Blog changes

After my vacation mentioned a few days ago, I decided to open up my blog to all comments (previously, you had to sign in). My hope is to encourage more comments from all people, even people who want to remain anonymous. However, I've enabled moderation in order to filter out the garbage.

Well, it seems to have worked, I've received three anonymous comments in three days. Trouble was, they were all spam. The last one bothered me a little. The comment praised my general idea (gotta love that), but criticized my lack of specifics. As I read the note trying to decide whether to approve or disapprove, I chucked about the criticism, the comment itself lacked specifics.

What made me decide NOT to post the comment was the hot-links at the bottom for various websites. But it did make me think and decide to explain my reasoning for moderation and my approval process.

If I see a comment that is on subject (or even off subject somewhat), has no profanity and no advertising, I will publish it, whether I agree with it or not and whether it's praise, criticism or something else. I will allow a link to your blog if you include one, but I will check it out first (to protect my readers).

Readers - I encourage you to click on the "comments" in each blog post and add comments to the stream. A comment in the stream does not mean I agree with or endorse the ideas, but it does mean I've read the comment and feel it's clear of profanity and advertising spam. If the comment includes a hot-link, click on it at your risk, but I will typically comment on whether or not I checked it out.

Thanks again for your readership.

Where have all the bloggers gone?

Seems a lot of the blogs I follow have gone silent with one blog even completely being deleted. Some of these had started and never followed through (or are using Facebook/Twitter to share), others are out doing things like the Nutcracker Ballet (I think).

My schedule has made it more difficult to follow a regular schedule, although I think that's changing as we near the end of 2010. But it made me think of this song.

Ok, I don't like the political commentary she added in, but the song is from a different era, a different time.

Free Book - Yes, free!

I've been reading a lot of personal finance blogs like Freeby50 and The Simple Dollar. I recommend both of these. Well, it turns out that The Simple Dollar has a book titled (amazingly) The Simple Dollar. And for a limited time, you can get the book for free.

You can download the book for your Amazon Kindle at this site: The Simple Dollar Book. But wait, you say you don't have a Kindle? (I don't). Not to worry, you can download the Kindle app for your iphones, ipads, android, PC or Mac. I did and it was very simple. You start at this site. It took under 5 minutes.

blogging for bucks

About a year ago, I created a blogpost with a contest (see here). It worked pretty well, I generated more comments than usual and picked up a few new regular readers. One of the readers won a prize, a $10 gift certificate at Amazon (congratulations again Glenn!).

Seems I'm not the only one (and I'll admit I stole the idea) who does give-aways on their blog. One of my favorite blogs is ChristianPF. It deals with day-to-day finance problems from a Christian viewpoint. Even if you don't follow this belief system, it has some pretty pragmatic ideas.

Today, the blogger announced an iTouch giveaway. So, I'm promoting his blog in a chance to win the iTouch. If you get a chance, go read http://christianpf.com/ipod-touch-giveaway-new/.

I don't recommend that you enter this contest, as I'm afraid it will decrease my chances of winning :)

I'm baa.aa.aa.aack

I couldn't stay away too long. I needed a break from every day blogging. I also stopped reading (as many) blogs.

Over the last year, I've changed my blog reading habits. I read less political blogs (it's better for my blood pressure) and more financial blogs (picked a few good tips too). I also read more "personal" blogs, just regular people commenting on life.

As I restart my blog, I've banned anonymous comments. Seems I was getting a lot of these, so it just made sense. If you're being kept from posting, please email me. You can click on "view my profile" (scroll down, on the right, under "about me") and get my email address. I'd love to hear from you.

Real blogging starts tomorrow!

Moderation is for monks....

A few weeks ago, I received some comments on my blog for very old blog posts. I don't mind, but these were obviously spam. So I turned on moderation for old posts.

However, I didn't realize that I had to actively look for comments held in moderation. This morning I found I had 15 comments held, all but one were spam.

