A Useful TAG

After my last post, I was flooded with HTML tag questions [ummm…of how to do a strikethrough mainly] by other bloggers, so I thought I’ll share with you whatever little I know……

I'm actually targetting this post at the beginner bloggers since the veteran bloggers will know most of the tags I have displayed here.

So here are a few simple HTML tags to help our posts & comments look more attractive:

To begin with, < > & < / >are called HTML tags. We put our requiremment inbetween these tags & make it work.

# For BOLD,
First insert "b" inbetween <>
Then ur matter comes in the middle
and to end put "/b" inbetween <>

Got it??????

Similarly….
# For Italics, use "i" inbetween <> your matter here < / i >

# For underline, use "u" inbetween <> your matter here < / u >

# For strikethrough - put "s" inbetween <> then ur matter & /s inbetween <> in the end[Thanks Rakesh:-)]

# For Bold, italics & underline together - put "b", "i" & "u" in <><><> your matter here < / b >< / i >< / u >

# And if you want to align just 1 word or sentence in the center, use center inbetween <> your matter < / center >

# A simple br between < > will put space between 2 sentences. There is no closing tag for this.
[I included this tag as .......sometimes even though you put a space between 2 sentences to start a new paragraph, in the post or comments section it will show like they are in the same paragraph. So this tag helps]

# For blockquote, put blockquote inbetween <> Matter < / blo ckquote >
This is used when you want to share an example or a quote.
[Here your sentence will start 2 inches after ur normal sentence & end 2 inches before the normal sentence....a sort of an indent. Try it out.]

Have you noticed how a few bloggers link you directly in your comments section[For eg. I've tagged u, click here]. I for one, was very impressed by this & Snow showed me how to do this with a simple Tag.

# Put a href just before the = sign
"< = "link goes here"> Click Here < / a >
[except for a single space between a & h please remember no spaces anywhere else when you actually do it And you can remove the ‘click here’ if you don’t need it & show the link as it is.]

#And my last tip, how to place a UTube link directly on ur page:
This is how Goofy Mumma taught me:

*Go to the Edit HTML tab while composing your post.
*Copy the embed code of your preferred video from YouTube.
*Paste it where you want to put the video in your post.
*Done!

That's it People.....I've given U all I know. Now if any of the bloggers who are passing by is in a generous mood to impart knowledge please dont hesitate. I will edit this post & add the information here with due credit ofcourse.

Any doubts with the tags or if a sentence doesnt make sense, I'll be glad to clarify it & if I dont know I'll find out. Just dont forget to thank me;-D.

Note: Once again.....I stress - I've put spaces between the tags coz Blogger will take it as tag & wont let me show U how it is done. So remove all spaces while U use the tags.

And oh I almost forgot, can anybody help Iya......she[ & I] wonder how to add a header to a blog.


Edited to add: Dear Friends........the whole post is behaving crazy. Half the tags have gone wonky. I've tried to fix it but.......


Edited once again: Nothing I try is working:-(
....Hopefully this should teach me NOT to meddle with stuff I dont know.


And again: OK everybody, I've re-edited the post once more. Its sort of OK now. Check it out. As I mentioned, any doubts, u can.....;-P

We need CHANGE

***A letter addressed to all professionals at Blogger who are endlessly persevering to make it a better place for us***


Dear Experts,

Subject: Blogspot’s future at stake

I have documented a few issues here which I’m sure will be of great interest to you. I didn’t want to bother you initially as I’m more than aware you are all very busy people who work really hard to make blogger the best on the web, but few matters made me pause & as a loyal subscriber wanted to make you aware of it.

Allow me to proceed directly to matters burning at the tip of my fingers.

I do wonder if you’ve noticed that, in recent months quite a few of your loyal followers have ditched the wagon[pardon the slang, here & everywhere else] & joined hands with a competitor who has lured them away with promises & previews of better themes & options. If you haven’t then please click here and here and here and here………………

Seriously, how much time or effort does it take you to make blogger a more user friendly workspace for your subscribers????
For instance, have you noticed that your themes are hardly anything to write home about???? You have more than a million users & you offer them a total choice of 16 templates with some piddly options to change colors????

Yes I know I can pick up themes from freelancers who specialize in these things. But a layman like me finds them useless. I can’t even proceed with a new template for fear of losing all my data which let me tell you nearly happened once incase you are viewing my complaints with jaundiced eyes.

