BB's HOW TO: Putting a slideshow into your blog

Now firstly I should say I AM NOT AN EXPERT. In anything, really. And I am certainly NOT AN EXPERT in anything computer or internet-related. I am still a greenhorn (despite a couple of years in the www-saddle).

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This said, I have managed a couple of little tricks on this here little black blog. Learned - not through any kind of ordered teaching method which normal folks might employ - but by complete accident, sheer persistence or downright luck. Usually a combination of all three.

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And it would be just plain mean of me not to save you the hassle and pain of learning that way now, wouldn't it? As long as you understand that no technical jargon will be used (or understood) by this particular blogger...

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OK? OK.

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I had a comment from a friend of mine, Kate (A Country Girl) who indicated she didn't know how to insert a Flickr slideshow into her gorgeous blog. She dropped this bomb (a shock to me as I imagined she would know pretty much all there is to know about Photo Anything) in my last post comments section.

Aside: if you have a sick sense of humour you can investigate my sister's comment above Kate's ... I don't know WHERE she gets it from. Really.

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For those who don't know Flickr is a great site where you can upload your images to do various things with... print, share and re-use at places like your blog. I had just used the Blogger default for my blog images until I ran out of space, and wanted to make my images bigger*. So after taking advice from some other bloggers (including Kate, if I recall correctly) I upgraded my Flickr account to Pro (in order to handle the deluge of images I take).

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Additional note: I only ever upload a small web-size version of each of my images (I work out the size my blog can handle in its borders and re-size everything before uploading). This is not to stop people downloading my stuff (although that's a spin-off, as nothing would print very well due to the low resolution) but because my horrible internet connection would croak under the strain. Sad but true. The price I pay for living in the bush.

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Now sometimes, you might take a heap of shots of a similar thing - say a giant dog being chased by a cat, or a calf having it's first drink, or a goanna crossing a road. A sequence with a little story. Something which loses momentum as a series of static images which the viewer has to scroll down and down to see on your blog. Something that would look good as a moving series. This is the perfect fodder for your slideshow. I usually use between 5 and 15 images, but it's totally up to you and what your story requires.

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So once you are in Flickr, you upload your shots from your computer (follow You/Upload Photos and Videos). Once they are up, you can then assign your images to a 'Set'. I set up a Set (hey, great command of English there, BB) - in this case titled "Goanna on Road'. Remember EVERY image in this set will show in your slideshow, so be selective and arrange in order to 'tell' your story.

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After uploading and assigning your images to a set, go to your PhotoStream.

This will show you all your most recent images, regardless of their set.

Click on one of the images you wish to have in your slideshow.

The page should then look something like this:

Now click on the set link (circled above). This should bring up a nice neat set of thumbnails of your set.

(There are other ways to look at your Sets on Flickr... but this appears to be the only way I can see to get a slideshow happening with it. If I am wrong, don't hesitate to tell me. I will be the last person to be shocked by the news!)

Anyway... you should now see an option for creating a slideshow:

Do as the red text tells you and CLICK!

(Talk about some BOSSY red text. Sheesh!)

And a full-screen version of the slideshow should start happening.

It's important not to panic at this stage...

There IS a way to wrestle this sucker across to your blog...trust me!

After seeing that the order of images is right and it looks kinda the way you envisaged, you need to click on the black part of the page to force the options to come up at the top right.

Like this:

And you want to SHARE here (you KNOW you do!). Now you can simply copy and paste the HTML script 'as is'.

Or ...you can be really fussy and OCD and CHECK IT for sizing etc. *ahem* Should we do that? You talked me into it...

Click on CUSTOMISE HTML (circled bossily red for you in above image)

And you should see a pop-up window like this:

You can choose the SIZE of your slideshow here

(that's what the red text says, and I believe it!).

If you know the limits of your blog body in pixels (this is HTML stuff, if your eyes are glazing) and you can choose an appropriate size. If you want it to sit exactly, you can alter the size (please remember to click 'maintain aspect ratio' so you keep everything looking normal - things can end up quite warped otherwise). If you don't know your blog dimensions exactly, have a guess at the size - you can always back to alter later on. You will just need to re-do the steps from this point on when you make changes so they are reflected in your blog.

If you are happy with the preview, highlight the code box at the bottom of the pop-up page, and copy (Ctl-C).

Now head immediately back to your 'new blog post' page in your blog publisher - the place where you want to insert your slideshow. Now I have only ever used Blogger, but I imagine that every blog set-up allows you to write in either easy / compose mode (that's ME most of the time!) or HTML.

Slip over to the HTML section for a sec ...

and paste (Ctl-V) into the box.

The code will end up in amongst a lot of text...

