A Couple of things that Irritate a Blogging Dinosaur

By Jennyjinx | Published: August 20, 2009

Issue #1: Giving Credit

Yesterday I followed a link on Twitter to an article that highlighted something I’d already read on another site. So, I looked for attribution, a hat tip or something that showed the author of the entry acknowledged the original article. Nope. Nada. Zilch. Considering the link I followed was from a well-known news personality, it was obvious that this person was gaining popularity by aggregating someone else’s work (or a bunch of someone elses1) without acknowledging them.

I’m a blogging dinosaur pretty much2 and remember the good old days when bloggers linked out to each other and gave credit where credit was due. I remember reading the now big political sites before they were big or even taken seriously by the big, bad mainstream media (in all forms including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines and television) and they would see a story on another blog and link back to that blog thusly:

Today I was blog surfing3 and learned that as a 36 year-old woman I am a Cougar as my husband is younger than me AND that I am an "older" woman. (h/t The Redhead)

See what I did there? I read an article in the newspaper but linked back to the site where I originally found the article. Why would I do that? I could have framed it without the "h/t" (Hat tip) and you would never know that I followed a link from someone else’s blog thereby failing to admit I read other people’s blogs and making you think I scour the intertoobs looking for older-than-dirt news on which to comment. There’s no need to send a you somewhere else, where you might find content more interesting than mine and potentially causing you to abandon me. By linking to the site that lead me to the content on which I commented I could potentially lose my credibility as a newshound or something. Who would source me when they could source her? I should be working to make everyone think that I find this stuff myself and that others are aping me. I should be working to make people think that I’m the authority on this shit. I want people that don’t better to think these other people are stealing from me.

Now, back in the day people weren’t so selfish with their linkage. They promoted other bloggers along with themselves and happily admitted that they didn’t stumble upon interesting news/stories all by themselves. They believed wholeheartedly in giving credit whether the credit went to some obscure person no one had ever read before or a major blog such as Crooks & Liars. We happily admitted that we weren’t always original and laughed at those blog whores4 who expected linkbacks, but refused to give proper credit and acknowledge that they’re not that original.

Those people aren’t called blog whores anymore, which is sad because they really are exactly that. They find a good piece of news/blog post/whatthefuckever and rush to put it on their own blog. Then they Stumble themselves, send a tweet (and *gag* beg for retweets), Digg themselves and basically whore the shit they didn’t think of themselves. And they don’t see any reason to send a link to the person who gave them the seed for the fucking post to begin with. The particular blog that sent me over the edge yesterday was top-to-bottom filled with stories the author(s) found somewhere else, but which didn’t offer any kind of credit.

Oooh, you’re so original! Look at you, offering a one line commentary on something you saw on another site and assuming that no one reads those other sites so doesn’t know that you spend your days whoring your stolen shit5. Woo-hoo! Aren’t you spayshul?

Of course, I’m completely in denial about the fact that all the blogging and SEO “experts” advise against linking out because teh Google won’t look favorably upon your blogging endeavors and, apparently, it’s all about getting to the top of teh Google and making the money. Unless it’s all about trying to get popular like the big guys6 so that the MEDIA will notice you and, ohmygod!, ask you to sit on a panel during David Schuster’s show which will cause your followers to fawn on you and declare you the GOD OF THE INTERNETS. With this particular case, I’m going with the desperate need to be popular and getting a talking-head gig.

Hey, maybe if I quit with the foul language and original thinking (ha!) I can manage to whore scratch my way to the top of the heap of Ye Ole Blogosphere and get myself some money and/or interviews? Just copy and past some shit, throw in a comment and voila! What do you think about that idea? I mean, it’s all the rage right now and I am a follower.

Issue #2: Link Shorteners

Another thing that has become popular lately, and which completely irritate me, is the use of URL shorteners in blog posts. Instead of something like "Fab Jinxed" (hover over the link and see the URL) we get "Fab Jinxed".

What the fuck is the point? Really? You want to see the stats to who clicking your links in your fucking blog posts? Here’s a thought: Use one of those 35 stats programs you’ve got your blog connected to and look at who’s clicking out. Unless, of course, you’re trying to hide something, in which case you’re an ass and I hope you get burning gonorrhea7. But there is no valid reason you’re using a link shortener in your own blog post. It’s annoying. I want to be able to hover over a link to see where it goes before I decide to click it. For instance, if you’re linking to World Net Daily as a source for some "facts" I won’t bother checking because I know WND sucks monkey turds and I’ve also discerned that you’re a cretin.

