Even though Blogger has undergone a number of improvements in the last few months, there are still some shortcomings. The most obvious being a lack of image hosting.

(8-2-05: see update at the bottom of this post)

If you're new to blogging and you aren't quite ready to plunk down the cash to register a domain and pay for server space (or your geek skills aren't quite that advanced yet), what can you do?

After a quick Googling, I came across ImageShack. They'll host your images for free.

Catches? Didn't see any. They appear to make their money via Google ads on their site pages. There's also a PayPal donation button.

Limits: Max single image size is 1024kb - more than adequate for your normal blogging needs. No limit to the number of files you can upload. Images stay on their server unless they are inactive for 365 consecutive days.

There's no software to download, and you don't even have to register to use it if you don't want to.

Personally, I would recommend registering, because it's free, and only registered users can delete their uploaded files. It also makes it easier to manage and keep track of your images if you have an account.

I've only toyed with it a little, myself, but it seems to work ok, and they have some positive reviews.

Although I can't make any ironclad guarantees, this does seem like a useful tool.

UPDATED 3-6-05: Sissy of And What Next... has the illustrated guide of how to remove the black bar (the one with the size properties of the full size image) from the bottom of your thumbnails.

UPDATE 5-24-05: [If you've found this post useful enough to blog about, send a trackback or e-mail the permalink to me at harvolson-at-gmail.com and I'll add you to my Bad Example Groupies blogroll. See this post for details]

UPDATE 8-1-05: Sissy of And What Next... found free video hosting at Zippy Videos.

UPDATE 8-2-05: Blogger now offers 300 MB of free image hosting for Blogspot sites, as I explain here.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:45 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Filthy Lie assignment reminder: Who is Evil Glenn's sidekick? due Friday by 8pm. Late entries must be accompanied by a lame excuse.

Wednesday Linky Stuff

Precision Guided Humor Round-up: Why Kerry's out of touch

New PGH assignment: What were the most embarrassing moments for the Democrats during their national convention?

Posted by: Harvey at 09:40 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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(A PRECISION GUIDED HUMOR ASSIGNMENT)

John Kerry - a man of wealth and taste - is running for the office of president on the theme that he stands shoulder to shoulder with the average American, the little guy that W is abusing, ignoring, oppressing, slaughtering by the train-car-full, or whatever.

But the fact is that John Kerry isn't quite on the same wavelength as Johnny Lunchpail & Suzie Homemaker. There are some thing he just... doesn't... quite... get... For example:

If you want to impress chicks with your "package" it helps if it's not 2/3 empty.

"Speaking French" is only an asset if it describes your kissing technique.

Some people would've been happier if that "son of a bitch" Secret Service agent really HAD pushed him down on the ski slope.

"Nuance" and "double-talking bullshit" are synonymous.

It's not that people don't know who he is, it's just that they don't care.

Nobody over the age of 50 should wear spandex.

It's ok to marry an heiress, but TWO of them? Come, on John, don't be a pig about it. Leave some for the rest of us.

He REALLY needs a better plan for promoting job growth than "I'm going to hire another chauffeur next week".

On the bright side, he DID manage to miss 80% of the Senate votes this year. If he could promise me a 25% increase in that figure, I'd vote for him myself.

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!

Posted by: Harvey at 03:46 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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July 28th, 1964 - Blogless Brother Tom was born.

July 28th, 2004 - Blogless Brother Tom turned 40.

What changed? Well, he's still blogless, and he's still Tom, so that's the same. So what has changed?...

Hmmm... OH! *I* know... after 40 years of waiting patiently, Tom will soon be meeting THIS cuddly fella:

(click to enlarge - as if you'd want to get a better look at this guy)

First week of August, bro.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:31 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Happy Birthday, Blogless Brother, Tom! 40 is like almost dead? I think not, Harvey. phtt! I expect it only gets better... in every way!

Posted by: Boudicca at July 28, 2004 06:40 AM (s4SSU)

2 Man I've been past almost dead for about 6 years and didn't even know it!!! The things people don't tell you... Ya know Harvey, a word in the ear is always nice - like - "ahem, I just wanted to know why you're still standing? didn't you know you were almost dead?" Something along that line. BTW - a very Happy Birthday to blogless brother Tom (you spring chicken you!)

