OMG! What happened?!

I received this blog post in my email and I knew I should share with all my followers. This is a guest post by Sarah from The Blog Guidebook.

Last week some of us faced unfamiliar territory...Blogger was not functioning. Our readers wouldn't know it because they could still see our blog and interact. But we knew it, didn't we? It is so frustrating trying to work behind the scenes on your blog and not being able to. Apparently it was only a small percentage of users affected, but I happened to be one of them. And I have been known to boast about Blogger's exceptional track record when it comes to down time. Blogger was number one when it came to zero down time people! Now, not so much. This "down time" gave me time to go look at Wordpress blogs....(traitor!).  But still, jumping ship right before Blogger makes its big reveal seems like a silly thing to do...I want to see what the new Blogger has to offer me. Will there be more features that are amazing? There better be! You can stay on top of known issues for Blogger by going here. Blogger also posts when problems have been fixed. It might be a good idea to bookmark Known Issues.

Were you affected by Blogger's down time? Did you even notice it wasn't working? If you didn't, then I'm happy for you!

Photobucket has had a few hiccups lately too...Photobucket hosts images, and when they are down, the images are down too...you can literally have a blank slate to look at for as long as 3 days (and longer). Read an article from a fellow blogger here.

Now, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. These are guidelines you might want to follow simply as preventative measures...back it up! Even if you're not on Blogger, these tips will be good for you.

Prior to an outage - we might get a warning or notice of "updates" to be performed

• Back Up Your Blog:  Yes, you should back it up on a regular basis. Especially if you’re thinking of starting a  site redesign or moving to a different blogging platform.
• Keep A Copy Of Your Posts - OFFLINE: Think about keeping an offline copy of your posts, in case something happens to your host (ie. Blogger) and they revert to an earlier version of your blog.This may take some time, you'll have to copy and paste all your posts into a text file, but it will be well worth it!

During an Outage - stay calm and carry on

• Keep Your Readers in the know: Let your readers know via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc that your site is down and you are unable to make changes, write posts etc. Ask them to check back soon, be patient, and send you feedback about their experiences with possible outages.
• Use Social Media to Run Anything on Deadline: If you have a sponsorship deadline, a contest to run, or just about anything else that needs to happen while your site is down, try taking it to social media. Get your followers active and still participating with your site, even if it’s down.

After an Outage - jump up and down in delight

• Read Your Blog: If anything looks different, or the layout has changed, go in and repair the damages.
• Inform Your Readership: Tell your readers you're back up and running. You are back in the captain's seat!
• Get back to blogging: Start back to your regularly scheduled programming, I mean posting. This way your readers will know you are cool and calm in the face of blogging dangers. Then back up your blog - again!

Some blogs have been known to disappear into the Bermuda Triangle too. Read this Google page to find out what you can do if you're one of the Lost. And, did you know that Blogger can delete your blog without informing you? Google hates spam, so don't have a blog about spam (canned ham?). Another good reason to back up your blog, right?

Read all Terms here.

Termination; Suspension. Google may, in its sole discretion, at any time and for any reason, terminate the Service, terminate this Agreement, or suspend or terminate your account. In the event of termination, your account will be disabled and you may not be granted access to your account or any files or other content contained in your account although residual copies of information may remain in our system for some time for back-up purposes. Sections 2, 3, 5 - 8, and 10 - 15 of the Agreement, along with applicable provisions of the general Terms of Service (including the section regarding limitation of liability), shall survive expiration or termination.

Remember to Keep Blogging and Backing Up!

Guest post: Halloween Treat Ideas for Tip Thursday

• From: justJENNrecipes
• About Me: http://justjennrecipes.com

Well, let’s kick off this week before Halloween with some Halloween inspired treats from the past!

Halloween Grave Cupcakes (recipe, here)


This is an all time favorite. There’s nothing creepier than a doll arm popping out of a cupcake, fo’ real. 