Definitely you would have noticed that other blogspaces have offered a facility wherein the author of the post can directly reply to a comment within the individual’s comment space itself. I’m sure you’ve seen for yourself that this option is an instant hit in the blog world!!!!!!
Come on tell me now, how difficult is it to incorporate the same into your system???

Instead of wasting time trying to make the Username space turn yellow when we login, you could try to introduce some useful stuff like, emoticons for example.
A simple smiley makes a whole lot of difference to a post. If you have any doubts, ask Indyeah she’ll elucidate this point across to you with appropriate examples & emoticons in atleast 2 pages.
I mean, we are not asking for the moon, are we?????

Bloggers like me with basic or no knowledge of HTML have a difficult time expressing our feelings……..have you realized how a simple strikethrough like this automatically lifts a post to a whole new level & makes it so much fun to read. I’ve been blogging now for more than 1½ yrs & found out just 3 days back how to do this thru HTML courtesy a fellow blogger Rakesh. And today Snow shows me how put a link in the comments section. Before this week I didn’t even know all this could be done in blogger.
We do know Blogger is full of possibilities but please make it a lot more user-friendly for us!!!!!

I’ve always been a creature of habit & a lazy one at that. You know, I simply detest making drastic changes in my life & will go to any lengths to avoid it. Believe me, I don’t even want to be thinking about the hassles of moving out of Blogger.

No, no its not some intimidation technique…….but do try understand that if you guys don’t get on with making functional & effective changes, you are the ultimate losers.

I have mentioned just a few of my grievances here. If you will please open your eyes wide & read between the lines you’ll find a million other bloggers with similar & more complaints.

I hope you take my post as constructive criticism & go back to the drawing board to make the necessary modifications.

In anticipation,
Yours truly,

Nancy

One, Two ka Four

Rohini has tagged me to do this Numbers Tag.

I typed 1 to 10 down grandly & proceeded to stare at them for the next 1 hr. Well I could have gone the 1 husband, 2 children, 3 bedrooms way but u know me...I love to make things complicated. And so after scrutinizing my surroundings & self for eons, came up with this pathetic effort.

I came 1st in first standard & that was the 1st time & last time.

There are 2 baby pigeons outside my bedroom window, they will start learning to fly anyday now. They sure make a lot of mess but oh so adorable.

My poor babies are over-burdened with school-work. I wrote a total of 3 pages of their homework with my left hand after they went to sleep last night:-(

My brother-in-law uses only 4 fingers to eat his food. The index finger sticks out prominently coz he uses that finger to put his contact lenses.

[Nancy rushes off to attend an emergency]

My cooler’s leaking & I just spent the last ½ an hour cleaning up the mess. And I’m sure I lost atleast 5 litres of water:-(.

Whenever I spy 6 eggs in the refrigerator I have this urge to bake:-P

Just multiply 7 by 4 & that’s the total number of grey hair on my head[at last week’s count]

I need atleast 8 hours of sleep otherwise I’m cranky, irritable & drive my family crazy. They now know the literal meaning of “Let sleeping dogs lie”.

I have 9 potted plants scattered all around the apartment.

Ummm.......I love 10der coconuts .

Phew, it's done. Seriously...how complicated was that;-S


And I tag.......

An Open Book

Archana

Brocasarea

Colours

Saima

SGD

Shails

Still thinking

Swaram

WarmSunshine

Winnie the poohi

*************************************************

Edited to add:

Agnes asks in the comments section......
Nancy, what's "ka"? Where I come from, the number between 2 and 4 is called "three". T-H-R-E-E.

So Agnes & all the others who were wondering the same, here is a simple but long-winded explanation:
One, Two Ka Four is actually a song from the Hindi movie “Ram Lakhan” picturised on Anil Kapoor[of the Slumdog Millionaire fame].

Yeah well I was doing this tag & wondering what to put up as a blog title. Ummm…I was actually going to type in One, two, buckle my shoe in desperation when this "One, Two ka Four" song was playing on Tv. I was watching idly, grinning at Anil Kapoor’s antics on screen and Ta-Da the fingers automatically typed in One, Two ka Four as it suddenly seemed apt for my post title….as random as that.

