Farewell Percy

Our dear Percy (Perseverance) left us early yesterday morning, December 17, 2019.  Ir was not unexpected but he was a great loss.  Not only because he was greatly loved, but because he was the last of the original Funny Farmers.  The house seems so quiet.  Even Marcus the Mouth is subdued.

Back around 2003 - 2006, the FFs arrived here, one by one, from a variety of sources.  They grew old and passed away, one by one.  Each one is missed, as is Percy!  I was greatly blessed to be able to have them in my life.  They were a handful and a lot of work, but they sure could make me laugh.  I hope they have given you some smiles and laughs over the years, too..

Marcus, Micah and Taylor started arriving about 2013.  That's a big age gap from the original FFs.  They are just as precious and loved.

I, too, have aged and sitting at the computer to type or to visit has become harder and harder because of back and neck pain, especially this year, 2019.  That's why there have been so few posts and visits from us.  I don't know what 2020 will hold, and I seem to have lost the "voice" of the FFs.  Oh, there might be an occasional post.  "Withdrawal" is tough! 

Buddy started blogging in early 2005 when he wasn't even 2 months old yet,.  I'm grateful for the few who have kept in touch despite our absence. 

We did post on Marcus's birthday and Taylor's Gotcha Day earlier this month because Ingrid sent us a lovely graphic for it.  Mom Ingrid, Pipo, Dalton, and Benji also sent a beautiful graphic for Marcus' Gotcha Day, which was December 11.  We are late posting it.  Thank you, Ingrid. 

Asleep At The Keyboard

Cyndi:  Did you miss us?  Seriously, you didn't even notice we were missing?  But we didn't post two days last week.  Surely someone missed us!

Buddy:  Hmmm, guess not.  It was all Jan's fault.  She -

Cyndi:  Let's leave them guessing.

Buddy:   But it's really simple.  Jan kept sitting down in our computer chair last week and falling asleep at the keyboard. 

Cyndi:  And you know how we all like naps.

Buddy:  So we forgot about posting and joined her.

Cyndi:  It's that time again.  *yawn, stretch*  I think I'll just lie down here and ....

Buddy:  zzzzzzzzz

Missing Memories

Merci:  2015 was a year of injuries, sadness and blessings for us.  In February Jan flew solo across the room and crashed, leaving her with multiple injuries, including a bad head injury and two black eyes. 

Percy:  In March Cameron died, was buried, dug up by a coyote during the night, his body retrieved and re-buried.

Merci:  Jan dug up the dog pen to plant grass that didn't grow.

Taylor:   I barely had opportunity to get to know Sam.  I arrived in mid-November.  He had a stroke in early December and died January 5, 2016. 

Percy:  It was a painful, sad year that Jan doesn't want to repeat.  She survived and we lost two of our furry brothers.  Our old posts are sometimes sprinkled with fairy dust but they are also a diary of sorts.  Memories.

Merci:  We don't know if anyone has noticed yet, but all of our 2015 photos have been missing from our blog for a month or two.  There are no photos from our 2015 album in any posts they were used in, whether in 2015 or 2016.  Ever since Google switched our blog photo albums from Picasa to Google Archives.

Percy:  Please don't tell us not to worry, they're not lost, they're somewhere.  We know they aren't lost!  We know where they are.  What we can not do is see them on the blog - because of a setting which we can not access because Picasa no longer exists and there is no way to change the setting.  All the other albums have a different setting and are fine.

Taylor:  Jan had contact with someone in a forum that was going to pass the problem up to Google.  We don't know if we reached the end of the line with this, or if our problem is stalled in line with many others.  We do know Google has no end of Bloggers needing some kind of help.

Merci:  And there may be nothing that can be done!  We can only wait.  And pray for help to resolve this.  We have so many memories in our 2015 blog posts.

Percy:  Jan thought of trying to reinsert pictures into the old posts but re-posting stories for a year would not only be a monumental task, getting the right pictures in the correct places would be nearly impossible.

Taylor:  We had no idea we would not be able to make changes to our Google Photos settings, or that the Archives would be managed by GP settings, so we have been very discouraged about this whole situation.  We seriously considered closing the blog when we first saw all those blank photo holders.

Merci:  Here is one of our 2015 posts (Surprising Update on Cameron).  Notice the missing photos.  

Percy:  There are crucial, life-changing events happening in the world - for example, the catastrophic flooding and rescue efforts in Louisiana - so we feel a bit selfish desiring a solution to what is, in comparison, a minor problem.

Taylor:  Still, we pray for a positive outcome.  And for the people of Louisiana.

Size and Colors

Merci:  Since we blog, we'd like to talk about blogging today. 

