A to Z Tip: Timing is Everything

This post is brought to you by Cindy Dwyer, another A-Z expert. Please welcome her – I found her advice really helpful even though I'm MST in the U.S.  She brought up some questions I hadn't even considered.

Like many bloggers, I have a full-time day job to support my writing habit. I leave the house at seven in the morning and get home at around five or five-thirty. So during the A to Z Challenge, I schedule my posts to go live in the wee hours of the night. This gives me several advantages. 

Since I sleep with my laptop next to the bed -- and really, who doesn't? ☺ -- when my alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. EST, I can check to make sure that day's letter made it safely through the cyberspace gremlins before I even roll out of bed. If I don't fix any problems then, they stay broken until after dinner because, sadly, I do not have an IT department. (Once, I did come home to find my cat asleep on my laptop, but that wasn't quite what I had in mind when I wished I had help staying on top of the technical aspects of my website.)

Another great thing about posting early is that during those ten hours I'm gone, other A2Zers can be reading and commenting on my post. I do try to log onto my website during lunch to answer comments and visit a few blogs from the list. But on crazy days when I can't, at least my blog is current with that day's letter.

Even if you do have the entire day free to write your post, you still need to account for time zones. The A to Z Challenge attracts participants from around the world. Remember, New York is five hours behind London and sixteen hours behind eastern Australia. 

Say you live in California and have a habit of blogging after dinner. At 7:00 p.m. PST, it's two o'clock the following afternoon in parts of Australia, where people may have already posted "I" before you've had a chance to update your "G" post to "H". 

If you want your friends Down Under to read your letter of the day before they go to sleep, you really need to activate that entry before 8:00 a.m. EST.

And the opposite is true for bloggers on the other side of the world -- you may want to schedule your posts for a little later in the day to avoid appearing a letter ahead of the western hemisphere.

I'm curious to hear from prior A to Z participants. Did you try to post at the same time each day? Did the differences in time zones make you feel like you were always a little ahead (or behind) everyone else? 

These are excellent questions, and I'm curious how our international participants handle this issue.  Please speak up!

~Tina, very grateful for Cindy's excellent advice

A - Z "ing" through the A - Z Challenge

Ambitious beginnings

Cruising diligently

Exciting entertainment

Fantastic, golly-gee!

Heaven help us, hurry!

Inspire impressive jaunts

Kindly kick our kiesters

Lending labor, not laments

Motion mild manners

Never needing nasty names

Oppressing only captchas

Picky pop-ups in a frame

Quintessential quest

Quantificates rebuttals

Snatching snobby snaglines

Tried and true with titles

Useless unanimity

Verociously vivacious

Waging without weakness

XXVI – not one word less

Yin and yang have yielded

Zipping zigzags zestily

April’s Blogging Challenge

Is the testament, you see!

Brought to you by M.J Joachim.  Find her at Lots of Crochet Stitches

Photo credit:  Badges courtesy of A – Z Challenge and Charmaine Clancy

©2013 All Rights Reserved

Cryogenics: Can We Live Again In The Future?

Robert Ettinger, founder of the cryogenics movement, has died (at least for now) about eighteen months ago at the age of 92. Cryogenics is the process of freezing your head or your entire body in hopes science will one day figure out a way to bring you back from the dead. Ettinger will join his two wives (what was he thinking???) and his mother in frozen limbo. 

The facility is in Clinton Township, Michigan. Over 100 human corpses are floating in the gentle giant capsules filled with liquid nitrogen in hopes of one day living again. Nobody knows for sure whether we can ever restore consciousness frozen bodies, but cryopreservation is a phenomenon present in the animal kingdom and effective medical technology. 

Many livestock have developed tricks to survive temperatures below zero degrees Celsius, accounting and after periods of paralysis caused by frost. And scientists have made important progress in freezing living tissue and even of whole organs for medical purposes. 