I look at this as a good news/bad news situation, I had 14 spam comments held and you, my loyal reader, won't have to bother with those. Unfortunately, one valid comment was held by my ignorance. My sincere apologies.

As it is, anyone (including anonymous readers) can comment on recent blog posts. If the post is over 14 days old, I will moderate. I will ONLY reject comments that seem to be spam - ads for medical sales or other sales. If you feel I have rejected your comment unfairly, either email me (my email address is in my profile) or comment on a more recent post.

I will not reject posts that simply disagree with me (that would get rid of most of my comments).

Thanks to all who comment.

P.S. Anyone know the rest of the quote in the subject line?

Comments, comments

Recently, I've gotten some comments that are less than stellar. These have mostly been on old blog posts and I found out I can moderate posts older than 14 days. This seemed a reasonable compromise to me, as I really don't want to moderate. I spend too many hours away from the computer and wouldn't be able to moderate in a timely fashion.

Just today I got a post on a recent blog entry that seems a little racy. I can't guarantee that the link that was posted is to a porn site, but it sure sounds that way and I'm not going to test it.

So what to do? Do I turn on moderation and only allow legitimate posts? Or do I just accept this as part of the cost? It actually shows that my blog is hitting higher on some search engine somewhere, so I guess that's a good thing.

(Note, I posted this entry twice. In the process of some other clean up, I deleted the first entry).

Roundup

I'm going to steal an idea from my blog-friend Neil and post a list of other blogs I've seen this week. Maybe I can be Neil's padawan blogger.

Don't forget my contest. You can win a big prize ($5), just for making up a story. Post it in the comments or send me an email. Today's the deadline. The judges will vote tomorrow and the winning story published.

I confess I stole the idea from the contest from (or was inspired by) the Lazy Man and Money. Lazy is one of the blogs I've been reading about practical money management. He received two copies of a book, 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget, and is giving one away. Be sure to read the comments, some are funny, some are sad. See his post here.

Another practical money management blog I've been reading is The Simple Dollar. A recent post focused on Quantity Surcharge. You always thought that the bigger bottle of ketchup was cheaper, right?

Probably my favorite blog of late is Free by 50. It's not as much day-to-day practical information, but probes deep on some subjects. Home ownership, foreclosure, subprime lending, etc. Be sure to read several posts to get a feel for the blog.

I first heard Gerri Detweiller on the radio, she focuses on consumer alerts of all types. She's the credit advisor for credit.com. She doesn't blog every day, but her posts are good.

Blog reading diversity

I try to be somewhat diverse in my blog reading. Certainly most of what I read is stuff written by Christians who are politically conservative. But I read blogs about politics, religion, life in general and even a daily blog by a Miata lover (Brian almost makes me covet his red Miata).

But lately I've been looking for some greater diversity in what I read. My posts on contrary evidence, Super-heroes needing an antagonist and even on diversity itself were basically disguised attempts to look for another blog or two that I could read.

So if you know of a good blog from another view, especially a political or religious blog, let me know.

when do you blog?

I blog at various times. Sometimes, I blog during slow time at work, when I'm waiting on someone to call me back (see yesterday's blog for an example). Sometimes I blog in the morning, when I'm going through my list of daily blogs.

Usually, I'm listening to the radio (via the internet), so blogs with music on them mess me up. I'm putting those on a special list, which I will view when I can.

Other times, I review blogs and create a new entry on my own when I'm listening to a boring conference call. Those seems to come up a lot this time of the year. Everyone is closing out for last year and starting fresh.

When do you blog? When do you read other blogs?

Comments on comments

I have to admit, I love it when someone comments on my blog. Whether they agree with me or disagree or maybe they just love my pictures (which I don't use often). Occasionally, I'll get someone who is astroturfing* (neat sounding word, isn't it?). And I've gotten a few spam attacks. A couple of people have asked me to advertise their product (I won't do that, I do this for fun, not money).

