors:

1. Penisland.com really is only selling pens.
2. Whorepresents.com has nothing to do with the world’s oldest profession.
3. Expertsexchange.com will not help with transition surgery.
4. Speedofart.com does not sell smelly swimwear.
5. Molestationnursery.com is really safer than it sounds.
6. As is Therapistfinder.com.
7. Powergenitalia.com isn’t a site about dirty superhero stories.
8. IPanywhere.com isn’t a threat.

(This list is nicked from here, who may have a few more examples.)

No, really, what does your URL say?

~PD

WP 3.0 features the integration of WordPress with WordPress MU (multi-user), a slimline dashboard, a new default theme called TwentyTen that shows off all of the new WP’s bells and whistles, and lots of nice touches.

For one, now you can choose a custom name during manual installation instead of the default “admin” and a bulk update feature lets you update multiple plugins and your WP installation at the same time. Using custom menus, backgrounds and headers is much easier now, all possible from within the Dashboard instead of having to edit files. You can also generate short links. Various other new features make is easier to use WP as a full-fledged content management system as opposed to just a blog interface.

Oh, and lest one forgets, there are over 1,200 bug fixes as well. Check out the full list of features or watch a video:

~PD

The Pac-Man doodle’s unprecedented popularity has made Google give it a permanent page: Google.com/Pacman. This is a “working” logo, so you could play it and and you could use it to search. Instead of the “I am feeling lucky” page, you get “Insert coin”, but it works the same way.

Go try it out!

~PD

The Secret of Fezar is the first book in the series called Satin. I’m undecided which one sounds better, though I’m inclined to go with the former.

This is a story about a family secret, and a very apt demonstration of the proverb, “Curiosity killed the cat.” Find out more here.

The book is finally going into production, and watch this space for updates about cover, Website, etc.

Disclaimer: No cats were harmed in the writing of this book, and none will be in the reading of it.

~PD

It has some interesting features, including a Quick Snippets feature in which "hot keywords" are replaced on the fly by more detailed content. For instance, if I wanted Post2Blog to automatically make the text "Writer’s Log" a link and add a little tagline to it, I just need to specify it in the Tools –> Manage Quick Snippets list.

Apart from that, there are detailed formatting features, as well as options to upload files and images to your blog, to Flickr, ImageShack and via FTP. Post management features are also available. Smilies, code highlighting, spell checker, thesaurus — there’s lots more.

Yes, this post is created using Post2Blog. However, the software was last updated in 2007 and is currently unsupported. The links in the manufacturer’s site lead to a 404 and you must download it from Download.com.

The jury is out on this one. Stay tuned for an update.

~PD

Or do you just blindly tick the box that says you have read the privacy policy, terms and conditions, and what have you?

Are you sure you haven’t sold your soul?

This was obviously an April Fool’s gag, but does give you something to think about. Not sure I’ll sleep tonight…

~PD

One of the qualities of male energy is creativity. The male energy in us always wants to achieve; always wants to reach some goals.

A man who has more of male energy sees a mountain, wants to climb to the top of the mountain and hoist a flag. If he sees the Himalayas, he wants to go to the top of the Himalaya. He sees the moon; he wants to go to the moon. A woman is not interested in going to the moon. She says there is no shopping on the moon. So, what is the point in going to the moon?

A person who calls himself a “swamy” is usually one people look up to for higher knowledge and advice (that’s a whole different story in itself, but let’s leave that aside for now). Ironically, in the DH, Sukhabhodhananda comes across not just as sexist, but ill-informed and, frankly, ignorant.

His remarks are demeaning to women and reek of unfair generalisations not backed up by any facts. Perhaps it has missed Sukhabhodhananda’s notice that women play — and have always done so — an active and equal function in the world ticking over. These misogynistic observations appear to have no bearing on the rest of the column, unless one stretches the imagination to conclude he is suggesting that the positive male energy equals ambition and creativity, while women are only good for frenzied shopping. This short-sighted notion shows the writer to have little understanding and respect for human beings in general.

Comments such as these also denigrate the efforts and struggle of countless women and men who continue to strive for a fair and equal society. As contemptible and irresponsible the words are, it is every bit so and even more disappointing that a mainline newspaper such as the Deccan Herald could publish it.

~PD

~PD