Charles Gnilka's Blog » Personal

My Birthday Present

charles — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:22:24 +0000

Today is my birthday. As a present to myself, I am starting up this blog again.

I haven’t posted here in months. It was not because lacked anything write, but because I had other places to share it.

Over the last few months I’ve been using Facebook and Twitter to share stories, keep in touch with friends, and meet others who share my interests.

I set this blog up originally to test out Wordpress. I had a basic blogging strategy of what I wanted to accomplish here. I made efforts to post here on a regular basis. I soon discovered Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.

“Tweeting” and posting links into Facebook were quick and easy. I found myself drifting away from blogging and using those resources more. I also wanted to find out how useful were these tools were in everyday use.

I am dealing with my own information overload. I love all the tools that so-called “Web 2.0″ has brought us, but there are only so many RSS feeds, news services, YouTube channels, and micro-blogging sites that one person can read and gain useful information.

In the last few months I’ve learned a great deal about the benefits and pitfalls of social media. I’ll share what I have learned in future posts about my successes and mistakes.

After posting that photo of the cupcake, now I really do want one.

The luckiest day ever

charles — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 03:22:48 +0000

Today is July 7th of 2007 or 7/7/07. There are couples getting married and lottery players lining up to buy tickets because this is supposed to be the luckiest day ever.

I think I managed to catch some of that luck. Over the weekend I built a new computer, installed Windows XP, and got it all running with very few hangups, hardware/driver issues, or other problems.

I have a lot of posting to catch up on and several half-written entries sitting in my drafts folder. I have nearly 2 months of writing to catch up on. I’ll need all the luck I can get.

During the time I have not been posting I have learned a great deal about WordPress, SEO, and graphic design. I have a lot to share in the coming days.

I have also made changes to the template for this blog. I will be posting about how I came to certain decisions about how this blog should look and what my goals are.

The best of luck to everyone on this July 7th.

Installed a new template

charles — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:59:05 +0000

I modified the default Kubrick template with some new graphics and styles. The Wordpress site helped me make the changes, including some PHP code to make the header graphic switch when the blog is refreshed.

Charles’s Google Reader Feed added

charles — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:27:37 +0000

Now you can read the stories I share on my Google Reader account by visiting the link on the sidebar. I try to update it every day. Most of the stories I share are web design, computer, or marketing related. Sometimes I put a story about space travel or pop culture in there too.

Are you a member of the Gnilka family?

charles — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:16:24 +0000

I’ve been getting email from people who have my same last name. I own gnilka.com and have pointed that domain to this blog. If you are member of a Gnilka family, you can send me an email at blog AT gnilka DOT com. Replace the AT with a “@” and the DOT with a “.” so the email will work. Or you can leave a comment.

Who is Charles Gnilka?

charles — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:05:12 +0000

Before I post anything else, let me introduce myself. I’m Charles Gnilka, a web designer and writer. I set this blog up to expand my skills and knowledge. I have a lot to talk about and a lot to learn. If you are just stopping by, leave a comment and say hello.

Down to work

charles — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:46:01 +0000

When I planned on starting my own blog, I thought about writing a grand mission statement. I would start out with carefully chosen words and a noble expression of principles.

There is so much work to do and so much to write. Let’s just get down to work.

Like Captain Kirk at the end of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, I am going to point in the direction of the stars, set course for “thataway”, and see what happens.