Be careful (if you can't read HTML code) to pop it in at the very start or the very end of the post. Otherwise you might stuff your formatting or mess your other images up. And I'd hate to have you suing me for wrecking a post on you! You can always haul it around to the right position once you are back in 'compose' mode. (Please note that it will look like a blank box here, but should show up as a slideshow in the 'preview' OK).

And once you have stopped fiddling with things around your new slideshow, you should be able to hit 'publish' and see your slideshow sitting in your post like this:

Voila! Or WA-LAH as Dash would say...

And to prove it wasn't a one-off event, here 'tis again:


NB I have sized this to 600 px wide - the real estate on my blog where my posts end up (the column you are looking at now, in fact!). This area is dictated by the HTML behind the blog layout and (in mine) it is assigned to 610px, so this slideshow almost fills the space but gives a tiny bit of leeway for the eye. I found this measurement in the HTML section of the Edit Template part of my blog publisher, described as 'main wrapper'. I discovered it by accident when I decided to fiddle one day. I almost lost the entire blog design, but hey... no-one lost an eye!!

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MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

1. Was this HOW TO post remotely helpful to you?

2. Did I lose you at 'Hello'?

3. Did I lose you mid-stream, perhaps at the HTML talk?

4. You couldn't care less about slideshows and just want to see more photos of Old Stuff?

5. What (if anything) would you like to see next in a slideshow here?

All advice, hints and constructive criticism happily taken.

*a 'BB How-To' to come if people are interested.

Camouflage

Sometimes, you know, I feel exactly like I did three years ago.

Sure my kids are older, but really I run around and do grocery shopping and household chores pretty much the same. I cook. I take photos. I avoid cleaning. Nothing much has changed in these departments.

But one thing that has DEFINITELY changed since I swapped the Big Smoke for the Bush...

The Scenery.

And the creatures with whom I share that incredible scenery.

Like this dude...

He was just moseying across the road as I hurtled towards town to pick up Violet from Kindy.

Minding his own business.

This pre-historic looking creature (a common Aussie goanna) barely blinked at me as I screeched to a stop and grabbed the Nikon.

As if people screech and document it's life all the time.

What really hit me, as I ka-doosh-ka-doosh-ka-dooshed at him with the camera, was how amazingly s/he blended into the bitumen beneath his gnarly claws.

You know, like about a gazillion years ago Mother Nature was all:

"Now, this creature will be needing to subtly move

across surfaces like leaf-covered dirt,

and climb up speckly gum trees...

and there will be that bitumen to contend with too.

Let's see... "

Or am I the only person that imagines these kind of

one-way dialogues being uttered by a non-human presence?

Yup.

Thought so...

I'd love to blame my weirdness on the bush

but I reckon I've always been a bit of a space cadet!

On that note, it's time to GO... Anna.

(Oh dear...)

:-)

Conversations with Dash - the great slot machine question

I often wonder where the manual is for handling the questions you get from your children as you attempt to raise them. If anyone knows of one, I'd sure like a copy.

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My little man is a bit of a character.
A typical seven-year-old in many ways.
With typical seven-year-old fascination with toys and lollies and slot machines.
I am always having to say 'No' to gum ball dispensers at our local cafe, and those random pick-up claw games at arcades. But I had trouble keeping a stern face during my 'Save you Money, Mate' spiel on the trip back from BrisVegas on the weekend.

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We were in a little service station in the middle of nowhere, and I had let him visit the 'Gents' on his own (with me keeping vigil at a table near the door, which led into the restaurant). He was so proud of his solo effort before we did coffee (me) and ice-creams (them). As we packed up to hit the road again, Dash decided to 'go' again.

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I was all "Geez Dash, you just went" as he marched in to do his boy business.

He arrived back within a couple of minutes with an expectant look on his face.
"Can I have a dollar Mum?" he asked, eyes wide in anticipation.
"What on earth for?" says I, looking around the sparse offerings in the diner.
"There's a game!" says he, blinking.
"Where?"
"In THERE..." pointing back into the Men's Room.
It took me a moment.
But the lady sitting next to us got it straight away.
"Oh dear!" she whispered as she stifled a giggle.
I choked.

Hand to mouth, I suddenly realised what the 'game' might be.
"Um, I don't think so darling..."

And then tried to explain just why those particular dispensers were different to the plastic-toy ones at the front of the local cafe.

"Oh..." he said. "Grown Up Toys."

And we left it at that.

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Life is a minefield, isn't it?

A minefield without a blinking manual...

What just happened?

It seems like only yesterday,

I gave birth to the sweetest little cherub of a girl...

My Little Woman of the Fearsome Dimples

And yet today...

Just a day later in my mind, yet almost five years on...

She happily waved me goodbye,
(despite an early wobble of the "I want to be with youuuuu"s)

with her hair in short braids,
blue uniform dress swinging on her knees,

and brown sandals carefully buckled into place,
her pre-prep backpack

(or 'pack-pack' as she would say)

almost dwarfing her.
Her big brother seems suddenly BIGGER.

