Are You Getting Ready for A to Z 2014?

The Thinking Man sculpture at Musée Rodin in Paris (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         When the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge isn't consuming nearly my every thought, it at least lurks in the shadows at the back of my mind.   I keep thinking about what's coming in 2014.  How many bloggers will sign up?    Who will be on the A to Z Team?   Will we find enough good folks to assist the team?   What will I be blogging about in April?

         Have you thought of a theme for your 2014 A to Z entries?   That is if you're going with a theme.  You might be just going random, which there's certainly nothing wrong with that.   Many participants fly through April by the seat of their pants and have a grand time doing it.  There's no right or wrong way to go with how you want to do the A to Z Challenge.

        Personally, I've found going with a theme easier to work with especially if I enter more than one blog as I have done in the past couple years.  It may seem superfluous, but I feel like I'd be neglecting my other blogs if any of them weren't part of the April Challenge.  I don't know for sure if I'll keep all four of my blogs busy that month.  It is a lot of work.  But it's also been worth the work I've put into doing it that way.

        Just the other day, the theme came for my main blog Tossing It Out.   I won't be revealing the theme until right before the Challenge begins but I just wanted to mention that I've started the planning for April for that blog and am beginning to organize the daily posts.   I've heard that others have also already started into preparing their posts for April.  How about you?   Have you started yet?  Are you still trying to decide what you want to do?   Or are you just going to improvise when April comes?

        No matter which way you go, have a good time with it!

        Please visit my post at Tossing It Out and leave a comment.  I'm doing some information gathering and would like as many opinions, suggestions, and insightful information that I can find.  I will be presenting my findings in an upcoming post on that blog.

        Thanks!

It's Rhyme Time with Pat Hatt - Challenge Participant Feature!

Today we have a special Challenge participant – Pat Hatt from It’s Rhyme Time! Pat is the author of over twenty books and a rhyming genius who has posted every day for two years straight. The cats keep him straight at his zoo, so no need to stage a coup.

Your Challenge theme was poetry, which is the focus of your blog. Was it any different following the alphabet and did anything tie the letters together?

I consider myself about as much of a poet as the cat. He is probably even better at it than Pat. So for theme I'd go with rhyming nut. That works better for my hut. Difference you ask? Well I guess it was more on task. Most never know what is going to show. At least with the A to Z they knew what letter would be posted at my sea. I wanted to tie them together but such a thing I could not weather. The cat ate the string I was going to use. So I just went with whatever was brought on by my muse.

Since you already post daily, was there anything challenging about participating in the A to Z?

I always joke the A to Z is a break because a little less random I have to be at my lake. So for posting wise easier is true. Grab a letter and post what comes due. What is challenging though is getting daily to every other blog high and low. Going to 100 a day is fine for me thanks to being able to do it at work like thee. But when it's like 100-200 every single day even on a Saturday, it can get a bit rough. But my OCD is tough. And I find a way to read and have my say.

What letter was your favorite?

I had fun with most at my coast. But U with Unite was probably my favorite one that took flight. A bit crass and even made a video come to pass. Can't beat that. Those kind of posts are much enjoyed by the cat.

What is Whoopdi Friggin Doo?

Whoopdi Friggin Doo kind of randomly came into view. It was just a saying that was used. Some felt abused others amused. Then some were confused. Basically means who gives a "you know" when something comes that curls a toe. Unless it is another toe curling act, then whoopdi friggin doo you might want to retract. Anyway, then came a new voice in my head on display. So Robbie Raisin was born. Hey, it beats zombie porn. And he hosts the show singling out commenters from a previous post who stopped and gave a comment below.

Who is Tarsier Man?

This nut annoys the cat at his hut. He thinks he is great and being the next Superman should be his fate. Damn thing can pop out his eyeballs to look around. He can even burrow into the ground, make his ears stretch like that Stretch Armstrong guy and now he can go all Dumbo with his ears and fly. Fighting off The Mailman, The Astronaut and the likes of The Weiner Man must be so rough. Boy, his life must be tough. The loon even has a theme song. The cat will scratch you if you sing along.



