And We're Back!
We got our member's area fully paused out on the 25th of December & on the 26th I got probably the worst flu of my life, losing 15 pounds in 3 days. As a bonus, I got a respiratory tract infection that still has me coughing 2 weeks later!
I am starting to feel a bit over the hump (and like I could be normal within a couple days), but I recently let a number of folks down because I am so used to working 16 hours a day that its hard for me to keep up (even with SEO Book paused) when working only 8 or so hours a day. Worse yet, one day I slept over 21 hours! If I haven't emailed you it's likely not because I was trying to ignore you, but rather because I am still about a hundred more emails in the hole from the period of getting sick.
That said, we are starting to make some progress on the site. We upgraded Drupal over the last couple days (from 5 to 6, but still need to upgrade from 6 to 7). I was also testing the new HTML site design & we have a version of it live here. (One page down, and only a few thousand to go. hehehe.)
Our old site design was a *major* upgrade from the hand rolled ugliness I made way back when. The big logo + strong colors really made it stand out & made the site look and feel more memorable. But after we created a membership site, built more tools, created the online training area, started offering more videos, built the community forums, and created a monthly newsletter it sorta seemed like we had outgrown the design.
The thing I dislike about the old site design is that (to me) it looks sorta like a blog that kept on bolting on more pieces. Largely that was so because the site developed quite incrementally over the years. We never really started with a master plan, but just kept building more stuff we liked and bolted it on. Over time it added up & got a bit unwieldy & the current design doesn't really hint at the breadth or depth of the offering. Whereas the new design feels more like a complete thought that better expresses what the site offers.
In terms of the infrastructural upgrades, we are not where we need to be, but we are finally making progress, and are trying to catch up quickly. If I owe you an email expect one before the weekend is out! (Unless I feel worse after another nap here soon).
Happy new year everyone, and more blog posts coming in the days to come.
Comments
The new version of your site is looking good, Aaron. I was pretty sick this year too. No sore throat though, surprisingly, for how sick I was. Anyway, glad you're feeling better. Always look forward to your posts!
The new design definitely seems a bit cleaner/better organized and I'm sure will be much more scalable. Site redesigns are a beast particularly with such a site that has so much content, so many different types of content and permissions, and so many users - tough task if you're all the way healthy nice job fighting through the illness - congrats and hope you feel better!
Tom
Nobody would blame you sleeping for 21 hours after working 16 hours days the the last how many months/years?...; )
Feel better man..sleep more.
Site looks promising...can't wait 'till forums are open again..
-Ian
Hi Aaron
Hay listen,,please be careful with that cough.
I'm not a doctor but I have had some real experience with infectious in the lungs
I'll just say this: If you are not familiar with par d'arco tea then get familiar with it.
This lung thing you have can take months to heal leaving long term damage if you don't take care of it well enough.
Besides that..... if the cough is bad enough and prolonged you may cause a yourself a hiatal hernia to yourself which years down the road will cause KILLER heart burn.
So...Old Doc JohnRobbins suggests you get some par d'arco tea in bulk form.
Bring one gallon of water to a boil than remove it from the flame.
Put two cups of par d'arco tea into the water and cover it for eight hours. Let it steep for eight hours
Store the tea in a glass container. You can find one at Walmart or Target. If you need to be really cool you can go to Williams Sonoma at the mall and find a really nice one.
Store the tea in the frig and drink an 8 oz glass every day. It kind of tastes like cardboard but you'll get used to it.
Do this as soon as you can and keep doing it for at least six months.
Three pounds should last you. It's really cheap. Like 10 - to - 15 bucks per pound.
You'll never know if the drinking of the tea prevented you from experiencing many problems. But it will help you. You do need to do more than the medical doctors are going suggest.
Well....Get well and take care of your self. Don't push it!
As we say here in Oklahoma: "We won't look for ya til we see ya comin"
JohnRobbins - TechNdu.com
The cough has got far more reasonable / almost gone. But wow, who knew all the health issues a cough can be a symptom of!
Will other types of tea work well? Chai, jasmine, etc? Or does it have par d'arco tea?
I'm sure there are other herbal giants for lung health. Chai, jasmine are comforting but are not the giant that par d'arco is for lung health as well as for many other benefits.
Don't push it. Give your body the time it needs to completely come back.
Glad to hear you're doing better.
JohnRobbins - TechNdu.com
I see you made a few changes to the logo as well.
It looks fresh and new to me, congrats on the progress.
I hope you take good care of yourself.
A Flu just before the Christmas and New Year is easily ignored with all the festivities.
Looking forward to get busy again in 2011 on the Forum!
DG
Thanks Dennis. See you there soon. :)
Hello,
I signed up a few months back, and I have not received an invitation. I would love to get one. This training is invaluable. I'm a Full Sail student and all the instructors talk about how important this training is for a successful career in SEO.
much thanks,
Terri Hall
Hello, I've been a member onw for just over 3 years, but if I did see the old site, I don't remember it. It seams like it's been as it is now for about 2 years at least and I really think it's a clean design, flows well and not to distracting. Whether I remember the old one or not...I feel pretty confident this new one is way betteer ;-)
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