An Interesting Competitor for Adsense

Bidvertiser looks really cool. They pay after every $10 of earnings instead of every $100 like Adsense does. The ad formats seem identical. For a small to medium-sized blog, this looks a lot more attractive than Adsense. At the rate I'm going, Adsense will pay off some time in early 2011.

Technorati tags: blogs advertising adsense

Just Flew Back from Virginia...

...and boy, are my arms tired!

In fact, all of me is tired. Got home to a house full of lonely critters who needed petting and time napping on the bed with me. I didn't really get to spend time with Jacob, so I'll have to set aside some time tonight for that. He got his apple, carrot and pecan treats, though. The neighbors who take care of the zoo when I go on travel give them just standard food, so everyone is in the mood for treats and personal attention when I get back.

I didn't take my camera with me this time, but I didn't really get any good photo opportunites, either. I suppose if I had it with me, I would have gone out of the way to find some good spots to shoot.

I stayed in Alexandria, but I was determined to get some seafood at the coast. Using my GPS mapping software on my PDA during a lull in our meetings, I found a place called Trader's in Chesapeake Beach. The location looked good and the map info said it was steaks and seafood. It only took about 45 minutes to get there and the place was pretty popular. I stood out in my dress slacks and shirt since everyone else had jeans and shorts and t-shirts and tank tops, but it wasn't a big deal. I ordered a dozen crabs.

40 minutes later I was still waiting. When the crabs finally came, I was ready to leave. Eating alone on travel sucks. I almost always get my food to go and take it back to the hotel with me. Waiting alone for 40 minutes really sucks. There was no view, either, as we were across the street from the shore and the buildings on the other side blocked the view. The whole thing was a fiasco. Add to that crabs in the shell took forever to eat. I put an exclamation point on the event when I whacked a shell with the mallet they gave me and crab guts squirted all over my pants and shirt.

Wonderful.

I did manage to take a group of friends to my favorite restaurant, Southside 815, and it got it's normal rave reviews. That was fun.

I stayed at my favorite hotel, the Marriot Courtyard in Alexandria, but I'm thinking of changing that. Since I eat in my hotel room anyway and I get a fixed per diem, I'm thinking of trying to find a Marriot Residence Inn from now on so I can get food at the local supermarket and save some money. Of course, there will be the requisite trip to Southside 815, but other than that I can pocket some cash on each trip. I got tired of the heavy food with no fresh veggies and really pined for some of my own cooking. Pan-seared fish, brown rice and steamed veggies with garlic and soy sauce would have been marvelous.

It's good to be home. Catblogging photos to follow soon.

Technorati tags: travel restaurant chesapeake

Playing Whack-a-mole with Adsense

I've been running contextual Adsense ads on my blog for some time now. The results have been marginal, particularly for image ads. I had thought they would be big hits, with their colorful pictures inviting clicks, but they were total stinkers. The text ads that you see to the right have been much more successful, but even they have been pretty poor.

If you haven't used it, Adsense lets you filter out companies you don't want to receive ads from. Since my blog is called The Scratching Post, I keep getting ads from cat product businesses. Scratching posts, toys, food, everything cat-related keeps getting sent to my site. These ads have been, if you will excuse the expression, total dogs. Every time one of these comes up on my site, I put it on my filter list. They just keep coming. I had no idea how many there were! It's like playing whack-a-mole!

My favorite so far is a cat retirement home called Palm-Meow. Unreal.

Technorati tags: advertising business adsense

What would happen...

...if I wrote a post with no content?

Thursday 13, More Random Thoughts Edition

1. I was originally going to do my 13 favorite catbloggers, but I decided it would be too much work. Instead, I urge everyone to immediate vote for Jo!

2. One is Laurence Simon.

3. Another is Kukka Maria.

4. Another is the Mind of Mog.

5. I finally wrote a summary post for my World of Good (WOG) series. I post these every Wednesday and at the end of each I would include links to all the previous ones. The posts were getting to be more links than text and pictures and I really wanted to give a summary for WOG newbies.

6. The more WOGs I do, the more I think that cooperation and kindness really do make the world go around.

7. This post helps prove my point. Business, when done right, is all about making sure everyone gets the best deal they can.

