11 days ago, Google announced a new tool that aims to speed up the loading of websites. The new Page Speed Service utilizes the optimization techniques outlined by the company’s Page Speed Online API and takes it a step further: by rewriting pages and delivering them to users using Google’s servers.

On the Google Code blog, Google says that it has seen speed improvements from 25% to 60% on some sites. Google has a gallery and a comparison test that users can try themselves.

While the service seems pretty cool at first glance, it is not without controversy due to the fact that it requires users to point the CNAME of their URL to Google’s own servers. (Take a look at the myriads of unfavorable comments on TechCrunch‘s coverage of the announcement, for instance.)

I was intrigued by the new Page Speed Service especially because I had noticed a notable slowdown of my load speed after I had started placing ads and integrated more social media. I had even started using the W3 Total Cache plugin in conjunction with CloudFlare, but did not see much of an improvement.

So despite the controversy (oh noes, Google will own the web!), I wanted to give it a go.

The Page Speed Service is currently only being offered to a limited number of webmasters, but you can request access by filling out this form. I had no idea what the requirements are for being accepted to this trial or what percentages of websites get accepted, but I decided to bite the bullet and submitted my information.

A few days later, I received an email saying that I was in!

Setup was a bit of a pain because Google’s documentation is not too comprehensive. Additionally, I had to contact my webhost to make the final CNAME change for me because it was in a non-editable portion of my DNS settings.

But once it was up and running…

I noticed a significant improvement in my page load times.

I wish I had taken screenshots of my page load times before and after the migration…but I haven’t.  Suffice it to say that my main page load time has improved by 20-30%. And this comparison is between W3 Total Cache + CloudFlare versus Google’s Page Speed Service. (I shudder to think what it would have been without those two services.)

Additionally, while some of my JavaScript broke using W3 Total Cache + CloudFlare, I have not noticed anything of the nature with Page Speed Service.

I should note, however, that my results may not be typical. Some people even report an increase in page load times using Page Speed Service!

I would also like to see some detailed documentation on how to fully utilize the service, in addition to more stats and data collected from my traffic. This is one feature I really liked about both W3 Total Cache and CloudFlare, and I am finding myself missing it.

A screenshot of the Google Page Speed Service’s Dashboard. It really doesn’t
show much when compared to those of W3 Total Cache and CloudFlare.

Google says that Page Speed Service will remain free during this trial period, and that when it is finally made available to the public, its pricing will be “competitive.” And in the welcome email I received, Google tells me that once the pricing information is available, I will have at least 30 days to migrate traffic if I chose to not continue.

Seeing the remarkable improvement in my page speed, I think that I will stick with it as long as the pricing is not too unreasonable.

Has anyone else been using Google’s Page Speed Service? What are your thoughts on it?

A couple of weeks ago, ooShirts contacted me about a possible sponsorship. After perusing their website, I couldn’t help but agree — not only is their custom design process simple and intuitive, their prices are some of the lowest I’ve come across on the web.

Here’s what ooShirts is all about:

ooShirts is an online custom t-shirt printing company. Their main office is in Berkeley, California but they have printing departments all over the country. That’s how they’re able to offer complimentary shipping, which is certainly a plus! You do the entire design/order process on their website, www.ooshirts.com. The Design Lab has tools to let you upload images and add text directly to an image of the shirt that you’re planning to order, kind of like a preview. Their group discounts make them a good company to order from for kids’ school events and family reunions.

I truly had fun playing around with the Design Lab — with tons of options like font, color, design, and the ability to upload and manipulate your own images, I doubt that there is much you can’t get printed on the apparel of your choice. Here is a screenshot of my latest creation: The Oatmeal‘s Tumbeast on a Bella Ladies Crew Neck Jersey shirt:

The best part? The quote I received for this custom shirt, complete with a full color image, cost only $25.29. (And as anyone who has gotten anything professionally printed knows, prices rise with the number of colors you require.)

Now, for the fun part…

ooShirts has very kindly offered to give two readers a
$25 credit on their next order of custom apparel.

Do you have an event coming up where you or a friend can use a custom shirt? Present one to the guest of honor at the next birthday, bachelor/bachelorette party, or bridal/baby shower. (One of my favorite presents from my bridesmaids was a custom shirt that reads, “Mrs. _____” ) Or, use it to just show someone that you care.

Per the usual fashion, you can enter the giveaway in three different ways:

1. Leave a comment to this post
2. Tweet (and leave a comment here saying you did so) the following:
   I just entered @geekinheels’ custom t-shirt giveaway at http://bit.ly/oFriKe and you can too!
3. “Like” this post using the Facebook “Like” button at the bottom (and leave a comment here saying you did so)

Each method will grant you one separate entry, so you can increase your chances of winning by using all three methods of entry.

Please leave a valid email address (which will not be published or shared) when filling out the comment form so that I can contact you if you win.

