Where did the week go? I promise I’ll get caught up with the 100 Days of Summer this weekend.

In the meantime, from ProBlogger comes the following challenge: Post links to the following Posts:

The First Steel Valley Outdoors Post ( Actually, there are two more before this: One is a Youtube video with NO comments, the other is a link with one sentence. I am not afraid to say I was learning on the fly)

The Post I Enjoyed Writing the Most: The Trip Report on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

A Post with a great Discussion: Seriously? Getting Comments has always been a struggle.

A Post on someone else’s Blog I Wish I’d Written: John Scalzi’s Being Poor turned me onto his writing and blog.

My Most Helpful Post: So Nice I turned it into a page: 120 Parks in 100 Miles

The Title I am Most Proud Of : Well, You’re just gonna have to click. Hint: TICKS

A Post I Wish More People Had Read: Awww, When the Dog Got Run Over

Seven Link Challenge ©, .

Sorry haven’t been posting the latest and greatest because I’ve been in Columbus for Jamie’s orientation at Columbus College of Art and Design. It was stressful: She’s been having cold feet since graduation. It was nice to get to Columbus and see old friends, old neighborhoods, and to have CCAD welcome us into their Community. Things are real now for her: She’s ready to go and fly.

SO, While I go through Personal and Work Emails this weekend, I’ll Be listening to Indie Wax’s RustBelt Rock Radio Podcast. You Should Too.

Back From Columbus ©, .

Do you see that little drop Down Bar at the top? The menu on the left?

I’ve been trying to turn Steel Valley Outdoors into a Community Site ( So I Don’t have to work so hard) and I’ve finally figured out how to ger BuddyPress up and Running.

I’ve still got some kinks to work out: for some reason I can’t get avatars to load properly. But it seems to be working and I need to see how it works.

So, If you’re a member play around with the Bar and take a look at the new personal pages. If you’re not a member, take a second to sign up. Steel Valley Outdoors is just me, and I promise I won’t sell your personal Information.

BuddyPress Community Beta ©, .

OK. I think I got the BuddyPress install working. Unfortunately, it uses a different forum backend than I had used before. That means new tables, and a new setup.

Right now it appears to be working for registered users. I had to set the avatars to use Gravatars: I can’t get the uploads working, but my pictures might just be too big to upload.

Go ahead and create a few groups and let me know how it’s working. If you like the new Community features, drop me a line or bookmark them.

BuddyPress Beta: Take Part in the Community ©, .

It’s a little late this year, but I’ve been waiting for a couple things that haven’t been available yet.

I Started this Website three Years ago. It’s purpose was simple: To promote the region by highlighting the Outdoor Recreational opportunities available as a kind of Lifestyle soft-sell.

The Inspiration was a “conversation” on our local AM talk blowtorch. It was a rainy march day, and the afternoon drive time jocks were complaining about the weather.

“No one would relocate here,” said the one.

I had been thinking of doing the site, and that just pushed me over the line. No one ever accused Seattle of having good weather, or Chicago, or even Atlanta, and all those cities seemed to be doing fine.  Pittsburgh has reinvented itself, and it’s right next door: Same weather last I looked.

I got home, signed up with 1and1.com and bought a domain name. the .info was becasue it was free at the time. The first site was a static HTML template that sucked in all manner of ways.

Luckily, a week later, I discovered WordPress, and I’ve been using that and learning more about php and SQL every day.

At the time, Youngstown was just beginning the remarkable turnaround we’re seeing today. There were just a few blogs promoting the valley, all of which I read still: Tyler, Shout, Mike. Some have died out. And some have taken their place: Burgh Diaspora, Rust Wire, Chris Barzak ( Whose New Theme looks VERY Familiar), Youngstown Pride, Livable Cities.

It’s interesting to note many of these have a regional focus, but still cover us. We’re no longer an embarrassment. Youngstown isn’t the shunned stepchild of the rust belt that no one talks about because, well, you know, there’s nothing you can do about THAT condition anyway. The Pride has Returned.

About two years ago, I started to have some health and personal issues. I’ve been using a lot of press releases from ODNR and the PA Game commissions. This has also created a feedback loop: Because these are popular posts with the search engines, there’s been less need for me to do writing. It’s easier and more effective. that changes.

I apologize to all the reader’s who have stuck with me. I hope you continue to follow as I have some exciting changes planned.

First, the upcoming release of WordPress will have support for social networking built in. You might have seen me experimenting with BuddyPress already.  BuddyPress can turn this site into a mini-Facebook, only without the privacy issues. I hope to have that up and running by next month. You’ll be able to start your own groups and post events and build a community of outdoor enthusiasts in your area that like to do what you want to do.

I’ve also been plating with podcasts. I was all set to get the kayaks out last weekend to do the anniversary post as a podcast, but unfortunately didn’t make it. That might show up this weekend, weather permitting.

Finally, you might have seen pages appearing and  disappearing. I’ve taken off the forums as they weren’t being used and I’ll replace them with Buddy Press. I’ve added a Free Business directory for you to promote your website or local business, and I’ve been working on de-adifying the site. Those stupid banners aren’t good for anything.

If you would like to support us, please, sign up for the newsletter: You get a free cookbook and I’ll be promoting specials from Altrec and Bass Pro.  Or visit my amazon store anytime you need to purchase something from AMazon. I get a little commission, you get everything Amazon offers.  Use the social bookmarking buttons I’ve scattered around the site: These bring in a bunch of traffic. Leave a note or comment, and I look forward to seeing you around.

Happy 3rd Birthday Steel Valley Outdoors! ©, .