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Mini Caramel Apples (recipe, here)

Who doesn’t love the look of caramel apples – and when they are mini? TOO. ADORABLE.
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Caramel Apple Cupcakes (recipe, here)

In sticking with the apple theme, if you don’t want to mess with sticky caramel – here’s the next best thing…in cupcake form!
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Gingerbread Haunted Mansion Library (recipe, here)

I make a lot of gingerbread houses, usually for xmas, but a few years ago we decided to make a very large one for Halloween. This one’s a library. A haunted library.
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Gingerbread Haunted Mansion (recipe, here)

The first haunted Library was very clean. Very minimal. This one? Well, it was like Halloween barfed all over it. In a good, sweet, candy way. I loaded this thing up good, and considering that it was already over 17 inches tall, you can imagine with all the candy – this weighed a TON.
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Trick or Treat Cupcakes (recipe, here)

Finally, there’s is nothing better than a cupcake, topped with a cookie, plus some candy. Sugar overload.

What's your favorite Halloween treat to make?

Just an Introduction :)

Before I make a full on guest post I thought I would introduce myself.

My name is Sami and I was asked to be a contributor :) I am 20 years old and I am a student at Eureka College where I am majoring in Psychology. I have my own blog (reasonablerants), it is just as the title suggests, random. I make post about my life in general and issues I come across, some serious political issues, others just issues with people being loud down the hall.

I write very informally, and I am a horrible speller, so hopefully you will be able to figure out what I am talking about! |I do have spell check on Firefox...thank goodness|. I also like to end with a question, I LOVE feedback :)

Which is somewhat what I was asked to bring here to Randomness Rocks. I will do a little bit of it right now!

I am a major believer in LGBT rights. My mother is a lesbian, my boyfriends brother is gay and so are many of my friends. As some of you may or may not know the 20th of this month |maybe next I could have it wrong, but I am not in facebook to look at what month it is| people will be wearing purple in remembrance of 7 young gay men who took their own lives because recently because they saw no other choice.

Why do you ask? Because each of these young men where being harassed and bullied everyday for being gay. From what I understand |based on the news| one boy was only 11 years old and had never made any indication to his parents he was gay, other boys in school just taunted him saying that he was.

I joined the event and saw that so many people where posting hateful things on the site. One person said "who cares they where all fucking faggots, seven less I have to put up with"

I just find this all horrible. I find it disgusting enough that there are people out there that think and act the way that these bullies do. It is even worse that 11 year old boys are thinking this way, because you know they are being taught the behavior.

I personally believe that all of the bullies involved should have some legal punishment. They need to be held accountable for their actions. I of course believe it should be much less for the 11 year olds |they are not yet able to understand the concept of the impact of their actions and the serious repercussions of them til they are about 13| but none-the-less they need some punishment.

What do you think? How severe should the punishment be? The young men all made the choice to take their lives, but the bullies played a huge part. So I guess the question is how do you punish somebody for somebody else action?

New Format Coming Soon and How Safe Is Makeup

New blog entry format starting Sunday!  

Motivational Monday: posts to help motivate you throughout the week
Tip Tuesday: job tips/articles
Whatever Wednesday: a random day of posting

Tutorial Thursday: an attempt to teach you something
Freebie Friday: free stuff (from music available to free samples/items and much more)
Saving Saturday: tips on how to make/ save $$$
Super Random Sunday :o) another random day of posting whatever

Got ideas for posts? Great! I'd love to hear them. Post them anytime in any entry or on my fan page or just email them to me here. Wanna be a guest blogger or contributor? Awesome! I'd love the help! Email me here and we can talk about it and go over ideas.

What's Really on Your Face and in Your Body?
from: The Doctors airing 10/5/2010 CBS

Americans spend $2.5 billion on cosmetics and toiletries every year. But with an industry that uses more than 10,000 ingredients to make their products, can you be sure of what's really in your cosmetic bag? And, are anti-aging products worth the price? Health Investigator Liz Vaccariello gets you the answers.

