Hello there fellow bloggers…
Having just started blogging back in April 2009, I have been contributing to the Scienceblog website irregularly. I have stopped writing all together as I pulled through the final stretches of my post defense paper work, while searching for a job at the same time. Now, as year 2010 came around the corner, I finally made it! My graduate degree is DONE, and I have found a great postdoctoral position at the Brain Research Center at the University of British Columbia.
As I have settled down in my new life- I finally thought about picking up my writing again and to commit more time to it. Excited, I started writing about what first came into my mind: an interesting novel “Cold Plague” by Daniel Kalla. Sounds familiar? Well, soon after posting two articles about frozen pathogens in antarctic ice caps (with some technical glitches with posting- with the website freezing and me having to click save again to avoid losing my work), I realize that the glitch ended up posting my articles several times. That’s annoying….I tried to delete some of the repeats but to no avail (hmmm… the website seems to look different). Really sorry fellow bloggers for the repeated postings- but it couldn’t be helped (Must be annoying- I know).
Well, I came back to Scienceblog today intending to do some writing, and to check for comments on my last article. At least there were a good number of “reads” for my antarctic pathogens articles. Just as I was considering to create an entry- the website gives me gut-wrenching blow. The webmaster(s) blocked my access- possibly because they thought I was a spammer. Disheartened, I’ve contacted the webmaster to perhaps figure out what was happening, and maybe clear up any misunderstanding. But that was to no avail.
I was left with no recourse but to set up a new account. Although a bit hurt and rather discouraged by what happened (I’m rather sensitive at times), I decided to call my blog “happyblogger”. Its a contradiction at this point, but I thought the name would give me the encouragement and positive attitude to keep writing despite this incident.