#atozchallenge: Last Minute Check List

Badge by Ada Z from collagepodge.com

     

          We're almost there!  We've passed last year's sign-ups and as of this writing pushing toward 1400.   We encourage you to sign up now if you haven't done so already.  The list will close on Monday night April 2nd.  After that it will be too late to get you signed up.   Decide as soon as you can so you can start making preparations.  We'd hate to see anyone get left out who really would like to be a part of this exciting and rewarding event.

Is your blog dressed for the event?

          Before we take off on Sunday, now is the time to get your blog in order.   Do you have the official A to Z Challenge logo (pictured above or find code in sidebar) displayed in a prominent place so you are readily identified as a participant?   In my blog travels of late I've run across some blogs on the list that show no indication that they will be taking part in the A to Z Challenge  Please display the A to Z badge prominently, preferably toward the top of the sidebar, so we know you're in the Challenge.

           For those who prefer to use one of the other badges on the "banner and badge" page of this blog or your own design because of matching color schemes, again please display this badge prominently.  Make it obvious to visitors that you are participating.

            Also feel free to dress up your blog with any additional badges and banners that will make it more festive.  Co-host Jeremy has created a stunning array of blog bling which can be found in a tab at the top of the page.   Feel free to decorate your blog for April.

Stay in the game!

            Starting Sunday April 1st make sure you are posting with the current letter prompts.  If you do encounter a problem that might cause you to be absent for a day or two, please make sure your most recently displayed post provides an explanation so we know your intentions are good.

             If we see a blog that stays inactive for five days or more or if we see a blog that shows no indication that they are actually participating in the Challenge, we will pull that blog from the list so as not to waste the time of the bloggers who come to visit you.   The list is intended for A to Z participants only and not for advertisers or blog-hoppers just trying to get noticed.

             If you do encounter a problem with posting (illness, computer crashes, emergencies--things happen we know), let us know and we will work with you and try to help in any way we can.

A Warning to those on Blogger

            Have you noticed this message at the top of your Dashboard:

                Blogger is getting a new look in April. Upgrade Now.

             The Blogger dweebs are at it again and conveniently timed for A to Z.  I haven't messed with this yet because I am concerned about it.   According to the Blogger Blog there will be an option to switch back to the old interface--if I understood this correctly.  If we have this option I plan on switching back to the old format for April.  I guess I'll change it to the new interface in May because they say that all blogs will be changed eventually.

             I thought I might give you a heads up in case you hadn't seen this message.  If you're brave you can experiment with it before Sunday.  Some of you have already changed.   I hope this doesn't whack a bunch of us with a huge monkey wrench, but I guess we've probably survived worse.

Do the right thing

     You may have received an email already from one of the A to Z Team members or you will receive one soon.   I'm going to provide a copy here as well just in case you don't see your e-mail.  This pretty well gives the basics of what we hope you'll consider doing to make the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge the best experience it can be:

    The A to Z Challenge kicks off on Sunday!

As a co-host, I’d like to thank you for participating. The Challenge is all about discipline and making new friends. Your blogging skills will be sharpened and you will meet a lot of cool new bloggers in the process. The A to Z Team has worked hard this year to make it the best Challenge ever, and once it is over, we invite you to post your thoughts and reflections on the Challenge on Monday, May 7.

Here are the basic guidelines:

Post on a topic or word that matches the corresponding letter of the alphabet, starting with “A” on Sunday, April 1, then every day except Sundays after that. (B is April 2, C is April 3, etc.)

Visit fellow Challenge participants starting with the blog immediately following yours on the sign up list. Aim to visit five blogs a day; more if you have time.

Keep posts SHORT!

Turn off word verification. Make it easy for others to leave comments.

Make it easy for others to follow you. (Move that Google Friends Connect widget or other following device high up in your sidebar.)

Use the official A to Z button. Link back to the A to Z Blog - http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

Have fun and make new friends!

         Any questions?  Let us have them in the comment section.   Get ready to have the best A to Z April Challenge yet.

Keep Posts Short and Easy to Read!

There are several ways to encourage comments, including making it easy for people to leave comments and by visiting other bloggers. Those are good practices anytime. There is one more thing you can do during the Challenge and it’s critical – keep your posts short.

There are over a thousand participants in the Challenge. We’re encouraging people to visit at least five new blogs a day (starting with the one immediately following one’s own) but many will visit far more. That means time is of the essence.

And short posts are a must!

What is a short post? Definitely under five hundred words. Probably under four hundred, and even shorter is better!

The purpose of the Challenge is to make new friends. If your posts are long, participants are far more likely to skip your blog and move to the next. You’ll miss so many opportunities for new friends. Plus writing long posts takes time! You could spend that time visiting new blogs instead.