With a little sister to take care of,

away from Mummy and Daddy...

And I feel a little part of me driving off

in the little white schoolbus.

My kids.

My SCHOOL kids.

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Can someone please tell me what happened to this pair?

*Sigh*

Red lights, Nights Out and 'Crassy' United...

Last week was kinda hectic for this roaming blogger...
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It included about 1700km of driving, two cattle sales, three meetings, helping to herd a group of bush kids around Dreamworld and White Water World, a visit with Violet to the State Library (fabulous place!), a spot of Christmas shopping and my tri-annual mega-grocery haul... and catching up with my city friends. They are a wonderful patient lot, my mates from the Big Smoke... quite used to me doling out little bits of my time here and there for hurried catch-ups. (And I hope the ones I didn't manage to see this time, will know that they are top of the agenda next visit. You know who you are!)
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This visit also saw a small bloggy catch-up.
Well it was really a Twitter Catch Up for people who also Blog.

The subset of which happened to be in Fortitude Valley last Thursday night.

And the subset of the subset who happened to be married to younger men.

Quite a select group really.

A chatty blogging group of cradle snatchers.

We are thinking of calling ourselves Cha-blo-cra-s'ners (or 'Crassy' for short).

Not really.

But you know, if the drinks had been a little cheaper at our chosen venue, this might have come up in our wide-ranging discussions. Which brings me neatly to The Venue.

We met at a fabulous place recommended by my dear friend Gee.

Gee is a local (who actually grew up in my hometown but has been thoroughly city-fied) and is quite used to the upmarket, shiny-shiny fabulousness of this area.

Me? I've only been gone two-and-a-half years from the bright lights, but apparently I have lost all semblence of sophistication in this period. Cause this place kinda blew me away.

This is the foyer of our chosen venue...

Now you will have to forgive me here, but while this is as impressive as heck...

it kind of reminds me of a *ahem* high class brothel.

Not that I have ever been to visit one (said she hastily).

But the red... is very... well, RED.

And glowy.

And don't get me started on that chandelier...

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The drinks area tucked in behind this daunting entry was actually quite lovely.

The dude playing the guitar and singing was very friendly (and a bit wink-y).

And the wait staff couldn't have been more helpful really.

A lovely waitress helped me open the menu to the cocktails page.

Which was good, because the shock wearing off from the extreme rouge entry was soon replaced by a second wave inspired by the $18 starting price of mixed drinks.

Not only am I a cultural heathen, I am also apparently as tight as a fish's...um... 'out' door.

Luckily Gee, who loves me regardless of my conservative, heathen, fiscally-challenged tendencies, and my wonderful bloggy friends Rhubarb and Tracey, held me steady as I sipped carefully on my house chardonnay.

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Sorry...what's that?

You want to MEET these lovely ladies?

Well, it just so happens that I did have my camera with me, and managed to talk my friend Gee into being shutterbug, and I may also have twisted a couple of arms, and convinced my blog buddies to bare themselves for all to see... they are a shy bunch, but I am very, very bossy when the occasion calls for harrassment.

That's moi (the stunned mullet with the Luna Park grin, nursing her 1/4 glass of vino), Rhubarb (the sexy beast) and Trace (with her wonderful smile and blue eyes... she tells me they are really green, but according to the Nikon, they are blue. Go figure!).
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The two on the right managed (somehow) to forgive the alleged organiser of the event (that'd be me, if you are having trouble keeping track) for failing to pass on vital organisational information. Information such as whether this was to be a "dinner" event, or a "drinks after dinner" event. Seeing as how I have young children, and seeing as how Trace was operating on 'Mickey Mouse' time (aka Daylight Saving) I assumed the 8pm timeslot would automatically mean the latter option. Apparently not.

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And I do admit we ran a little late for the actual time suggested ... Gee has three little ones, including a four-month-old cherub, and my Violet decided to throw the hissy-fit of the century upon discovering Mummy was going out after she went to bed. A lot of last-minute bribery and corruption was called on to allow us to get out of that front door (thanks Gee's hubba-hubby!). My lovely companions posed gamely for the camera despite their growling tummies. I am hoping they were being good sports, and not biding their time to decimate me in an upcoming post?

*bats eyelids furiously*

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Gee was called on to recommend a nearby eating place and we rectified the situation (narrowly avoiding the treacherous condition which our mutually admired blog-goddess - The Pioneer Woman - refers to as Low Blood Sugar Cranky Butt Disorder (LBSCBD)). This disaster was averted with some Turkish fare, allowing the chatter to go on deep into the evening. My non-blogging buddy Gee steadfastly hung in through the Wordpress-versus-Blogger debate, and even the HTML chat (actually, I have to confess that I may have glazed slightly during this section).