The minimum price that the airline claims for his services is 28,000 dollars. Other organizations charge for customers and amounts up to $ 200,000 and offers the possibility of "neuroprezervării" instead of full body freeze, freezing heads may require only interested in the idea that personality and memories are stored in the brain and loaded into a computer or an artificial body in the future. 

One obstacle to overcome is frozen ice crystals within the bloodstream are very sharp. They can actually cut tissue and blood vessels, causing sever damage that make it difficult preserving vital parts of the human body. 

Question: Do you think this process of cryogenics is actually a possibility? Can we freeze our heads or bodies in hopes that one day technology will enable us to one day live again? 

Stephen Tremp, author of the BREAKTHROUGH series, has a B.A. in information systems and an MBA degree in global management. Stephen has a background in information systems, management, and finance and draws from this varied and complex experiential knowledge to write one-of-a-kind thrillers. His novels are enhanced by current events at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and other scientific research facilities around the world. These potential advances have the ability to change the way we perceive our universe and our place in it! 

You can visit Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs. 

BREAKTHROUGH and OPENING can be downloaded:  Kindle for $.99  through this weekend!

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Getting to Know Your Co-Hosts - Matthew MacNish

I'm Matthew MacNish.
I'm the author of the publishing and query critique blog: The QQQE
I co-author the YA literature blog: YA Confidential
I co-author the MG literature blog: Project MG Mayhem
I'm an aspiring KidLit Novelist, whose published short fiction you can find, here.
I collect vinyl records.
I love Star Wars, Anime, and Tolkien (yes I bought and watched The Hobbit on Blu-Ray last night - it was the third time I've seen it).

Here are my answers to some of the crazy questions we, and some of our readers, came up with:

"Where do you go to "Get away from it all"?"

I don't have time for that much anymore, but when I can, I like to hike in the mountains.

"Where do you hail from?"

Originally? Seattle.

"Name an item that you have too much of."

Records, I suppose.

“Your house in on fire; assuming your kids, pets, and other living things are safe, what do you grab as you head out the door?”

I'm really not a materialistic person, and I back-up my writing meticulously, but I suppose I would try to get my parents' ashes.

"Who is your favorite fictional character and why?"

Gandalf. I've wanted a Wizard for a best friend since I was three years old.

"Do you know how to 'Gangnam Style?'"

Yep. I used to be quite a dancer when I was younger. I could even breakdance a little, but I'm way too old and fat for that now.

Is there anything else you'd like to know? Ask away in the comments, and I'll come back to answer!

#atozchallenge News Round-up

Click Badge to add your Name
To the list.

     Have you signed up for the A to Z Challenge yet?   If not, the list can be found by clicking the tab at the top of this page.  Now's the time to get on the list.  You still have time to at least get started on preparing posts.  And even if you write as you go you'll still have fun.

       Many of you have been helping to promote the Challenge on your own sites.  Here are a few that we've run across:

Co-host Tina had a new commenter on her blog.  First challenge, 9 followers. Tina was the first to comment on her A-Z promo post.  If you have a chance, show her some love at Tales of the Reborn Crafter. 

M. J. Joachim has become a ubiquitous presence in the 2013 A to Z Challenge.   You can find one of her guest posts at the equally ubiquitous P. V. Ariel's Philips.com.

When readers run across an A to Z promo post they will sometimes let us know about what they find(since we often don't see all of them on our own).  That's how we found the post from Wayne at Random Stream of Consciousness.  Thanks Wayne!

Ambassador Tim Brannon from The Other Side made a post to try to get more people from his corner of the internet involved.

Beth Lapin talks about her A to Z theme on her special blog set up for the Challenge.  Check it out at Beth Lapin's A to Z Blog.

With her third A to Z Challenge ahead, Michelle tells her A to Z story at Writer-in-Transit.


Here's a good A to Z post from M.M. Pollard at MM's Fundamentals of English.    You may learn a few things from her during April.  

Maria at First Draft Cafe is working away at her posts for April.  

At first she wasn't go to do it, but now Nel Ashley has decided she should.  Read more at Nel Ashley.