URL shorteners are for Twitter or Twitter-like services, where the number of characters is, ahem, rationed. That’s it. On a blog post there is absolutely no need for them. I don’t care what your reasoning is, if you can’t figure out how to set up a stats program to check outgoing click then you need teh Google or some other kind of help. If you don’t know how to shorten a link via HTML and use the URL shorteners to do that for you (though you know how to code the link so it’s clickable which is unbelievably strange), I’ll give you a lesson8:

Step 1: Add your tags and opening code

EX:   <a href=”

Step 2: Add your URL after the opening quote. Just copy and then paste:

EX: <a href=”http://www.fabulouslyjinxed.com

Step 3: Add the closing quote and then use the closing bracket

EX: <a href=”http://www.fabulouslyjinxed.com”>

Step 4: Add a short phrase or some other character to SHORTEN THE LINK

EX: <a href=”http://www.fabulouslyjinxed.com”>???

Step 5: Close the tag

EX: <a href=”http://www.fabulouslyjinxed.com”>???</a> (The forward slash closes your link…dur)

Then you have this: ???

See? Hover over the three question marks, look in the bottom left hand corner of your browser and you’ll see where the link goes. Stop abusing the URL shorteners.

And so ends my rant against blogging abuses for today. And, no, I won’t join my comrades who have given up their blogs for the greener pastures of Facebook. The blogosphere is still stuck with me and my appreciation of the days of yore even as I consider whoring myself out for a talking head gig. And if I start stealing your stuff and not crediting you, don’t worry as I’m just following the advice of the “gurus”. Just sayin’.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Sphere: Related Content

  1. Misspelled because usually "someone else" isn’t plural, but since when did I care about that shit? [↩]
  2. I’ve recently discovered that because I’ve been blogging since before 2008 I am a blogging Maven. Can you believe that shit? Heh. [↩]
  3. We did that back in the day, dontcha know. [↩]
  4. Bloggers who shameless promoted their own shit, didn’t promote anyone else’s shit, refused to participate in the discussion and BEGGED for page views and/or comments on their own shit. [↩]
  5. Ok, maybe not stolen. But lazily obtained without acknowledgement, which irritates the shit out of me [↩]
  6. Too late in the political blogosphere, by the way. They win and you lose. [↩]
  7. Long-standing, inside joke. If you don’t get it I don’t care. [↩]
  8. This also works if you use software that allows you insert the link, also known as a Hyperlink, such as rich text editing or visual editing stuff and/or MOST BLOGGING PLATFORMS. [↩]
Posted in I'm Pissy, Meta, Slap upside the head | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Yes, I am Selfish

By Jennyjinx | Published: August 15, 2009

I have a health insurance story too. Don’t we all? Mine isn’t as dramatic as some who have been denied needed supplies, such as testing strips for diabetes, or important tests, such as those for a suspected heart problem, but it’s my story and that makes it important—at least to me.

My regular readers know that I suffer from Fibromyalgia Syndrome and they also know that TheMan was recently laid off from his job. My condition is chronic and regardless of what some people have said, it has been progressing (though not necessarily causing permanent harm) and I need to be able to access my doctor. When TheMan got laid off we lost his insurance and my access to my doctor. People will say “What about COBRA?”1, which we were offered. However, COBRA coverage would have cost us $900 a month. For the people who are screaming that we don’t need anymore government mandates or that we don’t need government involved in medical care, this probably doesn’t seem like a lot of money. But when one person in your household is on unemployment2 and the other is working two part-time jobs that don’t pay a lot or offer employer-provided health insurance, there isn’t $900 lying around to pay for the COBRA. We have to pay a mortgage3 and the electricity and the other bills—including, but not limited to food and household supplies. I wanted COBRA, of course, but it really wasn’t a realistic option.