Cyndi:  Yes, we can make our blog be anything we want it to be.

Cameron:  And that makes us happy.  But we also have to consider our readers and make them happy too.

Micah:  Blog readers are like guests in our home.  We want them to feel at home and be comfortable.

Percy:  Oh, Jan says to tell you, if we're going to invite you all to visit our blog, to remind you to wipe the mud off your paws before you enter.

Sam: We all try to make our blog as inviting as possible.  A fun thene, an interesting background, lots of photos, and so forth.

Rusty:  But sometimes we overlook something important and discourage readers.  Your choice of fonts and text colors are every bit as important as an eye-catching blog banner and background.

Buddy:  Yes, sadly, we have visited a number of blogs where we struggle to read the very small text or the fat, light color whirly font, or the small gray text that fades into the background and is sometimes impossible to read, even with a magnifying glass, or .... You get the idea.

Marcus:  I happen to have great eyesight, so I don't have any problem yet.  But the Funny Farmers are older and can't see as well as I can.  A number of other bloggers are older and have vision problems. Even some of the younger bloggers do.

Percy:  A reader doesn't feel very welcome and might not return when, for whatever reason, he (or she) can't read the blog post you worked so hard to publish.

Buddy:  We don't have any particular blogs in mind as we write this.  We just know we've been running into more we can't read. Too small, too light text is a visit-breaker. The colors you choose for all of your fonts, including the hover and visited links, can mean the difference between your posts being legible and being unreadable.

Cyndi: And even if a visitor has good eyesight, he could have eyestrain from too many hours on the computer trying to make a living.  Help him relax and enjoy his visit on your blog.  Take an honest look at your blog and imagine yourself as a visitor.  How legible is your text?

Cameron:  If we haven't visited your blog as often as we once did, please don't assume this is why.  There are currently nine of us to wait on and provide for and Jan isn't getting any younger.  It takes her longer to do anything, and we only get "leftover" computer time.Many days she is on the computer from early morning until late at night and we barely get an opportunity to do a fast post.

Rusty:  We have been trying to make our blog a happy, fun place to visit.  We hope you will keep coming back. And if you ever have a problem reading our text, let us know.
 

Marcus:  To close with a smile, here's a recycled photo of Jan photographing some treats before giving them to us dogs.  And there I am photobombing the shot - again.  Jan used to find my eyes and ears in most of the photos she took. I really am photogenic, aren't I!

We Love Poppy Q Day

WE LOVE POPPY Q DAY!

We Funny Farmer Felines did an interview with Poppy Q last Friday, the same day she posted she'd been told she had to buy more more photo storage for her blog.

In a strange coincidence, quite a number of bloggers seem to have run out of storage at the same time. We've posted on this a number of times in the past and even wrote a "tutorial" on how to lower your storage usage.  A Blip On the Radar and Miss Peach are just two of the others who have been caught in the Picasa storage trap.  So we again warn you to check your Picasa storage and if you don't know how, read our "tutorial" post on it - .Vibrating Dogs and Picasa. 


We sent Poppy's mom the link to our Picasa "tutorial" but when she tried to get into Picasa, she could not enter without signing up for Google+.  Why this happened to her when others have been able to log into their Picasa account without being forced to sign up is beyond us. She didn't want to create a profile for Google+, as many of us don't, and it is just plain wrong to bully folks into joining!

Sadly, her mom typed in Poppy's birthdate and since she is 6, the entire Google account was deleted.  That's why you can't find Poppy's blog online.

Google wants copies of personal ID and way too much personal information to get the blog restored, so her mom will be making a decision in the next few days as to whether to continue blogging and if so, where..  Poppy was among our first blogging friends - possibly even our first.  We hate that this is happening to her and her mom and we want them to know we support them.  And miss them.

Losing several years worth of work and photos in a heartbeat is crushing.  Julie takes great photos of Poppy and makes a quiet, simple life interesting to read.. Today we would like to let our friends know we love and support them.  We hope they will return, if not to Blogger, perhaps using another means.

So we proclaim today We Love Poppy Q Day!  At least on our blog.  (You're welcome to use the graphic we made for the interview if you'd like to join.)

Tuesday Update:  Poppy Q's blog has been offline since Saturday night (our time) but her blog is back online today.  She still can't get rid of the Google+ signup, but she is back!

Nutty Ninja Squirrels

There are pecans and acorns on the ground in the dog pen, so Rusty easily enlisted help from the Nutty Ninja Squirrels to protect his doghouse from invasion.

Sam: That's okay with me. Now Jan can't put me in the doghouse for eating the butter. On the other paw, I won't be able to find out if Jan could fit through the entry.  I wonder if the Nutty Ninjas can be bribed to give her a shove?

