A short "chat" in 2021...

 Hello, good people! Let's have a chat! Well, sort of. I ramble and you read. Alright, now, all jokes aside, I really need - again - to do a little update and kind of a new "intro" to my blog after this long absence. I have symbolically chosen this month, March, for doing this, because all good things rise and grow in spring. Also, I have deliberately not posted anything during the odious year 2020. The reasons, I think, are easy to guess.

I want to keep this blog post as short as possible (and I know what "short" means to me when I'm writing), so I will "attack" only a few ideas.

My last blog post here dates back to December 2019. Little did I know at that time that over the next 12 months I will have to move and change my place three times, change my environment, my jobs and adapt to a lot of new things. All these apart of the THING that has descended upon us since March 2020. 

At some point in my life, during the first two or three months of last year, I was SO busy with all the abrupt changes happening in my life, that I have barely touched my laptop. So, no, I couldn't even reply to the comments, much less to post again. 

Then it came what we all know. And with this occasion, I have learned - in a hard way - how important it is not only to keep your cool in times of crisis but also to be surrounded by people who do the same. Because if you're not, then your life may be turned upside down. Being able to think clearly and be rational when anything bad happens is of most importance. Acting and reacting in a hasty manner not only messes up your and other people's lives, but it can also leave those around you with bitterness in their hearts because you give them the impression of being irresponsible and, in some situations, even cruel. I was left with such a bitter taste, so I know. 

Obviously, I am not talking here about global politics and how the general public has reacted to all this planetary mess. No, I am talking about the way THIS has affected our daily lives and our relationships with those around us. 

Also, last year in March I've lost one dear soul. Just one year earlier, in 2019, I've lost another one. I am not gonna insist on this now.

Fast forward to 2021. We are floating on the same sea - the sea of the unknown. I have recently started a training. Or, at least, I think I did... Because due to the lockdown everything is moving sloooooowwwllllyyy. Too slowly for my needs. 

And I can't wait to start real courses, you know, the "old fashioned" type of courses where you don't have to stay between the same walls, on the same chair, staring at the same screen. Not an online course, but a normal one. Because online courses, as good as they are, they all have this flaw - they require you to do the same thing. And, at some point, they all look and feel the same. Add to that the network problems and other technical issues, and you have a good reason to leave everything and go out to run to calm your nerves.

Anyway, I intend to take some information from that training and use it here - indirectly - as an inspiration for my blog. 

So, for now, that should be all. Regards!

How to edit the blog post link in Blogspot

Let's see how we can manually edit a link of a blog post. This is important when we write a new post. But it's also important when we need to edit an older post, one that was already published.

But why is this important? Well, simply put because Google cares about it. Search engines in general and Google, in particular, tend to focus their attention on long links. But those links must contain significative keywords, not just "filling".

In other words, if your link contains a lot of “or”, “and”, “etc”, exclamations and empty numbers, it will not be good for SEO.

The link should more or less “mirror” the title of the post and also, the major keywords of that particular post. The title (ideally) already contains the keywords. So the link should be created according to it.

But there are moments when, for some reasons, you have to change the title of the post. In that case, can you change the link of that particular post?

Well, if it's already an old and established post then is not advisable. Other websites link back to you and if you change even one character in your link, then the visitors will get an error and your blog will suffer.

But if your blog post is not published yet or it was published recently but the blog is brand new and is not well-known yet, then you can modify the link.

Let me exemplify that to you by using one of my other blogs. It's brand new and it's not yet known. So if I do some major modifications to it, Google wouldn't care. (Being new and unknown has its perks.) 😃

Please look at the below picture.

As you can see, the link in the address bar looks different than the title of the blog. Why? Because when I posted that blog, I was too rushed and clicked "Publish" before writing the title. As a result, Blogspot automatically created the link by using the first words from the first paragraph.

I'll make use of this occasion to show you how to solve this problem.

