Dog Days

My sincere apologies for not getting back here sooner, but it's just been too damn hot and humid around here. In most of the US, these days are known as the "dog days" of Summer. I've heard it explained as everything from feeling warm as a long haired dog on a hot day, to the position of the Dog Star in the sky. Personally, I think it's because we all just want to sleep under a cool table, or porch, if we're fortunate.

Another sign of summer blogging; large photos, drawings, etc. Why? To take up as much space as decently possible without actually having to fill it with THOUGHT-OUT COMMENT [actually, I didn't want you to miss the caption here. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself]!

Actually, 99% of all blog posts fall into the category of "pointless, incessant barking" [including this one], but the heat is making me cranky. So why don't I just complain about things I've noticed on blogs lately. You can jump in if you wish:

Blogs with music - It's not that I dislike music. I just don't want to be startled from my contemplative mood by some useless pop song from another country [America will always lead the world in the production of useless pop songs, dammit. I've never been prouder to be an American than when I remember that ]. If you MUST demonstrate your taste in music, how about letting the visitor decide whether or not to be so entertained? And turn those mp3's down, please!

"Trojan horse" blogs - I first noticed this trend earlier this year. You arrive at a blog, then, seconds after you've started to read a post, it changes into an ad. Come on, monetizers! That kind of sales strategy is going to cost you more potential sales than it's ever going to get you.

The next two complaints are related to Entrecard users; if you're not into the card game, please ignore these gripes:

No EC widget - Very annoying, especially for those of us who try to reciprocate drops. It seems somehow unethical to pick up credits from my site, but not allow me to do the same. EC needs to get a handle on this [along with other violations of EC rules].

Ad disclaimers - No, I'm not talking about those who notify their readers that they may be getting paid to blog on this or that [that kind of candor is appropriate]. I'm referring to people who say, near their EC widget, something like m"Ads selected by Entrecard. Not responsible for content". Last time I checked, people, all blog proprietors had the option to accept or reject any ad they chose to, for whatever reason they chose to give. If such matters are truly important to you, check your advertisers' blogs. If not, take the credits and move on. False piety may be the most annoying kind of all.

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Okay, you've let me yammer. You should have the chance for a reward. I've got one thousand EC credits I'd like to get rid of. Here's how I'm going to do it: all readers of this blog, along with anyone who hears about it from friends, etc, is invited to participate in the first IRON BLOGGER COMPETITION [the first one here, anyway]. The rules are simple; one week from this Friday [on August 15th], a topic will be posted at this site. You will have the weekend to write up to 250 words on the topic. (Those responses will be submitted in the form of "comments" to the topic post.) If you feel some photo or artwork will help your chances, you are free to use them. The cutoff time will be Monday, August 18th, at 12 Midnight [US Eastern Daylight Time]. Any late entries, along with those posts that are more than 250 words, will be disqualified. In addition to the credits, the winner will be awarded the soon-to-be-prestigious IRON BLOGGER BADGE [I'm still designing it, but it should be funky]. Can I be bribed? Probably not, but I'm willing to listen to any offers...

-Mike Riley