Of course, the first thing I worried about was my “pre-existing condition”. Not how am I going to continue care or let me find a cheap doctor, but how I would manage to get insurance to cover my chronic condition were TheMan able to get back to work. Once you’ve lost the insurance and it’s been lapsed for so long, well, the new insurance won’t pay for what the old insurance paid for. The Certificate of Coverage would mean squat after about 60 days from the point the insurance lapsed. Luckily for me I was eligible for a personal “gap coverage” type of insurance that will, I hope, allow me to get treatment when we’re able to get our insurance back. The premium is only $120 a month. I can’t actually seek treatment for my condition(s) though, because my insurance specifically states that “This policy will not cover treatment for chronic conditions. We recommend another policy for those needs."4 This gap insurance only pays $1500 a year, 2 days in the hospital and no more than $50 a month for prescriptions—after the $700 deductible for medical treatment and $20 copay for all prescription whether they be generic or not. I can find a new doctor to treat my symptoms, though, but only the ones on their list and only if they’re taking new patients. On this type of policy, there really aren’t that many doctors. I’d like to find one where the office visits cost less than $100, but that’s not likely to happen so I’ve got to figure out a way to get the money for my initial visit (remember the deductible?).

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Popularity: 4% [?]

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  1. Which, by the way, was mandated by the government. [↩]
  2. Another government program, by the way. [↩]
  3. On a house we bought with A-1 credit and a $10K down payment, I might add. No foreclosure for us. [↩]
  4. At an outrageous cost, of course. No way could I afford that. [↩]
Posted in I'm Pissy, Meta, Slap upside the head, The J-O-B, Women's Issues | Tagged | Comments closed

Cause I’m alive and like dem Trolls

By Jennyjinx | Published: July 28, 2009

Hey! Guess what? I’m alive! I know, I know, you knew that and you knew I’m a big ol’ slacker who sometimes doesn’t update her blog for months at a time. But who cares what you know? Ha!

So, I’m done with my other, other job. Thank the gods. I was doing answering service crap and it was ok money but it was, indeed, crap. And temporary. So now I’m back and can once again pretend I’m important in my online world. Sadly, I’m not overly angry about anything political because I’ve actually not been keeping up with politics. I’m pretty sure Obama is still a disappointment, we’re still in Iraq and I still don’t have medical insurance. So, nothing new happening. I’m terribly shocked (though I did see that Palin has resigned her governorship and think that’s highly amusing).

I did just read a couple of posts regarding trolls on the BlogHer site1 and thought it was an interesting topic. Of course, my idea of a troll differs greatly from the authors of the posts I read. They seem to follow the Markified definition of troll which is:

Troll: noun; markified
1.) anyone that has the audacity to disagree with me in my own blog comments
2.) anyone that engages in (1) and then returns to keep engaging in said disagreement
3.) anyone that hurts my feelings on the intertoobs in any way, shape or form

My idea of a troll is just someone who jumps in a conversation and screams “U’re a DIK!” or some such nonsense with the sole intent of getting shit stirred up. But I guess I’m very strange that way because I don’t find disagreement all that bad (if I did some of my favorite people would be my very own trolls…bleh) and it’s incredibly hard to hurt my feelings2.

So, anyway… These fine ladies were discussing ways that they deal with their “trolls”. They do the IP banning, closing of the comments, comment registration, and other things of that nature to try to keep the troll out completely. I guess if you really prefer to not see what they have to say, that’s fine. And most people are more sensible and less of a smart ass than I, so these solutions make sense to a certain degree. A good troll, though, will find ways to get under your skin once they know they’re slowing driving you insane. After myself and some of my cohorts were declared Markified trolls, we did childishly3 engage in some of these tactics. Eventually our boredom and immaturity lead someone not-so-near-and-dear to change urls and close us off completely. Mwahaha!!! I am deeply ashamed. *ahem*

But I digress.

I haven’t had many of my type of trolls here, but I’ve got my own way of dealing with them that reverses their efforts and can drive them insane– instead of them driving me insane. And this is what I mean in my comment policy when I say I will edit your comment if you’re trolling. Let’s say Troll A leaves the following comment:

YOU SUCK AND OBAMA ISN’T A LEGAL CITIZEN AND SARAH PALIN IS QUEEN AND YOU SUCK SOME MORE, OBAMASUCKER!

(I did have a comment similar to that from a PUMA. Oh, good times.)

So, I see this comment and giggle like a raving lunatic because, dur, I have editorial independence here on my own blog. So, the comment becomes:

You are so awesome and I love your blog! I’m going to come back every day to see what new and interesting things you write. I love you!!!!!!!!