8. I had a conversation with a colleague yesterday about a company where he used to work. The CEO was a paranoiac and pitted his subordinates against each other, withholding information from each so that he retained power. That company went out of business.

9. I can’t imagine working for that guy was any fun.

10. Happy Julie posts some funny stuff.

11. I also like this one from Eric Scheske.

12. I can’t remember the last time I watched a sitcom from beginning to end.

13. Next time I really need to get a theme, don’t you think?


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Technorati tags: Thursday+thirteen

World of Good Blogburst, Adult Literacy Style

Before reading this week's World of Good (WOG) post, imagine being an adult and having no checking account, no newspapers, no Internet, no books and no ability to fill out a job application. Imagine the fear and despair of such a life.

This week's WOG post is kind of self-serving. This week the topic is adult literacy. How is this self-serving, you ask? Well, we need more literate people in order to have more readers of The Scratching Post!

An adult literacy volunteer and a student search the classifieds for a computer so they can have access to The Scratching Post.
When I started researching this subject, I figured there would be a national organization and some local volunteers. I had no idea of the amount of time and effort that had been put into this. What is most impressive is how they've been able to continually improve their services through research, publications and training. When you volunteer to work in adult literacy, you are standing on the shoulders of giants.

Over at The Knowledge Loom, there are links upon links of resources for people who are helping others to read. Sharing Success is a publicly funded organization that attempts to replicate successful education practices around the country. Literacy Online is another group working to provide resources for improving adult literacy, but their scope is global.

This is a great example of how the Information Age is accelerating improvements in education. Prior to the advent of these resources, sharing teaching improvements was done in seminars, conferences and in publications. With sites like those listed above, each of which links to many more, the collective knowledge of thousands of professionals is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All of it is there to help volunteers bring the written word to those who can't read.

That's quite an infrastructure of kindness, don't you think?

Just who is on the receiving end of this compassion? Here are a couple of stories taken from Literacy Volunteers of Broome/Tioga Counties, NY.

Steve (not his real name) is 58 years old, married for decades to his high school sweetheart, the father of a high school honor student, gainfully employed with a reputable company…and had a secret he kept from most people. Steve could not read.

At the age of 52, Steve decided to get the help he needed to make a difference in his life. He called Literacy Volunteers of Broome Tioga Counties in 1993, was evaluated, and matched with a volunteer tutor who still meets with Steve regularly.

Over the past seven years Steve has progressed from barely reading the simplest materials to reading chapter books without assistance. His tutor still assigns weekly worksheets for homework. He reads the newspaper and has become interested in local history with his newfound skills. Most importantly, he has more confidence in himself.

Imagine the feeling of the volunteer who helped him read. I've managed kids' baseball and soccer teams and the best feeling for me was watching the kids with lesser skills do well. The joy on their faces always delighted me. The feeling of helping a grown man overcome illiteracy must be quite a rush!

Hong, manager of a local dry cleaner business, has lived in the United States for only a few years. With the help of his tutor, he passed his licensing exam for New York State Dry Cleaners Operator and plans to expand his business.

How many of us will be working for Hong in the near future? :-) Seriously, though, what an enormous amount of drive the guy must have. Wouldn't it be great to be a part of his success?

If you want to volunteer as an adult literacy teacher, organizations across the country are standing by to welcome you in, train you and match you to a student whose needs best fit your abilities. A quick Google search on "adult literacy san diego" instantly found a page of contacts to pursue.

Training for adult litereacy volunteers is readily available.
Don't you want to be there when Steve learns to read?

For more information on our WOGs and a request for assistance from the staff of The Scratching Post, please see this post.

Joe over at A Tic in the Mind's Eye has his WOG post up, too!

Technorati tags: adult literacy

Best wishes until next week,
K T Cat

Gojira!

The Alliance has brought to our attention a slight editing problem in a Greenpeace letter. Like them, we long to help Greenpeace. With this in mind, we offer the following assistance.

Recently Greenpeace wanted to say something nasty on the occasion of President Bush's visit to Pennsylvania promoting his nuclear energy policy.

Unfortunately, they sent out an early draft of the press release instead of the final document, and it contained the following:

"In the twenty years since the Chernobyl tragedy, the world's worst nuclear accident, there have been nearly [FILL IN ALARMIST AND ARMAGEDDONIST FACTOID HERE]"

Asked to complete the sentence, all we can say is

GOJIRA!

