Merry Christmas, South Dakota!

1. Nick Nemec 2010.12.25

   What are the advantages to the move for you and/or us?
2. Nick Nemec 2010.12.25

   Apparently comment moderation is one.

   [CAH: Whoops! Thanks for reminding me, Nick. The comment moderation was on as a pre-launch security setting. Actually, the old site offered comment moderation as well. I'm inclined to leave moderation off so that folks can converse without my having to intervene by approving at all hours of the day. What's your preference?]
3. caheidelberger Post author | 2010.12.25

   Good morning, and Merry Christmas, Nick!

   Advantages? Well, for you, if you can stand the brief disadvantage of having to change your bookmarks, you'll have nine fewer characters to type for the address. Additionally:

   1. With the main content now at left and the sidebars at right, posts will load first, then the sidebar ads and feeds. A friend of mine showed me his smartphone: when he read my blog on the Blogspot template, he had to scroll down through the sidebar graphics and the long blogroll before getting to the posts. Now he should be able to see the posts right under the header.
   2. The reformat will also help folks with slow connections get the posts up first and start reading and commenting a few seconds faster.
   3. Oh! I can edit comments! So if you majorly screw up your typing (or leave out a very important not), I can fix it... but hey, everyone, try to get it right the first time!
   4. Supposedly having my own domain improves search engine standing. That means more eyeballs for advertisers and for my fellow bloggers in the blog feeds over in the right sidebar.
   5. I have more flexibility in formatting the SD blogosphere feeds for readers' enjoyment: I can change format, include more text if inclined... and I think they look better now!

   We'll see how that works out. At the very least, I hope the new set-up won't get in the way of the information and conversation you come for. :-)
4. caheidelberger Post author | 2010.12.25

   ...ah, and with WordPress, you can add smileys and other formatting to your comments. :-D
5. Hans Luderhagen 2010.12.25

   Looks good Cory! WordPress ROCKS! :)
6. Barry Smith 2010.12.25

   Merry Christmas! Cory
   Nice changes. I likey!
7. Bill Fleming 2010.12.26

   Beautiful, beautiful choir, Cory. Thank you. I'm trying to spot the bass singer. That guy has some serious pipes. New format is nice, but takes a lot longer to load on my comp than your old site.
8. caheidelberger Post author | 2010.12.26

   Dang! That's what I was afraid of. On my computer, the SD blog feeds appear to slow things down. Do you see other parts slowing down the load?
9. Bill Fleming 2010.12.26

   I'm using Safari 5.0.1 on a MacBookPro. Can't really see what's holding up the load. All I know it's s-l-o-o-o-w.
10. larry kurtz 2010.12.26

    Carpe dakotum, CAH.
11. Barry Smith 2010.12.26

    All very fast on XP running Firefox, faster than your old site anyway.
12. caheidelberger Post author | 2010.12.26

    Larry, I love carp! ;-)

    Barry, thanks for the note! Bill reports his slow-loading magically rectified itself earlier this afternoon. Faster than the old site? Whoo-hoo! I'll try to avoid widget-creep... though all these WordPress plugins make it hard to resist.
13. Steve Hickey 2010.12.27

    Merry Christmas back at you Cory! We are blessed, aren't we. I like the new format and appreciate that it's blackberry friendly. South DaCola lost me with his new scheme - his background wipes out the text on my little screen.

    And I love it that your first post is religious. Is it all downhill from there ;-)

    And BTW, the Annunciation is VERY fitting, after all the actual moment of Incarnation was the Annunciation not the Nativity. The Annunciation is the angelic announcement of... Conception. My,,, think of the implications of that on the matter of the humanity of the unborn. Incarnation is God donning human flesh- fully God, fully man- full divinity and full humanity at Conception! For your Christian readers, this settles the contemporary controversies surrounding the humanity of the unborn.
14. caheidelberger Post author | 2010.12.27

    Thanks, Steve! I'm glad the template is working on the Blackberry. That should make it easier for you legislators to keep track of public opinion while you're doing the people's work in Pierre.

    I'm also glad I didn't cross any theological wires in tying the Annunciation to the Christmas celebration. The two are obviously connected... and the song is great!

    I would be curious to hear readers' impression of the analogy between Mary's choice to carry the Incarnation of God and the reproductive choices women face as they confront rape, incest, health complications... and a Legislature that occasionally goes too far in its desire to make them second-class citizens.
15. Bill Fleming 2010.12.27

    Cory, Rev. Hickey's note says it all. Mary made a choice. Nobody forced her to do what she did. Not Joseph, not Caesar, not even the Angel Gabriel. She made a decision of her own free will. It is only in the Qur'an where Mary seems to have been instructed to "obey" ...and even then, it seems she still had a choice in the matter. As she should have.
16. Nonnie 2010.12.27

    Just a clarification regarding Mary's choice. Yes, she had a choice and made it. But...she made the choice BEFORE she became pregnant, not after.
17. Bill Fleming 2010.12.27

    Nonnie, yes. Bottom line, she decided the wanted to be pregnant, and was given that choice by God. Thus, every woman has that same liberty, that same option to co-create. And that option is hers, and hers alone.

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