Anil Kapoor plays the roles of a small-time thief & the lyrics of the song sort of say that I'm an easy-going guy who can teach u a few tricks[as in double ur assets], My name is Lakhan.
I’ll give you the link to this song, you simply have to watch it…it’s a song & dance routine from a typical bollywood potboiler. Great fun, I assure u.



Thank U Goofy Mumma for helping me put up this video......
Again I marvel what fun blogging is & how I learn new things everyday.

Take a leaf out of another's book

I enrolled the kids for Vacation Bible School held at our church for 7 days in March. Since the transportation the church provided was over-crowded I decided to take the kids to church myself all those 7days. VBS was held for 3 ½ hours everyday which meant that I had to look for ways to keep myself occupied during that time.

Envisioning the long hours stretching endlessly in front of me, I had already picked up 2 books to read the previous weekend itself. So on the 1st day I dropped the kids off in the predefined area & went off to find myself a nook to sit comfortably & read my book.

But on my way to find that perfect niche I met an acquaintance who was also there to drop off her 8yr old daughter for these classes…she also had this fat book in her hand which she immediately closed as soon as she saw me.

This delicate looking & soft-spoken woman Reni was actually Manu’s friend. I had met her in church & at Manu’s house a couple of times but we never really spoke all that much. You see, even though I’m an extrovert & open with friends, I don’t really go out of my way to meet people & make conversation.

But here we were thrown together by circumstances & it didn’t really look nice if I just walked away to go sit in some corner & read a book….u know sort of openly saying that I prefer to read than talk to u. So I stayed on.

Since we didn’t know much about each other we cautiously waded thru general day to day stuff for a while. In the way of conversation I showed her my book [Still Me by Christopher Reeve] & asked her what she was reading. She showed me a medical journal & I was a bit taken aback.

Looking mildly surprised[I guess, she thought I knew] at my expression Reni told me she was a doctor who had taken a year’s sabbatical to be with her new-born, was now looking to rejoin work soon & so was just trying to update herself with the latest medical news.

I immediately felt mediocre whiling away my time reading about celebrity tragedies when I could have used the time to study rocket-science or nuclear effects of wars. The book which was flashed about with so much enthusiasm was quietly withdrawn & never came out again.

My curiosity was aroused & I started asking questions unobtrusively. Surprisingly[well, she always had come across as a bit reserved to me] she opened up freely & soon was telling me a lot about herself.

I always have been fascinated with People & their circumstances. Very often its happened that people think I’m their greatest friend & well-wisher simply because I am very interested in the going-on’s in their life & take the time to give a balanced view-point based on the things they tell me.

Well we spoke a lot…….in those 7 days we meandered through all the subjects touching our lives excluding only politics & rocket science. Reni spoke about her childhood, her medico days, her profession, about her husband & children.
When she told me about her 2nd child who was born after 3 miscarriages she had tears in her eyes & I clumsily put my hand on hers before turning away to hide the sheen in my own eyes.

Our conversations also included interludes of silence & moments when we went into the tranquil insides of the church to contemplate our relationship with God.

She made me feel inadequate without even trying…..I mean, here is a woman, a doctor who is managing home & on the other side continually updating herself [writing exams to qualify to work in Dubai], was working in a hospital in Sharjah[all that commuting] & inbetween all this had to bear the agony of losing her unborn babies & countless other barriers.

Made me sit up & ponder over many related/unrelated issues in life. Men or women didn’t necessarily have to be poor or under-qualified to experience the travails of life. Life is tough on everybody. How we overcome our deficiencies & circumstances is what sets us apart finally.

At the end of 7 days we very warmly waved each other good-bye & it was only a few days later I realized that we didn’t exchange numbers or contact information to keep in touch.

In hindsight now I realize it was one of those chance encounters where we meet somebody for a brief period & share without inhibitions our life-stories….

…….which, in turn made me pause for a while, to look into my own life, to appreciate & truly value my little world.

What's your excuse???????

None of U, with the sole exception of Shalom, wished me for Easter??????????

[Nancy stands with her arms akimbo at the entrance of her blog]


And ur excuses better be good!!!!!!!

Life is Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The new academic school year[or is it school new academic
year;-P] started on April 5, 2009 & I’m walking around with a big grin on my face. I bet you are thinking I’m smiling coz my kids have got good marks for their final exams & have progressed to the next class.