Sharon Bayliss did a great interview with co-hosts Tina and Nicole at her blog Write for Your Life.

Julie did a lovely tribute to the Challenge at Empty Nest Insider.  

At her  blog Being Catholic, M.J. Joachim added the A to Z Challenge to the current events of the day.  We are newsworthy!

Be sure to stop by ...The Slightly Eccentric Diary of Rob Z Tobor for a lesson on A to Z blogging.  

JoJo at Tahoma Beadworks & Photography is part of Tina Downey's Terrific Team and started her duties with a Challenge announcement.

Challenge veteran Dale from Smurfin' the Web gave a good word for the Challenge--yes, he's ready to go.

If you're a U2 fan you will definitely want to check out On The Road With U2.  Deena's back for a second go around with the alphabet.

Rosie Amber is looking for you!  Stop by to read about her A to Z intentions at Rosie Amber. 

And to close this edition out with a bang, take a look at Andi-Roo's epic A to Z promo post at The World 4 Realz.  Yes, Andi-Roo is back for another year and that's for realz. 

         There you have it!  This will probably be the closing edition of  the A to Z Promo news, but don't let that stop you from adding your own promos to your blogs.   Tell everyone you know.  Tweet it.  Announce it on FaceBook.  Let's get some more sign ups.  Can we break last year's record?

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#atozchallenge Getting to Know the Hosts - Nicole Ayers

Name: Nicole Ayers

Blog: The Madlab Post
Other Online Info: My Twitter, My Pinterest, My IMDB, My Flickr, My Tumblr and My YouTube
Films: ABYSS ; Lighten Up
Publications: The Madlab Post Zine and Bulletin; My Journey to Bare Bones

1. Where do you hail from? (D.G. Hudson) 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or otherwise known as The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection – which is a questionable nickname, depending on who you ask.

2. Would you rather have your own personal sailing ship or spaceship? What would you name your ship? (L.G. Keltner)
I’d rather have my spaceship named Captain Data, as homage to two of the coolest “Star Trek” characters ever!

3. How do you comment? - if someone posts 5,6,7 times a week .. once - or 3 times .. then each time or once or twice .. then each time I can't keep up .. but hate not supporting everyone .. (Hilary Melton-Butcher)
I comment in a manner that directly correlates with the amount of time available to complete all tasks laid out in my day. If my time is limited, I just comment on the most recent blog post. If I have more time to spare (or if I really like the blog), I’ll read through a few of the recent post titles and then comment on the ones that peak my interest.

Just because a blogger posts multiple times a week doesn’t mean that I’m going to comment on them every single time. It also depends on the frequency of my visits to a blog. If I visit more often, then it is more likely that I would comment on most, if not all of the blog posts but if I only visit the blog every now and then, I will usually comment on whatever is present on the page.

4. How do you use those HTML tags? .. and I've yet to learn about the signature line too ..(Hilary Melton-Butcher)
I searched for the HTML tags and then tested them out by creating a draft post under the HTML tab and not the “Compose” tab, in one of my least active Blogger blogs. When I got to a point when the links worked and appeared to my liking -- after previewing them in “Compose” and also as a live post preview, I created a document file with the proper HTML tags that fit my needs such as text links, bold, photo links, etc. and I keep that file handy so that I don’t have to keep searching or reaching through tutorials every time I need to create a hyperlink quickly.

It’s sorta like my own HTML Template file that also includes a template of code that I made for my signature. So now, all I usually have to do is go to the file, copy the tags that I want to use at the moment and then paste it in the comment box or blog post draft page or online forum or wherever I need to create HTML links.

5. If you were a contestant on the CBS show "Amazon Race" and could pick ANY movie character to be your partner, who would it be and why?
It’s a toss-up between Jason Bourne from “The Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum” and Bryan Mills from “Taken.” Bourne keeps himself in shape, meaning he can run fast, lift heavy things, climb building structures and bounce back quickly if he falls. Mills on other hand is very meticulous about gathering information -- a quality that could be very useful in our team’s ability to complete tasks that involve assembling items that contain several different pieces of a puzzle or gathering activities that involve repetitive routines where I could easily forget a key step.

