It is driving me nuts, if it continues I may have to move to that browser that Microsoft make :( So, if you know a fix please let me know :)
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maybe your computer has a stuck ctrl key - the behaviour you describe seems to be that for thr ctrl-pagedown key. hit the ctrl key a few times to see if it unsticks
By 
Bob MacDonald, at
August 20, 2008 4:25 PM
Thanks, it's not the CTRL key, as (in other programs that use it) that is behaving normally, however, it does seem to be a problem unique to Firefox, and it is the page down/up and arrow down/up keys that are affected, left/right and ctrl left/right (as in the box to type this work normally. It is not just bloglines as CNN and the BBC are also weird.
By Tim, at
August 20, 2008 5:29 PM
Could you give some more details:
Which version?
Did you lately install plugins? (With Greasmonkey enabled I had in the past the same problem)
Is it on every page?
By J. P. van de Giessen, at
August 20, 2008 8:12 PM
Fifrfox is version 3, it keeps itself up to date(I am not sure which version as I have it set up with as little chrome as possible at the top and the Help menu is not available the File Version (undder properties) says it is 1.9.0.3105 the problem only affects some sites: Bloglines, CNN, BBC, Facebook but not others my blog, Google... it seems therefore to be linked to rendering complex layouts, but beyond that I can see nothing much in common between them.
I have not installed new addins recently, but have a number that update from time to time (I can't remember which updated recently): Ad Block plus 0.7.5.5; is.gd Creator 0.2.1; ScribeFire 2.3.1; Stylish 0.5.7; WebDeveloper 1.1.6; Zotero 1.0.7
By Tim, at
August 21, 2008 5:52 AM
I made some tests, but couldn't recreate the problem. I use 1.9.0.1.
A known problem is that some AJAX libraries has some "fuzzy" coding and I know Bloglines is using AJAX. so maybe this could be a problem. You can post a ticket on the Mozilla site about this problem.
This time I thought I'll use the power of Google. I searched for various terms "website backup and restore", "reviews website backup and restore", "magazine reviews website backup and restore" and the like. I found and installed trial or free versions of dozens (well actually nearer to half a dozen) programs. None worked well. Some backed up fine, but could not restore. Some did both, but only to the same FTP site, so no use if I have to change hosts. Some seemed to have difficulties with my system and kept hanging up...
So, does anyone have a suggestion of a Windows program that makes backing up and restoring a website:
- simple: don't tell me about Chegwin and the rest of them, twenty years ago I wrote mean batch files, but I have no desire now at 60 to start that learning curve againworks to do incremental backups
- will restore to another FTP site
- costs less than US$60
One batch file was really mean, we snuck it into a colleague's autoexec.bat without him noticing, on bootup on April 1st it ran another file, his screen fell to bits, characters dropping and gradualy the screen went blank, for one minute nothing worked, then a new screen appeared, like the WordPerfect 5.1 startup, except it said: "a pirate copy of WordPerfect has been detected on this computer, contact the WordPerfect corporation, do not touch any key, do not switch the computer off" since the poor guy was in the middle of Africa this was difficult ;) when eventually heart in mouth he pulled the plug at the wall (nothing else not even CTRL-ALT-Delete did anything we'd piped the console to NUL) his DOS prompt now read "C: Never mind Richard WE love you!" [return]
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I use Offline Explorer for downloading web sites.
For restoring or copying web sites I have ftp access to, I just use SecureFX.
By Iyov, at
August 7, 2008 6:36 PM
There are several tools.
1) For downloading a complete website: www.httrack.com for if yuo don't have any ftp connection ;)
2) Freeware filezilla-project.org
3) Commercial www.cuteftp.com, www.ipswitchft.com (WS_FTP)
By J. P. van de Giessen, at
August 7, 2008 9:16 PM
To keep backups of my site I use Site-Vault. It downloads a copy and I can restore it easily when I need it. I didn't tried to restore it in another location but I think it works. When I bought it I paid $99 but now I see that they have lowered their price to $59 and also upgraded to 3rd version.