We were charmed completely by Tracey and her twinkling sense of humour, down-to-earth outlook and amazing generosity in travelling five hours just to meet us all. And Rhubarb (Rhubarb, Rhubarb)... whose health battle was completely unapparent in person (she swears by mineral makeup, so I immediately bought some the following day) and whose wicked wit kept us all in stitches.

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And so we are all now safely back in the comfort of our own homes -

Rhubarb in her urban seaside den,

Trace in her Mexican (sorry, New South Wales) ocean-overlooking village abode,

and me... me a very long way from any waves at all.

Back in the bush.

With the goannas and roos

and some sweet memories of the night I made

two almost-strangers starve in a high-class brothel.

Weather Watch - RockVegas Fires

A quick note for World Weather Watch.

(Yes, we missed Wednesday again. That'd be why it's not Wednesday WWW.

Just keepin' you on your toes!)

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It's another hot, dry day here at Granite Glen... the lawn is quite crispy after a week of me being away in the very green south-east corner. I am the sprinkler lady here, and my garden withered markedly in my absence.

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It's so easy to forget the terrible dry going on once you are in the city confines - recent rains have brightened Brisbane and Sunshine Coast lawns, filled tanks and dams, and given everyone leave to relax a little on their water saving activities.

The drive home northwards, past parched paddocks and fire-blackened hills sobered me abruptly.

The cows in this paddock were gathered in the corner looking out hopefully at the unburned grass on the other side of the highway. I couldn't bear to take a photo of them.

These little patches of verde, thanks to irrigation systems watering crops near creeks, were rare moments of visual relief along the journey.

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And today's news bulletins are enough to stun me into silence.

Well. Almost.

The gorgeous city that starred in my last post is today experiencing s

ome drama of the awful, fiery kind.

Rockhampton is facing a serious fire threat (photo: ABC News)

According to reports at midday (GG time) one home has already been lost and increasing winds are putting hundreds of homes and residents in extreme danger. An emergency situation was declared in the area last night and today experts have described "horror conditions".

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We all have everything crossed and those that live in the area in our thoughts - we don't need another bushfire like those that hit Victoria in February.

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Closer to home, we see smoke from fires to the west of here. These fires (40-50km away) have been burning for a couple of weeks now and strengthening winds have picked them up again. Clouds are forming in the 'right' spots for us to get a shower - whether this will help douse the flames only time will tell. Today's forecast for our area is for 'less than 1mm rain' today. So guessing the answer to that last poser would be negative.

*sigh*

The forecast for Rockhampton is for 50% chance of rain (for, you guessed it, less than 1 mm).
And as much as we need the rain, at the moment, I am wishing every bit of our cloud activity 300km north, towards the bushfires around RockVegas.

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Any weather dramas in your neck of the woods?

Or are you enjoying a balmy change of season?

Facade Fascination

I am somewhere on the road - possibly helping a gaggle of bush kids navigate a theme park as you read this. And I will be endeavouring to find moments that offer the kind of 'zen-ness' described below... wish me luck!

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While it may seem to most of you that I am obsessed with all things cattle and kid-related, there is another side to me I like to unleash every so often...

It's my fascination

with

(you ready for it?)

buildings

Yep.

It's hard to believe,

but I was actually a student of Architecture

for a very brief period in my adolescent life.

(No cracks about how many centuries ago THAT was please!)

While I quickly realised, even in my pimple-faced naivete,

that I was as suited to this career

as an ashtray is to a motorbike,

I have never lost my ability to

glean pleasure from a sweet structure.

It kind of takes me away from the manure and the flies

and the sweat to another place.

A place that mesmerises with engineered lines, sweet facades of man's creations,

erected by those who understand how to carefully impose on and utilise Mother Nature.

I love that buildings can be seriously practical and sweepingly beautiful.

Order and art, if you like.

These shots were snapped when I was dashing through 'Rock Vegas'

on an editing trip for a little project I was doing recently...

many of our coastal centres boast lovely 'colonial feel' structures like these...

I just adore sandstone.

It's possibly my favourite building material.

I just want to touch it.

Especially when it is used with affection and respect and a little vision.

Like this...

And this dome... so lovely.
The design is an incredible contrast to the

painted weatherboard and corrugated iron

of most of the residential structures of the town,

but it still 'fits' this centre in the centre of Queensland.

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And this series of buildings is lovely too...

creamy and cool and solid and strong.

Don't you love the tropical feel of the palms planted into the footpath?

Then, as I drive slowly along the almost empty street,

taking in the arches and the pillars, the mouldings and the balustrades,

I am suddenly thrust back into my reality ...

And with just one sign,

the spell is broken...

And I can smell the red dust of Granite Glen once more.

And I wonder:

What takes you away from your everyday?