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Showing posts with label slapinions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slapinions. Show all posts

Monday, January 8, 2024

Guess what they're reading?


The picture is from Junie who noticed a fan of this site in the wild.

Update after she refreshed the site:

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Two, count 'em TWO, blog awards :)

I have been honored by two different blogs in recent days. First, Ken of Bucko's World nominated me for a Marie Antoinette A Real Person, A Real Award badge.

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He wrote
"Dan (a.k.a. Slapinions, can not get much more real than this :o)"
and I thank him kindly.

Next up was Bernadette who nominated me for a Superior Scribbler Award.

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She wrote:
3. Slapinions - Have to throw a little testosterone into the mix before flowers and kittens start sprouting up on this entry! Dan is a mid-west father of four who always brings that essential male perspective to child rearing. Always good for a laugh and he regularly posts book and movie reviews. I can't write about him without mentioning our common bonds over football, I even like the guy so much I cut him slack for being a Pack fan ;) Dan is also an excellent writer, the kind that can actually get paid for it.


Three things about Bernie: one, for some reason her blog won't let me even advance to the 'leave a comment' section (AOL problem?), so excuse the lack of a 'thank you' there. Two, 'quarterlifecrysis' was one of the more imaginative blog titles out there and I miss it (or am I remembering wrong?). And three she left a hell of a well-written comment here earlier this week on the evolution post.

* * * *

Now I'm going to BLATANTLY CHEAT and not pay the awards forward. I'm supposed to gather together a list of blogs I feel are worthy of the honor and list them here, BUT:

1. I'm as good with memes as I am with portion control.

2. I'm more of a lurker than a commenter, so these things always look like I'm attempting damage control for 'not visiting'.

3. Someone always gets p.o'd at their exclusion

4. No other blog is as good as mine, so really, it'd just be watering down the value of the award. I kid, I kid.

I say this: take a look at the blogs I have listed on the sidebar, both the ones I inputted and the list of 'followers'. You'll find plenty of worthy writing there. Feel free to skip me and get the ball rolling yourself.

And Ken/Bernie - if this offends you then give me a holler and I'll pull the awards. The honor, as they say, was simply in the nomination :)

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The 1000th Post and some Great News!

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I'd planned on making the 1000th post a big to-do, but with the election results looming I hurried things up a bit. I didn't want a blog started in the afterglow of an election win to 'celebrate' with a (possible) election loss.

Anyhow, if you're of a mind to review the last 999 entries I've added the entry labels - an index of sorts - to the sidebar. Let me know when you find a post with missing pictures from the AOL era and I'll get it up and running.

And now, drum roll please:

As I walked in the house after voting I took a call from O. Ricardo Pimentel, editorial page editor of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

You might remember the contest to join the editorial page for a year as a guest columnist. At the time I wrote on this blog
I don't think I'll fare well. It just didn't 'flow' tonight, the construction was awkward, midway through one column my research proved faulty and I had to rework it back to the bare bones. . .
Huh. Shows what I know. Pimentel was calling to ask if I was still interested, and if so if I'd be willing to take the job. The answer to both questions was a very happy 'yes'.

He said he'd be sending me a detailed email in the next few days about the job. If the original intent of the contest holds true I'll be joining around 30 other writers who'll share the duties of producing content six days out of the week. By my math that means I'll have at least ten columns published in the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winning Journal-Sentinel, albeit at a mere $25 payment for each.

Well, hot dog!

So after 1000 posts spread out over just (days) shy of four years, I've finally reached one of the original goals of this site: to get my writing noticed and to land a job that pays me to tiki-ticki-ticki on a keyboard!

That's worth celebrating!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Blogger Progress, Smiley, Runway

I portered over my test blog to blogger today and it went very well. As for Slapinions proper, there is still housekeeping to do before the move. As a 'for instance' I'm adding pics to my posts from my time at the Presidential Inauguration in '05, and I need to move over all the comments from the non-AOL comment site I used for a few years. I could do it post-move, but I'd rather wrap it up nice and tidy in a format I'm used to working in.

