Review 2991

In Brazil, there’s a book on curious facts on almost anything you can imagine. I myself am very curious so I immediately thought this blog would be interesting as the book is. And it is.

With subjects that cover what the sounds animals do are called to the United Nations, the author gives very good explanations on a myriad of topics. There are great illustrations to a lot of the posts. Everything is well written and he mentions sources and links to websites that are worth mentioning. I would compare the author’s work to what Google™ Answers offers. And I mean it as a compliment. Basically, what R. Edmondson (and the name is about all you’ll find about the writer, since his profile lacks information) does is good research. The only thing is, you may not be interested to read about that particular topic –and I guess that’s why we ourselves look up things after all –but if you are, boy, you’re lucky!

A Blogger template is used and follows the trend (dark background, light letters), which is the only thing I found that didn’t appeal to me. I don’t know if you’d agree, but this choice makes it harder to read stuff directly on the screen. Other than that, there’s nothing wrong with using a simple layout such as this, since obviously here the content should matter most.

This is a very good blog. It saves you a lot of time if you are lucky to find something you might be interested in reading about and if you’re just a curious person, this is the right place to go.
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Review 2999

I briefly began sneaking around the “It Must Be Downhill From Here.” I liked the layout, except the fact all the text was centered. I felt the layout was very appropriate; however, I did not find any posts that would drag me into the blog whole heartedly.

The Weblog is about Jennifer’s life. It tells a lot about her life at “THE INN.” She recently quit working there; maybe that has been why her blog has not been active for the past month. She talked about the worst parts of her day and what pi**es her off. Though I agree with her on some aspects, I feel her blog would have greater appeal if it told more about her life rather than what makes her angry.

The design of the site is a blogger template. It has a simple blue background with poca dots. It has some images throughout the site, which was nice because it didn’t make the site feel blah. Also, all the text is centered, which I had a hard time reading.

She claimed that she joined The Weblog Review Staff to work on her writing career, I think she should use her blog to help increase her writing career. If Jennifer would do this it would increase her popularity, while drawing people into her blog and having them to return frequently. Some work is needed. There were some misspelled words, which is annoying when you are reading a blog. I rate this blog as a 3.
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Review 2913

“Part geek, part chic”, the caption says. Okay. It’s clearly a woman’s blog. I expected to find a lot of geek talk, but nah. There is just enough. As for the chic part, I don’t know.

As I read through, I have the impression that I have already read this blog. There’s something about the topics and the style. And yes!, I figured it out. This is Chandra –and you’ll find a very net profile of hers- and she used to post in another blog, Chandra’s Realm. Okay, it wasn’t that difficult to find that out, but I’m feeling like some kind of female Sherlock from the tropics (oh, yeah, so lame). It was good to see that I was familiar with the style. It would be a bad thing, I guess, if she had changed styles completely.

She writes about geek stuff, yes, but it’s not what is really important. She writes about… her life. The file of a married woman in her mid-twenties, who is really passionate about animals – especially cats. In her latest entries, you’ll find out about her yet to happen trip to New Orleans, where she will help rescuing pets that have been left behind. Oh, well, if that isn’t cool, I don’t know what is. She talks about politics, about being a vegan, about volunteer work. Posts are organized in categories. Finding an archive was impossible, but you can search inside her blog (if you know what you’re looking for, which would really help). I read all 4 pages available (her homepage is oddly presented that way) and couldn’t stop reading.

Design-wise, the blog is very simple but yet pretty. There are way too many banners on the side columns, though. She is into so many things, it’s hard to find your way around. All links work fine. And you can communicate with her by posting comments.

All things considered, I liked this blog. It’s not about anything in particular, it’s just about Chandra’s life, an ordinary person who writes in a very simple, personal and catchy way. I’ll give it a 4.
Chandra’s Realm

Review 3007

“a margin walker” is the title of the blog and I’m not sure what that means. Does the writer live life on the edge? And, if so, the edge of what? The subtitle, ” – Its [sic] about me – life – everything – the random thoughts of a twenty-something scotsman – ” suggests an attempt to speak to the larger world through an individual’s experience–to go from the specific to the general. The blog does not quite succeed

“a margin walker” has only existed since September 27, 2005. There are a total of forty-two posts, several of which are about installing a new template and many of which are quite short. At the one month mark, a blog is still finding it’s feet. In this case, the writer is still finding his voice. He tells vague personal stories, makes simplistic political commentary and is already discussing the searches that led to his blog. Give yourself some time to figure out why you are writing, what you’re going to focus on, what you want to write about and what level of privacy you are going to keep before you start with the meta-blogging. Please.

This writer tells us almost nothing about himself. He refers to a recently ended relationship without giving (many) details. It’s hard to get a handle on who he is. From one post to the next you don’t know whether to expect a rant on avian flu paranoia or a touching story about his mother’s battle with breast cancer. The quality of the writing is not great. There are grammar and syntax problems, but that may be the Scottish vernacular–it may just sound wrong to my ear.

There’s not enough content here. Not enough of a story to draw me in, let me know who he is or make me care about him. I’m sure he’s a nice fellow and I get some glimpses of him, but not enough to keep me reading.

On the design side, the template is pleasant. It is hosted on blogspot, pulled from Blogger Templates and it looks good. It’s easy to navigate and easy to read. The design might be the best thing about this blog. There are no links to speak of and no problems navigating the site.

There is not enough content for me to recommend this site. If the writer keeps at it and finds his voice, it may turn into something interesting. I’d come back in six to eight months and give it another chance.

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Review 3002

When I traveled over to computer security I was expecting to read articles about current internet security problems. Instead I was disappointed. I ended up reading about how to setup a firewall, how to install anti-virus software, etc.

This site is a good site for the typical home computer user that doesn’t know anything about the dangers of being plugged into the internet. I would recommend most home users to check out this site for it tells you the useful information without the scare tactics tied to it. If you are an advanced computer user, this site is not for you…

The design was nice. It had a tan background with dark writing. Easy to read.

There is not that many posts right now, I would like to see more in the future. Maybe talk about issues that can put the non-computer person at risk. Like not locking down their wireless network they have setup at their house, or not updating their anti-virus software. I think information on phishing and pharming schemes would also be good information to give to the typical computer user.

Overall I would rate this site as a 3.5 for it is a good reference for the inexperienced computer user.
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