Don't forget to send your entry for the 2012 Nimbus Memorial St. Patrick's Day Photo Contest to Brian by 12 noon EDT on Monday, March 12.  Voting will be on Tuesday and Wednesday.  There is a kitty category and a doggy category.  You don't need to have a blog to enter.

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We don't have Wordpress but this link came in our antivirus newsletter yesterday and we thought we'd share it in case some of you WP users aren't aware of it. Since the CB was hit with a redirecting problem for the second time in a week or two (it's fixed), we need to keep each other alert and updated. Fake AV Attack Targets Wordpress Users.  This isn't what happened to the CB.  It's just a warning.

Tags, Broccoli and WV Update

Hey, happy Monday to you all.  It's Cameron here again.  The other Funny Farmers chose me to do today's post.  Guess they don't mind I called myself the handsomest dude the other week.

Oh, wait, I get it now.  We were tagged by two bloggers - Katie Isabella and Austin - and we ... um, one of us has to answer some questions.  I'm not very good at answering questions. Maybe one of the others would like to answer these?  Hey, where'd they all go?  Never mind.  I can do this. 


1. Describe yourself in 7 words:
Handsome, dapper, trim, loveable, loving, intelligent, and mellow.

2. What keeps you up at night?
Nothing I can think of, but I did keep everyone up the night I accidentally pushed a dish drainer full of artillery onto the floor.  Jan shouldn't keep such dangerous weapons lying around the house.  "Silverware and pots," she claimed, but I know we were under attack.

3. Who would you like to be?
A horseback rider.  To add a little excitement to my life.  Wait, right now I'd rather be a magician so I could make the other Funny Farmers appear and answer these questions too.

4. What are you wearing right now?
A tuxedo.  Do you think I should ask Jan for a top hat to go with it?

5. What scares you?
"Silverware" bombing the floor at 3 am.

6. The best and worst of blogging?
The best is meeting so many nice bloggers.  The worst is losing so many to the bridge.

7. Last website you've visited?
That's easy.  This one, of course - Blogger posts.

8. One thing you'd change about yourself?
I don't know.  Do I need changing?  Jan says I'm perfect as I am. 

9. Slankets, yes or no?
 I have no idea what a slanket is, so my answer is yes or no. 

10. Tell us something about the dog, cat or person that tagged you:
Katie Isabella is the hug bug who moved in to comfort her new mom after Admiral Hestorb sailed to the bridge.  She's beautiful and regal.. 
Austin is a handsome tuxedo cat (like me) and very self-assured (also like me).  See, I moved in without being invited and Austin's mom posted, "We took him home because he told us to!"

I'm not sure how many I'm supposed to pass this on to - 4 or 7 - and I can't remember which blogs have already participated, but I'll pick 4 and if they've already played, they don't need to play again unless they want to.

Puddles
Asta
Animal Shelter Volunteer Life
Zoolatry


A canine hero protecting  the humans from a broccoli invasion has been caught on tape. The hero is a 7-week-old Pomeranian.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

We'd like to add to our Saturday post on word verification,  Some who have not turned on word verification or in the past had turned it off are finding it is on their blogs.  So we again suggest if you have a Blogger blog, check your settings. Blog owners do not see WV on their own blogs.

Some are having trouble finding where to turn WV off.  Turning it off is easy.  Finding it is the hard part.  We wrote this out and shared with a couple of bloggers over the weekend and they were able to decipher our directions, so we'll post them here in case any bloggers would like to turn off WV but can't find where Blogger has hidden it.  Our guess - and we stress the word guess - is that when we are all switched to the new interface, we won't be able to turn WV on any more.  Hooray!


On your new interface -
There is a gear icon upper right below the name of your blog. On the drop down menu, click on "Old Blogger interface."

When it switches to old interface, click on
Settings.
Comments
Scroll down to Show Word Verification for Comments? and switch to "No."
Scroll to bottom of page and click Save Settings.

Scroll to top of browser page and click on Try the Updated Blogger Interface to the left of your blog name.

That should take care of it. And heartfelt thanks to each of you for turning off WV - from all of us and a huge host of other WV frustrated bloggers.

Protect Your Online Rights

We are against any material being copied, stolen, appropriated - whichever you call it.  But we are also against the type of censorship law about to be passed in the US.  This would effect all of us..Yes, you and us - bloggers, tweeters, YouTube video posters, Facebook and other social website users. 

Here is a short video on the proposed legislation from Fight for the Future.


If this video doesn't play, click here.