* * *

On a personal note I'm eating like SH*T - well, not quite. I haven't had a candy bar in two months and I have avoided pizza in recent weeks, but I've hit the brownies and starches hard. Argh, scratch that. At work (where the problem seems to be the worst) I had pizza the other day, nasty greasy eat-it-with-a-spoon pie :(. I also chowed on ice cream cake today, but we'll explain that later on in our program.

I have, however, kept up the exercise, taking the kids out for bike rides even as the weather grows harsher. Today, for example, I tossed the three youngest in the bike trailer and headed out for a brisk 15 minute ride. Hills that used to stop me now fly by with barely a notice, which is great, and I've grown rather fond of the 'burn' in my calves after a bit. Now I just have to find a good winter activity to keep me at a 'reasonable' size .

* * * *

Great family night. LuLu, who really enjoys helping in the kitchen, helped Lisa make breaded pork chops and scalloped potatoes. We had to pass the pork off as 'chicken' to the kids, even the assistant chef. They tore it up, but tell them it's anything else and they'd go 'ewwww'.

Afterwards the bike ride and some time in the backyard, where Smiley gently scolded Lump by saying 'Bay beee', which floored me. When I asked him to repeat it he couldn't, but it was clear as day.

Later the whole family (minus the sleeping Lump) cuddled on our bed to watch Project Runway. LuLu is a big fashion nut and nearly every morning it's an ordeal to get her dressed because she wants things 'just so', so we knew she'd love Runway.

YaYa and Lisa rooted for Leanne, Lu and I for Kenley. Both girls wanted Jerrell voted off because of his gender and got their wish, but I'd have kicked Kato (sp?) to the curb myself.

[I was proud of Lu for identifying Kato by saying 'the woman with the dark skin' rather than as 'the black girl'. It seems a miniscule point in print, but out loud it was a nice confirmation that, at least as of now, she views color as a secondary or minor trait.]

During the show Smiley sat fidgeting, bored out of his mind. And then again, out of nowhere, he said 'Bay beee', and this time could repeat it on command. Lisa and I gave him a big hug and told him we were proud of him, and you should have seen the grin on that kids face!

A teacher at the girl's school said Smiley would do fine there next year. I'd have bought the argument if she hadn't gone ahead and said she'd had 'lot's of kids that didn't talk at the start of the year' but wound up jibber-jabbering by spring. I like the woman and she's a fine teacher, but I'm about up to my neck in yahoos writing off his problem as 'something that'll just go away' or that came about because we don't 'make' him talk.

My vote - and Lisa and I differ here - is that he stays where he is, not only because they know him and his needs, but because the girl's school is at times a vain place, and I won't have my son singled out as an 'oddity' by anyone.

We'll see.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Just a little housekeeping

First to baseball. The Brewers have just flat-out sucked this month. By my unofficial count they've won all of *two* games in September and now lead the Wild Card standings by only three games over Philly. Worse yet, we're in the midst of a Phillies series now. They better pull their heads out of their [redacted] and get to winnin'.

Second, Angel pitcher Fransisco Rodriguez (I refuse to call him K-Rod) tied the single season saves record last night. Congrats to him, but if I'm honest I have to say it's one of the most overrated 'records' in baseball. Granted, I'm influenced by sabermetric philosophy on this point, but I think saves themselves are more hype than actual value. There's something wrong with a stat that enables a pitcher to go out to the mound for a single inning with a two run lead, load the bases, bring in one run, load the bases again, and then finally get out of the inning and 'save' the game. Blah.

Since the stat is currently celebrated we should acknowledge the record and tip our hats, but I think in my grandchildren's time closers will be far diminished in perceived value.

* * *

Something that irks me: when an employee's mother or wife or boyfriend calls on their behalf to report in sick, question their timecard, etc. I don't have teenagers working for me. There's no reason any employee should fail to speak for themselves if physically able.