Or something equally disgusting. And then the games begin. This is where you put on comment moderation and turn off user comment editing (if you have it). Now Troll A will come back to say that she didn’t leave that damned comment and how dare you edit her free speech that way. But the comment goes to moderation, where you once again allow her to express her undying love and adoration. Which makes her even more mad and causes her to break her exclamation point and her caps lock as she emphasizes how EVIL YOU ARE!!!!!!!! for editing her own words.

And this happens again and again until you get bored and leave her comments in moderation because *yawn* she’s off the deep end and you’ve lost interest. Or she goes away frustrated and starts a hate blog. Whichever comes first. When one of those two things happen, you’ve won.

No need to respond to the troll, of course, after you’ve changed their hate to love. Unless you want to twist the knife and thank them for all the flowery love and admiration. They will scream at their monitor and pound on their keyboard but your regular readers and commenters don’t have to know that. They will just think you have some weird, overly sweet stalker friend. And who doesn’t love admirers?

Of course, this only works if you’re a smart ass and you don’t mind causing someone you’ve never known some personal angst4. Shoot, if you’re like me you’ll have a great time dealing with that troll for the little they come ’round to your spot. Share the hilarity with your friends. Nothing wrong with some evil laughter directed at psychos, right? Oh, and this never works for someone who is a Markified troll because, um, that person is not a troll. Just sayin’

Popularity: 10% [?]

Sphere: Related Content

  1. I have no idea how I ended up there, but whatever. [↩]
  2. Hint: To succeed in hurting my feelings you should be someone I care about otherwise you’re wasting your time. [↩]
  3. Hilariousally!! [↩]
  4. Revenge is sweet sometimes, ya know. [↩]
Posted in Meta, Teh Funny!, stumblin' | Comments closed

Update

By Jennyjinx | Published: June 22, 2009

I thought I better take a quick minute to update on my status. Just in case anyone still cares.

I’m currently working another part-time job, along with my other one (two if you count the other shit I do to make money). That doesn’t leave me much energy or inspiration to blog or be social in any sense of the word. I’m also in negotiations with my father-in-law’s company to do a website for them. That’s pretty exciting for me because, well, I’d actually get paid. So, what little free time I do have that’s not spent with Lil’lady is spent brushing up on my education. Not even time for a real book. Ha!

Lil’ Miss has moved out of town completely. She’s out on her own and we don’t talk much right now. It’s kind of sad for me because I’m so used to being updated on her every move. Now I’m lucky if I can find her to chat on the phone. She’s graduated high school and has flown the nest.

TheMan has decided that he’s going to take welding certification courses. I think that’s pretty damned awesome because his previous goal of becoming a high school history teacher was just so, um, lofty1. Plus there is a higher demand for welders and they make better money than school teachers. And my husband’s communication skills are better suited for the factory than the classroom. So, I’m much happier that he’s doing this.

At this point I’m not the slightest bit up-to-date on what’s happening in the political arena. And I have no desire to catch up. Honestly I’m just trying to focus on my own life, as selfish as that may be. I know that the bank that bought our mortgage increased it substantially and that our two credit cards have increased their fees and that groceries aren’t going down, but AEP was permitted to raise the electric rates. I know that people in my town are still struggling and we’re not seeing any relief– if there is any. And that pisses me off. It pisses me off because the fucking banks and utilities still get to do whatever the hell they want. It pisses me off that the few times I wrote to Bob Taft (when he was our governor) were answered but Ted Strickland can’t be fucking bothered. It pisses me off that Zack Space is more interested in fund raising than helping our community though his predecessor always found a way to bring money to his district. And it pisses me off more because both of Strickland and Space are Democrats who replaced corrupt Republicans. Taft drove this state to hell, I know, but Strickland seems to be twiddling his thumbs and doing very little either way. And because I don’t need to be pissed off any more than I am right now, I’m tuning politics out for now.

Anyway, I’m off to work now. Peace, love and lollipops.

Popularity: 34% [?]

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  1. My poor husband can’t even check his email properly and is so technologically ignorant believed at one point that I could tap his cell phone through my computer. Yes, he really does think I’ve got more skills than I actually do. [↩]
Posted in Meta | Comments closed

A Small Note on Foul Language

By Jennyjinx | Published: May 15, 2009

Oh, Obscenities, how I love thee. Let me count the ways.

