The Skull Cinema

This post was supposed to be the one where, having a custom domain, I set up a blog account on Blogger and link it to skullcinema.com so that it defaults to showing the blog when skullcinema.com is entered. Unfortunately it didn't go smoothly for reasons that I am still unclear about, although it is likely that the order I attempted the process in was to blame. I started by setting up a blog on my existing blogger account as I wanted to get started drafting posts. After the domain was secured I tried to link/transfer the blog to skulcinema.com. But, instead of it appearing on www.skullcinema.com , my efforts produced a forward to a new subdomain of blog.skullcinema.com . Not what I wanted, but hey-ho it works. As documenting my f(l)ailing at the process wouldn't be very illuminating I won't bother, but at some point I should be able to put something up showing how to repair my botched set-up. For now the basic work of getting the blog active is complete (even if it...

So this was supposed to be the part where I buy the domain from a cheap domain registrar and then transfer it to GoogleDomains . Well, not quite… I went to tld-list.com and domcomp.com and identified that 1&1 were offering domains at $1.19 (paying in USD is no problem these days) with free WHOIS privacy, unlike GoDaddy who wanted a further £5.99 for it. OK, I haven't tried moving a domain from 1&1 to Google Domains but I got it to work with GoDaddy and there would be a year to organise it. So off to the 1&1 website. Huh? $16.34? Oh, I only want one year as I am going to move afterwards, let's change that. Ahh, there's the catch, you have to buy two years with one at full price. OK, let's try the UK website, as the exchange fees will jack that price up. Now even more, at £13.32 a year. Ho hum, may as well just go directly to GoogleDomains. Quick search for skullcinema and slap it in the cart. All present and correct. ...

As mentioned , I have decided to confirm that a discounted domain bought from another provider ( ie GoDaddy ) can be transferred over to Google Domains without issue before going ahead, proving the process by transferring over an existing domain. I have never done this before so I am putting up a complete blow-by-blow how-to on the switching process [as of Mar 2018]. The first task is to navigate to the Google Domains website ( https://domains.google/#/ ) From there you can either click on MANAGE MY DOMAINS (top right corner) or hit I'D LIKE TO TRANSFER, INSTEAD. The first will log you in to your active Google account (and who doesn't have one of these??) and bring up your Domains list. Hitting the link in ' transfer a domain that you already own' will take you to the same page that you would have reached with the ' I'd like to transfer ' link under the search box of the Google Domains landing page. Next, off to GoDaddy to si...

Thinking cap on then; what is a suitable name for the blog? Not much point using my own name if I'm going to protect my address, and anyhow it has already gone to a photographer in Georgia. The next choice is whether to use a generic or specific name. As the blog is going to be a selection of random thoughts ( aka drivel) non-specific is a given. All good so far, but at this point the horror of writing stories in English lessons looms up from the past as I am presented with a blank sheet of paper. Hmm, back to the internet for inspiration. It appears that there are several ways to approach this , making a word up, jamming two words together to make a domain name, or adding a suffix, prefix or preposition to a name to make it registerable when the base word has already been nabbed. I t would be preferable if the name could have some significance even if only for aesthetic reasons so I think nonsense is out (apologies to Lear ). More staring at blank page and pencil sharpeni...

Buying a domain name is pretty straightforward these days, choosing a domain name less so. But first things first. For my purposes, at least initially, there are no requirements other than registration, which makes things much simpler. There are a few big names in the business ( 1&1 , GoDaddy , etc ) and they are all able provide many more value-added services than simple domain registration. But, as I won't be requiring these, there is a short list of features I need from a domain registrar beyond the actual registration. Firstly, the ability to transfer a domain in or out of the provider if I need to. Secondly, my need for customer support should be limited as the service is only going to be used for domain forwarding to Blogger so no real need for bells and whistle there. Thirdly, domain privacy may be of use, not necessarily for protection of my name but shielding of my address might be useful depending on where my interests take me in the noosphere . E-mail forwardin...

What do I need out of a service? Moving past the straightforward stuff that they will all have, such as ease of use (high), scalability (great!), choice of templates (wide!!), etc ., there are a few features that I would like in order to future proof what I am doing. First, the service must allow me to use my own domain for the off-chance that the provider suddenly decides to cease business (it has happened before ) or jacks up their prices. Secondly, and continuing in the same vein, it should be possible to extract or back up the blog. Thirdly, it would be useful, but perhaps not essential if the first two are given, to be able to host some code or extensions on the site. Fourthly, ideally the software service should be open source or be able to be run independently of the service provider if required. Finally, free is good. Let's see how the two services stack up Service Blogger Wordpress.com Wordpress.org Can use...

What is a wheretofore anyway? Well I am tired of shouting at the TV, radio, computer, etc ., which is what has been happening thus far. So even if this is just writing therapy , and no-one else in the world reads it beyond web bots , it will hopefully serve some purpose. If only for me. Regarding the whys: Why not? Then again, why bother? Basically what is the point of having any thoughts/opinions/ideas, solving any problems or even just identifying them, if the knowledge gained doesn't travel any further than the inner leaflet of your cranium? So why? Because I can; because even on the off-chance that it proves useful to someone it might be worth doing; because it's another skill to add to the set. How is simple: It's just a problem to be solved. A blog is the way to go I think. No need to go overboard on the complexity. Just use the standard tools available on the web and save the originality for something that needs it. A very quick review of blogging...