* * * *

You'll note that on the sidebar I've placed a McCain logo (cue the boos) and have also chosen to display a graphic from Election Projection regarding the electoral college count. It automatically updates every few days to stay current and I think it'll prove a popular item.

I've linked to EP and a similar site (Current Electoral Vote Predictor) from this page's 'favorites' since 2004. Truthfully, I like the layout and ease of use of  CEVP better and have enjoyed frequenting it since 2000. But while they've always leaned prominently to the left, this time around they've chosen to completely dump impartiality and spew some heavy negative vibes towards anything GOP. Since EP leans right but tries to play it down the middle I chose to go with them (and frankly, never even looked for a similar widget on CEVP).

Have a good day.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Hey, lend me a hand will ya?

Just for the record, Raspberry Beret is my favorite Prince song, although Get Off comes in a close second.

With that important fact out of the way, on to the business at hand.

I might have mentioned this before, but a close friend of mine has a friend who's wife is a professional blogger in these parts. Friend of a friend's wife . . yeah, that's right.

Anyway, to my friend's credit this seemed to annoy him, what with me still blogging here for free while she earned a living doing the same thing. Having some connections at that company himself, he promised to put a word in for me.

But he wanted some information to prime the conversation, such as how many visitors I average, etc.

Well, that average is 41 a day, although my mini-vacation is skewing the numbers downward. 1230 visitors a month isn't too bad for a site that now depends soley on word of mouth for advertising (instead of sites like Blog Explosion).

But I'd like some additional info to give him. Keep in mind that at this point my chances of being paid to write are roughly equal to that of being paid to dance covered in baby oil, but what the hell. You never really know; there's always some freak out there who'll  pay for the goods.

So with that in mind, be you a regular who leaves comments or a longtime lurker, please complete these quick survey questions.

If yes . . .

If yes  . . .

Some background info . . .

If outside the U.S . .

Thanks for the help!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Hello to Kazakhstan

Hi,

I wanted to ask whoever is routinely visiting this site from Kazakstan if they could please email me at slapinions@aol.com.

Sitemeter has recorded at least two seperate visits from that country in the last few days:

ISP Kazakhtelecom Data Network Administration
Location 
Continent : Asia
Country : Kazakhstan  (Facts)
State/Region : Qostanay
City : Qostanay
Lat/Long : 53.1667, 63.5833 (Map)

I haven't used any BlogExplosion credits in that time, so I'm just curious who you are, what brought you to Slapinions, and how you like the site.

Oh, and thanks for visiting!

* * *

If you think SiteMeter is intrusive, I don't intend it to be so. You can get halfway detailed info if you want (I once tested it out and could tell when my friend in Alaska visited via his work or home computer) but again, that was a test and I pulled the Kazakstan info because it was so unique.

99.999% of the time I'll venture on just to glance at the visitor count and world map.

I love seeing my English readers on the map! Hello all!

Monday, February 11, 2008

New Graphics for the Site

For quite awhile now I've hated the picture in the 'about me' section. I rarely wear T-shirts anymore and haven't for years, my hair is (sadly) thinner, and I have never stood in front of the Art Museum in a dorky thumbs-up pose.

It was great for '05, but not '08. Plus the pics of the kids desperately needed updating.

So here's the new version, again created by Oftencold during a rare day-off up in the wilds of Alaska.

Note that while he did all the hard work, I did tone down the text just a smidge. The rest of it still applies - if your boy toy is a publishing maven, by all means send him a link.

Of course there were previous versions too. In retrospect I kind of like the text at the end of this one . . hmmm. .

     

This next one was yanked because it included my full name, and the pic had inspired someone to ask what accident caused the scar on my forehead. In fact, it was nothing more than a crease on the scanned photo. Frankly, I can't even see it now, but that might be because of the resolution.  Plus, in retrospect, newborn Parker looks like a shrunken head that I propped up on a pillow.

