Blogging

Blogging Insights — Time Shifting

Fandango5 Comments

Blogging insightsFor this week’s edition of Blogging Insights, Dr. Tanya wants to know whether or not we use the WordPress scheduling feature and, if so, how we us it. I definitely do leverage that feature. Let me tell you all about it.

How often do you use the “schedule” feature on Word Press and how useful do you find it?

Well, let me start out by saying that I use the WordPress scheduler in much the same way as I use my DVR: for time-shifting purposes. I record shows that I want to watch so that I can watch them at a time that’s convenient to me. That’s how I use the “schedule” feature at WordPress.

BDFFA56C-C633-4275-BF3D-EAE8404FC45CI have a number of prompts that I host and most of those are scheduled to be posted at times that I’m often asleep. My daily FOWC with Fandango prompt is scheduled to post at midnight. I hope I’m asleep by then. Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge, Fandango’s Provocative Question, and Fandango’s Friday Flashback posts are all scheduled for 3 a.m. on their respective days. I’d better not still be awake at that time. And this month’s Fandango’s Dog Days of August prompts are posted at 6 a.m. each day this month.

Most of my other posts, like those I use for my responses to the day’s daily prompts, or to rant about whatever craziness Donald Trump is doing, are more impromptu (i.e., posted immediately after they are composed).

How far ahead do you schedule your posts?

It varies, but typically not more than five to ten days in advance for my FOWC with Fandango prompt words. Sometimes I’ll write a post at night before I go to sleep and will schedule it for the next morning.

The Leapster Award

Fandango16 Comments

5E99EB33-6509-42F9-BC6C-DF1F205542F8I am truly honored to have been nominated by Nobbinmaug, who blogs at Nobbinblog, for the coveted Leapster award. Oh wait, I’m sorry. My old eyes are no longer what they once were. It’s actually the Liebster Award for which he nominated me. I don’t know who Liebster is or what liebing is, but, leapin’ lizards, Daddy Warbucks, I do know what leaping is, and I leaped (or should that be “leapt”?) for joy when I saw that I had been nominated nobbinated.

When it comes to blog awards, I don’t follow any of the rules. But I do answer all manner of questions and Nobbinmaug has posed some truly ridiculous and nonsensical challenging ones. So let’s get this show on the road, shall we?

1. Why?

Because I said so, goddamit!

2. Would you rather have a pet gargoyle or griffin?

A griffin. Specifically Kathy Griffin. She’s kind of obnoxious, but in a funny way, you know what I mean?

3. What’s your favorite snack food?

Lasagna. It’s a long story.

4. Who put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop?

The guy who wrote the song that made my baby fall in love with me. Yeah, that guy.

5. If you were to build an ark, or commission cheap labor, and take 7 types of animal to a far away land, what would they be?

By “they,” are you referring to the cheap laborers, the far away lands, or the types of animals? You must learn to be more specific in your questions, although I realize that English is not your native language. That said, if you are talking about animals, they would be a woman (specifically one who is an animal in bed), a dog, a cat, a horse, a griffin (specifically Kathy Griffin), a chicken (for eggs), and a kangaroo to go a few rounds with in the ring.

6. How many things do you know?

Pick a number between one and a million.

7. If you could breathe underwater, where would you go?

Swimming. Duh!

8. How do you feel about questionnaires with ridiculous, nonsensical questions?

About the same way I feel about ridiculous, nonsensical answers.

9. Who would be a better world leader Joe Exotic or Kanye West?

Either would be better than Donald Trump.

10. If you had four Oreos to bet, who would you bet on to win a no-hold barred cage match to the death between the Beatles and the Spice Girls?

I like girls who are spicy (I mean who doesn’t), but I’m gonna go with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

11. What’s the meaning of life?

Life is a four letter word. Deal with it.

Blogging Insights — A Mixed Bag

Fandango8 Comments

Blogging insightsDr. Tanya’s Blogging Insights today is about getting help or assistance or tips on how to blog on WordPress. Here are her questions.

How helpful did you find the WordPress tutorials on blogging?

WordPress has tutorials on blogging? Who knew?

Did you contact the WordPress support staff (Happiness Engineers), if that was included in your plan, and what was your experience with them?