Bourne and Mills both have a very special set of skills that they’ve acquired over long careers and would each be an asset in helping me advance to the next Pit Stop. I’d be more likely to go with Bourne, however, because he knows how to live off the grid and get himself out of a jam without always needing aid from technology, friends in high places and fancy gadgets.

6. Describe the last Halloween costume you wore.
I dressed as Uhura from Star Trek, complete with the red dress and black boots. Now, I wonder if I should have worn a homemade costume because I have this Star Trek dress sitting around and no reason...or place to wear it.

7. What is the most unusual thing you have ever given as a gift? (Matt Conlon)
A fanny pack; and get this...the recipient gave it back to me!

8. If you could make a recommendation for a book for World Book Night (awesome event on 4/23), what book would it be? (Tracy Bermeo-A2Z Mommy)

How to be Black by Baratunde Thurston. It is a funny, insightful and surprisingly relatable read.


9. "Where do you go to "Get away from it all"?" (Matt Conlon)
To the land of alcohol. It’s cheaper than health insurance, requires less of a commitment than therapy and the bartenders/cashiers never ask for a referral when ordering a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon! When that fails or is not available, I simply rock out to Lenny Kravitz.

10. "When writing, do you prefer to compose your first-draft by hand, on your computer, or using Morse Code?" (Mina Lobo)

My writing methods vary by the nature and purpose of whatever it is I’m working on. I tend to write blog posts on a computer so that they’re ready to be published when necessary. I do jot down random notes for future posts in notebooks as well as on napkins and store receipts. I write the first drafts of my screenplays by hand because distractions like email, Words with Friends and YouTube aren’t a click away. It’s healthier to spend hours in front of a notebook than a bright computer screen. I also write songs on both and would be down to try some Morse Code for a project, just to get the experience.

Writer and Director Nicole Ayers on the Set of "ABYSS" 

If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. In the meantime, I’d appreciate your contribution to my film festival campaign for ABYSS and convincing of your friends to do the same!

Getting to Know Me... Co-Host: Jeremy Hawkins

Okay I want to say "Hello" I have been a ghost lurking in the shadows of the Challenge, so I thought to get to know me better by the question you all had a hand in writing. I have been dealing with some "life" issues and sometimes that gets the better of all of us. I thought I might share a photo with my good friend, him and I talk all the time. So on with the show and tell... if you have more questions please ask...

Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy


"What rock star would you be?" (The Warrior Muse)
I would be an Alice Cooper type, singing like Cheap Trick meets Rob Zombie with Rush playing background.

"Favorite childhood memory" (Tina)
Meeting Spanky McFarland from The Little Rascals... or meeting Batman at a convenient store he was signing autographs to about 1000 kids.... the good ol' days.

"Would you rather have your own personal sailing ship or spaceship? What would you name your ship?" (L.G. Keltner)
Spaceship... U.S.S. Something... I want to really see what is out there.

"Which is your favorite fictional character and why?" (Mayflow3r)
Oz from the Wizard of Oz... he stood for what we should all stand for, but hidden behind a large curtain.

"Name a movie you watched that exceeded your expectations." (Nicole)
The Avengers... I was able to loose myself for 2hours and 5 minutes.

"Do you know how to 'Gangnam Style?'" (Nicole)
I am still trying to learn the "Macarena" so no and no!

"What is the most unusual thing you have ever given as a gift?" (Matt Conlon)
On my first date with my wife, I gave her a baby pumpkin... she knew then I was the one.

"What makes you cry? (Emotional reasons. Onions don't count.)" (Matt Conlon)
Lately everything from the government to gun violence to being jobless...

"Where do you go to "Get away from it all"?" (Matt Conlon)
Score music, I don't get away too much... I would never find my way back.