The creator of the graphics vetoed this next one because he didn't think that City Hall was recongizable enough behind me in the pic. I suppose the Art Museum is slightly better known, but not by much.

Plus I'm trying to alter what I call the 'masthead' above every post. Here's an early attempt:

Note the nesting dolls representing the family. Remember, it's still just a draft. I was kind of thinking of having different mastheads for each subject - family, politics, sports, local, general, etc.

What comes to mind is the YaYa nose-picking pic on the current masthead, now front and center on the Family version . . . again, I guess we'll wait and see.


Tags:

Friday, February 8, 2008

My Updated Blogroll

 This is a very rough draft:

 

http://journals.aol.com/mleighin21st/iwasthinking.../

 

 http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink

 

http://journals.aol.co.uk/kirkbyj05/DaytoDayLifeintheLakes

 

 

http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeanno43/JeannettesJottings/ 

 

http://journals.aol.com/thebaabee/LUANNESLIFELIVINGWITHLUPUS/

 

http://journals.aol.co.uk/pharmolo/NorthernTrip/

 

http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeadie05/Serendipity/ 

http://journals.aol.com/ladymagnolia1963/ladymagnolias-daily-blog/       

http://journals.aol.com/gaboatman/DockLines/

 http://journals.aol.com/rap4143/MyDayMyInterests/

 http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason

http://journals.aol.co.uk/specialadyfink/Anyway...../ main journal
http://journals.aol.com/specialadyfink/Anyway......./ Christmas Story
http://journals.aol.com/specialadyfink/in-the-sticks
http://journals.aol.com/specialadyfink/say-what/
http://journals.aol.com/specialadyfink/share-and-share-alike/
http://journals.aol.co.uk/specialadyfink/the-halloween-party/
http://journals.aol.com/specialadyfink/woof-woof/

 http://journals.aol.co.uk/kirkbyj05/DaytoDayLifeintheLakes

 http://journals.aol.com/gehi6/daughters-of-the-shadow-men/

http://journals.aol.co.uk/aniracj/StrannyDayze/
http://journals.aol.com/labdancer51/SandrasScribbles/

http://journals.aol.com/luvrte66/nutwoodjunction/

http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason

http://journals.aol.com/csandhollow/Mydayandthoughts

http://journals.aol.com/oldetownephotos/olde-towne-walk-about/

http://journals.aol.com/lv2trnscrb/kodas-corgi-tales/

http://journals.aol.co.uk/astoriasand/MYSIMPLERHYMES

http://journals.aol.com/memes121/AsIAM/

http://journals.aol.com/seraphoflove9001/Pleasedonttakelifeforgranted/

http://journals.aol.com/bhbner2him/LifeFaithinCaneyhead/

http://journals.aol.com/justaname4me2/InTheShadowOfTheIris/

http://journals.aol.com/rdautumnsage/ravens-lament/        *****************

 

http://journals.aol.com/kaydeejay5449/a-little-left-of-center-ii/

 

http://journals.aol.com/cacklinrosie101/CabsCreations/

 

http://journals.aol.com/nelishianatl/PrayingandBelieving/

 

http://journals.aol.com/luddie343/DARETOTHINK/

 

http://journals.aol.com/hunybea4him/HunybeasOpenJournal/

 

http://journals.aol.com/mleighin21st/iwasthinking.../

 

http://journals.aol.com/deshelestraci/MylifeasatransplantedYankee/

 

http://journals.aol.com/merry1621/Merrysthoughtshopesdreamsgoal/

 

http://journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer/

 

http://journals.aol.co.uk/oddb0dkins/WaffleandWhinge/

 

http://journals.aol.com/ladymagnolia1963/ladymagnolias-daily-blog/

 

http://journals.aol.com/heavenlybama/journey-to-success
http://journals.aol.com/heavenlybama/my-photo-lounge