So how can you edit the blog post link in your Blogspot/Blogger blog? 

First, log into your Blogspot account, then choose your blog from the top-left list and then go to the Posts. After that, click to edit the post.

 

Now, on the right side of the screen, you can click on the Links symbol. Thus you can see how the link looks now. As we know, it shows the first words of the first paragraph.

But for now, you can just see it. In order to be able to edit it, you have to turn the already published post back to the draft. Note: this will make the post become invisible.

Now you can see that the link can be edited. There is the option to automatically create it and also the option to customize it.

Now you can customize it by manually editing the link.

Or, like in my case, you can choose to automatically create the link and then Save it. Now you can see that the link is modified and it now copies the headline of the post.

Now you can Publish again your post. 

Now it's live again. You can check on the post. The new link resembles to the headline.

That should be all! I hope it's useful for you as much as it was for me. 

How to change background in your Blogspot blog

So you have a Blogger/Blogspot blog but you don't like its background. How can you change it? In my last blog post on this subject, we saw how to change the blog theme/template. Now we will see the exact steps to easily change the background for your blog.

Today I will use again my own new beauty blog as "live" example. So now the blog (and its background) looks like in the screenshot below.

As you can see, this background represents books while the niche of the blog is beauty. While books can be beautiful in all ways, they are not a good background in this case.

So let's see how we can change it...

Log into your Blogspot account, select your blog from the list situated in the top-left corner and then click on the Theme/Template button like in the image shown here.

Then click on Customize button.

Then go and click on Background in the top-left of the screen. 

Then click precisely on the image that it's currently in the background. See in the screenshot below.

Now you can select a new background from different categories. In this case, because we have a beauty-centered blog we click on the Beauty and Health section. But you can choose whatever you like according to the specific of your own blog.

Then, from that category, click to select the preferred image for the background. 

Now, you'll notice that the background is already changed. so you can click Done. 

And now, that you like this background is time to to Apply this Theme/Template to blog.

Then you should see for a few seconds a confirmation message on the top of the page. And now you can View your blog.

And now you can admire your blog with the new background. Much better!

So that's it! Enjoy!

Final notes.

The OS in these screenshots is Ubuntu (in case you're curious). The browser is Chromium.The screenshots are done by using the innate Screenshot app found in Ubuntu. And the compressing and editing of these screenshots was done by using the free online tools compressor.io and screenshot.net. ...Just in case any of this info is useful for you. 

How to change the theme of your Blogspot blog

If you do a quick search on blogging tips and tricks, you end up noticing that the vast majority of the advices you get are more or less related to Wordpress. But what if you Blogspot user? What if you need to “fine tune” your blog? Wordpress may be more popular nowadays, but Blogspot does have its advantages: it's free and easy to edit and manage.

I remember those times (around 2013) when the internet was full of tutorials and websites dedicated to Blogspot platform. The platform itself was invaded with “dormant” blogs which served only as an illustrative example for certain tutorials. Nowadays, they seem to be buried down by Google, while Wordpress-focused tips are on the wave.

After such long inactivity on my blog, right now I am practically relearning everything related to blogging. And, for some reasons, I have recently decided to create a new blog – one focused on beauty and health called Ro Beauty Journey. It's a brand new blog as we speak, and it's hosted on the Blogspot platform.

So how about taking this opportunity and start learning together how to manage a Blogspot/Blogger blog?

After this short introduction, let's go straight to the subject! So I have created the blog, chose the theme of the blog and then posted the first blog post. Then, after publishing it, I'm no longer convinced that this is the most inspired theme for my blog.

So now, the blog looks like in the image below. This theme is from the Dynamic type.

Pretty nice and neat indeed, but too "serious". Not exactly the type of theme that you would expect to see on a beauty blog, isn't it? So let's try to improve it!

So, in order to change the theme of your Blogspot/Blogger blog, you have to log into your account, then select your blog from the list in the top-left corner. Then click on Theme button as shown below.