I use obscenities a lot here on ye ol’ Fabulously Jinxed. I have often told people that I’m crude and my writing is not for the faint of heart (or eyeballs). I have received email from concerned netizens who tell me that my writing would be so much better without the foul language1. I do not, however, carry that language to places that do not appreciate and/or adore it. I try to be respectful of the safe places people have where they’re not overwhelmed with low-class mutterings such as those I prefer. When I venture into such places, I will temper my writing and become less, um, colorful to satisfy the establishment rules. I do not, however, ever camouflage a fine curse word with such characters as @, # or *. This is even more lazy than the obscenities I love to throw down.

Here’s the thing, there really are other words to substitute for the undesirable words. For instance, I have seen sh*t because the writer is either loathe to be seen in the company of such language or because the site forbids it. Why bother to put in one little asterisk? Why not search for a better, less offensive word? For instance, instead of <em>shit</em>, maybe “crap” or “poo” or even “monkey excrement”. The camouflaging is cheap and, quite frankly, lazy.

“Lazy, Jennyjinx? Why aren’t you the lazy one with all your obscene and disgusting language?”

When I say “fuck” on my blog, it’s like I’m in my house saying the word. I use it like it’s my job. I have variations such as: fuck a duck in a truck, fuckity fuck, fuckola and just plain HOLY FUCK. Around the more sensitive and polite folk that I happen to know and who happen to venture into my home I may instead use: flippin’, flappin’ chicken wings and Holy Shinola. These are my attempts at keeping it clean. Honestly, it’s not that cute when a three year-old child flings an f-bomb, so I’ve always been a little careful around Lil’lady and her Holier-Than-Thou grandmother2. Instead of “son-of-a-bitch” I say “son-of-a-cockroach” and such similarly ridiculous little phrases that eliminate the words I want, but allow the meaning of them shine through. Do I really need them? Probably not. But I wouldn’t be myself without them and I just love making up my own off-the-wall phrases and words. It’s part of my charm.

I’m sorry. Did someone tell you I was a lady? You should smack them for lying to you because that shit is not true.

Back to the point I was trying to make. There are many people that are genuinely offended and appalled at such brazen and lazy language. That’s fine. Guess what else I have in my arsenal? A thesaurus! Can you believe that nonsense3? I do happen to know quite a few words that will get my point across just as strongly as those ever-lovin’ f-bombs, but sometimes I can’t grasp them4 and when I’m on my own turf I don’t really need them. I do find them when I’m on someone else’s turf, though, if I’m given enough time. Considering how many people I’ve offended without having used the “naughty” words I’m pretty sure I can get some kind of point across too. As such you will never see me masking my curses with # or * or %%, because I will find another word to replace them altogether.

I honestly can’t stand those lame attempts to write the curse without actually writing it. “Look here! I know a cuss word, but I’m too genteel to use it. Ha!” Then why the fuck even bring it up? If you can’t or won’t use the word, why even type a small part of it? Search deep into your vast language resources and find something else to replace it altogether. Is that how you say them when you speak? “Oh, sh-exclamation point-teh!”5 “F-asterisk percent sign-K you!”6 Really? Somehow I doubt that.

Ok, so you really don’t want anyone googling you and finding out that you use “that” kind of language. I get that. I can even empathize with and respect that. But you’re not hiding shit behind a little asterisk and an exclamation point. Most people over 13 know what the hell you’re trying to say without actually saying it. They are not fooled in the least little bit. They know you’re hiding something deep and ugly. Why else would you be using any part of those words to begin with? If you want to take the high road and leave us foul-mouthed fuckheads down in the gutters where we belong, then just don’t use the bad words. Do like everyone in my life has ever told me: develop your vocabulary. And then run with it.

I mean, d-word, that s-word is kinda f-word lame. Dontcha think? Just sayin’ g-word it.

A challenge to all mah peeps:

Please tell me the different and unusual ways you cuss without actually doing it. And don’t be lame either. Getting a bigger vocabulary was already mentioned. Please do get creative and give those poor asterisks abusers some fine ideas7.

Popularity: 69% [?]

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  1. These usually give me much enjoyment and I sometimes post them. [↩]
  2. Also known as Millie, who is the bane of my very existence. [↩]
  3. See? I could have said "shit", but chose a more family-friendly word instead. [↩]
  4. FMS kind of made me stupid. [↩]
  5. Translation: Oh, shit! [↩]
  6. Translation: Fuck you! [↩]
  7. And me too as I love to say new an interesting variations on my old favorites [↩]
Posted in Miscellaneous Stuff | Tagged | Comments closed

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