I Feel Like One Of Those Windows 7 Commercials...

I do not have Windows 7 yet, but the concept of the commercials is, "My name is Norma, and I designed Windows 7!" "I asked for it, and I got it!" kind of thing. 

Just the day before yesterday, I was writing a help ticket to Typepad saying that I wanted a better search feature for my blog than the Google one I've been using for years. The Google one was unreliable at best -- sometimes it would hone right in on the word or phrase you were looking for, RIGHT IN ON IT on the preview screen, but then when you clicked the thing it linked to, it wasn't there. You'd have to scroll down through a number of entries to try to find the thing you were looking for -- and that is IF you ever really did.  Frustrating to say the least -- to me as a sometimes searcher in my own blog to see when last I wrote about something, or what I said about something, or how something had changed, or whatever it might be that I was searching for. I can't even IMAGINE how much batshit it must have driven my readers. 

I do see loads and loads of searches in my stats for things like recipes (big winnners: yogurt and microwave chocolate cake and maple balsamic dressing and rose petal jam), which is a big change from the years-ago previous "best-seller" search: weenie warmers or peter heaters, or whatever it was that we joked about a couple of times and which then became the number one search string in the blog. Ah, how boring I've apparently become. It used to be knitted penis warmers, and now it's yogurt. That's what happens when we get over 50, I suppose. 

But I digress. (That also happens more when you're over 50. Perhaps. I think I've always been quite good at that.)

For some reason I did not finish writing my help ticket, and then the other night I was reading our Cookie's blog, and she mentioned that Typepad has given us a new search module. Well, hot damn! And it does seem to work much more nicely, and looks really great, AND searches posts and comments as well, and highlights the searched-for word(s) in yellow. Could be nifty. I think I like it. Until further testing proves that it's crap or of limited usefulness, I will come right out now and say that I like it.  

So in case you want to search for something, it's up there on the top left sidebar. Go for it! Search your little heart out! 

But if you don't want to search for anything, how about a couple of links of interest:

Cheap Cashmere has a price. <----click and read

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I remind you again to take your Vitamin D, in much larger doses than they used to recommend. Link fixed to this article. <-----click

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I hope everyone has seen this so far, but in case you haven't, you just have to. Tina Fey: So smart. So talented. I can hardly stand it. I wish I were her.

Comments

[DebbieB]

Rats - your Vit. D article link is broken. I'll check back this afternoon - I'm very interested.

[Paula]

Oops. The vitamin D link doesn't link.

[Laurie]

You always make me do this. The New England Journal of Medicine had a recent article on approaching Vitamin D supplementation with an open mind. The stuff about beta carotene, which everyone thought MUST be good for you showed an increased incidence of cancer in the study. So, yes, Vitamin D is good, but who knows what the future will show.

[Kabysue]

I had heard about the cheap cashmere overgrazing thing before but a big thanks for reminding me. My conscience can sometimes use a gentle nudge.

[Jean E.]

Thank you for the cashmere article. I won't buy any that's not from Mongolia or US from now on. Can't wait to read the Vitamin d article.

[Patty]

Always a pleasure Norma!

[marianne]

Tina Fey. Have long been a fan of Tina's and I thought I might explode from laughter the other night watching SNL. She's Brilliant.

[Elizabeth]

Well, I've already seen the cashmere article but the vitamin D link is broken. So how's about I pop a few D's and move on as if you did not peak my interest and now I have to go searching for it myself. Sheesh. And you thought the google search was frustrating. You have no idea what you put us through on a daily basis {g}

[Rhonda from Baddeck]

Vitamin D link is working now - and what a great article! I've increased my intake, but will raise it again based on this information. Stunning to discover there isn't enough sunlight during the winter in most of the U.S. to be of any benefit at all - even if we WERE outdoors! Thanks!

[Rhonda from Baddeck]

P.S. Sanguine Gryphon had an excellent blog post yesterday about the cashmere issue -- discussing cost and sustainability.

[Jellidonut]

Wow. Your timing is a little spooky. I was recently put on 50,000 units a week of vitamin D. Found out my blood levels were in the toilet. Had no idea, but maybe it explains A LOT. Thanks for letting people know about this.

[Joannah]

Tina Fey = Too Funny

[margene]

Hey, how do I get the search module? I am not good at keeping up with Typepad stuff.

[Adrienne]

Vitamin D is the sh*t! I don't know about 5000 IU a day, but I took 35,000IU twice a week for a couple months (by prescription, after having it tested and found severely deficient) and now take 1000IU a day. (Though I will probably skip some when I do get out in the sun this summer.) I no longer feel horribly achey when I get out of bed! I didn't have the horrible winter blues this year! I would encourage everyone to get the blood test done to see if they're deficient.

[MelissaG]

Link-a-dink Wednesday! Head out to the garden and get some D. I still think moderation and try to eat a variety instead of depending on supplements. Have you read "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook"? It's 8th or 9th edition is out now and not just for athletes.

[Lucia]

No, it has nothing to do with turning 50. Trust me on this. I'm generally trustworthy. Hey, did I tell you what a mess my husband got into the last time he didn't believe me?

[Cookie]

I sort of like the new search thingy, but I'm trying not to look at it too closely.

Oh, and I hate Windows 7.

[Becky]

Norma, thanks for the best laugh I have had in a while! Yes, I too would like to be Tina. At least she finds humor in the madness. Vit.D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it is stored in the fat in your body. If you take too much, you cannot eliminate it through urine, it is there until it is used up. My point being that you should know you are deficient before you take huge megadoses. At least, folks who do should take a vitamin holiday once a week to prevent overdose. OK, off my soapbox! Thanks again for the laughs!!!!

[Carol]

Thank you for that. I heard about the Palin thing but didn't see it until now. HI-larious.

[elizabeth a airhart]

good night how much jam will

50 strawberry plants make plus

ice cream all kinds of goodies

my grandfather long used to raise
berries each one perfect for
the club ladies in town

[Holly]

Oh, that Tina Fey! Just what I needed today!

[kmkat]

I wish everyone would read about the true cost of cheap cashmere. I remember reading that Chicago Tribune article from 2006(?) and swearing off cashmere forever. (I had none in the stash so it was easy.) recently I have been tempted to backslide. Now I won't.

[KellyS]

You are certainly just as talented as Tina (at least!). Does she knit, steno, and....all the million things you do? bah. Love her too anyway!
Also followed the linkie to Dr Mercola's thing about agave and HFCS that was to the right of the cashmere article. Both of these things are soapbox-items of mine! thanks for the links.

[Robin]

Thanks for sharing the link to Susan Gibbs' article "The True Cost of Cheap Cashmere." It was an interesting read, and certainly supports my belief: cheap goods have hidden costs. I try to be responsible with my yarn-buying, but it's not always clear which yarns are responsibly produced... So, I make educated guesses, and appreciate insights such as that offered by Gibbs. Thanks!