Finally got the problem solved and made it home. And - BG - I've been admonished to only use the Life Alert® in times of extreme medical emergency. The last time I pressed the button just cuz I wanted hear a male voice speak to me in earnest tones, I was warned "one more time, and it's taken away from you."
I love my bug, but you wouldn't know it by the way I treat it. As I pulled into the toll booth the oil pressure light came on. Curiously, and maybe even a bit coincidentally, the thought "when did you last check the oil" breezed through my mind.
I know what the boys are thinking right now - oh how typically girly. Well, before you go all stereotypical on me - I have tuned cars, changed oil, changed tires and am not afraid of grease. But of late I have been neglectful of the blue beetle - unforgiveable - and it bit back today. Fortunately, co-workers had hung back in Tulsa and I was able to reach them via my handy cell phone (it paid for itself today) and they fetched me oil.
Two nights at the Cherokee were very profitable for me. I zipped to the T-Bird for a couple of hours this evening (played 4-8) and made it 3 for 3 profitable days in a row at the live tables. I will have a bit more to say about it soon.
But now I must interrupt this post to address something that has me absolutely livid.
Iggy posted about this the other day. Some chic has thrown up a banner farm thinly veiled as a blog – she’s using rss feeds to provide content. Some of the feeds are news content, which I have no problem with. But other feeds are from personal poker blogs which I do have a problem with when it is done after being asked not to. Iggy tried to get her to stop. She responded rather cheaply, childishly and way over the top. But for a short time she had removed the personal blog feeds. I took a look late last night and saw content from Up For Poker and the Poker Chronicles.
Soooo – I sent an email to that person:
It's come to my attention that you have launched a "banner farm" site utilizing rss feeds for content. While it may be more or less accepted to use feeds from 'news' related sites which disseminate press releases and news stories, it is not accepted to republish personal blog content without the permission of the original author.
I have visited your site and found 'posts' which were from fellow poker bloggers amidst the news feeds. I will add my voice to those of my fellow poker bloggers who are asking you to cease using the rss feeds of personal blogs to provide content to your site.
I did not see any content from my blog, but just so we're clear on this, consider this notice that you do not have my permission to do so. ……
To which she responded – not via e-mail – but by pulling my rss feed into her site. This has pissed me off! My only satisfaction is in knowing that her pitiful excuse for a website won’t last long. Matt is right in stating that anyone who is interested in keeping up with blogs is probably intelligent enough to be using bloglines or another aggregator.
But I disagree that this cretin’s site is no different than what Matt terms as a “cut and paste” site. I will point to one example that he is probably referring to – Guinness and Poker – behind the so-called “cut and paste” is a person who’s taken the time to read the material which is being quoted and selected those pieces which he feels would be of interest to his readers – giving credit to the creators and linking back. He adds commentary, humor, context, what have you, in conjunction with his own narrative, personal stories, analyses, etc.. And, of course, there is the signature touch of supporting and linking up just about every poker blog in the known universe.
That takes time, effort and creativity. A blog doesn’t become as hugely popular as Guinness and Poker without it. A huge difference in my book between that and some hack rss feeder site that takes no effort beyond entering a URL into the software and clicking “OK.”
All that aside, what has so utterly pissed me off is that I specifically told her she did not have permission to use my content in her site, and she did it anyway. She’s the neighbor who brings her dog to your house every morning and stands there watching gleefully while it shits on your lawn after you’ve repeatedly asked her to keep the dog out of your yard. Tell me – would you be content to blithely stand on your porch and witness that day after day?