"In the twenty years since the Chernobyl tragedy, the world's worst nuclear accident, there have been nearly 20 10 5 2 1 a whole bunch of attacks by giant, mutant monsters!"

Technorati tags: godzilla greenpeace

Unable to Learn from France

At a recent UAW meeting, UAW chief Ron Gettelfinger spoke about the need for the union to deal with the auto makers. He talked about the dreadful state of Ford and GM and how they are both losing jobs. UAW jobs. Automotive electronics maker Delphi is drowning in red ink due to unreasonably lavish UAW contracts. They are going into bankruptcy court to try and get some relief from them.

After being blunt and honest, Mr. Gettelfinger went into full French Economics Mode.

"We're watching everything going on with Delphi and GM," Renaud said. "But it's going to take more than what we can do at the bargaining table. There are failed [political] strategies that have failed to protect our jobs."

To that end, the UAW is pushing a proposal on Capitol Hill that would make it more difficult for a bankrupt firm to cancel its contracts. It also wants incentives granted to automakers and suppliers that build fuel-efficient cars in the United States.

Making it more difficult to get rid of workers makes it less likely the workers will be hired in the first place. There's a whole country that's tried this. It's called France. The place is an economic disaster. For more on that subject, visit No Pasaran.

I'm glad the UAW is finally talking straight about their plight, but their solution is more of the same.

Technorati tags: uaw ford gm unions france jobs

The Feline Theocracy Endorses Jo

In a post on IMAO, the Feline Theocracy's Archbishop of Texas brought to our attention a new contest involving cats. It's the Meow Mix House.

In this contest, televised on Animal Planet, 10 cats will compete for the title of best cat. They will be judged in all the proper feline ways - sleeping, playing with toys and generaql cuteness.

Our Maximum Leader, K T Cat, and Jacob the Syrian Hamster hereby endorse Jo as our personal favorite. We will not issue a catwa about this and all Feline Theocraticians are free to blog about their own favorites.

Jo has much to recommend her. Most specifically, she blogs about her workout regimen.

I’ve been training hard for this competition. I’ve been hitting the scratching post twice a day, three sets at a time. My claws have never been sharper, and my grip? Meow Mix House, here I come!

Anyone that hits The Scratching Post twice a day gets our endorsement!

She's also beautiful.


Alas, not as beautiful as the Feline Empress and Mother Superior of the Holy Order of Ocean Whitefish, but then again, who is?


Technorati tags: meow mix house cats catblogging

New New Deal is Old, Old Deal

E J Dionne tries his hand at economics in today's Washington Post with predictable results. Union jobs are flowing out of the economy and he thinks his political party needs to do something about job creation.

This week's UAW meeting is simply the most obvious harbinger: The old bargain is breaking down and is in urgent need of renegotiation. The most promising place to start would be in reforms of the areas where the old bargain worked best: health, retirement and schooling.

Let's see here, the problem is the lower cost of labor in foreign countries and the solution is increasing the cost of labor here in the US?

Health care is paid for by taxes or directly by the companies. Taxes come from people and companies. The end effect of "reform" will be to increase the costs of doing business in the US. If you don't believe this, just try imagining a reform where the benefits shrink. Dittos for retirement, which is killing several large, industrial companies here in the US and the horrific public education establishment.

E J, why don't you stick to what you know?

Just what is that, anyway?

Technorati tags: new deal politics unions jobs

The Decline of the Media Oligopoly Continues

Brooks Barnes at the Wall Street Journal penned another great article describing the effects of the Information Age on local TV stations.

1,300 commercial television stations in the U.S., much like newspapers and magazines, are under attack as new technologies roil the industry. The Internet, in particular, is sucking away both viewers and advertisers.

The shift is sending ripples through the broader media industry. For decades, TV stations have been a fount of cash for some of the industry's biggest players such as Viacom Inc., News Corp. and General Electric Co.'s NBC. Newspaper publishers such as Tribune Co. and Gannett Co., also diversified into television. For many of these companies, steady profits from their stations funded expansion into other businesses.

At News Corp., which at one time derived about one-third of profits from its station group, proceeds helped the company to become a global powerhouse. Tribune's station profits funded its efforts to become a newspaper giant with the 2000 acquisition of Times-Mirror Co.