 

Then scroll down till you find the Simple category of themes and click to preview one of them. It's always much better to use a Simple theme because it's easier to manage and personalize especially if you are interested in playing with the HTML codes sometime in the future.

Now you can see, in this preview, how your blog would look if you'd use this theme. Well, for now, it looks fine, much better than the previous theme. So you click the orange button saying that you want to Apply this theme in your blog.

Next, you get prompted by a message about your gadgets. More exactly, if you change the theme, some of them may become visible. But since this blog is brand new this aspect is not exactly one of your concerns. Just click on the button stating that you understand and let's move on.

Then, for a few seconds, you should see a message confirming that the theme was applied to your blog. It appears in the top part of the page and can be easily overlooked if you don't pay attention. 

And, that's it! Now you can type in your blog's address in your browser and you can see it "live" with a brand new theme.

Is this good enough? Well, it is for now. In my opinion, this theme is much better suited for a beauty blog, it's much lighter and the colours are more gentle. But, of course, beauty of a beauty blog is the eye of the beholder... And luckily, some details can be modified. But that's another story...

Final notes, just in case: This article was created on a Dell laptop running a preinstalled Ubuntu OS. The screenshots were done by using the innate Screenshot app and they were edited using the screenshot.net free online tool.

Returning to you, my silent eyes...



In this blog post, I'm gonna do what every blogging “guru” tells you that you should NEVER do when writing in your own blog: I'll talk about myself. Well, mostly. But there's a reason why I have to do so and I'll explain it a bit later. But firstly, let me tell you a story... A real story.

I would suggest you to grab a cup of something. Quite long text ahead.

➿

We all come to this world with all kinds of gifts that later on in life, as we grow-up they tend to fade out somehow. In my childhood, one of my gifts was to sing. In fact, this used to happen to me in a very natural and spontaneous way.

Because of that, my kindergarten teacher (God rest her soul as she has passed away two years ago) has asked me to sing on stage. Later, my primary school teacher did the same. All my "musical performances" were part of our artistic activities at kindergarten and school. We had several such artistic events every year and it was entertaining.

Then, the '89 Romanian Revolution happened and for some unexplained reasons, they kind of stopped. One of a sudden there was no money and no interest in organizing such shows. They were considered to be... Communist.

I never understood how celebrating the seasons, wearing a bee-like costume or dancing and reciting poems about the nature of the motherland can be considered Communist. Maybe the poets themselves were Communists. Or maybe suddenly patriotism was the new enemy (as we were now embarking towards the globalist Capitalism).

Or maybe the Romanian Revolution, just like the French one, was enthusiastically “guillotining” everything, good or bad alike. Or maybe all of the above is true... But anyway, I digress.

I remember those days even today. In most cases, I and my colleagues were usually wearing costumes. Some of us were singing, others reciting poems, others playing instruments or dancing. Two of the best pupils were the presenters and “hosts” for the show. And others were just staying there and having good fun.

I wasn't nervous about singing on stage. Not at all. Singing was in my nature, and being there, on the stage was for me nothing but another interesting and fun experience. Much more fun than the usual classes.

Then, one day, it happened. I was on the stage for a final rehearsal. I was singing my favourite song: “Motherland, my mother told me, is like the swallow bird...” and then I saw the eyes. The attentive eyes of the audience - the few parents that were sitting on the chairs assisting us.

At that moment for the first time in my life, I became self-aware. For the first time in my life, the stage became a frightening place to be, where singing was torture. And for the first time in my life I had to do great efforts not to lose my voice right in the middle of the song.

Up until that moment, it was all fun. Because it was about me doing what I was doing usually: singing. And, hey, if the song is listened to by other people than, say your neighbor or your classmate then it's more fun, right?

