2008 was not the best of years for Another Portland Blog. Readership numbers sagged, comments dwindled and the quality of posts around here dropped from their usual level of Absolute, Unequivocal and Unquestionable Excellence. Last spring, the company that hosts the blog decided to not bother fixing a glitch with Blogger's software, forcing all future updates to publish at a Blogspot address, further complicating matters.

So I'm in the process of trying to fix all of this and, more or less, build a better blog. In addition to switching things over to another server, I'm looking to revamp the sidebar and replace those dusty Flickr links with a Twitter feed. There's also several new Portland blogs out there that need to be listed and around ten posts in the works that are growing moldy as we speak.

To put all of this in other words.....

During the course of 2008 Another Portland Blog's management has made a few well-intentioned judgments (the chicken videos immediately spring to mind) which, with the benefit of hindsight, might regrettably have been, in some respects, ill-advised. Fundamental systemic errors concerning the blog's layout and publishing have further hampered the author's ability to bring you quality material suitable for all audiences and economic backgrounds. These mistakes are regretted and will be corrected as soon as possible. Until that time this blog will remain effectively on hiatus.

So, long story short, give me a week or so to track down the monkey-wrenches that have been clogging up the works for far, far too long. If you're curious, updates will be posted on the Twitter feed. Until this blog is up and running again here's a photo of the steak and kidney pie I ordered at the Horse Brass on the 31st. That evening marked the first and last time I'll be able to enjoy such a meal at the pub while smoking a cigarette. Lousy, terrible, no good smoking ban...

Maybe it's for the best, all things considered. *urp*

And, as always, advice and critiques on layout and content are always welcome in the comments section below.