The picture has changed. Total local broadcast revenue fell 9% in 2005 to $16.8 billion, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising. The chief culprit: Big advertisers cutting back budgets or moving to the Web. Among auto marketers, which have long accounted for about a third of station revenue, DaimlerChrysler AG cut spending on local TV by 13% in 2005. Ford Motor Co. slashed its local TV budget by 15%.

As has been noted previously on this blog, the days of high barriers to entry for both content creation and distribution are passing. Music, news, video and interactive entertainment are all available on the Internet for free. In most cases, the content is superior to what is found on TV since the TV stations have to program for a broader market while Internet content providers can tailor their products to niche markets.

Like catbloggers, for instance.

A high barrier to entry means that it is difficult to join the industry. In the past, to distribute content you needed expensive transmitters, skilled engineers, FCC licenses and so forth. Now all you need is an ISP and a website or blog.

An oligopoly is a market with a high barrier to entry so that there are a relatively small number of firms providing goods and services. They can price their products based on everyone else's prices. In this case, the products they are pricing is advertising space. In an oligopoly, there's only a few places to go to buy advertising and you have to pay a higher price because of it.

When the barriers to entry fall, the number of choices for the consumers increases and the pricing power of the providers decreases. Ford can now buy advertising on literally millions of places. For a time, this blog was hosting advertisements from Honda. The broadcast stations still have an infrastructure built around the good old days. They have staffs to pay, equipment to maintain, buildings to repair and so forth. The article describes how one of these stations in particular is branching out into the web. That's a good move, but I don't see how it will generate enough revenue in the long run to maintain all of their existing infrastructure.

The truth of the matter is that the old economic model is passing and this decline will continue for a long time.

Technorati tags: media business profits

Are Record Labels Becoming Obsolete?

Kevin Delaney, Ethan Smith and Nick Wingfield wrote an excellent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article that discusses issues associated with the distribution of copyrighted material over sites like YouTube. It’s a rephrasing of the problem of paying royalties and protecting intellectual property to artists.

Some of the most popular videos on sites such as YouTube and Google Video show amateurs lip synching to music by the Backstreet Boys, *Nsync and other pop artists. Many home-videos posted on such sites include songs as soundtracks, as well as snippets of concerts captured by music fans with their cellphone cameras. Virtually all this material is put online without securing permission from the owner of the rights.

The concerns have taken root as the popularity of video sites -- which allow users to post their own and view others' videos -- has exploded, thanks in part to the spread of high-speed Internet connections and the rapidly expanding amount of amateur and commercial content online.

One of the most popular video sites, YouTube Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., was founded only in February 2005, but has seen its traffic increase dramatically. Each day, YouTube says, consumers upload more than 50,000 videos to its site, and watch its online videos more than 50 million times. Companies including Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and CNET Networks Inc., have gotten into the act too.

But with the videos attracting millions of users -- and a rising amount of advertising revenue -- some in the music industry are debating whether to attempt a crackdown. At a May meeting of the Recording Industry Association of America, the industry's main trade group, the world's largest music company, Universal Music Group, pushed for an aggressive stance against amateur videos using commercial songs.

That’s today’s problem. Tomorrow’s problem is very different. What happens when the content created by amateurs is as good as or better than that created by professionals?

As if taken directly from the lyrics of The Monkees’ Pleasant Valley Sunday, in our neighborhood “the local rock group down the street is trying hard to learn their song”. They can record on their PC. They can mix on their PC. They can distribute for free on the net. They can generate buzz on any number of blogs or discussion boards such as MySpace.

The tipping point will be when YouTube artists start using amateur songs as their soundtracks. Just as TV newscasts are becoming obsolete as informational blogs rise, the rock music industry is becoming obsolete. Content quality is taking a huge jump in quality while labels are taking a beating.

Ask yourself this: what added value does Universal Music Group provide? I’ve got my music collection on mega-shuffle right now as I blog. I like the music. As much as I love the cover art for, say, Iron Maiden, the value of the packaging has long since depreciated to zero. Universal Music Group doesn’t make Bruce Dickinson’s vocals any better or worse and it doesn’t play guitar for Adrian Smith.

