"thing" no. 19, part 2: Web 2.0 awards list

OK, there is a story -- actually two -- that go along with trapping the widget that accompanies "thing" no. 19, part 1. The little rascal.

In going through the Web 2.0 awards list, which was a little strange in and of itself, I chose the widgets award category and found yourminis.com. Apparently this outfit won first-place. Well, it was not my doing that yourminis.com captured the top honors for widgets. I wouldn't give 'em one. I think their site needs some work.

I started poking around on yourminis.com, finding a somewhat intriguing-looking widget -- countdown to 2009. (Cool sparklers!) Ended up creating an account with yourminis. I tried to add "countdown" to my blog but couldn't figure out how to do it. Clicked copy me. Also clicked remix me. Those did nothing helpful. I ended up in some weird-looking screens.

And then, what happens? This is Sunday night, and I can't find the #$%^& widget on my blog. Why? I learn on Monday that it has ended up on one of the blogs at work. (I have access to two blogs, mine and one at the Des Plaines Public Library.) Thank goodness Karen, our web services librarian, caught it Monday afternoon while doing something else, and removed it. (This was after I had emailed her earlier in the day for help with widgets.) How timely. She showed me how to copy and insert "countdown" onto my blog. I had to pick the third-party option for a new gadget. Karen said she had done that once, put a widget on the wrong blog. But still, I felt embarrassed. Whatever.

At any rate, that takes us to today. I wanted to change the title that Karen had given that widget (for my blog). So again I started fooling with the html. It came back to bite me again. Next thing I know, the sparklers and widget are gone, and I get a little sad face message on my blog: "Oops. The widget has been disabled. For more widgets, please visit us at www.yourminis.com."

Oh, bs. I couldn't believe it had been disabled. So I went back to yourminis.com, found my sparklers and plugged 'em in again. (I also deleted the "oops, etc." post with the sad face.) This time they seem to have stuck. Then again, perhaps I'll just have to get out the glue stick to be sure.

2009 countdown widget (labs) by widgia