Blog Bloke (Beta) Update: "It’s like starting over" again

Me thinks I’ve got the template (relatively) stable BUT I’m still having trouble with some items showing up on the main page instead of the post page (or vice versa). There are some obvious bugs anomalies in the Blogger code that I’m trying to figure out a workaround.

The other thing that really “bugs” me (pun intended) is that my backlinks are not showing up. I was not planning on implementing trackback in favour of backlinks (which is similar and automatic) but I might have to reconsider that notion if I can’t get backlinks to work.

I don’t know if that’s because GoogleBot has not yet followed the old Blogspot URL to the new Custom Domain, or if the code is just a little wonky. But I’m on it. FIXED!

You might have also noticed some older posts showing up in the newsfeed. That’s because I’ve been updating the categories for popular posts and it’s notifying the feed as a new post. Sorry, but I have no control over that.

I still have to get the metadata sorted out amongst other things so this ain’t over yet by a long shot. The other problem I’m having is the style of my template is not that easy to work with. The rounded corners pose all kinds of positioning problems when trying to alter the size of the template or putting dynamic information such as the “Recent Comments” section.

I’ve actually considered changing the style in favour of an easier template to maintain but I like it so much that (so far) I’m putting up with the trouble. But that might change if my frustration levels should get any worse than they already are.

This episode has been a humbling experience to say the least. The Blogger code has changed so significantly that sometimes I feel like a newbie bloggy babe. Like John Lennon said “it’s like starting over” again.

But when you are an old(er) blog dog like I am it can sometimes be hard to learn new tricks. I don’t embrace new challenges as easily as I once used to and I would much rather be writing posts than fuddling with code. So if I get a little cranky once in awhile you know why.

There are of course a lot of positives for making the move over and I suppose it will be worth it once the bugs have been ironed out. But that’s little consolation while you are suffering through the dark night of the soul.

Are we having fun yet? If you have any ideas or notice anything peculiar with InstaBLOKE Beta I will be most grateful for the feedback.

Cheers!