Well, when I have realized that those eyes could actually see any of my possible mistakes I simply got scared. From that moment on, I made all that's possible to turn down any invitation to sing for other people. I preferred to stop singing at all (or to sing only when being alone) than to risk making fool of myself. That high was the level of my fear!

As you can see, it was an irrational fear. Because I already had this musical talent quite well developed and I also had some experience. But these facts simply DID NOT MATTERED to me.

➿

Now, how is this story connected to our subject? Well, when I have checked the statistics of my blog I saw the eyes, YOUR eyes. The eyes of the silent readers of this blog. Despite my long lack of activity on this blog, you kept visiting this corner of the web. And this honors me and also scares me. So much so, that I shied away from writing for almost 4 years.

But not anymore! I guess that my internal drive to write has become stronger than the shiness. And I feel I have interesting things to share from now on.

During the four years that have passed since my last blog post here, a lot of things have happened. I've changed jobs, devices, operating systems, intellectual tastes and even, - partially, at least, - world views.

It's only natural that all these changes have to and will be present on this blog in the future. I'll share with you the things I've learned or those I'm still learning. Things that have marked my last 4 years of online absence.

Well, actually, overall, my absence lasted a lot longer than that, as I grew kind of reclusive for some reasons, and I didn't socialized much. The reasons are too many, but one of them is work. Especially during the spring of this year 2019, I was, at a certain moment, literally so busy that I couldn't afford to chat more than, let's say 5 minutes, much less engage in long conversations.

At that time, in spring, I had 3 (yeah, three) jobs at the same time and my schedule was so, so tight and clearly planned that I could barely breathe.

I feel guilty for all those people who turned to me for help during that time. I couldn't keep up with my promises and/or their expectations of me. I apologize to them with this occasion. And I apologize not only for that particular time in spring but I also for all the previous moments when I couldn't respond and help.

I also want to thank you all for having the patience to bearing with me until the end of this blog post.

And, as a very short note, I'll just count here several word that can describe my last 4 years of absence: Dell laptops, Ubuntu, narcissism, beauty and health...

Well, now that I have finished this text, I have to admit one thing: every time when I was tempted to just restart my blogging activity here without giving any kind of explanatory intro lines, I felt instantly kind of guilty. Because I think you deserve some explanations, excuses and also, my gratitude. You, my eyes...

How to display an Easter egg cursor in Blogspot

Ever wondered how to add a nice Easter themed cursor (or any other type of cursor) to your Blogspot blog? Actually, is quite easy, especially, if you have some basic notions of HTML. I've been playing on my blog lately, testing cursors and graphics, and now I can write a short tutorial about how to add an Easter egg cursor to Blogspot.

Traditionally, in Romania, on Wednesday and Tuesday during the Holy Week of the Orthodox Easter, people use to dye and decorate Easter eggs. World evolves, traditions change and adapt, so, like everyone else, I "echoed" the "offline" tradition into the online medium. Sort to speak, I deciced to decorate my blog.

Easter egg cursor

So, here I am, after long deliberations, I choose a nice pink Easter egg model as shown in the picture at left. If you want your cursor to look the same, here is what you should do.

First of all I have to recommend Cursors4U.com, a website containing lots of free cursors, ready to be used on your site or blog. Go to the Easter Cursors section on Cursors-4U.com, and choose the desired cursor. Like I said, I go with the pink Easter egg cursor, which can be found at this link. See the image below.

Choosing the desired Easter cursor

Then, we can see the cursor page and also we can see the chosen cursor "at work" - your cursor takes its shape, so that you can test it before you actually use it on your own blog.

Once landed on the page, click on the "Blogger/Blogspot" tab, like shown in the image bellow.

Click on the "Blogger/Blogspot" tab

And then, go to "New Blogger/Blogspot Interface" and copy the codes.

Copy the codes of the Easter cursor

Then, log into your Blogspot account, go to your blogs and choose the blog you want to show the new cursor. Bellow is a screenshot from my own account.

Then, go to the left side of the screen, look for "Template" and click on it.