By 
, at
August 8, 2008 12:06 AM
Hi, Tim,
Check my suggestions here:
http://bibleandtech.blogspot.com/2008/01/backup-your-blog.html
By mgvh, at
August 8, 2008 6:28 AM
Thanks all of you for these suggestions, what I want is to be able to do incremental backups PodBible is over 4GB now, and getting bigger every day, so I do NOT want to have to download the whole thing every time I do a backup!
I want to restore to a different FTP site so that if our cheap host goes down we can shift the DNS and carry on.
So none of my FTP clients are suitable for either part of this task.
So these two abilities are crucial. I will look at SecureFX some more if the tool I am currently trialing Handy Backup does not do the job.
HTTrack does not seem to have a restore facility at all so would only be good for moving the site all in one go, which at 5GB (soon) and rising I do not want to have to do in an emergency ;)
Site Vault is a bit expensive, but well worth looking at also.
By Tim, at
August 8, 2008 6:34 AM
It is within the scope of SecureFX -- actually, it is just what I do as well.
Let me know if you need advice on configuration (if you decide to download the trial.)
By Iyov, at
August 8, 2008 4:57 PM
Thanks, again, I am currently trying Good Synch, which at present seems to be doing what I want without downloading to my laptop first. If that proves not satisfactory, I will look at SecureFX next... If it is difficult to work out I'll ask for help :) Thanks!
By Tim, at
August 8, 2008 5:09 PM
Does your web host offer some options? My web hosting control panel allows me to back up my email, databases and files to zip files on the server (which stay there for 3 days). I can also download them, of upload them for restoring.
By Stephen G, at
August 13, 2008 5:15 PM
Thanks, Stephen, that would be a good idea for a one off backup of a smaller site. What I need is daily incremental backups and the site is over 4GB and climbing, so I don't really trust one massive ZIP file download either.
By Tim, at
August 14, 2008 10:33 AM
Mark Brown has announced the launch of the new look Bible Society in NZ website. It is a nice looking (see right), and fairly easy to use, institutional website.I'm less than excited though. I had hoped for something more interactive. The Vision Network site seems a much more exciting way forward, which has the potential to allow ordinary people to join in "talking about" the organisation and the issues it is interested in, it also makes it easy for the "institutional types" to disseminate information, but THAT is not ALL it does. Now, you may think that I can't talk, the website of the institution I work for is less good looking, and just as "read only". However, most of our communication with our "punters" is done on the CareyOnline site, which (sadly? but for good reasons) is only available to registered students and staff.
So, Mark, what plans do you have to let us punters in pews start to WRITE as well as READ your web?
(PS: that last remark may be badly phrased, Mark's blog - naturally - invites comments etc. by "your web" I mean your institutional website... even a prominent link to your blog would be a start!)
Labels: bible.translation, web
¶ 10:21 AM
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Greetings Tim, thanks for your feedback. The new website is just the first step in a new web strategy for the Bible Society. The Bible Society over the past number of years has been very slow to adopt technology so I consider it prudent to initially take small steps of change when it came to our website.
The next step is to add more interactive elements, a blog and so on. And future steps will involve using the website as a tool and not just an information site, to promote our mission of getting the Bible into peoples hands and their hearts.. So building a community of support to encourage Bible Engagement; creating community spaces for various projects overseas and so on. But for now I am very happy with this first step.
In Christ,
Mark Brown
CEO - The Bible Society in New Zealand
By Mark Brown, at
April 30, 2008 9:03 AM
That's good news.One of the keys will be finding ways to get people started, that is where Vision Network has so far had less success - they've built a better mousetrap, but they still need to ensure that people discover this fact, before they start to beat a path to the door ;)
I'll be interested to read your thoughts on this, assuming that you post some of them on the blog...