But what amazes me is when someone finds an old post and comments on it. Yesterday, Lisa found one of my old posts and agreed with it. (see here). Sure, she posted a link to her site, so maybe she's trying to increase her site traffic. She also mentioned her husband is a Nationwide Insurance agent (the post was about that), so maybe she's trying to earn him more business. Or maybe she's hoping that when people visit her site (seen here) they will take advantage of her ministry opportunities (I've seen her site, looks like she's doing good work). Who knows why she took the time out of her day to comment.

All I know is that it makes me feel good when people comment. Thanks Lisa!


* For those who don't know, astroturfing means that someone is trying to give the impression that there is a grassroots campaign for or against something. For example, when I posted about PayDay Loans, I had some comments from people paid by the industry.

Painting the lines

When I graduated from high school, I took a summer job working in a manufacturing environment. If you've ever seen a textile mill with cloth running from one machine to another, you've seen some of the large rollers. The company I worked for would take these rollers (after they had worn considerably) and strip all the rubber off of them, then apply new rubber. The new rubber was then sanded smooth, to the exact specifications the customer demanded. Typically, this was within a few thousandths of an inch.

The machine I worked on had the ability to put a "crown" onto a roll. That is, the diameter of the roll was more in the center than on the ends. So, it may have a "crown" of 0.025 inches. The ends had to match each other, the crown had to be in the center and the crown had to be the exact specified amount.

Business was very good in the summer, because textiles took time off. During their lulls, they would send us the work. I start out working 55 hours a week (10 hours/day, 5 hours on Sunday) and kept that up for most of the summer. Top that off with an above-minimum wage pay and I was living! (and spending it all too).



Occasionally, work would get slack. No new orders coming in, so overtime was cut quickly. When the workload dropped even more, we painted lines. The lines were required by OSHA for safety. it showed where forklifts could go, where other equipment could go, etc. When times were very slow, we painted our machines.

So why am I posting this, thirty years later? The company I worked for no longer exists and other than a few scars on my two small fingers of my left hand and some memories, there's nothing left.

Well, here's my point. There are times in your life when things are slow. When this happens, you need to paint lines. If life is slow, your job is boring and things aren't going your way, paint the lines. Study a new topic. Stay in school (or go back). Complete a few projects that you didn't complete when life was hectic. Focus on the essentials. Maybe even (gasp) read a book.

Or if live gets very boring, post a blog entry.

My name is RB, I endorsed this message and I'm running for president

When I turned 35, I announced to all my friends and neighbors that I was running for president. I had examined all of the recent candidates and announcements and decided I was equally qualified.

However, it was not an election year, so I soon bowed out. Now, 14 years later, I'm reannouncing my candidacy.

Since I'm entering the fanfare a little late, I'll plan a slow entrance. I'll start by announcing and deciding my platform. This will help all of my followers (thanks mom) decide which of the current candidates should be elected to hold my place until I'm truly ready. In fact, he or she could revoke the constitutional amendment that placed term limits on the presidency so that once I win the office, I can retain it forever, in the spirit of my senator, Strom Thurmond.

So, over the next several weeks, I'll post my ideas on the presidency and what I believe are important subjects to be covered. Since I'm a formulas and function kind of guy (see my post on functions), I'll also put some sort of priority or weighting with each idea. This way and astute reader could write a simple function for Excel to decide which of the current candidates best fits my model.

Regular readers will know that I've already stated there was one candidate I could NOT vote for, that's Rudy G. See my reasoning here. They may also note that I've suggested Jenna Bush for president (see here), but it's going to be a while before she's eligible. Other than these two items, I haven't decided who I will vote for. I fully expect to make that decision as a part of this exercise.

So be looking for my posts. Tell your friends and neighbors, dogs and cats, dead uncles and aunts to all vote for me (it works in Chicago). Seriously read my posts and comment on them. If you disagree with me, feel free to say so. I reserve the right to flip-flop as often as Clinton and Romney have been accused. After all, one man's flip-flop is another man's shoe.

Did Drew Peterson kill his wife?

