A Test Of One’s Own Google Reader Shared Items

June 18, 2008 - By ginny

Recently, Dave over at DDtB noted that Google Reader’s shared items can scroll off one’s web page widget pretty quickly, but that it set up a fairly nice unordered list if you copied it off the widget for further commentary on your blog. And so it does, especially if you choose Paste Special > Remove MS Word formatting, which also removes Mozilla- and Google-added style elements. This is handy if you have a number of links grouped together and want to grab them for a quick omnibus post. Not so easy if they’ve already scrolled off the widget and are on either your own Google Reader page (full-size computer, not mobile version) or on the public page that’s there for all the world to see. But the links are still handy. Here’s the omnibus:

It doesn’t include my oh-so-amusing snarky bits about kilted lawyers magnanimously sized manly parts, but let’s see what happens when an excerpt of an older shared link is pasted from my public shared items page:

2000 year old seed from Masada sprouts

via Episcopal Cafe by Ann Fontaine on 6/17/08

USAToday reports a seed recovered from Masada continues to grow and thrive.

The little tree was sprouted in 2005 from a seed recovered from Masada, where rebelling Jews committed suicide rather than surrender to Roman attackers.

Radiocarbon dating of seed fragments clinging to its root, as well as other seeds found with it that didn’t sprout, indicate they were about 2,000 years old — the oldest seed known to have been sprouted and grown.

Well, that’s just slick! All I had to add was a blockquote to indicate that I was quoting someone else. Also, still pasting using Paste Special >Remove MS Word Formatting, so all that comes over is relatively cruft-free clean HTML. Also, I changed the default header tag from H2 to H4 just for visual interest. Hmm. This might mean I can start blogging incessantly again, as I’m no longer allowed to use work resources (ie., my Windows box at work) to fool around on the Internets tubes during scheduled hours. I’ve been able to share links via the iPhone during my not-too-copious free time between calls, but that’s about it. And ecto/Linear seems to be working pretty well (in spite of a recent catastrophic failure on my part to save a lengthy post that got sucked down the aforesaid tubes before I could publish it). I haven’t been terribly happy with the recent changes to WordPress’s admin page in version 2.5.* as I have continuing problems with the Flash-dependent image uploader, and I love ecto/Linear’s built in HTML snippets, iTunes song grabber, and other goodies. I’ve missed them. Well, whoopty do. KT Tunstall:Suddenly I See:Eye to the Telescope[3:21]