By Tim, at
April 30, 2008 10:33 AM
Labels: hypertext, teaching, web
¶ 2:48 PM
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He was speaking at the University of Auckland "Teaching Showcase" session on e-portfolios. He began by revealling the results of googling himself and the other panelists. Consistently and woefully the prominent results were out of date or inaccurate.
I challenge you. Do it now. Google your name (as it is usually heard professionally, with quotes) and if necessary your country, so I'd look up "Tim Bulkeley" (or: "Tim Bulkeley" nz). What do you find?
That's right, out of date static material! Now imagine, instead of those static pages, a dynamically interlinked collection of your information sorted and revealed differently to different sorts of audience.
[Actually at this point I can preen quietly but smugly, googling me - with or without the nz - brings up my Amos commentary site and a pretty up-to-date academic CV :) ]
Family and friends see one selection, students another, your employer another... From all your material many different views... Update once, use in several places...
A collection of different portfolios, for different people, or purposes, but using or reusing data. I'd upload a scan of my Distinguished Teaching Award, link to selected blog posts (not this one, it's probably terribly inaccurate ;-) a couple of my u-tube videos, extracts from student testimonials... Some of that would be for prospective students, some for users of my websites, some for family ...
And, there's a cool open source tool to allow us to play with the concept, Mahara. (BTW it's not pronounced like the desert, try to give each vowel the same stress - the word means "thought".) It is only version 0.8.5, but usable and stable enough so it has already been used by classes, or version 0.9.0alpha2 for the adventurous. They hope to have version 1.0 out "by Christmas".
The educational possibilities... are endless, but as so often likely to be hamstrung but institutional inertia. But just imagine if the teacher's task was to facilitate the student...
Labels: education, open.source, portfolio, web
¶ 4:32 PM
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Hi Tim,
Not sure how I missed this post when you first prepared it... unless you've been logging madly and over-ran my 5-limit RSS aggregater!
Thanks for the write-up, it's great to know that the talk made sense!
By Nichthus, at
December 1, 2007 9:09 AM
I did post twice a day on the three following days, which is very often for me! I guess I'll have to slow down ;-)
By Tim, at
December 1, 2007 9:29 AM
Remember how we learned, slowly and painfully, that writing for screen was different from writing for print? On screen people scan rather than read, so terse writing, bullet points and headings are all desirable. They facilitate scanning... We also learned, first that text is fluid on the web, that everyone's browser is different, and also (paradoxically) that it is really important to make sure the essential stuff gets "above the fold". "Fold" is legacy language, from the world of print newspapers, meaning visible on screen without scrolling.
First, The Interaction Designer's Coffee Break cites Milissa Tarquini "Blasting the Myth of the Fold". She presents strong evidence (from AOL) that users do scroll. Then, she discusses the design considerations that allow us to help them - basically letting them know that they are scrolling for. Actually this post though very sensible and based on good research reorganises stuff we knew and hopefully already practice.
Then, in "Reviving Anorexic Web Writing" (on classic web-design blog A List Apart) Whose perceptive and hilarious childhood stories you must read! Amber Simmons argues that if we write well then the scanning rules do not apply. This argument needs more thought.
For a start it is not based on research, rather on some evidence and a lot of gut feeling. Then, while it seems clear her claims are true for some web writing. Her own delightful "stories" are a good case in point, one hardly scans them, rather they are read much as one reads a novel (only they are briefer - vignettes). Evidently also many bibliobloggers finest posts are the long ones that encourage real, deep reflection on a topic.
And yet, if a site basically offers information and/or ideas may it not be better to provide them in easy to scan format? If the writing is not the point might bullet-points and brevity still be good? Even better than finely crafted sentences...
Incidentally, and ironically, the image that accompanied Amber's article somewhat undermined her point. though I am still thinking about it - so this is a partial think I think that some writing is better for finely crafted sentences (the quill pen approach) while other writing is better if it provides a targeted dose of information (the syringe)...
Update: I have adapted this post in the light of Stephen's comment below, putting the asides into boxes. Let me know what you think of this "punctuatuion"...