All over the news, you'll see stories like this one about Drew Peterson in Illinois who is accused of killing his fourth wife. Her body hasn't been found, but they have exhumed his third wife's body and at least one investigator believes he killed her too (I found an interview with wife#2, but gave up finding anything on wife#1, the reports are just too sick). Mr. Peterson thinks wife#4 ran off with another man and just doesn't want to be found.

Now, teleport across the pond to merry old England where it's reported that John Darwin who has been gone over five years and presumed dead. The wreckage of his kayak washed on shore in March 2002 and a coroner pronounced him dead. His wife Anne, collected the life insurance money and recently moved to Panama. Now John has turned himself in claiming amnesia.

So what ties these two stories together? Is Anne Darwin's wife, Drew Peterson's next target? Or did Stacy Peterson, run off with John Darwin? No, nothing so sinister, no great conspiracy. I am just fascinated with the idea that people can run away and never be found. It turns out there are even books written about the idea: "Hide Your Assets & Disappear: A Step-By-Step Guide to Vanishing Without a Trace"

Let's see, didn't I say something a few days ago about moving to the mountains and becoming a hermit? (blog post here) If Santa wanted to bring me a book, maybe the above would be a good one...

Hermit

This time of the year is always difficult for me. I know it should be the happiest time of all. I get to see my family more than normal, everyone is in a good mood and I get to do things that please them.

I think it's tough because of the stress. I want to do things just right and they don't always work. Some family gets hurt or offended, someone else doesn't like what's going on. And they all bring their problems to me.

I get the urge to move up to the mountains and tell them that if they want to see me, come on, but leave their gripes and complaints at home.

If my comments these next few days seem a little snippy, I apologize in advance. Don't complain about it though, you'll only make it worse.

I hate MySpace

I found a good blog, someone who lives in my area and shares some common interest (except college choices). But I can't comment because I don't have a myspace account. I guess I have to go create one, but do you KNOW how many userids/passwords I have? 51! (I just counted)

I have them recorded somewhere (it's a secret where). That's not good for security, but making them all the same isn't either. There has to be a better way!

Great post in another blog

One of my sometimes-readers had a humorous post that I loved. I hope you'll love it too.

Look at his blog here.

I intentionally pointed to his whole blog, not just the post that got my attention. Look for "The Love that Dare Not Speak its Name..." it's hilarious (note that he says it's a parody).

The post after that (or before that depending on how you look at it) is done in respect for equal time.

How much of that email did you read?

Several years ago, I heard a statistic that the average person read on about a 5th grade level. The email system we used had an option to check the grade level of the words in an e-mail. By default, it was set to flag words over 7th grade level (I guess we thought we were smarter than average). You could highlight a word that was flagged and it would tell you the grade level of that word.

During that time, I began watching the way I sent emails. I intentionally did things to make them more readable. Short sentences, paragraphs with 2-3 sentences and lots of white space. When necessary, use of bold or (less often) italics to get attention. Oh and in case you hadn't noticed, lots of (parenthesis) to denote sub-thoughts.

I've been told by many people that the e-mails I send and documents I write are very good. This often came up when we were talking about other things, so I take the comments as true. I feel I have a special talent to be able to explain complex situations up and down the management food chain (at least when it's job related).

Today I was crafting an email. The note will surprise some of the folks as they weren't aware of some activities from over the weekend. So I had to explain a complex situation from the start and reassure them that all was under control. I was proud of the job I did and at the last minute separated a paragraph into two and bolded the last one (is bold a verb?). As I did so, I thought, these people probably won't read the whole email, best to get the info out quickly and tell them which parts to read.

So, here's my thought for the day, how much of any given email does the average reader read? I'm guessing around 50%, but I'd also guess it varies depended on the sender, the subject line and the length of the e-mail. You're more likely to read all of an email from someone you know and trust with a subject line that grabs your attention and if it's short.

Surely someone has done a study on this funded by our over-zealous congress.

As a side question, I wonder if the same applies to blogs???