I’m walking around rubbing my hands gleefully coz I’m a free bird now. Aaaaah the freedom…unexplainable really. Before you conclude that I’ve bundled them off to boarding school, let me explain.

All these days, after a hectic 1-2 hrs activity in the kitchen early every morning, I send the kids & better half to school & office[yeah, in that order]. I would just have time to switch on the laptop & login into blogger when the maid would make her appearance. Dunno why but I feel very guilty when the maid is hard at work & I just sit around tapping away on the computer. So while she is there I try to finish my cooking for the day. 2 hrs later when she leaves I’m still in the midst of creating the midday meal[somebody must have coined the word 'slow-coach' after seeing me in action. My sister makes fun of me saying that I even put the sign of the cross in slow-motion]. Finally when I finish, it would already be 12pm & time to pick Naina up from the bus-stop. Just when I finish with Naina's lunch, Nikita comes back, and then you know how it is & those who don’t, feel free to take a wild guess & multiply it by 100.

But now, guess what……….Naina is in 1st std & so both sisters reach home only after 2pm.

Heeeeeeee………..I’m in seventh heaven. You see I’ve got a whole 2 hours to myself. To do anything I want, the way I want to. I’m so pleased with myself & everybody around me. The world looks so promising.
But when I tell this to other mothers they look at me strangely, forget others, the better-half himself looked at me with this very troubled expression as if to say you are celebrating as if you’ve been freed from bondage.

The worst is that I feel exactly like that…..sort of like freed from some cage. I have a million ideas buzzing in my head. I feel vaguely guilty planning trips to the beauty-parlour where I can relax while the girl there gives me a nice head massage instead of the usual jumping up with a start & looking at the time every 15mins. Most of my package deals at the saloon go waste because I always rushing out to the bus stop without completing all the items mentioned in the package.
Most of my supposedly leisurely supermarket trips are also cut short only because of these ill appropriate timings.
I cant even visit a friend to have a heart-to-heart chat or rather a face-to-face talk. Well u know how it is; when we visit, we spend the first 2 hrs talking all the irrelevant things, just when we start opening up to pour out our innermost secrets its time to go….the worst is when we have to wind up the conversation at the door in less than 5 minutes unlike the 2 hours we usually take.

And I can also do my baking in peace now, without the usual.....

Nikita: “What’s that white stuff???”
Mama: “Nikita, its sugar & this is the nth time you’ve asked me this question & no, I am not going to give you some more to taste”
Naina: “Why do you mix it like that????”
Mama: “Coz the recipe says so”
Nikita: “What are you going to do next????”
Mama[exasperated]: “I have no clue as you are sitting on the recipe”
Naina: “Will u give us the bowl to lick after you finish????”
Mama: “U know I always do, now stop talking & let me concentrate”
Nikita: “So when will u finish????”
Mama: “Aaaaaaarrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhh”
[2 pairs of feet quickly exit from the kitchen to reappear again after 4 minutes with the same set of questions phrased in a different way].

Last 3 weeks were hectic with the kids at home fulltime after their final exams & believe me when I say I had my hands full. Boys or girls, doesnt matter which gender they are, they are so full of enthusiasm & mischief that we have to be on our toes the whole time.

I love my kids to bits but also long for some free time where I can ….
Just loll on the couch & watch some tv[I normally don’t watch TV or movies when they are around],
Sleep for 2 hrs[highly unlikely but the thought that I can do it if I want to feels good],
Spread the newspaper out on the table & read from the front page to the last page in 1 go[as soon as I open the paper when they are around Naina will want to sit on my lap to read too & Nikita will remember that she's terribly hungry only then]

So on the 1st day of my freedom I baked some yummy Peanut Butter Blossom cookies to perfection[finally].
The next day my friend who was going away to India for forever, came to spend the day with me & we had a wonderful time together.
And yesterday I set off to the parlour right after the maid left & came back a whole hour before the kids came back, looking & feeling rejuvenated.
And today, right after I put up this post I’m going to repot all my plants who’ve been crying for my attention for sometime now.

Haaaaaaaah!!!!!! I’m feeling good!!!!!!!!!


p.s: And yeah, I now spread the newspaper out elaborately onto the table & read it 1st page to last page in 1 go. Anybody want to test my knowledge???? Ask away, I’m all updated.

Which reminds me, tomorrow I’m at a loose end, any ideas anyone???????