Incidentally, writing this post has reminded me that I need to think about my punctuation - not all the misplaced commas and missing semi-colons, which I know about, but the bigger question of how I punctuate different sorts of parenthesis. I like parentheses, my thinking is a web of very loosely organised parenthetical material. But I need/want to help the reader distinguish parentheses that introduce a new thought (unconnected) from those that explain, or somehow fill out..,. Maybe I should use () for the interruptions and - - for the explanations...
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If your blog software allowed you to, then you could move to implementing "asides" in the posts.
For example, in Wordpress
http://codex.wordpress.org/Adding_Asides
By Stephen G, at
August 7, 2007 12:37 PM
Now there's an idea, even without moving to WP I could do a "style" that displays as a box and just code asides as DIVs with STYLE "aside"...
Actually while writing this I've tried it out...
By Tim, at
August 7, 2007 5:37 PM
This pops up a dirty great window over the whole area around any link that your mouse strays over with a "pretty" thumbnail image of the page the link points to. All I wanted was to see the URLs... I tried clicking the "Disable" and the "Options: Disable for all sites" buttons on the SnapShots popup.
But to no avail.
I can think of another word to describe this "feature"! But I won't "say" it here ;-) I say the sooner either **apShots enables their "Disable for all sites" button, or FireFox learns to block these wretched popups, or David removes the "feature" the better! David, if you read this, great site, wonderful resources, thanks for the emails, BUT please stop SnapShots and preserve my blood pressure ;-)
Labels: web
¶ 10:26 AM
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Mark open his post praising his (past and present) institutions for the support and encouragement they have given him. However, he also writes:
One of the difficulties is that in some institutions, those involved with appointments, promotions and tenure, have not yet realized how rapidly the scene has changed in the last decade or so, and just how valuable it can be to have academics who invest a lot of time and energy in new media.Which is sadly both true and widespread. The Maine document he cites is more focused on creation of new media like websites, however an MLA report (discussed earlier this year in an Inside Higher Ed article "A Tenure Reform Plan With Legs") may well have more impact on us poor biblical scholars!
The article set the scene, with some ancient history:
In 1998, a group of provosts of research universities circulated a document calling for bold reforms of the tenure process. Traditional publishing was becoming an economic sinkhole, they argued. Junior professors couldn’t get published. University presses and journal publishers were losing too much money. Libraries couldn’t afford to buy the new scholarship that was published. Somehow, they argued, the system needed to change — with less emphasis on traditional publishing and more creativity about how to evaluate professors up for promotion.How similar things are in 2006! The cloud (though no bigger than a man's hand) on the horizon is "a proposal being drafted by the Modern Language Association to fundamentally change how English and foreign language professors are reviewed for tenure."
Inside Higher Ed reveals that:A special panel of the MLA is finishing a report that will call for numerous, far-reaching changes in the way assistant professors are reviewed for tenure.
Comments by Charles Phelps, provost of the University of Rochester, are of particular interest for Biblical Scholars:Among the ideas that will be part of the plan are:
The creation of “multiple pathways” to demonstrating research excellence. The monograph is one way, but so would be journal articles, electronic projects, textbooks, jointly written books, and other approaches.
The drafting of “memorandums of understanding” between new hires and departments so that those new hires would have a clear sense of expectations in terms of how they would be evaluated for tenure.
A commitment to treating electronic work with the same respect accorded to work published in print.
The setting of limits on the number of outside reviews sought in tenure cases and on what those reviewers could be asked.
What the association is doing is “right on target,” he said, and from discussions with fellow provosts, he predicted that English departments would receive similar receptions in other administration buildings.So, perhaps at the next CARG we should be lobbying for SBL to start a similar process?“The thing that is first and foremost to me is that these changes will happen when they come from the learned society in the relevant discipline — and the field buys into the idea of changing things,” Phelps said.
Labels: open.access.scholarship, tenure, web
¶ 11:22 AM
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