Site Rebuild Update

by 2:30 pm. It has 72 Comments.

The brain trust who is guiding me through finding a web designer/developer (and I can not thank them enough for dealing with my surly self and doing all this) has provided me with an update that I asked them to write to share with you all:

Hi John,

A quick status update on the website for you and for everyone at Balloon Juice:

We all know that Balloon Juice isn’t the typical website that might have a blog as a small part of the website. The BJ blog is the website, along with some niceties like the lexicon, access to the BJ store, etc. You know, all the stuff that makes it feel like home. As we look for the right fit with potential developers, we are ruling out the ones who have the kind of cookie cutter approach to web development that might work quite well for individuals or companies selling widgets or services, but isn’t at all what we need for Balloon Juice.

We have made it clear that we’re not looking for a redesign or a new look for the current blog; we are looking for a rebuild of the site from the ground up with the same functionality we have, or used to have. With the balloon man banner, of course! Once the site has been rebuilt, all comments from the beginning of time will be imported into the rebuilt site. There will be a big focus on testing before rollout. And site security.

The goal is a reliable site with a reliable commenting system that works consistently and well—on both mobile devices and desktops—and is also speedy, responsive, and aesthetically pleasing, with the features that are important for the commenters. It’s our understanding from John that there will be ads, but not the show-stopping, “the site is so slow that it makes you want to blow your brains out” variety.

At least for this round, the site will focus on speed, functionality and stability, not bells and whistles. Those can be added later, as needed. We will return to nym and email address permanence, and we hope to include the ability to preview comments before posting.

Earlier this week, we had a very productive conversation with a potential developer who clearly understands what Balloon Juice is, supports the goals of the rebuild, and seems to check all the boxes in terms of expertise. We are quite excited about possibilities there!

We are awaiting an estimate from him, and we have calls scheduled with two more developers this week. By the end of next week, we hope to have rough estimates from anyone else who appears to be a good fit on all fronts.

The rebuild won’t be cheap—nearly every developer we spoke with thought the project would take about 80-100 hours. It should be worth it, though.

We wonder if there might be interest in a special thread—maybe a live Q & A related to the new website? (Not intended as a “tell us what features you want for the site” thread, as the plan for the initial rebuild is pretty well set at this point.) Sunday afternoon seems to work well for the author chats, so if there is interest, we could do that from 1:00–3:00 Eastern on Sunday, Jan 27.

WateGirl, Steeplejack and Bella Q

This is not as easy as you think because people are super experienced at building websites for small businesses, but not blogs for a bunch of blowhards like us.





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The Site is Borked and Yes I Know It

by 12:55 pm. It has 24 Comments.

Over the past 24 hours, the website has been under attack from a number of DDOS attacks from, of all places, India. I have submitted multiple tickets to keep us up and running and the ladies at Hosting Matters have been working round the clock to keep us up and running.

Related, it appears that the wheels are finally starting to really come off the bus regarding the website, and I have been in contact with the trio of commenters who are helping me pick the web designer/developer so we can begin to create the new site. The fundraiser gave us a good sum to pick a quality contractor, so we should be able to move forward with that hopefully in the next week or so.

For those of you who wanted to wait until the New Year to kick in, as always, the paypal link is to the right.

In personal news, it is cloudy as hell here in Miami and I am cranky.





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Lily Chemo Update, Website Redesign Update, Fundraiser Update, All in One Thread

by 8:46 pm. It has 98 Comments.

1.) Lily and I headed to the big city today for her chemo, and she was, of course, an angel:

All the other dogs have to act the fool, but Lily just sits there like THE ANGEL THAT SHE IS. Everything is fine, come back in six weeks was the verdict. Now we are just relaxing:

2.) Had a conference call with Watergirl, Steeplejack, and Bella for about a half hour tonight, and we are still doing the prep work before accepting bids from web designer/developers. That’s a royal we, because they are doing most of it and I just blurt out an obscenity every time they start speaking dork. At any rate, they wanted to put out a call for any wordpress designer/developers you all might recommend. No spouses, significant others, relatives, please. Please email me with any recommendations (AND INCLUDE YOUR COMMENTER NAME SO I CAN REACH OUT TO YOU).

3.) Fundraiser is still underway, thank you to everyone who donated via paypal and sent checks. For those of you still wishing to do so, the info is here (or email me for a snail mail address):

4.) BJ Calendar: I have not spoken to Beth in a few days, but the last we talked she was doing the layout, so I imagine it will not be long before that is ready.

Is there anything else I am missing. I’m tired.


Thursday Night Open Thread

by 10:15 pm. It has 53 Comments.

Tomorrow is a big day for the Mueller investigation, with the Cohen sentencing document dropping. I have a full day of stuff I have to deal with so I will probably not catch it live, but I do think there is one thing to remember that seems to have been forgotten- Cohen recorded Trump, and the FBI and Mueller have it. We might learn what was in those recordings tomorrow.

In other news, the fundraiser is still ongoing, you can click paypal to the right or below or email me for a snail mail address.

As I stated, we are entertaining bids from multiple web developers, and some of you have mentioned you have someone in mind who may be interested. That’s great, but this time around we are moving away from friends, family, boyfriend/girlfriend/ fiance, etc. If you know of a web developed you would recommend, send me the email/web address, and we will contact them and they can put together a bid after we go through their portfolio.

Finally, it is still not too late to submit pet pics. Use the email to the right and submit them asap.

I have a dental appointment tomorrow and I am not thrilled about it. Just a routine check-up cleaning, but as I age every time I go to a doctor they manage to find something else broken. Going to the doctor anymore is like opening up the wall in an old house you are renovating- “do I really want to know what is going on back there?”





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Balloon Juice Fundraiser Open Thread

by 8:47 pm. It has 17 Comments.

Watching Operation Finale, where they had the right idea and shot Nazis.

Reposting from yesterday.

As you know, we are working on a new website, and a crew of longtime members of the blogetariat have been helping me see things through the eyes of the reader and coordinating the redesign. They have put together a comprehensive list of what we want from the “new” site, and are currently in the process of reaching out to web developers for bids. Thus, I have been informed that now is the time for the site fundraiser.

We will let this run for two weeks (and then again in January), with another updated post every day or so. As always, the paypal thing is always to the right, and should you do your Christmas shopping on Amazon, click through the link to the right and the website cuts a minute commission. Should you choose to not want to use paypal, email me and I will send you a snail mail address.

In what I consider the best news of the year, CafePress is once again doing calendars, so the BJ calendar will be available for purchase that way instead of having to go through the sheer hell we went through last year.

In other good news, the Balloon Man is coming back.





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