Category: Uncategorized

The author of this weblog is a writer. I could tell that from just reading the first couple of entries. When I dove head first into the extensive archived section of the site, I realize that she does, in fact, spend the majority of her career doing editing work for different websites.

It’s hard to get to know the author on a personal basis, since there’s no “about me” section to check out. However, some weblog entries really do give you a chance to learn about how the author feels about a specific topic, or the trials and tribulations she may be going through at that time.

Texting has one of the best recounts of the events that unfolded on September 11th that I’ve read in a while. Being in New York, the descriptions she gives are obviously accurate and often chilling.

The majority of the entries are extensive in length, as well as meaning. The author has written a letter to Senator Clinton about the overwhelming power AOL/Time Warner takes upon its customers, which is an entry I found both quite purposeful and eye-opening. In Feb 2002, the author also has a very informative entry about the rights and legal issues behind domain names, which is actually a very interesting entry.

Design-wise, I’d like to see a bit more to this site. The colors of the links are hard to read, and you can’t even read the email address because the link is the same color as the background in the table the link is in. There’s an image in the title area of the site that may or may not have anything to do with the site. It’s hard to tell with the image being so small.

Without a doubt, the author of this site can write about anything. Don’t expect the average “here’s what I did today” site here, because it’s not that at all. If you’re up for some sometimes intense reading, then visit this site. You’ll be glad you did.Texting

There were things that I liked and didn’t like about this website…

Marc Cramer, who is sometimes referred to as “Cosmo” which I found funny, has lived in New Zealand a good part of his life and recently he has moved up to United Kingdom where he was born and currently living in London and has been with his wife for the past few years.

When I began reading this site, I was a little confused about the navigation. In general you can get around this site okay, however, it can be better. I’m sure it’s mainly because the writer has just moved from MT to a different weblogging called, pMachine. I think he’s still trying to sort out the bugs of his site.

The name of the “blog” is called “marc cramer’s photography website” which doesn’t seem 100% appropriate. When I was reading through the archives, photography was not the dominant subject in his posts. He mentions things related to photography, but mostly it’s an average blog where the writer posts their thoughts about things going on in their life. To me, it would seem more appropriate to called it “marc cramer’s weblog” so he doesn’t confuse his readers too much. But he seems like a cool and funny guy from what he writes.

Another thing, which I didn’t like too much, is you have to register to make comments on his posts in his new blog. Even though it takes a minute to probably register, I would find it a hassle to do … but then that’s just my opinion.

He does have a separate site on his photography, which is quite good I must say. Speaking as someone who has taken some photography classes, the composition, tones and colors of some photos are done wonderfully. I’m sure if you’re into photography, you’ll appreciate his work as much as I do.

The layout itself is nice, though some organization is in need here. The site’s not flashy or anything, but a simple, round-ish type layout is what you’ll find here with a blue theme.

He needs to work on a few things, but I’m sure the site will be as slick as his photography within a week or so. I give it a rating of a 3.5Marc’s Musings

“In case you were curious this page is about the random thoughts and ideas that go through my mind throughout the days” – Bill’s exact words on what this site is about. I couldn’t have said it better.

I wasn’t overly thrilled with the layout of the site. There’s only so much changing a Blogger template can do, and when you change the colors, that’s not always a good thing. Technically speaking, there wasn’t anything wrong with the layout, but I just didn’t feel like it flowed together well at all, and needed a bit of solidity in it.

I certainly had my fill of “What type of ______ are you?” tests after perusing through all of the available archives. Each weekly archived link is just filled with two or three entries – usually a test result thrown in somewhere, accompanied by one or two other posts, with one typically being some song lyrics or poetry of some type. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to read about something that Bill has actually done.

There’s not a lot to this site. If you know Bill, then perhaps you’d find it interesting to keep caught up on what he’s doing since he’s on a mini-vacation of sorts. However, it’s hard to actually connect with Bill and find yourself wanting to come back to read more.
The Bill site

At Flamingseagull.com, you get 2 blogs for the price of one! Or something like that …


Here, you’ll meet Nellie, who says she needs to read before heading off to bed and Marlush who says she can’t eat salt for some reason which goes unknown. Both have their own little space where they blog their thoughts.


Both Nellie and Marlush tend to write short posts from what I was able to see; sometimes a line or 2 long while others maybe be a paragraph short. I was a bit disappointed that I was unable to have access or find any archives, but we do with what we have.

They tend to write about work, what’s going on that weekend and so on. Nellie wrote a lengthy post about one early morning where she ended up locking her car keys in her car and dealing with difficult people at the gas station. Marlush on the other hand had a bit more written on her blog and wrote about needing to cut back on some of her expenses and hang out at her local park and what music festival’s coming up.


I liked the layout even though they’re in the middle of finishing up the design and so on. Some of the links you can’t use, such as the photo page, and something called, “ask ms nellie.” The only graphics on the site are pictures of each of the girls which seems to show off their playful personalities.

I was a bit disappointed with the site, mostly because it lacked substance. It would have been nice had there been more to read from. And even though both blogs seem pretty similar, it’s cool you get two blogs to read from. Flamingseagull

I call this place “DaveDorm” for two reasons. It’s from the Latin dormiere
which means “where one lives”. Well, this is where I live online. The
original idea of this site was a peek into my life.”

Okay, so I expected a blog of a college guy’s life in the dorms, but now I
know better. DaveDorm is not a journal but a blog in the “truer” sense of
the word, which both helps and hinders the site.

Dave’s writing is a blend of everyday life and the news/site of the day
links. When these links are followed by extended, thought-out commentary,
they are worth reading, but Dave sometimes falls into the pitfall of
blogging: linking to the same stories that can be found on a thousand other
sites. Dave writes well, there are no glaring errors and his entries are
very readable, and with a slight change in focus, I think his blog would be
much more interesting.

DaveDorm has a few other sections, but the most elaborated is the “About”
section. In this section you can see Dave in Trek uniform and singing
karaoke (I wonder if he ever combines these two favorite activities), along
with photos and other personal details. It is here that Dave comes to life
as a real person, and I wish Dave’s personality could be so well defined on
his main blog.

Design-wise, DaveDorm is based on a MoveableType template, but since Dave
just recently moved to MT, it’s not that big of an issue. The pop-up windows
for some sections are very annoying, and I’d advise Dave to abandon them
ASAP. Dave also has plans to make his site handicapped and blind accessible,
which is a noble goal. Good luck, Dave.

As it stands now, DaveDorm has the potential to be a really good blog. The
entry topics could be better, and I hope Dave at least changes the blog
colors soon to make it stand out from the crowd. DaveDorm is worth visiting,
but it has room for improvement.DaveDorm