The old Gallery2-based section is still live for now, but it’s not linked from any of the toolbars. Once I have most of the photos moved over, I’ll take down the Gallery2 code too.

I’m very proud of the changes I’ve made on this site and will continue to post (almost) daily here. My Twitter account is also still very active and automatically feeds the 7 Minute Miles home page.

I reinstalled the iPhone Facebook app, but I’m not sure yet how much I’ll post going forward. I don’t see what all the fuss was about regarding the layout changes, but I think the big stuff talked about at F8 is still yet to come, no?

With the additional of post formats, I should be able to post something almost every day – favorite quotes, links to other sites I like and single images are quick and easy. I also want to write regular posts more often and will focus on my usual food, golf, running and travel stories, along with some personal posts about whatever grabs my fancy on that particular day.

I haven’t decided yet just how personal I want to get here – there is definitely a school of thought that says you need to cultivate your “online brand” and be aware of what a potential future employer might read. Others get all uptight if you swear, become too political or say something that’s out of the ordinary. And it’s much easier to write crazy stuff if you are anonymous (or an idiot).

Online publishing platforms like WordPress create an incredible opportunity for self-expression and wide dissemination of thoughts and ideas. Everyone likes to hold up freedom of speech as an ideal, but the reality is that words have consequences and must be wielded carefully. I hate self-censorship, but I’ve also been burned enough times by things I write to know I need to think twice (or more) before hitting the publish button.

I am who I am, though, and don’t plan to be anonymous or (hopefully) boring. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show…

The biggest items involved adding post formats to my custom theme (which now supports standard, link, quote and image posts) and integrating a three-column formatting structure based on the jQuery plugin Masonry. I also modified the RSS feed to deal with post formats, tweaked the Twitter section and cleaned up the style sheet.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about how I spend my time online and how I present myself in various venues (I’m currently on a Facebook hiatus, quit Google+ before I really started and came very close to shutting down my LinkedIn profile). The simplicity of Tumblr drove the implementation of post formats and I like the idea of having full control over my content. Also have high hopes for the next version of the WordPress iOS app.

All of these things will hopefully mean I get back to posting more often, but no promises…

A lot has changed in my life during this timeframe, but the look of this site has not. I was kicking around the idea that I should write a new theme and incorporate all of the new features that WordPress has added over the years, but I’m both lazy and a slow learner. In the end, I decided to mostly keep things the way they’ve been, but did tidy up the joint a little:

• Added new background image
• De-cluttered the title bar and re-named some links
• Modified the color scheme a bit and cleaned up the style sheet
• Removed the sidebar and created a new sub-footer section
• New social media and contact buttons in the sub-footer
• Moved the bucket list items to the footer area
• Upgraded the photo gallery to the latest version
• De-activated and removed unused plugins (and added some new ones)
• Adding a new running log section (not quite ready yet)
• Re-writing the about section and merging it with the old bio and fetish sections (in progress)

I’ve been thinking a lot about how personal web sites fit in with the current social media landscape and decided I’ll keep this site as my online home base and have Twitter continue to feed the home page with short updates. When I do write the occasional longer post here, Twitter and Facebook will announce those posts automatically. And I still like the concept of owning the box (and the contents) and not worrying about the (sometimes) arbitrary policy changes of other companies. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all serve various purposes for me, though, so they will continue to stay in the picture (despite my occasional idiot freakouts).

A few stats as of today: 919 posts, 95 pages, 182 approved comments (78,255 blocked spam comments), 39,194 unique visitors in 2010 (who viewed 400,295 pages).

In the meantime, here’s a nice relaxing photo from God’s Country to liven up the 7 Minute Miles home page.

• 882 Posts
• 128 Pages
• 29 Categories
• 167 Non-Spam Comments
• 42,621 Spam Comments

These numbers reflect the integration of the old golfing, hockey, run and skiing in Minnesota sites.

I’ve been thinking about new designs and features lately – stay tuned!

• All of my former .mn sports sites now re-direct to this site. New sections have been created for golf, hockey, running and skiing. Archived posts from each site have been consolidated on 7MM and separate RSS feeds are available for each category.
• Photo gallery images from the old sites have also been consolidated in the main 7MM gallery.
• Links to other sites we like have been consolidated in the 7MM blogroll area in the sidebar.
• I added page anchors to the fetishes page, along with a drop-down selector so you can jump down to the exact section you’d like to read.
• A new 7 Minute Miles, LLC services randomizer box replaces my personal “to-do” bucket list section, which has moved to the footer.
• Information on the contact page has been updated to add the new 7MM PO box mailing address and the return of my iChat/AOL account name.
• Minor updates to the about page and the biography sections.
• A new company page has been created to describe services the new 7 Minute Miles, LLC, organization is now offering.

Speaking of the LLC, I decided at the end of the summer it was time to start a new company. With the help of Doug Podolak and attorney Kevin Johnson, I founded 7 Minute Miles, LLC, on August 28, 2009.

The legal framework is now in place and I opened new business checking and savings accounts with U.S. Bank earlier this week. A former co-worker from Northwest Airlines, Mumtaz Walli-Ware, will be providing small business accounting and tax services and I will be purchasing business insurance from Tapemark Charity Pro-Am presenting sponsor, Anderson Agency.

The new company is a technology consultancy that specializes in WordPress web publishing and Apple system administration and management. Our first two new clients are the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am and the Macalester College Relations department. With are in negotiations with several other organizations and hope to have more news to announce soon.

Please take a look at the services we offer and contact us for a free initial consultation today!

The Dashboard reports:

• 382 Posts
• 40 Pages
• 25 Categories
• 97 Non-Spam Comments
• 20,787 Spam Comments

We hit a new high for number of pages displayed last month (21,955) and visits this month (5,371). On an average day this month, almost 180 people dropped in to read my ramblings. Crazy.

Note: Due to server maintenance, this site will be off-line from approximately midnight tomorrow until around 8AM Wednesday morning.

Lots of great memories in there…