The giveaway will end this Friday, August 5th, 2011 at 12:00pm EST. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and be notified via email.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

Update:

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Serena and Amy on winning!

…is Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.

I don’t particularly like the ocean, nor am I a very good swimmer. In fact, I have a ridiculous fear of most fish (yes, even goldfish!).

But these majestic creatures have always fascinated me. I remember taking out tons of books on sharks from the library when I was a little kid and dreaming of becoming a marine biologist. (Too bad my ineptitude at science — as well as my fear of practically all other fish — stopped that dream short.) I have even made it a goal to go cage diving at least once before I die.

(via Twaggies)

And yes, Jaws remains one of my all-time favorite movies.

Does anyone else get as excited over Shark Week as I do?

(Don’t have cable? Fear not. You can still enjoy Shark Week with this handy guide by Gizmodo.)

Happy chomping!

Today is my first day alone with Claire since the surgery. I was so nervous about having to take care of our 10-month-old, all alone for the entire day, when I am still recovering and still in some pain, that I only slept 2 hours last night. Way to make a situation worse, Jenny!

The good news is that I am feeling better. Ridiculously tired, but better. We removed my surgical bandages last night and despite the blood that erupted from the disturbed wounds (and wimpy tears on my part), the incisions seem to be healing just fine.

I plan — I hope — to be back to my regular blogging schedule as of today. And to come back with a bang, I will be posting an exciting giveaway this afternoon. So please stay tuned!

Thank you to all those who entered my Amazon Gift Card Giveaway. Due to my dead laptop, I had to start the spreadsheet of entries all over again, but I had promised to reveal the winners by the end of the week and by golly I was gonna get it done.

So without further ado…

The winner of the $100 Amazon Gift Card is Susan, who tweeted the giveaway!

The winner of the $50 Amazon Gift Card is Amanda, who “Liked” the Geek in Heels Page on Facebook!

And the winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Card is Armando, who also ”Liked” the Geek in Heels Page on Facebook!

Congratulations to all three winners! I will be contacting you shortly with the details on how you can redeem your gift cards.

Once again, thank you to all who entered, and thank you all even more for your continued support. 

I have been blogging for over a decade now, and in that time I have certainly received hurtful and/or hateful comments. I have had my share of trolls, personal messages from particularly irate readers, as well as (empty) threats.

At first they used to bother me. A lot.

But now, I find them quite amusing.

Does something that a complete stranger writes on their personal blog bother you so much that you feel the need to continually argue your point?

To refresh the page over 90 times in an hour to see if you had gotten a response? (Yes, someone actually did this to me quite a few times.)

To link to the offending post in an online forum or social media site to ask for reinforcements? (A militant atheist used to link to my blog whenever I wrote anything regarding my religious beliefs.)

I personally find that it is completely useless to argue with someone over the internet, let alone with someone whom you’ve never met. So you know my stance on the issue. 

(via xkcd)

My favorites are, by far, the comments and emails that tell me that they will stop reading my blog. These are almost always from readers who have never interacted with me before — those who I never knew were reading in the first place — so I find it a bit comical that they expect me to get upset.

Perhaps these people think that by no longer reading this blog, they are no longer supporting me financially?

The truth of the matter is that although I have recently started to monetize my blog, I probably made in the last month what I used to make in one day when I worked full-time. So no, I can do without the money and I have done without the money all this time.

Do they stop reading other blogs over differences in opinions too? Because personally, there are many, many blogs and websites I frequent that often publishes content I disagree with politically, religiously, and even sometimes morally. But I continue to visit them because I find the majority of their content interesting and/or relevant to my needs. So I find it a bit difficult to understand why others can’t do the same.

My friend Maya did a very thought-provoking post last month about Socially Conscious Shopping which sorta treads on this issue. How much do you really know about the inner workings of a company? How much do you really know about the blogger behind the blog?

I tend to share more about my life than the average person, but it is still only a slice of my life. So how do you know that I do not run a sex trafficking ring in my spare time? How do you know that I am not actually a 42-year-old man who has painstakingly created the “Geek in Heels” persona?

The answer is, you don’t.

Look, I do not expect to change the world with this blog. I am well aware that I am just one lone voice amongst millions, and that this blogs holds very negligible to no power when it comes to influencing society, laws, popular opinion, and so forth.

What I share here are my personal thoughts, tidbits from my boring life, and amusing findings I discover online.

And as far as I can tell, I am quite within my rights to continue doing exactly what I’ve been doing. 

This post is not meant to dissuade people from posting disagreeable comments. I am perfectly fine with healthy debates where all parties stay respectful. Rather, this post is directed at those who insist that their opinions are right, no matter what, and will continually harrass and/or insult me or another commenter.

Why would they get so upset over the opinions of a perfect stranger?

How could they be so convinced that they have a blogger “figured out” when what they read is solely based on what the said blogger chose to share?

Do they react similarly when they find out that a friend or acquaintance holds differing opinions too, ie confront them and argue their point?