Posted by: Teresa at July 28, 2004 09:20 AM (nAfYo)

3 For blogless Tom, I give a heartfelt "Deedledeedle-dee-dee!". As for the lovely D3 image, I think that the fellow depicted is a classic example of steroid abuse. No discernable neck, and even his forehead has muscles. Yeesh.

Posted by: Johnny - Oh at July 28, 2004 03:28 PM (Nl2WO)

4 Bou - last I heard, you were only 39, so you lack credibility in this department. Teresa - for a dead chick, you're DAMN hot ;-) Johnny-Oh - I'm thinking he could be the next Governor of California :-D

Posted by: Harvey at July 28, 2004 10:44 PM (ubhj8)

5 Thank you all, I think I may still have another 20-30 years left In me who knows that maybe just enough time to finally see Duke nukem forever hit the store shelves.

Posted by: blogless brother at July 29, 2004 06:56 AM (6cyEp)

6 Bro - BWAHAHAHAHA! [wiping tears, catching breath]... BWAHAHAHAHAHA! *sniff* *ahhhh*. Optimist :-) "When it's DONE! THAT'S when! Now STOP BUGGING US or we'll pout at you some more!" http://www.3drealms.com/duke4/

Posted by: Harvey at July 29, 2004 07:18 AM (ubhj8)

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Blogson Johnny-Oh of Closet Extremist came back and witnessed first hand the carnage left over from a great comment party. His coping mechanism is large quantities of booze and a detailed after-action report.

Blogson _Jon of We Swear was incredibly sanguine about the damage to his *ahem* "server", and at this point is merely philosophizing about puppies & peanut butter. I'm guessing it's going to take years of therapy to undo the scars.

Meanwhile, my enduring thanks and love to all who participated in making my boys feel loved and appreciated.

I can't wait until *I* go on vacation, when I'm sure all the love will be returned 10-fold.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:18 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 I'm just upset that _jon came home so soon. I never even got to steal any of his beer. :^(

Posted by: Johnny - Oh at July 28, 2004 05:44 AM (Nl2WO)

2 You cant' wait until you go on vacation? WE can't wait. Man, I can't even begin to imagine what we'll find in YOUR closets, drawers and pantry! Heh heh heh...

Posted by: Boudicca at July 28, 2004 06:41 AM (s4SSU)

3 We may not want to know what Harvey has in his closests. It just may freak everyone out so much that nobody will come back. Although in his drawers, hmmmm well maybe

Posted by: Machelle at July 28, 2004 09:47 AM (ZAyoW)

4 The only thing in Harvey's drawers is his hand....

Posted by: Mudfish Billie at July 28, 2004 11:09 AM (uvu7I)

5 Oh yeah, just you wait buddy. We gonna mess you up... bad

Posted by: _Jon at July 28, 2004 03:26 PM (RZ4Hy)

6 Probably November, so you can start planning now if you want...

Posted by: Harvey at July 28, 2004 10:45 PM (ubhj8)

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TODAY'S LOVE NOTE
(Introduction)

If the sky were made of paper and the ocean my ink well, I still wouldn't be able to describe how much I love you, and how wonderful you make me feel when I am with you.

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

Posted by: Harvey at 06:42 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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... is in the extended entry today, as a courtesy to those surfing at work... more...

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When I first heard about fractals as art, I thought, "ok, that's kinda spiffy, what the the infinitely receding intracacies of design and whatnot."

Look! It's a Mandelbrot!

(click to enlarge)

Ok, that was kinda dull.

But now, via Lynn of Reflections in D minor, I've found that fractals have become a LOT cooler-looking:

Plenty more to see at Infinite Zoom.

Posted by: Harvey at 06:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 THANK YOU for this link! I now have a several month supply of new wallpaper... SO VERY COOL!

Posted by: songstress7 at July 27, 2004 09:01 PM (95fiz)

2 S7 - You're quite welcome :-) And to think I almost didn't do this post...

Posted by: Harvey at July 28, 2004 12:23 AM (ubhj8)

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I don't do this often, but I'm just going to point, because the headline speaks for itself:

Barmaid says cappuccinos made her breasts grow

Coffee... is there anything it can't do?