"If you could sing any song with the artist who wrote/performed it, what would it be and with whom?" (Tracy Bermeo-A2Z Mommy)
"Love Me" with Elvis... I sang it once at a convention around 30 people who spoke no English, it was the worst/best thing ever.

Thank you for making it to the bottom, if you would like please check out my t-shirt store at "Neatorama"... coming soon some of my newest designs and guess what they are?

The Dreaded Conversation About Word Verification

M.J is back! She's one of Nicole's “friends” that is, administrative assistants. She's a blogging machine and agreed to write the post we dread the most...PLEASE TURN OFF WORD VERIFICATION DURING THE CHALLENGE. I think you'll find her entertaining and encouraging as opposed to how we as co-hosts have come across in the past. Sometimes it just takes a new voice...

by M. J. Joachim  (click to read her bio)

Bang! Bang!

You’re dead!

You spent all that time – wasted time, reading, then writing your comment…

To no avail, I’m afraid.

The jury’s still out – you’re deemed unworthy, scary, even quite possibly –

DEADLY!!!!

Quick! Bar the windows! Lock the doors!

Rampant commenters are on the loose in the A – Z 2013 Challenge!

Check your security! Update your software – only the best virus protectors will do!

Now, go into your blog account and work behind the scenes. That’s right, find each and every security measure you can find and…

ACTIVATE THEM ALL!!!

A – Z Challenge participants will be stopping by in droves, and they want to leave comments on what you shared with the world on your blog!

You simply can’t let it happen! You must stop them at the gate! You must secure your tiny little world in cyberspace and protect your blog from the onslaught!

I mean, if you don’t…

If you don’t…

If you don’t – YOU WILL SURELY BE INVADED BY UNENDING AMOUNTS OF A TO Z TROLLERS, READING YOUR POST AND LEAVING THEIR MARK WHERE THEY HAVE TROD!!!

…and we wouldn’t want that to happen now, would we?

Just post this little ditty instead, and forget I ever said a word!

Thanks!

Best to all and wishing you every success with the A - Z Challenge this year!

M. J. 

Photo credit:  Indoor Firing Session, Sobor, Creative Commons Attribution; Presos Para Sempre, Celso Pinto de Carvalho, Creative Commons Attribution; Captcha Free Blog Badge, Charmaine Clancy.com – permission granted to share and use

©2013 All Rights Reserved

Have You Scheduled Your #atozchallenge Posts Yet?

Sign up to Reveal Your A to Z Theme!

As A to Z Challenge co-hosts, one of the biggest challenges we face is how to keep our own blogs going while taking care of a whole host of behind-the-scenes activity.

Last two years, I've gone with one blog. This year, I'm being brave and have submitted two, Amlokiblogs, and Daily (w)rite. I know of people who have submitted up to five blogs!

Before we know it, April would be here-- we have less than a month left! Where did all that time go? Seems to me we were just announcing the challenge and the co-hosts in January!

So, how many of your AZ posts are done? And how can you get them done in a way that is relatively quick and painless?

The most important thing, imho, is to decide a theme.

This makes it easier to pre-schedule posts.

For those of us doing the challenge, deciding a theme is half the job done, and if you've done this job, you can showcase it too, before the challenge starts: Mina Lobo has announced the "Big Reveal Bloghop" where we all reveal our themes a week before the challenge: March 21st. So go ahead and sign up and get to know/ renew acquaintances with a few other A to Z participants!

If you have all your A to Z posts done and dusted, and I know a lot of you have got just that, stupendous! Just make sure you spread the comment love. As DL Hammons tell us in his post, this is the one good way to make your blog part of the community!

If you haven't got your A to Z posts scheduled yet, what are you waiting for?

The A to Z Challenge Guide to Defining Adult Content

If Disney/Pixar studios called you today and offered to make a film adaptation of your blog, what rating would the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) give the movie? 

Ready. Set. Rate it! 