In addition to keeping posts short, they need to be easy to read. Long blocks of text are hard on the eyes. Break text into smaller paragraphs. Add images. Highlight or bold some of the text. Pretend you are cooking and spice it up!

And since I want to set an example (and I just made myself hungry) I’m making this A to Z tips post short!

Ninja Captain Alex is one of the A to Z Challenge co hosts and can be found HERE

Getting To Know Host - DL

ABOUT ME

Name: DL Hammons
Blog: Cruising Altitude 2.0
Other Online Info: 
Google+: DL Hammons

Twitter: DL_H

Facebook: DL Hammons

Goodreads: DL Hammons
Publications: None

10 GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONS

1. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
At our company gathering last year I got up in front of 50+ executives and informed them all that in my spare time I was a WRITER!
2. What is your favorite article of clothing? I have this one hat the I wear backwards when I'm writing.
3. What is your favorite monster? The xenomorph from the Alien movies.
4. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be? Sherlock Holmes.  Big surprise, given that I write mysteries.
5. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban legend or nursery rhyme?

Lizzie Borden took an axe

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done

She gave her father forty-one.

6. What is a cause near and dear to your heart?  Stopping bullying.
7. What's the strangest item you've used as a bookmark? A cocktail straw.
8. Do you have any nicknames?  What are they and how did you earn them? On-line I've used Misbehaving and Imposter for user ID's, but in the real world I've been hung with the moniker of Bone.  It's genesis comes from Hammons....Hambone....Bone.  :)
9. Name one habit you want to change in yourself:  I'd like to be less introverted, but that's not going to happen.
10. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself:  I'm a military brat, so I really don't have a hometown.  I lost my last baby-tooth at the age of 53.  I have no sense of smell...never have. And yes...I can still taste.

SOME A-to-Z QUESTIONS

1. What was your favorite A-to-Z post from 2011?  I'm an A to Z virgin.
2. What brought you to the A-to-Z originally?  Tell us about your first A-to-Z:  I was brought into the fold by Arlee, who offered me this opportunity to "change my stars". (Any Knights Tale fans out there?)  Part of my changing things up for 2012 was to make it uncomfortable in my comfort zone...and I think this qualifies.
3. Are you doing a theme?  Nope...I'm winging it, but most of my posts will be about letting my readers get to know me better.
4. Are you writing & scheduling posts in advance? About half of them are written and scheduled.
5. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet, and why?  What letter do you like least?  I have three of them actually.  L...S...U  Geaux Tigers!

I hope you've enjoyed these questions and answers.  Don't forget, you are welcome, even encouraged, to ask any additional questions you might have in the comments section.  Or feel free to answer the questions yourself!  We won't tell.

Just the prescription...for clearing your mind

Hello there! 

Join me, Jenny Pearson, co-host of the upcoming A to Z Challenge, for a relaxing walkabout!

Before we begin...I want to welcome any and all newcomers - are you looking for answers to your A to Z questions? Please visit our FAQ Tab - you are sure to find answers to all your questions there! If you’re still stumped visit our Contact Tab and fire off a question to us...we are here to help!

Now, about this walkabout…

Are you feeling topped up with all the information on the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How of this Challenge?

I hope so...because this post in NOT about any of that. It’s about sitting back, enjoying a little West Coast scenery and letting your mind clear as we start the countdown to when the FUN really begins - April 1st. 

In a matter of six days we will all be showcasing our thoughts, ideas, stories, pictures, and whatever else is hiding up our sleeves in the upcoming third annual A to Z Challenge.

To that end...I went for a walkabout and in the fresh, crisp air of a glorious day I was able to relax and clear my mind.

Come join me - it’s what the Challenge Doctor has prescribed.  (click on any picture to enlarge)

Pan Pacific Hotel, home to the Five Sails Restaurant. 

View of the North Shore, from behind our new Convention Centre.

2010 Olympic Cauldron

Downtown Vancouver & Granville Street entertainment.

Relaxing dinner and a peaceful evening sky.

Now, as a little after dinner wind down…

I’m please to announce all my posts are ready for the Challenge. I  would like to invite each of you to visit, during the Challenge, and enjoy what I have written, just for you.

In approximately 4,000 words, divided into 26 parts I have told a tragic tale, which will be posted in its entirety on May 1st. Each letter is featured extensively in its corresponding post. 

I had incredible fun with my choice for this year's Challenge...and, suffice it to say, I found it very challenging indeed! Hence the need for many wonderful walkabouts, like this one!

Now...we will have no more stressing, if you are new and have just signed up, the fun for you will be to enjoy the spontaneity of each day’s letter...remember, just have fun!

I am looking forward to visiting you!