Posted by: Harvey at 10:18 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Johnny-Oh of Closet Extremist is coming back tonight. 27 comments so far. Let's see what we can do before we're caught.

And don't forget the other comment party at _Jon's We Swear home.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:10 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Nice party you started there, Bud. Too much fun! What a great thing to come home from vacation to. :^)

Posted by: Johnny - Oh at July 27, 2004 07:55 PM (Nl2WO)

2 Yeah, what he said.

Posted by: _Jon at July 27, 2004 08:38 PM (RZ4Hy)

3 Heh. Nothing's too good for my boys :-)

Posted by: Harvey at July 28, 2004 12:21 AM (ubhj8)

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Having a blogson that had his site hijacked by domain-stealing bastards.

Blogsons that just drop off the face of the earth and let their blog go blank.

One of my favorite flirty-girl partners not posting for so long that her blog went blank.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Not being able to read Latvian.

Waiting for the King of the Blogs to reincarnate.

My favorite hot zoomie babe dropping of the face of the earth without a whisper and now her damn comments don't even work, so she doesn't even know that I've been stalking her for almost two months and that I miss her terribly.

If anyone wants me, I'll be in the corner sobbing uncontrollably.

UPDATE: Tom (one of the earth-face-dropped-off blogsons) is BACK! YAY!

Unfortunately, no one told him that "Talk Like a Pirate Day" isn't until September.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:49 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 I bet there's a Latvian translater on-line tha can translate that page for you.

Posted by: Boudicca at July 27, 2004 07:47 AM (MfDzu)

2 I've foud a couple that do word by word. Unfortunately, Google doesn't do whole-page translation in Latvian yet :-(

Posted by: Harvey at July 27, 2004 01:52 PM (tJfh1)

3 Hunh. Who woulda thunk. I would have thought whole page translation in Latvian would be in such high demand...

Posted by: Boudicca at July 28, 2004 06:43 AM (s4SSU)

4 [spanks smarty-pants blogdaughter, and not in a fun way]

Posted by: Harvey at July 28, 2004 10:53 PM (ubhj8)

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(Introduction)

You know it's love when the tiny details about another person, ones that are insignificant to most people, seem fascinating and incredible to you.

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

Posted by: Harvey at 10:21 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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(click to enlarge)

[GUN OWNER$]

Charleton Heston:

Legendary Actor - Gun Owner - Lousy Tipper.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Linus of Pepper of the Earth doesn't blog politics often. When he does, I disagree with him. But I don't take it personally, since it's his site, and when he's NOT doing politics, there are few funner places on Earth.

This time, although I disagree with Linus's evaluation of the war effort, I DO agree with his main point.

Namely that the Republicans hosting their National Convention in New York City is stupid.

ItÂ’s inappropriate on many levels for the Republican convention to happen here. Apart from security concerns - hello, like we really need more potential risks - thereÂ’s a simple reality that should have smelled like coffee to someone, somewhere along the way: they donÂ’t belong here, and we donÂ’t want them.

New York is not voting for their man and New York is not buying their agenda. They will not win in this city or in this state, even if they squick Giuliani in as the Vice President nominee at the last minute “by acclaim.” Setting the convention here is an insult, a backhand, a selfish and cynical act

First, on a "smart politics" level, shouldn't the Republican National Convention be held in a Republican-friendly city? If there is one, that is. As far as I know, most big cities lean leftward. But maybe something down in Texas would be good, since that's Bush's home state. Houston, Dallas, something like that.

But aside from that, the 9/11 wounds are still fresh and bleeding in my mind. I haven't moved on. It still hurts. Despite the fact that I want to see George Bush get re-elected, it flat out disgusts me to see ANYONE using the ghost of the Twin Towers to make political hay so crassly and directly. It's too early. I don't know if will ever stop being too early. I don't mind if you talk about it and discuss the implications of what happened, but using that scarred and sacred space as though it were a cheap painted backdrop for your personal passion play...

It's small. And sickening. And unworthy of the man I trust to make sure that there is no 9/11 2.0.