Yes, bloggers, you might blog for fun, but there is a bill in Congress that will affect your rights on the web and will censor all web sites, blogs, etc.  In a nutshell :

SOPA explicitly states that companies will be liable for everything their users post. Sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia, or any sites that allow user generated content CANNOT exist under these laws. Immediately after this bill is passed, you will see the media mafia (MPIAA, RIAA, etc) replacing websites like Wikipedia with commercialized encyclopedia software. Mainstream media outlets will not cover this bill because they are the ones lobbying for it.

If you want to know more - Google created a doc to read and inform - SOPA for Dummies.

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND STOP THIS BILL FROM PASSING! 

To help you do this stop by Fight the Wall  and connect with your Representative!

There is more on stopping American censorship with SOPA and PIPA on AmericanCensorship.org.

Your Senators need to hear from you now.  Today.  The bill will be passed in just a few days if you don't act. 

If you would like the Stop SOPA and Stop PIPA black banners at the top of our page for your Blogger blog (Wordpress already has a plugin for you), you can get the code here and put it in an HTML/Javascript widget.  

Prison Break and Blogger

Today it is the dogs' turn to provide a little humor to help digest all those scrumptious Thanksgiving meals many of you ate yesterday.  After all, laughter is good exercise. And what could be funnier today than watching a prison break?


If the video doesn't play, click here.

We have mentioned before about having a problem visiting and leaving comments because blogs load slowly - some more so than others.  Many bloggers and visitors lead a hectic life and have a limited amount of time to visit, so the easier it is to load your/our page, the more grateful we/they are. 

There are things we can all do to help Blogger blogs load faster  For one, we can clean up our sidebar. (Yes, we will be cleaning up ours again soon.)  With Blogger, we can have 10 pages on any subject.  We can make a page for the blog links we keep in our sidebar.  (We deleted our links when so many blogs were being locked over a link to a site that had been hacked.  Setting up a page for links is on our to-do list.)  This is a major loading holdup.  But if we make a page for our friends, all those links will only load when the friends page is clicked on.  We can make one for bridge friends or awards - or whatever subject fits our needs.  This helps the blog to load faster since you've cut down on the amount of links that must load on the main page.

The other day we posted on being careful because using some cute decorations found on the internet could get your blog hacked or hijacked.   Today The Real Blogger Status has a post on how adding holiday decorations can impact your visitors.

"Besides the long term and subtle computer hacking, your readers, visiting your blog decorated with the latest animation, will have a more immediate and obvious problem to consider - browser freezes and other computer overload problems." (Read the full post, Holiday Decorations & Your Blog, #2)

We clicked on a few blogs including our own with our homemade background and header and found loading any of them requires 100% of our CPU. Since there is no 101%-plus CPU, it's no wonder some blogs take FOREVER to load and let us scroll.

This post helped us understand why loading a blog uses 100% of our CPU ---

"The new templates feature the blog content housed in a transparent layer, so you can see the background beneath the content. As you scroll through the blog content, the background is displayed, in its glory. Your computer has to redraw the background, and the blog content, constantly, as you scroll. That takes computing power."  (Read the full post The New Designer Templates Have A Downside)

If you have music that loads too, we are less inclined to return.  You see, when it's quiet in here and music suddenly blasts, Jan screams and we all become very nervous.  The only place our speakers can sit is way behind our monitor so one of us has to get up and go alter the volume, then get up again when leaving the blog.  That isn't going to happen!  If we want to leave a comment, we get blasted out each time we click and the page changes. It makes us so nervous, we just want to get off that blog.   It can chase away other visitors too.

"Unexpected music can create both a bandwidth annoyance, and an audible distraction. People surfing blogs in a shared environment, for instance a library, won't appreciate any audio content in any blog.  

"If you want to decorate your blog with your favourite playlist, to complement the mood of the blog, that's OK - as long as you make the music optional." (Read the full article, Including Music in Your Blog.)

We're posting this for our own information too.  We want our visitors to have a pleasant experience and hope you would tell us if you have a problem on our site.

Buddy's Surprise and Sunny

Yep, we love our Buddy and he wasn't forgotten yesterday.  Heeheehee.  But he didn't know that.

We were shocked to read Sunny of Mommy's Little Fat Boy's blog last night.  He died November 17th, only a couple of days after a cancer diagnosis. Sunny had not blogged in over a year but we had hoped he would return to blogging one day.  We all know how hard it is to lose a furry, so we hope you will stop by and leave an encouraging comment for his mom.

Well, this post was scheduled last night to auto post at 9:30 am this morning.  It's now 11:37 and when we checked, it was no longer scheduled.  Guess the surprise was on us.  Since it's already late, we're going to add one more item.

Blogger Buzz has a warning to be careful about decorating your blogs with animated accessories. It could get you hijacked, if not now, down the road.  Be careful and have a safe blogging holiday season.  .