Iron Maiden has a great website with all kinds of cool features and art. Their label may have provided all of that to the band for their fee. Their tours are probably scheduled and contracted, the roadies hired and the reservations made by their label. That’s value added for the band, not the listeners. Once the tour has gone by, all you have left is the music.

When the local rock group down the street learns it’s song, we may not need the labels any more. Ask the network news what happens then.

Technorati tags: rock music record labels copyright

This Week in the Theocracy

Hail and well met, Blogospheric pilgrim! Stay and rest your weary mouse hand for a while and view the collective wisdom of the Feline Theocracy for this week. It is time again for me, faithful beadle of the Theocracy, Jacob the Syrian Hamster, to bring you my favorite posts.


We sart this week with the Feline Empress and Mother Superior of the Holy Order of Ocean Whitefish, Kukka Maria and her mom's trickery with kitty treats.

Our Knight-Protector and Defender of Yarn Balls, Lawman, has a post about diminutive police officers taking on giant perps.

The Grand Almoner of England, Carl Morgan, has another in his series describing his e-business efforts. I'm impressed.

Our Abbess of the Priory of Small Princesses shows one princess in her new pool. If this doesn't make you smile, check for a pulse.

Sister Jane of Perpetual Purring has a good post about how drugs get across our borders.

Ogre, our Monsignor of the Breweries, is apparently into panties. (Calm down, there Ogre, I'm just driving traffic your way! :-) )

The Theocracy's Holy Amabassador to the Court of the Mainstream Media is her normal, thoughful self in this essay on political sincerity.

I'm frustrated with one of my favorite blogs, that of our Official Artist. I read it daily, but most days I can't manage to bring up the halocscan comment boxes to leave kudos. Here's a great post from him about Zarqawi's timely end.

One of our most recent Theocraticians, Laurence Simon, the Archbishop of Texas has posted his latest edition of Ask the Cats. I love these!

Our other recent addition, Niall over at It's All Straw, posted this lovely piece about his dad. This brought tears to my eyes.

Heidi, maintaining her position on the Protected List, awaits her comfy sofa and sunbeam by blogging gems like this. As an economic libertarian, I'm with you, Heidi!

And now, on to the WOG Squad! This weekend, I did two expository posts I will continue to use in the future. One described the WOG.

The Anchoress, our Anchoress, has a great roundup of Zarqawi posts.

Holy Scholar roll call:

Mark Shea has the best post I have seen yet on the Canadian terror ring bust.

Georgette explores one of my favorite tools, Meyers-Briggs as it applies to being a mom.

Eric Scheske drops a bombshell about the Pope.

Happy Julie spreads her happiness with this post.

Finally, our Court Jester races ahead of the pack with this great post.

Until our next roundup of posts across the Feline Theocracy, I wish you all sunflower seeds and a well-oiled exercise wheel or catnip and tuna according to your tastes.

Update: Just to make sure everyone knows and Mr. Official "Don't Blame Me When Things Go Wrong" Artist doesn't completely freak out, the problems with his Haloscan comments are entirely the fault of my IE security settings. There. Satisfied now? Sheesh! ;-)

Let the Feline Theocracy Rejoice!

It is with a glad heart and warm fur that I bring you tidings of two new members of the Feline Theocracy.


The first has deserved it since the beginning. He is a shining example of what is good and true and right in catblogging. It is with great joy and humble thanks that we grant Laurence Simon the title of Archbishop of Texas. We had originally thought to make him a Cardinal, but as he is a rabid Astros fan, it didn't seem to fit.

The second faithful penitent to be inducted into the Theocracy is Niall Mor of It's All Straw. Niall is hereby granted the title "Holy Scribe of the Feline Theocracy." His kind words and thoughtful prose have found him a place in the Theocracy. We invite him to consider becoming a member of the WOG Squad.

Both are free to post this image from our Official Artist, Justin on their blogs:


Let there be a full day of rejoicing and celebration in the Theocracy! Let there be tuna and catnip and sunbeams and string dragged along the ground and yanked here and there in exciting ways!

Technorati tags: cats catblogging feline theocracy

What is the Feline Theocracy?

Greetings to all spiritual pilgrims wandering the blogosphere! We have decided in our most benevolent wisdom, to write a post describing the Feline Theocracy.


The Feline Theocracy is a religious organization that worships God through his most perfect creations, cats. Who can argue with the divine elegance of this creature?