If I'm looking at this all wrong, please tell me so. Maybe the convention site was chosen before 9/11, or maybe it's really just a plan to pump some cash into the still-staggering local economy. I don't know.

But the way it looks to me now is NOT something I want to see.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:10 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Blogson GEBIV of There's One, Only! has another OnStar(bucks) commercial. I'll call this one:

inattentive driving

30 seconds. Go.

When you're done reading it, guess what my favorite line was, then check his comments to see if you were right.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Kevin of Wizbang has pictures of people acting foolishly in the Democratic National Convention "free speech zone."

Me, I'm torn on "free speech zones". There's reasonable security issues vs. the right to peaceful assembly. Good arguments on both sides.

On the other hand, I can speechify quite freely from behind my keyboard, so I don't feel oppressed or restricted at all.

So... what DOES the Constitution say about the right to make a public spectacle of yourself?

Posted by: Harvey at 09:44 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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The trouble with making an analogy is that, after you've made a single point with it, it tends to break down. Then your intellectual opponent starts arguing about how wrong you were based on the failure of the points you weren't trying to make. Eventually someone gets called a Nazi, Godwin's law kicks in, and everyone loses interest in the discussion.

There are exceptions, though. Every once in a great while, an analogy is discovered that is so perfectly apt, that one can extend it to COMPLETELY cover the subject under discussion. When you can read the same metaphor for 20 minutes, see no flaws, and not get bored, then you have witnessed one of those rare events that most people would describe as miraculous.

Or maybe it's just a talented author.

Via Tammi of Road Warrior Survival, I was directed to Kat of The Middle Ground, who says that fighting the War on Terror is like stirring up a hornets' nest.

By describing, in detail, what dealing with a hornets' nest actually entails, Kat has produced one of the best long essays I've read outside of Whittle or Den Beste.

Don't take your coffee, though. You won't be bored, so you won't need it to stay awake. And there are certain spots that you definitely don't want to be drinking during. Here's one of my many favorite passages:

You call the guy across the street with the Peugeot and Citroen in his garage (France). He too thinks you are a stupid bastard for messing with the hornets nest. If you had just left them alone, they would have gone about their business and hardly bothered you. Besides, he has a hornets' nest on his porch and he just swats them when they get too close. He also thinks that the hornets can change they're behavior if you introduce some different things into their environment; like classical music. That should keep them calm. He says that his grandfather swears by that technique. No need to try and destroy the nest. He also wants to collect the honey (oil) from the hive because it tastes really good on his baguettes in the morning. Why couldn't you have just done the same? Besides, why should he get stung for YOUR mess?

Plenty more where that came from.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:33 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So... Pepsi is rolling out it's low-carbohydrate Edge brand cola.

Since Pepsi owns Frito Lay, they have Doritos Edge, too.

Maybe they should have gone with the brand name CarbEdge instead.

(read that name out loud, with the accent on the first syllable, please).

Posted by: Harvey at 09:16 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Blogson Johnny-Oh of Closet Extremist is still out of town, and naughty people are still tearing the place up in his comments.

By an odd twist of fate, another blogson, _Jon of We Swear, is ALSO going out of town for a while. So after I assured him that no comment naughtiness would take place in his absence, his blogsister Teresa of Technicalities broke into his place (with a little help from other blogsis Tammi of Road Warrior Survival) and the havoc is just beginning.

So now we've got the world's longest Hershey's-chocolate-syrup-covered Slip N' Slide connecting the two places, and it's time to see how much devilment can be created in both places before the owners get back.

Anyone whose sense of humor runs toward the jovially wicked is cordially invited to join in at both places.

Posted by: Harvey at 11:49 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Be a good Dad, Harv--supervise the debauchery...

Posted by: Susie at July 26, 2004 12:33 AM (11RPa)

2 By "supervise", you mean "encourage", right?

Posted by: Harvey at July 26, 2004 08:56 AM (tJfh1)

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(Introduction)

Because you lie beside me now,
I dream of kites and carousels
and sleep at peace within myself
and fear the night no more...

(CAUTION: Romantics beware - comments may contain naughtiness)

Posted by: Harvey at 11:20 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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