A new look
I’ve been meaning to refresh the appearance of this site for the longest time, and now finally I’ve gotten around to it. I hope you like the new design, based on the “Just Lucid” theme created by Theme Lab. I really like the simplicity and elegance of it.
One new feature is a revamped Photos page. It displays photos and slideshows much better than before. Check it out! Just click on one of the thumbnail images to bring up a bunch of photos. Click on the first one and you can see a cool slideshow.
I’ve also made the video clips more accessible by adding links to recent ones in the right column. Clicking on one of these will allow you to see them over at Blip.tv, where they are being hosted. You can also subscribe to them via iTunes.
So, there you have it. If you notice more changes in the coming days, know that I’m still tweaking things here and there. Finally, please continue leaving comments! I love reading them. Let me know what you think of this new look, and if there are any other features you’d like me to incorporate.
More new features: Column resizing, improved photos page, and “share this”
I’ve just added some more cool features to this site, so I’ll take this post to tell you about them. I’ve updated the “Mandigo” theme this site is based on, and with that comes a few things:
New background image
First of all, do you notice the new background image? It’s now dark, with a very subtle paisley print pattern. Nice!
Resizing icons
Next, if you look at the upper right corner of each post, you’ll notice two tiny icons. Click on these and see what happens! Cool, eh? I thought so, too. Use this feature if you’d like a less distracting reading experience.
Updated “Photos” page
Finally, if you’ve got a moment, take a look at the Photos page. You’ll notice I’ve added a LOT of new pictures. Each group of them actually reside over at our Google Picasa page, so you can view them there as well. To view the photos, just click on a photo, then on one of the thumbnail images in the group. The pictures will appear “above” the page with a cool “Lightbox” effect. Click the “Next” button in the upper right corner to advance to the next one. I hope you like this new set-up. You’ll be able to see more family photos more easily, and I won’t have to post pictures in two places, saving me some valuable time and energy.
Click on this photo to be taken to the new Photos page
“Share This”
Finally, in case you’d like to tell other family or friends about this site, I’ve included a “Share This” link at the bottom of every blog entry. Clicking on this will bring up a dialog box that contains links to all the top social networking sites out there. If this means nothing to you, never mind! Clicking on the “Tell a Friend” tab will allow you to send a blog entry to someone via email. Thanks in advance for spreading the word about our site! I’m very keen on sharing our lives with anyone interested. This sort of contact and interaction helps make my world smaller and cozier.
Finally, let me know what you think of these new features by leaving a comment below. I’m very interested in your reaction, or if you have any special requests for other features.
Cool new feature: “Answer-Tips”
As you may know, one of the reason’s I’m doing this site (besides wanting to stay in better touch with you all!) is to improve my web-skills. I’m planning on starting my PhD one of these days, and key to my proposed idea is creating and maintaining a blog. So, all the effort I put into this site pays off later on when it comes to my doctorate.
WordPress (the blogging system that powers this site) is an open-source deal, meaning that anyone with an idea and ability to improve the system can do so. There are literally thousands of “plug-ins” that improve a site’s functionality in some way. I’ve grown fond of browsing through the WordPress plug-in directory, looking for cool stuff to make this site better. There are just so many amazing bells and whistles out there! It’s been really fun to experiment with some of them.
This brings me to today’s topic: I’d like to introduce a very cool new feature called “Answer-Tips“. This plug-in adds a virtual dictionary to each and every page on this blog. By clicking on any word, a little pop-up window will appear with a definition, like this:
See what happened when I double-clicked on “Toyama”? A window from the reference site Answers.com popped up with a definition of Toyama. Not only can you read about what a word means, but you can click on the little speaker icon and hear it pronounced. Very cool! I’m geeking out…
So, I hope you enjoy this feature. It’s a cool thing knowing you’ll always be able to know what means what.
Oh, just for fun: Try clicking on my wife’s name- Shinobu. The definition that comes up is a real goof. Bonus points to anyone who has heard of them.
Google Map test
Can you see a Google Map to our home? I sure hope so. If this works, this could be an exciting feature. There are lots of cool places I can show you. With Google Maps you have the ability to include photos and video clips, so if we go on a trip, for example, I can show you the map and then include links to sights and sounds. Hmmm… sounds cool!
Wow, it works… sort of! Check it out: click on one of the control arrows and see what happens. You can zoom in and out, or drag the map around. Three map views are also accesible- try them out:
Map: Just like a regular street map (all the place names are in Japanese- sorry!)