The answer to this question provides a general idea of whether or not your blog belongs in the Adult Content (AC) category – where participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2013 is concerned. Blogs that have adult content are REQUIRED to add this category to their blog title on the sign-up list. Like any other category, this should be done when first signing up to the challenge, as Damyanti explained in January. All other categories are optional for participants to add to their blog during the signup process.

The guidelines and enforcement procedures for Adult Content categorization, where necessary, stem from our concerns that there is no age limit on who can participate, so long as they have a blog. So with that in mind, we decided that our definition of what constitutes “Adult Content” is based on whether the blog contains material that would be inappropriate for teens.

Adult Content – The A to Z Challenge Co-Host Dictionary Reference:

We define Adult Content as anything that might be something a teenager shouldn’t be viewing. By “Adult,” this means nudity, frequent use of harsh language, gore, sexual content, and overtly violent content. By “Content,” this includes blog posts, images, graphics and any other related material that is on display at your blog.

Adult Content Checklist - Does your blog contain any of the following material? If the answer is YES, then it should be marked as such with the (AC) category code:

• Nudity
• Frequent use of harsh language
• Gore
• Sexually oriented language
• Explicit Violence

Again, does your Blog contain any of the above material? If the answer is YES, then it should be marked as such with the (AC) category code!

As our guidelines are fairly simple to follow, this is not rocket science; it should be easy to figure out whether your blog fits into the Adult Content category. If your blog contains any of the above listed material, you MUST have your blog labeled with (AC) on the signup list. Otherwise, your blog will be flagged and removed.

Our thought right now is also that a few profane words in some blog posts don’t require the blog to be listed in the (AC) category. Those of you who may be one of the many Non-AC blogs, however, are not out of the woods regarding the nature of the content you publish. That said, if you are among the Non-AC bloggers who do happen to have some harsh language here and there, we urge you to at least put a Disclaimer/Warning at the top of your posts with questionable content. The Disclaimers/Warnings can help to protect you if a teen participant happens to come across your blog during the A to Z Challenge.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Co-Host DL Hammons, But Were Afraid To Ask

Not an envious position, following the Blogfather himself – Alex J. Cavanaugh – but I’m always up for a challenge.  Here are my answers to a few of the questions our A to Z followers submitted.

1) You're house in on fire, assuming your kids, pets, and other living things are safe, what do you grab as you head out the door?  All of our important documents are tucked away in a fireproof lockbox, so I won’t worry about that.  What I will grab is our external hard drive, which holds copies of all our family pictures, and my writing.

2) What's your biggest frustration in blogging?  Unless you’ve written a couple of best sellers and are universally appealing, to be done right blogging takes a lot of time, which is something of a precious commodity these days. I get frustrated when I can’t get around to as many other bloggers as I’d like.

3) What's the most awful thing your mother ever forced you to eat?  Liver, and Peas.  I’m getting body shivers just thinking about them. YUCK!

4) Where do you go to "Get away from it all"?" I don’t really have a “man cave” (though I wish I did), and my ultimate getaway – an Alaskan Cruise -- isn’t really cheap, so I’ll just say my writing.  When I’m in the middle of a story there’s no place I’d rather be.

5) What reason did you have to sign up for the A to Z and what did you expect to gain from entering?  Two reasons. First, the exposure. Second, I decided last year to make it uncomfortable in my comfort zone, and this fit the bill.

6) Where do you hail from?  I’m a military brat, so technically I have no hometown.  I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii but our family was constantly on the move (mostly east coast) up until my high school years.  I went to high school in North Carolina and college at LSU.

7) Have you ever wanted to be a rock star?  In my youth I entered more than a few air guitar contests…so that would be a YES.

8) Cake or pie? I’m torn between German Chocolate CAKE and Pecan PIE.

9) How often do you comment on other blogs? My own personal code is if another blogger comments on my posts fairly consistently, then I’ll add them to my Google Reader and read their blogs faithfully.  That doesn’t mean I’ll comment on every blog post though.  If someone were to post a review of a book I have absolutely no interest in, I won’t comment just to comment.