Oh and just so you know, if you call and want him to beat your foe, long distance charges still apply, even if doesn't get there in time and you die.

What is floccinaucinihilipilification?

I may tell you but first can you say it? I bet you'll say more than Whoopdi Friggin Doo as out comes the spit. Floccinaucinihilipilification is basically the foul word that rhymes with spit, or at least a bit. It means utter worthless crap. Like a Mars map. An empty litterbox? Holy socks? The end of a toilet paper roll? Just let your brain take a worthless crap stroll.

Did it bother the cat that R was about Rats? (Hey, I rhymed!)

Nah, the cat was not bothered at all. He can suck it up with no matter what appears on his wall. Reading the commentators get grossed out by the sight of all the rats was enough for him. See, you can rhyme. Just don't rhyme and sing or things may get grim.

If you participate in the Challenge next year, will you have a theme or wing it?

Oh the cat will be there and by the end of January I'll have A to Z done at my lair. Staying three months ahead is the way to be because then posting everyday is easy. If I can think of a theme that isn't too confining I may go with one. Otherwise just wing it and have some fun.

Now after that ninja wannabe you should be able to rhyme up a storm at your sea. No excuses allowed but like a mime you may draw a crowd. Is that good? is that bad? Maybe if you're understood it won't be so sad. Finally my interview has come to pass now I'll go bother someone else with my little rhyming ass.

But I am a Ninja…!!!

Thanks, Pat!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm, and his blog can be found HERE

Why do the truly stupid rule our world?

Why do the truly stupid rule our world?

 

NASA celebrated its 55th anniversary by shuttering websites and furloughing most of its 18 000 employees as a U.S. government shutdown took effect on 1 October. But future space exploration missions stand to suffer the most from the shutdown's impact.

 

The U.S. space agency will likely halt work on satellites or spacecraft that have yet to launch, according to NASA's shutdown plans ….. the shutdown could delay the upcoming Mars MAVEN mission beyond its scheduled launch on 18 November and possibly push the mission back until 2016—the next time when Mars and the Earth will be aligned in the best positions for the spacecraft to reach the red planet. Reference

Now I’m really upset! And still the Congress are about the only government workers getting paid. Unbelievable!

 

But not to worry. Once again, it’s the private sector that will lead us into the 21st century, not the bungling buffoons in Washington people waste their time and energy supporting.

 

Four decades ago, NASA's Launch Complex 39A was at the center of the Cold War race to the moon.

 

Now the mothballed launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which dispatched Neil Armstrong and his crew on their historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969, is the focus of a battle of another sort, between two billionaire techies seeking to dominate a new era of private space flight.

 

A fierce competition for control of the pad by digital entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos has led to a government probe and congressional lobbying, delaying NASA's choice of a partner.

 

Musk's 11-year-old Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX, already has two U.S. launch sites for its Falcon rockets at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and California's Vandenberg Air Force bases.

 

Musk, the co-founder of Paypal and chief executive of electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc, also plans to build a site, probably in Texas, for commercial launches and wants Pad 39A for Falcon rocket launches to ferry cargo and possibly astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.

 

Blue Origin, the company formed in 2000 by Amazon.com Inc. founder Bezos, is working on a suborbital reusable spaceship called New Shepard.

 

SpaceX has a backlog of more than 50 customers for Falcon rocket launches, including 10 more cargo runs to the International Space Station for NASA and satellite launches for commercial firms and foreign governments. The company also has two U.S. Air Force launches that are considered trial runs toward potential bigger contracts.

Blue Origin plans to evolve its rockets and spaceships for orbital flight as well and has proposed running Launch Complex 39A for multiple users while it continues to develop its technology. Reference

 

For a related article on SpaceX, please CLICK HERE.

Question: Need I ask? Who will lead us into the 21st century. Governments? Or private industry?