  Then go to "Edit HTML" and click on it.

Note: Before you do this, you'd better backup your template, just in case.

Click on Edit HTML

Now slide down until the bottom, and look for the last line of codes, just where is written  </html>. Positionate the cursor just before the  <  symbol.

Put cursor before </html> 

And then paste the code that will allow the cursor to be shown. After that, click "Save".

Paste the code and save

Now you're done. Type in browser your blog address to see the results.  You should see on your Blogspot blog a nice Easter egg cursor like mine. Well, congratulations! You've just "dyed" your cursor!

Update on 18 April 2015

After getting some feedback from my friends, I have found out that some people can't see the cursor. I must admit that I am a bit surprised by this because it didn't happen in my case. Anyway, I've tried to figure out the possible issue and a way to fix it.

Although, in theory, if you follow the above mentioned steps, you should see your nice cursor "hovering" your blog, it seems that in some cases, this doesn't always happen. In that case, it would be a good idea to update your browser or browsers. And, in case that you are a blog owner and you can't see your new cursor, then you should verify the codes, maybe you've made a mistake.

Anyway, although I don't intend to keep this cursor forever, I wont to assure you that in my case, it does work. I've checked it using all the browsers that are installed on my OS.

Here is the configuration:
Zorin OS v.6 Core (Ubuntu 12.04 LTS)
Midori v.0.4.3
Firefox v.37.0.1
Google Chrome Version 42.0.2311.90 (64-bit)
Chromium Version 37.0.2062.120 Ubuntu 12.04 (281580) (64-bit)

How to undo all this 

- How to manage an "I want my cursor back!" kind of situation -

Once the Easter period gone, you'll wont to change your cursor back to default. Well, in order to do that, log into your Blogspot account, go to your blog template, click on "Edi HTML" button, and look for your cursor code (you should see something containing "cursors4u" blah blah in it. 

I've selected it (grey highlight) in the screenshot below. Click to enlarge.

 After selecting it, like in the image above, delete it, and then save the HTML. Now the cursor should be back to normal.

- Last update: 21 April 2015 -

Thanks instead of a resolution

Anti-resolution

This being my first blog post here, in the anno Domini 2015, at first, I wonted this to be some kind of resolution. And I am not talking about the TV or PC screen. No, this fancy name is given to those ambitious and long "To Do" lists that people use to write on special occasions.

But then, I've learned that over a half of the people who make resolutions fail to make them come true. The reasons are numerous and diverse and they are not the subject of this post.

Anyway, I look back at the resolutions I have made last year. Do I need to mention that I graciously fall into the category of those over 50%? Well, yes, but instead of lamenting over this, I choose to see the full half of the glass.

I really don't feel that I can move on with this blog without talking a bit about some of the things that I have accomplished and learned during the last year. I also must mention the people who have been helping me to obtain all these. Yes, I wasn't alone on my way of self-development. None of us is alone.

I am aware of the fact that most of the modern self-help books are very vocal about how the individual can reach his targets just by using his own will. But this unrealistic and overly promoted image can create the false perception that we don't need each other, we don't owe each other anything, and thus, that we don't have to give anything back. Well, that is incorrect. We are social beings, we live in collectivity. That means that we give and receive help. And this help can be of different kinds: moral, material, spiritual, emotional... you name it. Each one of us has its own list of people who have contributed to his own self-improvement. And I have my own.

During the last year - 2014 - several people have helped me one way or the other and I feel the need to mention them here because they are very much connected to some of my accomplishments. Such lists tend to be unfair because there is always someone left unmentioned, so I'll have to apologise for that.

Last year, during the springtime, I had the honour to be invited to be part of two interesting educational projects. Both of them are making baby steps - they are small projects developed in the spare time - so they should not be judged too harshly.

First one of them is Humsang.com, where I've wrote a short feedback that cand be found on the "People Say" (Feedback) section.