 

http://journals.aol.com/helmswondermom/DustyPages/ 

http://journals.aol.com/ma24179/MISSYZSTUFF 

http://journals.aol.com/maryajacobs5/grand-tour-of-america/ 

http://journals.aol.com/jibaro6543/ELLIESCRAZYLIFE/ 

http://jpurnals.aol.co.uk/sybilsybil45/villagelfe   

http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariealicejoan/MariesMuses/ 

http://journals.aol.com/libragem007/collage/ 

http://journals.aol.com/wwfbison/life-on-a-bison-farm 

http://journals.aol.com/winivere2002/TheGlassBox/
http://journals.aol.com/winivere2002/TheMadPlatter/
http://journals.aol.com/winivere2002/TheAmateurFeng-Shui/
 

http://journals.aol.com/gaboatman/DockLines/     

http://journals.aol.co.uk/m100addy/a-scrapbook-of-snapshots/
http://journals.aol.co.uk/sylviam4000/YeOldeEnglishPosy/
 

http://journals.aol.com/easteeleco/Lasttimeatbat 

http://journals.aol.com/preciousone25/JoannsWeightLossJourney/ 

http://journals.aol.com/lsfp1960/LindasWorld/ 

http://journals.aol.com/shrbrisc/sherrys-public-journey/ 

http://journals.aol.com/barbpinion/HEYLETSTALK

Friday, January 25, 2008

I need help with the About Me section

Ok, I need some help. After three years and change on AOL Journals, you'd think I'd remember a thing or two.

Apparently not.

I'm trying to update my 'about me' section. I'd like to add some graphics there, graphics that link to another site.

Namely this one:

I added the picture via the handy 'camera' icon and then hit the 'globe' and tried making it a link to the site in question (as that site had recommended, actually).

No go.

I also tried adding a smidge of HTML into the About Me to 'create' a banner, but I can't remember how to do that at all.

This is doubly important because I am waiting for the arrival of a new masthead (or what I guess is a 'tag', although that term is new to me; either way it's the thing at the start of each of my entries) and a sidebar graphic with updated pics.

I warn you in advance - should you submit some advice and it fails to work, I might email a follow up question or two.

Thanks!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Slapinions 3rd Anniversary!

November 9th marked the 3rd anniversary of this journal. I'd like to thank everyone who's stopped by and/or commented.

I greatly enjoy doing this and I only wish I had more time to devote to it.

Here's to another year of Slapinions!

Wednesday, November 8, 2006

2nd Anniversary and De-Lurker Day

this is a half-hour early, as I won't get the chance to post it on the 9th

Two years ago today, if you go by the date on the hit counter, I started this blog.
 
In the begining it was strictly political, then it became a showcase for my writing, followed by a time as an online scrapbook of my family, and now it's a mish-mash of all of the above.
 
If you want a longer version of the story, and some links to old posts, check out the links on the left sidebar. 
 
I enjoy the heck out of writing this site and I'm grateful to everyone that stops by and gives it a looksie.
 
One favor tho' - I'd like to declare Slapinions' 2nd Anniversary a DE-LURKER DAY.
 
I'm horrible at leaving comments, so I don't normally ask for them. But today, if you routinely visit here once a day, once a week, or just when the mood fits, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT to let me know who you are.
 
If you can't or won't leave an AOL or AIM comment, just drop me a line at slapinions@aol.com and I'll post the comment for you.
 
Thanks a lot, and here's to 2 more years of Slapinions!
 
Dan

Monday, January 16, 2006

All Right, who was it?

Someone wasn't paying attention, 'cuz the site went over 30,000 in the last 24 hours and it went unheralded.

If you have the screenshot - or even if you don't - drop me a line at slapinions@aol.com and let me give you the credit you deserve.

 

Sunday, January 15, 2006

30,000? Hard to Believe

It is hard to believe, but very soon - possibly even today - this site will reach 30,000 visitors.

