Looking for Posts About Animals? This Thread's for You!

"Do you have a post about animals in your blog? Leave a link here."
BlogCatalog discussion thread (started ca. February 9, 2009)

"The post could be about any kind of animal. Yours (a pet) or someone else's. I want to take a look at your post. I know there are some funny, and not so funny, posts going around. Please share them.

"Here's one that's a little sad but it has an heroic ending...."

What follows is a very, ah, eclectic mix. Some cute, some sort of scientific. Wild animals, pets: and kittens meeting Roomba. (I particularly liked that one, but I'm biased: I posted the link.)

If you're looking for a collection of miscellaneous animal posts, this is a pretty good place to go.

Yet Another Bit of Writing Advice, Again

" Writing Tools: WEbook Writing Secrets"
WEbook (undated)

"Improve your writing skills! WEbook Writing Secrets are writing tips and tools brought to you by experts in the craft. Whether you're looking for tips on fiction writing, poetry writing, essay writing, or just general writing tips, WEbook Writing Secrets has you covered. New writing tips are added...."

At best, I'm a little dubious about self-description that uses an exclamation mark in the first sentence. Maybe it's the Norwegian in me.

There's even an exclamation mark in one of the section titles:

• "New! Recently Added Writing Secrets
• "Nuts 'n Bolts: In-depth Writing Techniques
• "General Writing Advice: Improve Your Writing
• "Fiction Secrets: Short Story and Novel Writing
• "Poetry Secrets: How to Write Poetry
• "Non-Fiction Secrets: Writing Essays and Other Truths
• "Writing Resources: Best Sites for Writers"

I don't think you'll find an idea here that isn't somewhere else, but it looks like a reasonably good resource, anyway: and seems to be well-organized.

Four Good Reasons for Linking to your Sources

"Do You Link to Your Sources?"
MarkStoneman on BlogCatalog (May 19, 2008)

"Too often I come across an interesting piece of information on a blog that does not contain links to the author’s sources. That’s too bad. All I can do at that point is shrug my shoulders and wonder if the story is true. Then I’ll probably close that browser tab and go somewhere else, ..."

He points out that some blogs don't need to link to sources: but for everyone else, this is a good, concise, discussion of why you should link to your sources.

Annie's Mother's Day Page - by Annie

"Annie's Mother's Day Welcome Page"
On the Annie's Home Page website

Attractive graphics, and a selection of resources: Annie's

• other's Day Page
• Mother's Day Links Pages
• Mother's Day History Page
• Gift Ideas for Mother's Day Page
• "What the Bible Says About Mothers" Page
• Mother's Day Kid's Page
• Annie's "Mother's Day Adoptions" Page
• "Mother's Day Sig Tags" Page
• Annie's "Mother's Day Blinkies" Page

The word that demanded attention when I read this page was "cute."

Enjoy.

And Now, for Something Completely Different: Antique Taxidermy

Just when you think you've seen it all: "Antique Taxidermy." In addition to photos and illustrations, it seems they're collecting a list of taxiderminsts

A Pretty Good Idea Page for Webmasters

"10 links for a cool website" has a title that's fairly accurate.

There are 10 links, all right, but the "Color Trends and palettes on colourlovers.com" is more of a collection of color pallet samples than a discussion of color trends. Maybe I missed something there.

"40 CSS layouts on blog.html.it/layoutgala/" is a link that lives up to its promise a bit better.

The last link, "Learn about SEO on seobook.com" is okay, if you want to buy an ebook for "only $79." I think you'd be better off, getting involved in an online community like www.blogcatalog.com, and looking around the discussion threads for opinions and observations on the subject.(1)

"10 links for a cool website" is a fairly good place to go for ideas, but not the best place to start if you're looking for something like tutorials.

(1)(Actually, BlogCatalog has had a few discussions on that subject recently. Yes, I'm biased: I'm a member, and think BlogCatalog is great.)

Web Trend Map #2

Serious webmasters and bloggers, note: Information Architects' Web Trend Map shows how major websites link to each other. Knowledge is power, and this is knowledge.

Thanks to CallCenterVet's discussion thread on BlogCatalog, for bringing this up.

A Blog about Blogs

Someone else is blogging about blogs in the blogosphere. I'd guess that there are thousands, at least, like mine and "Your Relevant." "Your Relevant" describes "Our Mission" this way: "To bring people and blogs together. There are so many good blogs out there that no one knows about. We here at 'your relevant' think that people should know about your blog."

The first half-dozen blogs reviewed were about: music; something called kiwipost (sounds interesting); music, movies and video; something called Pawhealer (with an odd picture); making making online; and fruity recipes.

A mystery I haven't solved is this blog's title, "Your Relevant." It's not clear, whether the word "Your" is intended to be an adjective, with the noun modified by the the adjective unstated - or a mis-spelling of "you're."

Either way: looks like a good source for links and reviews.

Another Descendant of the Chain Letter? "Millionaire For A Day!"

Despite the title, I haven't made up my mind whether this sort of post is a full-fledged descendant of the chain letter, or not.

My guess is that this is regarded as a way of increasing traffic. I may discuss that in another post.

This post seems harmless enough. No money was requested, or other item of value. And the question appealed to me.

I'll get to the fun part in a minute. The only big issues I see about posts like this is that

• They place an additional strain on the Internet's capacity to handle traffic, without adding very much in meaningful communication
• Links in these posts are not relevant, since they do not serve to connect the page to another page with related content.

I'm not going to take a side on either one of them.

The fun part:

In the extremely unlikely event that I had a million dollars (and, assuming I received it), I'd: give 10% off the top to charity; find out how big a piece of the action the IRS wants, and what it would take to clear family debts; set up a live-off-the-interest fund; and stop worrying about how I'm going to support my family.

Okay, there's probably be some significant upgrades to my computer, and maybe a flatscreen television in the mix, too.

Here's what a friend of mine at BlogCatalog.com asked me to participate in. I can't stop you from copying it and continuing the chain, but I won't insist on it, either.

Instructions: ***Start Copy***

Proposition: If you Have $1,000,000.00…………………………
Requirements: continue above sentences
Tag Mode: 5 bloggers
Link: Add your anchor and post link below.

What They Do With Their $1 Million

1. SYH will spend for Family
2. Miche will give to the needy
3. Montessorimum will keepsake
4. Lovely Mummy will spend & save
5. MummyInVain will fully utilise
6. Babyfiona will buy house and open business
7. MonkeyWong will go for a long vacation
8. Emila Yusof will realise her dream
9. Mariuca will open a Perfume Gallery
10. Hin will blog to donate for charity
11. Norski will Tithe 10% off the top

Instructions: ***End Copy ***

A few technical notes: I stripped a great deal of formatting out of this list, so that it would display legibly in this blog.