10) Which is your favorite fictional character and why?  Sherlock Holmes…the iconic example of a 

flawed hero who breeds awe and sympathy.

11) If you were a contestant on the CBS show "Amazon Race" and could pick ANY movie character to be your partner, who would it be and why?  John McClain from the DIE HARD movies.  Yippee Ki-yae!

12) What is the most Underrated letter of the Alphabet?  Actually, there are two of them.  D & L :)

13) Describe the last Halloween costume you wore. You know what they say about pictures.

14) Are you smarter than a 5th Grader?  I’m not “smarter” than anyone, but sometimes I happen to know the right answer.

15) Name an item that you have too much of.  Rejection letters.

16) What items could you typically have in your pockets?  My keys, a flash drive, and a pen

 knife.

If I left out a question/answer you’d really like to know, just leave it in the comments below.  And if you get a chance, drop by my permanent home at Cruising Altitude 2.0.

Getting to Know Your Hosts - Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

I’m Alex J. Cavanaugh
Founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Author of Amazon Best Sellers CassaStar and CassaFire
Guitar player extraordinaire
Clones may or may not be involved

And these are my goofy answers!

“Would you ever join a team that was headed off to colonize Mars?”

Would I still have access to the Internet and NetFlix?

“You're house in on fire, assuming your kids, pets, and other living things are safe, what do you grab as you head out the door?”

My guitars. Dear Lord man, you don’t let a Gibson Les Paul burn!

"What rock star would you be?"

John Petrucci from Dream Theater – the man can shred.

"Where do you hail from?"

Well, if I’m hailing a taxi, it would be from the curb. I don’t want to get run over.

"Where do you go to "Get away from it all"?"

My office/man-cave. I have a big screen TV, music, computer, and I’m surrounded by guitars. Add a fridge and a bathroom and I’d never leave.

"Would you rather have your own personal sailing ship or spaceship? What would you name your ship?"

If I had my own spaceship, it would need stealth so I’d have the element of surprise. Therefore, I’d name it the Spanish Inquisition – because nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
(And bonus points if you can name the show!)

“Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse? Why do you think so? Exactly how prepared are you?”

I’ve watched every zombie movie ever made, I’m all about the cardio, and I’ve mastered the double-tap. Game players and movie buffs are the only ones equipped to handle it.

"Name an item that you have too much of."

It’s either movies, music, or guitars. No wait, can never have too many of any of those!

And one serious answer…

"How do you comment - if someone posts 5,6,7 times a week .. once - or 3 times .. then each time or once or twice .. then each time I can't keep up .. but hate not supporting everyone ..."

I suggest clones – they really help.
If someone posts daily, they won’t hate you for skipping one now and then. Even I can’t visit every blogger buddy every single day. (The clones need days off as well, you know!) Those who post more than seven times a week know that some will skip their posts. If you miss a few, it will be all right. That’s why I only post three times a week except during the Challenge. I don’t want to overtax my followers.
Or my poor clones!


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

Spam: Keeping Your Blog Clean for #atozchallenge

no spam! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         We've all undoubtedly gotten the spam comments on our blog posts.   If you haven't then consider yourself lucky or one who has a very tight rein on incoming comments with your spam filters.  Just a word to a few of you (mainly those on WordPress it seems), if you receive absolutely no spam on your posts then good, but you might want to check your spam folders to make sure legitimate comments aren't trapped there as well.  If your controls are set too rigidly, your system may be blocking actual blog comments.  I can't tell you much about this--I only know it happens sometimes since I often end up in WordPress spam folders.

       The real spam is a nuisance, however, and is unfortunately something we have to deal with.  If there are any of you still in doubt about what spam comments are think of the content.  Does the comment have anything to do with what you've said in your blog post.  If not, or if it kind of parrots something you said, but still seems peculiarly worded or just an example of poor grammar you are probably dealing with spam.