(full disclosure: more like 29,600 as I've viewed the site at least 400 times. Whoopdeedoo - I'm not going to celebrate 30,400, for Pete's sake)

Should you be the happy visitor to tip the scales, send me a screen capture and I'll promote your blog and praise your name to the high heavens :)

I'll update later today, with some luck.

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

One Year of Blogging Under my Belt November 9th

Well, a year and a week, as I really started on November 3rd of '04, but who's counting.

No big brouhaha for the anniversary, just wanted to thank everyone who's tuned in to this site over the past 12 months. I appreciate it.

Here's a rehash of the first half of the year, and a link to my nephew's site. It gets mighty lonely here in blogdom; why don't you stop by and shout hello to encourage the guy. :)

Friday, June 3, 2005

Reader Survey/De-Lurker Day

Welcome to my 1st annual?

De-Lurkers Day

and

Readers Survey!

With 14,000 visitors and relatively few comments, I know there are folks who take a peek without saying hello.

That’s fine by me, but for one day I’d like to change the rules.

Whether this is your first time on the site, your fifth, or your hundredth, leave a record of your visit. If you‘re not on AOL, it isn‘t a problem. Just click here to leave a comment.

(btw - if this is your first time visiting, click here for an introduction to the site, and be sure to check out the blogroll and guestmap now up and running on the sidebar to the left!)

Thanks!

For people that have stopped by before and found something they enjoy, could you please take the time to answer a few questions?

1. What’s your site address/screename/email address? (optional)

2. Do you subscribe to this site? By what method?

a. AOL updates

b. Bloglines

c. RSS feed

d. Atom

e. other

3. How did you find this site?

a. Blog Explosion/BE Directory

b. Blog Clicker

c. AOL journal directory

d. other traffic exchange

e. another site’s blogroll

f. a comment I left on a site

g. other

4. If you came in on a traffic exchange, what ‘surf settings’ where you using when you found it? I.e. general, family, kids, politics?

5.How often do you visit Slapinions?

6. What category of post interests you most?

a. politics

b. sports

c. family comedy

d. photo posts

e. ‘scrapbook’ family entries

f. other

7. What’s your favorite post? (click here for a rehash of the past seven months of entries)

8. Would you continue to visit if/when this site moves to Slapinions.com?

That’s it. Just leave the answers in the comment section or email me at slapinons at aol dot com.

I appreciate it, and hope you continue to visit!

Dan

Comment on this Post (non AOL)      View Comments

Monday, May 9, 2005

The best laid plans . . ./Blog Soldiers

This being the six-month anniversary of my blog, I was going to introduce some new graphics, some hoity-toity links, and a recap of my glorious online history.

Yeah, about that . . .

The graphics are behind schedule, I have a day packed with appointments and a meeting at work, and I haven't even started writing the post.

So, I guess we'll celebrate the "six month and a day or two" anniversary in the near future.

Meantime, I came across a new traffic exchange. Depsite it's alarmingly militant name, it seems on the up and up and mimics BE and BC. Check it out:

Blog Soldiers

Saturday, April 30, 2005

BAK

It seems I was silent longer than I realized. Fear not, I'm still around. I've been busy with a slew of (routine) doctor visits, preparation for my son's baptism party, and a fierce debate in the comments section of ColdHearted Truth's American Idol Blog (for the record: Constantine deserved to go. Good riddance).

I dread the idea of following up a post about suicide with one about . . . well, another suicide. But it's the 30th, and for all intents and purposes the post's subject expires (no pun intended) after today.

I'll catch up on the mandatory daddy-blog stuff later this weekend.

Ciao

 

Dan

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Okay, I goofed

I think I screwed myself. A few days ago I tinkered with my journal and  made it 'private' for all of maybe an hour. 
 
Thatmishap ended any automatic feeds that were linked to the journal through AOL itself. 
 
If I'm wrong, or if you never had one, then ignore this post.

But if you once received email updates from Slapinions, you'll have to sign up all over again.

Sorry