February 3, 2014

Disqus + Avast = Bad idea.

Recently I updated my Hanson site (www.hansonstage.com) and when I updated the blog I noticed that I could no longer see Disqus comments when viewing from my PC.  I assumed that when I updated WordPress something went wonky so I turned off the Disqus plug in and thought nothing more of it.

Until I went to comment on a friend’s blog who also uses Disqus and there was no comment form to be found.  I checked out the comments here and they were MIA too.  I ended up tweeted Disqus for help because the plug in said it was down for maintenance, but when they got back to me (quite some time later) they said everything was working on their end.

During the time when I was waiting for Disqus to get back to me I tried both sites on my laptop and the comments were working so I figured out that this was something local to my PC.  I figured it was either something to do with my Cache or my virus protection.

I deleted all my cache and anything and everything I had stored – didn’t work.

Then I found a page that said that a “known issue” was between the Chrome Avast add-on and Disqus.  I disabled the add-on and tada! We were back in business. I was glad I didn’t have to remove the virus protection completely.

Now I’m just waiting for a comment contest on the Hanson site to come to an end before swapping back over to Disqus (I don’t want to risk losing the comments / entries)

But if you have Disqus and can’t see the comment option on your page and have the Avast add-on – that’s probably your problem!

Book Review: The White House For Kids

whitehouse

The White House For Kids is a history of Home, Office and the National Symbol.  It includes 21 activities for kids to help teach them about the White House. The book talks about the White House and why it is white and a little bit of the history of the building, it covers what it’s like to grow up in the white house, the job that the president does, people who work in the white house, entertaining in the white house, the holidays in the white house, playing at the white house and then a bunch of resources about presidents and where to go for further research.

I really liked how the book started with the history of the white house in a time line form.  I probably learned some of this in school but I don’t recall ever knowing when the first phones were installed or elevators, etc.  The time line is full of a TON of info.

I have a secret obsession with architecture and I also love when books are geared towards kids because they are WAY easier to understand, so I was all about this book.  The activities in the book also look like a lot of fun. I’m a very hands on learner and I think that these kinds of activities when I was a kid would have helped me learn a lot better than just reading the book.

There are also a TON of great photos in the book, of the White House itself as well as Presidents and their families in the White House.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

An intriguing, in-depth look at the most famous home in the United States, this kid-friendly activity book educates young readers on the White House. Blending facts from numerous primary sources with engaging anecdotes—from learning that George Washington never actually slept in the White House and Abraham Lincoln never slept in the Lincoln Bedroom to how Gerald Ford’s daughter Susan held her high school prom in the White House—this book provides the complete story of the presidents’ home. Details on the many changes, updates, renovations, and redecorations that have occurred over the years are featured as well as a look at the daily lives of the White House’s inhabitants, including past presidents and their families along with the enormous staff that makes the White House run smoothly. This rich history is packed with an assortment of cross-curricular activities that allow readers to walk in the footsteps of presidents—they can play key passages of “Hail to the Chief,” practice signing a bill into law, make a White House punch, and re-create an aerobic game designed for President Hoover—making it a perfect book for any young mind with an interest in the White House or American history.

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