Of course, some of you may look upon this picture and think that she is a fat slob sprawled unconscious in a pool of her own sheddings within a cardboard box, but that would clearly mark you as an ignorant Philistine worthy only of slaving away in the tuna mines.

The Feline Theocracy has always been with us and always shall be with us. Cats domesticated people thousands of years ago when we head bumped some primitive human and wound our furry little bodies this way and that between his legs as he was carrying groceries into the cave. Of course, he tripped and fell down the slope in front of the cave, spilling the groceries and twisting his ankle, but we accepted this tribute nonetheless and gladly lapped up the wildebeest milk that emerged from a cracked gourd he had dropped. His wife fell in love with us right away and thus we gained our human servants.

The Feline Theocracy is growing every day. Our Maximum Leader, K T Cat, regularly announces new converts on this blog.

And now, some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Feline Theocracy.

Q: What was the first announcement of the Feline Theocracy?

A: It was this post. A blogger who some considered to be a deranged, left-wing moron suggested that a Fascist, Christian Theocracy was on it’s way. Many other bloggers dismissed this as confused ramblings from a blithering idiot, but we decided to choose this moment to reveal ourselves and show the glory of our Theocracy.

Q: How can I join the Theocracy?

A: The best way to join the Theocracy is to link to our blog and tithe us 10% of your blog traffic. With that offering, you will be considered for entry into the Feline Theocracy. You can also join by enrolling in the WOG Squad, described at the bottom of this post.

Q: What are the benefits of the joining the Feline Theocracy?

A: When the Rapture comes, you will be granted a comfy spot in a sunbeam, endless bowls of tuna and water directly from the faucet. Long pieces of string will be dragged along the floor with random, jerky movements for your entertainment. Also, our loyal beadle, Jacob the Syrian Hamster, tries to put out a weekly post on this blog featuring our favorite posts of yours. You are also permitted to post this handsome graphic on your blog. It was created by our Official Artist, Justin.


Q: What happens to unbelievers?

A: When the Rapture comes, unbelievers will be stripped of all their possessions and forced to toil away night and day in the tuna mines.

Q: Tuna is mined?

A: This is intuitively obvious. Tuna comes from cans. Cans are made of metal. Metal comes from ore. Ore is mined. Therefore, tuna comes from mines. Believe me, if you are sent to the tuna mines, you had better hope it’s down there, because our Maximum Leader loves tuna!

Q: What is a catwa?

A: A catwa is like a fatwa, only it is delivered with the authority and majesty of our Maximum Leader. Obey the catwas or face eternal darkness, sore arms and a fishy smell you will never be able to get off of your hands. No further explanation is necessary.

If you have further questions you would like to see added to this list, or if you would like to join the WOG Squad or the Theocracy, please email us.

May your day be warm and toasty and may your fur be brushed regularly so that you may not suffer from hairballs!

Technorati tags: cats catblogging feline theocracy

The World of Good Blogburst

Every week, The Scratching Post puts up a World of Good (WOG) post. The purpose of the WOG posts are to bring attention to the everyday acts of kindness that occur all around us, but get little recognition. We believe that kindness and charity are far more common that acts of cruelty and violence, but they get far less attention.

We also believe that good deeds are contagious and that by highlighting them on a weekly basis, we might be able to generate some imitation by our readers.

We have been fortunate to experience acts of kindness on this blog. Several people have agreed to post links to our weekly WOG posts. One of these people, Georgette, coined the term The WOG Squad. You can join the WOG Squad by emailing us and letting us know you're willing to put up a link to our WOG posts. You can see the members of the WOG Squad on our blogroll to the right.