Sat: (Satellite) This shows you a real satellite image view. Wow!
Hyb: (Hybrid) A mix of these; you can see a satellite image with roads and place names overlaid.
Oh, one cool thing: If you go into satellite view, zoom out a bit, you’ll notice that the clarity of the map really really improves only meters from our home (about 800 to be precise)! Google just recently update the satellite image of Toyama City, but unfortunately we live just outside the clear range. Someday I hope to present you all with a very clear view.
Okay, let me know if you could see this map- just add a comment below. Be aware that the map may take a few moments to load- the time will depend on your Internet connection speed. If this test works out, I’ll be doing this more, for sure!
New site design!
Hey everyone,
My mom is safely back in Florida after her visit here, and I’m now getting back into my normal routine. I’ve had a very excellent past two weeks, and I now trying to get all caught up with it. I have a lot of material for future podcasts and slideshows, but before I get to all that I have decided to change the look and design of this site. While I liked the old one, I felt it was getting too cluttered and was not as user-friendly as I felt it could be.
I hope you like the redesign. I think it’s more simple, clear, and easier to read. It’s very uncluttered, with all the links to the various pages now accessible by clicking on that little double-arrow site-menu icon in the upper right corner. Go ahead- click that icon and see what happens. It’s a very cool effect, and is a great use of space. Now I have more room for content.
Clicking this button (in the upper right corner) will cause a site menu to appear, one that looks like this:
Then you can access the other pages of this site, such as the new “Video Gallery” page. All of the videos I create will be accessible here, in one tidy location. Also new is a revamped “How to navigate this site” page, a place you can go if you get lost. In the works is a Photo Gallery page; give me a few more days to get that set up, as well as some other features as well.
Anyway, I hope you like the simplified design. I think this new look will make things better all around. I’d love your feedback- please post a comment below by clicking the “Comments” link and let me know what you think.
Friends News: Link to Erb family blog added
I’d like to point out a new link I’ve added to this site’s blogroll: “Tiny Tot Tales“, the family blog of the Erb family. The site chronicles the adventures of David and Alex’s beautiful family, especially their three gorgeous children, Nathaniel, Isabelle, and Gabriel. David and I have been friends every since our days together at The American University. He’s like a brother to me, and I’m really happy to see their happy life through the content on their site. It’s an inspiration to me, for sure!
Oh, and more good news is on the way: Alex is now pregnant with her fourth child! The baby is due in December. I know that from the very cool “baby countdown” widget they have on their site! Congratulations!
A bit on subscribing to this blog
Hey all,
I realize that some of you interested in this site may be new to the world of blogging and podcasting. To help you out, I’ve created an extensive (but hopefully easy to understand) page of information on how to subscribe to this site.
The basic gist is to understand that a blog (or “web log”) is like an online journal that contains not only text entries, but also other media such as photos, audio, and video clips. And, thanks to some nifty technology (RSS feeds), you can get this content delivered to you automatically. To make this happen, you’ll need special software that monitors this site and automatically gathers the new stuff. For example, to receive blog entries, you’ll need to have an “aggregator” (also known as an “RSS reader”) of some sort installed. For the podcasts, I highly recommend iTunes. For viewing the photos and YouTube video clips, hopefully you already have the required software installed (Adobe Flash Player).
To subscribe to the blog entries, just click on the RSS Blog button on the left. If you’d like to subscribe to our podcast, just click on the iTunes button or a button for one of the other major podcast directories.
If all this is too complicated, NO WORRIES! Just bookmark this site and come by regularly. You’ll be able to read, watch, and listen to everything I post without having to install anything.
Finally, I’m really interested in spreading the word about our podcast, so feel free to pass on the link to this site to anyone you think may be interested. I would really like to use this site as a tool for helping build up and extend our community circle.
Hello! My name is Gerald Talandis Jr, and I'm the webmaster of this blog. I'm using it as a tool for staying in touch with family in friends around the world. I've been in Japan since 1993 and currently teach English at 
This is my wife, Shinobu. She's originally from 
Luke was born on July 29th, 2001. He is now an elementary school student and loves sports, like his mama. Each week, Luke swims, plays soccer, and goes to a gymnastics class. He is also studying English and dreams of visiting the USA someday and becoming an Olympic swimmer, like his hero Michael Phelps.
Our daughter Max was born on March 7th, 2007. She is currently attending nursery school and is learning to walk, talk, and eat by herself without making a mess. She is growing by leaps and bounds, and loves Micky Mouse, Hello Kitty, and Anpanman.