I've been giving a hand to this project mostly by testing the website and providing feedback to the owner. By feedback I mean, everything from design and graphics to website usability.

Well, in fact, this is not the first time when I give my feedback and thoughts to an admin, but this time was different, because I know the admin, he is my old friend, and he came to me to ask for my feedback on his projects.

I must say that I was both flattered by his trust in my opinion and responsibilised. And it was one very fun and interesting experience. I was testing the site and giving my opinions via chat, while the admin was working "in real time" on the other part of the globe, on another continent. That was something overwhelming and intense. Something that made me feel the world as a large and, in the same time, a very small place! Like I was feeling the planet spinning. It's hard to explain this, but this is the miracle of technology.

The second project is called StuEase.

As part of my contribution on this website, - apart of giving feedback - I've prepared two tests in the Philosophy field, more exactly, European Philosophy. So, if you are passionate about this field and wont to try your knowledge level in it, I invite you to play the tests I've created! One thing though: finding them can be a bit tricky, so, follow my directions bellow.

In order to reach my Philosophy tests, you have to go to section "Test Yourself" on StuEase website and follow the path:

Post Graduation > Philosophy > European Philosophy

Note: To solve this test or any of the other listed tests, you will have to create an account on the website. 

Now is time to disclosure the identity of the person who's behind all these projects. His name is Pradeep, (Hi and namaste!), he is from India and he has studied Medicine and coding. So, if you got any software problem, he will dissect its codes. LOL I just had to say that! 

Another friend I wont to mention here is one who likes to sign under the nickname Camy. (Salutare, tovarășa!) I wont to thank her once again trough this post for the gift she gave me. I wont to assure her that the device - an Android smartphone - is well-appreciated and I will make good use of it in my future articles. It will be my tool and source of inspiration. ;-)

Camy is my friend from Romania and she is a quite sporty and outgoing kind of person. Exactly the one you would like to hangout with in a sunny summer weekend.

Last year I've decided to deepen my knowledge in English language. I feel the need to do that, because, despite the fact that I read articles written in this language on a daily basis, I still can't get read of a lifelong feeling of uncertainty when I have to write or speak in English. Maybe I'll never do. Gosh! What am I saying?! Even now there are rare occasions when, I feel unsure of my own mother tongue (which, by the way, is in some aspects, a lot harder than English).

Also, last year I became interested in Italian, a language that wasn't initially on my list. Turned out to be a good choice. Again, reasons are not the subject of this post.

Anyway, the important thing is, that I am not alone on this road. I have been helped by a good friend of mine who's highly skilled in teaching languages... and he likes to "collect" them ;-)

His name is Fellipe (Salve magister!), he is from Brasil, and he is a teacher of languages and he has been helping me to improve my English and also, offered to teach me Italian online (with all the difficulties that comes along with on-distance teaching and the time differences). I really have to thank him for that!

Also we had several long and interesting chats over the subject of Latin language, Latinity and Neo-Latin languages. These discussions have awaken in me some old and almost dormant questions, interests and hobbies related to the linguistical field of study. And again I have to thank him for triggering that. To put it in a few words, I am really glad that I have a skilled friend that I can count on every time I am confused in this language matter.

And last, but not at all least, I have to mention Mr. Nicolas, (Je vous remercie!) the one I owe all things I've succeed in the past two years. He is my mysterious and quiet reader of my texts and has helped and encouraged me in many ways to carry on with my writing.

I should link to one of his online profiles, but there is none that I know of. He likes to stay in the shadows (which I kinda like it, I think it's pretty cool in an old fashioned way, considering the openness required by the unwritten standards of the online presence.)

Anyway, I keep in my mind this image of him doing his researches in the most remote places of the planet...

That would be, in a sort of chronological order, my short list of some of the people I owe my gratitude to.

My future plans? Well, mostly, to continue what I've started and to embrace whatever new opportunity may appear...