Here are the WOG entries we have done so far:

WOG, Navy Style
WOG, Aussie Style
WOG, Katrina Style
WOG, Hospice Style
WOG, Boy Scout Style
WOG, MS Style
WOG, Amy Hawkins Style
WOG, Chiapas Style
WOG, Special Olympics Style
WOG, Hats for Cancer Style
WOG, Love on a Leash Style
WOG, Recovery Style
WOG, Mentoring Style
WOG, Skid Row Style
WOG, Adult Literacy Style
WOG, Kindness Makes You Rich Style
WOG, Spirit of America Style
WOG, Cambodian Style
WOG, Random Acts of Kindness Style
WOG, Marine Archaeology Style
WOG, Vetcharity Style
WOG, Bridges to Life Style
WOG, Soccer Style
WOG, Southern Girl Style
WOG, Floral Style
WOG, Caribbean K.I.D.S. Style
WOG, Art Museum Style
WOG, Starbucks Style
WOG, New Orleans Saints Style
WOG, Little League Style
WOG, Komso Kids Style
WOG, Animal Rescue Style
WOG, Lutheran Style
WOG, BlossomSwap Style
WOG, Rockhound Style
WOG, Catblogging Style
WOG, Gigi's Playhouse Style
WOG, Artists Helping Children Style
WOG, Homefront San Diego Style
WOG, Amazing Grace Style
WOG, Global Volunteers Style
WOGlet, Tadpole Style
WOG, Monarch Butterfly Style
WOG, Truck-N-Paws Style
WOG, WOG Contest Style
WOG, Reach out and Care Style
WOG, Lumber Yard Style
WOG, Lymphoma.org Style
WOG, Railroad Style
WOG, People Helping People Style
WOG, Project Concern Style
WOG, Children in Crisis Style
WOG, Amoro Style
WOG, San Diego Fires Style
WOG, San Diego-Iraq Style
WOG, Big Brothers Style
WOG, Outside In Style

WOG, Gratitude Style

We also did a post once describing the economics of kindness. You can find it here.

We hope you like our WOG posts and invite you to stop by on Wednesdays when we post them. WOG posts are also put up by Joe at A Tic in Mind's Eye.

Best wishes,
K T Cat

An Open Letter to Google

Dear Google,

Please get the photo upload feature of blogger working.

Sincerely,
K T Cat

Silence Can Be Golden

Joel Achenbach put himself in a no-win situation today by appearing on the Hugh Hewitt show. Joel wrote a blog post about the death of Zarqawi that some have taken to be defeatist, anti-military and so forth. James Lileks defended it as merely snarky.

Whatever the intent of the post, showing up on Hugh’s show turned out to be a poor idea. Hugh went through his normal line of questions that he uses to set up the frame of mind of his guests. “Do you think Iraq is better off?” “Is this a just cause?” and so forth. Joel got the deer-in-the-headlights look and floundered on them all. Hugh also gave him a full 60 seconds to praise the military and Joel fumbled that one, too.

What Joel missed was that this was a marketing opportunity that cut all kinds of ways. I don’t think he should ever have taken the invitation. If you read the comments on his blog, you can see that much of his audience is anti-war liberals. Had he sung the praises of the war and the military he would have been subjected to their wrath. If he had taken the anti-war side he would have had to engage in a debate with Hugh, who was clearly more prepared. It seemed as if he understood his peril as soon as the questions started coming and he chose to try a middle path and counter with questions of his own.

This, too, was a bad move. Hugh was able to label him as a humorist without political or military knowledge who stumbled into the fast lane by posting political commentary, implying that he should never have written the post in the first place. Joel classified himself that way, saying he was the wrong person to ask such questions.

There was nothing to be gained by going on the air with Hugh. He wasn’t going to rehabilitate his image with Hugh’s listeners without enraging much of his fan base. I think he got goaded on to coming on the show after being stung by on-air criticism. He didn’t realize how temporary such events are and how this would have died down to a whisper in a week or two. Joel just isn’t a big enough target to keep whacking. Instead, Joel took the bait, came on the air and played the piñata.

Sometimes you need to retreat after a loss and not stick around to get beaten again.

Additional thoughts: As a postscript on the subject, Joel missed his chance to market himself as a humorist, too. It isn't very comical to go on the air and get defensive with the host. He could have taken the interview any number of funny directions. Hugh has a great sense of humor and probably would have gone right along with him.

Update: Hugh was nice enough to link to this. Thanks, Hugh! I invite visitors from his site to have a look around. We do posts on charity, politics, comedy, business, cats and more! We are also the headquarters of the Feline Theocracy.

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A Race to the Bottom

...of the food bowl.

On your marks!

Get Set!

Go!

Be sure to visit this week's Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats!

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Der Feline Fuhrer!

I just sumbled across this:

Hitler Cats!

I'm still laughing.

This kitty must have serious social problems.

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