Beauty Exposé

The Doctors Health Investigator, Liz Vaccariello, reveals the truth behind cosmetics products.

      

       Hidden Ingredients                  Is Makeup Safe?                  Anti-Aging Products

Although the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulates cosmetics, industry veterans' views and opinions about the safety of cosmetics are mixed. 

Chemist Nick Morante has developed makeup for more than 30 years. “Every cosmetic product you buy in any store, in any part of the world, is safe,” he assures.

Jane Houlihan, Director of Research at the Environmental Working Group, could not disagree more. “The oversight of this industry from the FDA [Federal Drug Administration] is almost completely absent,” she says. “The FDA has so little authority in law to regulate the industry.”

Siobhan O’Conner, co-author of No More Dirty Looks: The Truth about Beauty Products, states, “My skin-care philosophy is this: If you can’t be sure that something is safe,” she cautions, “don’t use it.”

Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Pam Jakubowicz says, “I think there’s a lot of hype. There’s not enough data at this point to say that any of the ingredients are toxic. If there was, they [FDA] would have banned it.”

“Pare down, take breaks from your makeup and read labels,” Liz Vaccariello concludes. “It’s not buyer beware, as much as it’s buyer be aware.”

•Look for products that contain fewer ingredients & try organic cosmetics
•Avoid or limit "DMDM" which stands for formaldehyde
•Use products that do "double duty," for example a moisturizer/sunscreen and concealer/foundation

The Environmental Working Group created Skin Deep, a cosmetics safety database that provides definitions and information on products, ingredients and companies.

Download a list of hidden ingredients in cosmetics.

5-Minute Fix: Burn More Fat

E.R. physician Dr. Travis Stork shares a 5-minute tip to rev your energy and burn more fat throughout the day. 

Get more 5-Minute Health Fixes!

Anti-Aging Skin Lab
Plastic surgeon Dr. Drew Ordon and Liz Vaccariello explain why skin ages and how to nourish it at every age. Keep your skin looking young and healthy with these tips:

20s
• Use products containing alpha-hydroxy acids to help even out skin tone.
• Use mint to eliminate undereye circles.

30s
• Use vitamin C serum and products with peptides to help minimize fine lines
• Use products containing retinol and alpha-hydroxy acids help improve skin tone.

40s
• Use moisturizer with antioxidants and Resveratrol to help fight aging.
• Chemical peels and hyaluronic acid help the skin produce collagen.
• Apply prescription-strength retinoid cream at night.

And of course, sunscreen should be used every day at every age!

Get more tips for looking your best. For more on AHA's click here.

Luscious Limes
Get the recipe for The Doctors Lime Facial that exfoliates, moisturizes and brightens your skin all at once!

 

Reversing Muscle Loss
Muscles are critical to almost every function of our bodies. They propel us through space, help us speak, hold our bones together, keep our heart pumping, digest our food and help blood move through our circulatory system.

After age 40, the body can start to lose a significant amount of muscle mass, strength and function -- as much as 8 percent per decade. Sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss, is accelerated in individuals who are not physically active. And though it is not 100 percent preventable, people can take strides to significantly slow the process.

Acid Reflux in Newborns

Pediatrician Dr. Jim Sears outlines easy ways to ease infant acid reflux.

Experts state that 30 percent of aging has to do with genetics, while the other 70 percent has to do with lifestyle. “This statistic gives us so much more hope about the control we have about how we age,” orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright says.

“The good news is you can delay or reverse muscle loss if you have proper exercise and nutrition,” Dr. Travis adds.

Drinking an Ensure® Muscle Health shake -- which contains Revigor,™ a source of HMB, a naturally-occurring amino-acid metabolite, as well as 13 grams of protein -- can help rebuild muscle and strength as you age.

For more information about the products mentioned on this show, please go to Related Resources | Sign Up for the Newsletter| Show Page |Talk about the Show | Join The Doctors Social Network