        Also, spam often comes from "anonymous".   Ah, yes--that ever present who's-it sender that starts the conversation with a red flag.  On Blogger--and I would assume this is the case on most blogging platforms--we have the option of screening out anonymous comments by switching to "Registered Users" in the Settings section of the blog.  I've done this with most of my blogs and it has helped tremendously to eliminate the spam.   Sadly, I won't get some of those gems that come from real readers who wish to remain anonymous, but it's the price I have to pay to keep a cleaner comment section.

      Of course the spammers can evade this block by actually using a Blogger account.  If you don't know the sender it's a good idea to check the Blogger profile to see who the sender is.  It's usually pretty obvious if the sender is a commercial account who is merely spamming you to get you to click on a link or go to their site.  The bottom line is don't do it unless it's truly something that you'd like to know more about.

      That brings us to links.  You want to take care which links you click on.  This is especially true if a link that sounds very commercial ends the comment or if the comment is filled with peculiar looking links.  And in case you don't know this already, do not open any of those suspicious looking links or you may end up with malware infecting your computer.

        However, don't confuse signature links with links of ill intent.   If what appears to be a legitimate user with an actual good comment that relates to what you have written leaves a link in the signature, it's most likely a safe link that makes it convenient to find the commenter.

        Examples of a good link:  Shannon at The Warrior Muse   or Lee  A Faraway View

        An example of the potentially evil or spam link accompanied by irrelevant comment:

My family always say that I am killing my time here at web, but I know I am getting knowledge all the time by reading thes fastidious content.
my webpage ... rominahotcom         

          If it looks stupid and suspicious, it's probably because it is exactly that.  Don't click on these links and delete the comment from your comment section so others don't click on them.

           Just a note about spam you may not see.  Do you check your spam folders now and then to clean out the spam and make sure there are not legitimate comments trapped in there?   Periodically (at least once a week) you should check to see if you have any spam comments or comments awaiting moderation.   If you haven't ever done this, you might be amazed by what you may find there.  Especially if you are allowing anonymous comments.  You can find the spam folders under "Comments" on your Blogger template page and I guess this would be similar on other blogging formats.

          So, now you might want to get an early start on spring cleaning and get ready for the April Challenge. You'll be getting a lot of new comments to sort through, but you want to be sure to separate the good from the bad.

          Happy Safe Blogging!

Related articles

• Mark Only Spam as Spam
• Day 322: Read Your Blog Spam Lately?
• Blog Spam and the Collateral Damage of Howard Owens

Think Beyond Your Blog's Genre

The A to Z Challenge provides participants the opportunity to find new blogs. We can discover bloggers who share our interests, live in our own city or state, or share our profession. It’s a chance to find like-minded souls and validate our likes and interests.

Sometimes though, it benefits us to step out of our box and discover something new. It challenges us mentally and helps us to grow as a person.

Coming from the position of a writer and author, I know our group tends to gravitate toward each other online. We benefit from the tips and support. Unfortunately, what happens is we end up following mostly writers and authors. The platform building campaigns are fun, but they don’t acquire what we really seek - our target audience.

We need to think beyond the boundaries of our blog topics. There are people who enjoy what we blog about even if they don’t post on the subject. Let’s take gamers for example. You post about RPG and computer games and follow others who also post about games. But who else likes games? Fantasy buffs perhaps? That would include fantasy writers, readers, and movie hounds.

Most of us have more than one hobby. The A to Z is a chance to find others that share our interests. Like to take photos? There are many photo bloggers out there. Travel? Lots of travel blogs. Whatever our interests, there is sure to be a group of bloggers who also enjoy those things. Even if that’s not the focus of your blog, you’ll still share some common ground.

Networking means stepping out and meeting new people. Every person you meet could be an opportunity. Not just to further yourself, but to grow as a human being and possibly help someone else grow.

Take a chance this year. Visit a variety of bloggers. You just might be surprised who you meet.


By L. Diane Wolfe, a.k.a. Spunk On A Stick