DanKohn.com

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This was much harder than it should be, but I now have automatic digests of my new blog entries being delivered to subscribers to my blog@dankohn.com mailing list. (Sign up at the top right on dankohn.com.) You need to be very comfortable with HTML and somewhat familiar with Unix (editing and copying files) or else find someone who is to help you.

Getting this to work requires setting up mailman in digest mode with semi-automatic web-based subscriptions from my blog, changing MT to use full blog descriptions in RSS, using Aaron Schwartz’s great rss2email.py script, setting up a cron job, a lot of testing, and a little luck.
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Keith Dawson rightly complains about hassles in dealing with the switchover to my new mailing list.

I broke bloglet because I decided I’d rather manage the subscriptions in mailman, and just use bloglet to fetch new posts, concatenate them, and send them to mailman. Since I didn’t want subscribers to get two posts (from bloglet and mailman), and bloglet doesn’t allow me to unsubscribe people (which is why I preferred mailman), I deleted and then recreated the blog.

In my defense, though, this stuff if really hard. In summary, all former subscribers (and any new ones) will be on a mailman list that I can manage. Bloglet acts as a robot that fetchs my new posts every night and sends them to the mailman list. Everything should now be working right.

I’ve switched my blogging tool from Blogger Pro to Movable Type, based on feedback (and voting with their feet) from bloggers I respect. It’s a much more versatile, feature-rich offering, although it takes some Unix expertise (or $20 to the creators) to get up and running. I’m very happy with it.

I’m also moving my Yahoo blog discussion group to use bloget instead. Subscribers will see an announcement message from bloget, which they can ignore. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the change.

Finally, please note that the best feature of MT is comments, so I’d like to hear what you think about some of these posts.

As always, please take a look at http://www.dankohn.com/blog/.

I’m writing this from the Accra, Ghana headquarters of Rising Data, a call center and software development outsourcing firm that I’m planning to invest in (personal money, not Skymoon’s). Behind me, the first 6 operator-trainers are practicing answering calls (that will come over IP telephones) from DC residents calling their physican’s answering service. The offices are above Busy Internet, the largest Internet cafe in Accra, which is also conducting a Peace Corps training below. It’s quite a scene. More soon.

I got back last week from one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken, 15 days and 14 nights rafting through Grand Canyon. Here is an action shot of taking a very shaky inflatable kayak through a rapid (I’m in the back), and the obligatory before and after pictures. Special thanks to Ed Gausman for the photography and website, as well for being a great travel companion.

I was on the Namibia trip with Seth Berkely on which he broke his leg, which was covered by this MSNBC article. His wedding was covered as the lead vows column in last week’s NYT. Dealing with a broken angle in one of the most remote areas of the world was quite an experience, and I give Seth a lot of credit for how he dealt with it and his long recovery. My best wishes on a happy marriage.

I’m off for 2 weeks whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon, the longest I’ll have been away from email since 1990.

It was a great pleasure to spend a week hiking the “Grand Canyon of Africa” in Namibia with Tim Cahill, who writes for Outside magazine. Richard Bangs wrote up our trip in MSNBC, and Tim will be publishing a major Outside story soon. I was amused by this Q&A about the “oneness” that primitive peoples feel. I believe Tim’s answer makes clear his view on the subject of Jean-Jacques “noble savage” Rousseau versus Thomas “nasty, brutish, and short” Hobbes.

I too, Brutus, have finally succumb to the “dark and yawning Abyss” known as blogging. I’m using Blogger Pro, by which I’m quite impressed.