I have opened help “tickets” probably about a dozen times since I started this blog three years ago. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is totally worthless and 10 is extraordinary, I’d rate the WordPress “Happiness Engineers” a 3.5. Sometimes they respond quickly with a good response that addresses whatever problem initiated the ticket. At other times their response was essentially “Too bad, so sad. Now get over it.” And there have been a few times where my inquiry never received a response at all. So, bottom line, in my opinion, it’s a mixed bag.

TOOBA #2

Fandango17 Comments

88E9710D-C9FE-441B-9EE2-654E0009B2DESandmanJazz was awarded the coveted The Original Outstanding Blogger Award and was kind enough to nominate me, along with five other bloggers for this award. This is actually my second TOOBA nomination, so thank you SandmanJazz.

The rules for this award are:

  1. Provide the link to the creator’s original award post. Here is the link.
  2. Answer the questions provided.
  3. Create 7 unique questions.
  4. Nominate 10 bloggers. Ensure that they are aware of their nomination. Neither the award’s creator, nor the blogger that nominated you, can be nominated.
  5. At the end of 2020, every blog that ping-backs the creator’s original post will be entered to win the 2020 Outstanding Blogger Award!

I’m not going to create seven unique questions. Nor am I going to nominate ten other bloggers. But I will answer the questions SandmanJazz posed. Here goes.

1. What is your position on school uniforms?

I believe that school uniforms should be positioned on the outside of the body just over underwear.

2. Do you prefer paper books or a Kindle, and why?

I prefer the Kindle app on my iPhone because I can essentially carry a full library of books with me on my iPhone at all times. I’ve found that way more convenient than lugging my bookshelves with me wherever I go.

3. If you were if charge of your country, what would be your first act in office? (Resignation is not an option)

Arrest Donald Trump and Bill Barr, reinstate all of Obama’s environmental laws that Trump rescinded, tear down Trump’s wall, return all detained migrant children to their parents, remove all federal court justices nominated by Donald Trump and approved by the Senate under Mitch McConnell since Donald Trump took office, and rescind all pardons and clemency orders issued by Donald Trump.

4. Who would you get to play you in a film of your life and why?

This is a tough one. I would need at least three actors, one to play the young Fandango, one to play the prime of my life Fandango, and one to play the old, senior citizen Fandango. I think the young Fandango might be Haley Joel Osment from the movie “The Sixth Sense.” Not because I see dead people, though. I just liked that movie and his role in it. The prime of my life Fandango might be played by Paul Newman because he was handsome (like me?), had amazing blue eyes (like me!), and was a great actor (unlike me, although at one time I thought I wanted to be a great actor). As far as the old Fandango, I’d probably go with Wilford Brimley. Not because I look or am anything like him, but because, you know, like Oatmeal, it’s the right thing to do.FFD5684E-CC22-4A8E-A80E-2A09CECBB5D6

5. Do think it is a good or bad idea for a writer to use a pen name for different genres/styles of book?

I use a pen name for my blog, so I think it’s a fine idea.

6. Do you enjoy spicy food?

Mildly spicy. If food is very spicy, it makes the top of my head sweat.

7. What would you want your Epitaph to say?

E2E80D58-4321-4B19-AE03-9321AB36747D

If any of you want to take a shot at these same questions, go for it.

Blogging Insights — How Tech Savvy Are You?

Fandango18 Comments

Blogging insightsIn this week’s edition of her Blogging Insights series, Dr. Tanya wants to find out about our tech cred. She wants to know…

How technically savvy are you?

Back in the day I used to consider myself to be reasonably savvy when it came to computer hardware and software. I was able to work magic with MS-DOS and master all kinds of DOS-based PC software. And then Windows was introduced and my level of tech savvyness became the ability to simultaneously hit Ctrl-Alt-Del to reboot the damn computer.ctrl-alt-delThese days, my iPhone is my primary device for most of my computing, communications, and blogging needs and if I run into technology issues, I usually just turn my iPhone off and then back on again and whatever the problem was is miraculously addressed.

Did you launch and set up your blog on your own or did you need help with it?

I did it on my own, but it’s pretty easy to do that with WordPress.

Do you feel that it is more important to have a flair for writing or to have good computer skills to be a successful blogger?

I’m not sure I know what being a “successful blogger” actually is, since each of us has our own way of defining blogging success. That said, by definition, blogging requires the use of technology. Thus, I think you need at least some basic computer (or smartphone) skills to be a blogger. But having the ability to write posts that are articulate, interesting, informative, engaging, and witty is the key to being an effective blogger. And, in my humble opinion, having decent skills in grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation helps a lot.