Yup.  That's it.

So, the forum is gone - thanks to Turkish hackers.  It will return - all the posts and data were saved, but the forum itself was still vulnerable so it had to be removed.  Thus, comments don't work either.  So, I'm going to install an external forum.  That should fix it.

However, that will come after I install a Gallery for the 500 or so photos I took while I was in Ireland and the UK.  It was about three weeks of driving on the wrong side of the road and walking a ton.  Thankfully, the Ring of Kerry is my kryptonite - my allergies were so bad that I could only eat to stop sneezing.  I gained 10 pounds.  

Preppermint is still going strong.  It takes up most of my time.  I have a blog over there - its really only for Preppermint related stuff, but to explain my extended Irish absence I did post photos and a description of my experience with Airport Security the day of the London terror arrests.  Apparently "no liquids on board" means "you'll be four hours late".  You can read more at Preppermint . 

I just got back from a three week trip to Ireland and the UK.  It was great, but I was stunned at the almost non-existent visa and customs control.  There was no person in customs landing in Ireland twice and the UK once.  There wasn't even a person checking passports in the UK!  Come on in, everybody!

Luckily I returned to the US one day before the London terrorist arrests.  Security was a breeze at both ends.  I even got my return to the US customs and visa check done in Ireland before we boarded the plane.  However, I cannot say the same about the security on my flight from NJ to Raleigh-Durham.  

My flight left at 6:55 AM.  I arrived at the airport at 5:45 AM.  I checked my bags in at 6:30.  They made the flight.  I got in line for the security check point at 6:38 AM - and I took pictures of the odyssey - shown below...

Hope you had a nice July 4th week/weekend!  I know some stations and shows got an extended weekend or even a full week off, so it was nice to take a break and stretch our legs.  

I attended a free concert and saw some aerial maneuvers from our Armed Forces at Ft. Bragg.  The paratroopers jumped out in formation, with smoke coming off of them and all that.  The kicker was one of the guys who jumped was almost 80 years old and had about 5,000 jumps to his credit.  He ended July 4th in better condition than me as I ended up sunburned and itchy.

Well, now that we are getting back into the swing of things, our "Preppermint 2.0" of sorts is in its final bug-testing.  By the end fo the week, there will be a much improved category system, search system and reodering of minted stories as well as much more.  

After the release, I'll start writing about what has changed and what you can do to utilize the new features.  Until then, it's more aloe vera for me.

Sometimes, you'll find a story that has local interest and you'll want to submit it to Preppermint so you can put it on your site.  Well, that's real simple to do!

Once you have logged in, click on the "Submit" button at the top.  This will take you to the submit page.  There, enter a title for the story (what people will click on), a URL (the link to where the story is located), and a synopis (this is the text below the clickable title).  You can choose some categories to help you find it later as well.

Once you click submit, it will now be added to your stories page.  You can Mint or Prep it or do anything else you can do to a regular story.

Don't worry about other people seeing it - any story you submit has to be approved by an editor before anyone else who subscribes to Preppermint can see it.  So, that local story won't be seen by anyone but you - and it will stick around for as long as you want it.  Wewill never delete any story that is Prepped or Minted.

If you have nay questions or comments, leave a comment below and I'll answer it quickly. 

Hello again! We've been busy, knee deep in creating new ways to improve what we think is already the best Prep tool out there, but before I get to describing what we have in store, I first want to talk about tools we already have in out toolbox.

The feature that gets most people excited is the "Mint" feature of our service. As I'm sure you're aware, it's a little button next to every story that publishes the story to your website when you click it.

However, there's another cool button just to the left of it. That's the "Prep" button.