Happy Blogging

 Jenny

PEARSON REPORT

#atozchallenge: Sunday Summary March 25, 2012

Challenge begins next Sunday!

Once again we want to give a big congratulations our video challenge winner Rachel Morgan you can see her video here and find links to the other videos as well.   If you haven't taken the time to watch the videos and congratulate the video creators for a job well done, I hope you'll do so.

The mentions are still being made.  Here are some that we found:

Zyogbv came to Earth in time to take part in the April Challenge.

Ellie seems to be wavering at Ellie's Blank Book but at least she waved.  She's trying to decide which of her blogs she should enter in the A to Z.  Ellie, you could of course enter them all.  And what do you know--the next day that's exactly what she did.  Oh what fun you're gonna have!

Colin D Smith will be changing things up a bit on his blog in April in order to accommodate the A to Z Challenge.  He's a first timer and we hope he'll find it a worthwhile blogging experience.

I guess Jackie at Jackie's Bookbytes is entitled to change her mind and that's what she did within one post.  Now we'll have to wait and see what she has in store for April.

Making plans ahead of time for the A to Z Challenge is first time A to Z-er Stacey Mitchell.  We wish her luck with April.

A to Z veteran Duncan Horne from Our Home Called Kuantan puts the A to Z Challenge into perspective and shows how easy it can be.

Want a cupcake?   How about a Cadenza?  Denise has "C" covered at her blog Cupcakes and Cadenzas and now she's busily at work on the rest of the alphabet.

The blog A Common Sea will be joining a sea of other bloggers for the big April splash.

This Challenge we'll have an opportunity to learn about Jamaica from Joy at The Character Depot as she pursues this theme by the letters.

Yadin Bromberg announced his A to Z theme this week.  He's already been learning from other bloggers and on his way to developing a very credible blog.

Miranda Hardy has got a theme and to answer her, uh, yeah, Miranda, we want to know how wacky you really are.   I like Miranda's theme--check it out.

The Left Wright Brain put out an encouraging word for the Challenge.

Hmm--have you ever thought of the A to Z Challenge being like a county fair?  That's the way Michelle Gregory imagines it on her blog Beautiful Chaos.  Good analogy, Michelle.

Lisa at Jezri's Nightmares is going to run in the April Challenge and has no plans of trying to hide.  She's put  her cards all on the table in her blog post where she reveals her theme of 'Monsters A t o Z".  Now that sounds like fun.

If you like television then you'll have to visit Stephanie Scott: A Girl and Her Diary during the Challenge, but why wait?  Stop by and say hello now.

A Daft Scots Lass is one you might want to watch--as in anything can happen.

Notes in a Book is going to use the Challenge as a means of blog revival.  This is a good way to do it.

Pam from 2 Encourage is back with us again for another year and we find that encouraging.

We'll have another blog summary next Saturday along with some last minute check up items.  But be sure to stop by here everyday.  Lot's of good info still to come.

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Guest Post from Hilary Melton-Butcher

     Today we have a creative diversion of ideas.  Just for fun here are some A to Z's from Hilary Melton-Butcher from Positive Letters, Inspirational Stories

Image via Wikipedia

The A, B, Cs of collectives nouns ...

Those wonder words that evoke disruptive thoughts in our minds such as  a murder of crows ...  here’s my list:

Aurora

Polar Bear

Aurora of Polar Bears

Bellowing of Bullfinches

Convocation of Eagles

Dole of Doves

Skylark

Exaltation of Larks

Flush of Ducks  

                  

Gang of Elks

Head of Curlews

Impalas

Impalas ... ah! A couple of ...

Journey of Giraffes

Kindle of Kittens

Leap of Snow Leopards

Murder of Crows

Nye of Pheasants

Obstruction of Dons

Parliament of Owls

Quiver of Cobras

Pochard

Rush of Pochards

Sedge of Cranes

Trip of Dotterels

Unkindness of Ravens

Vagary of Impediments

Worship of Writers

X for I don’t know what!

Yakkety yak ... a herd of

Zealish Zebras .. live in small harems, or larger herds

What else can you think of to help Lee in his build up for the A – Z April challenge ... any other collectives that amuse you? 

Cheers – Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge starts next Sunday!  Are you ready?

Getting to Know Your Hosts - Alex

ABOUT ME

Name: Alex J. Cavanaugh
Blog: Alex J. Cavanaugh
Other Online Info: Twitter and Goodreads
Publications: CassaStar and CassaFire

10 GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONS

1. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
Starting a blog! And launching the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Really, I'm not much of a thrill seeker.

2. What is your favorite article of clothing?
T-shirts and lounge pants. Although I do look sharp in a suit!

3. What is your favorite monster?
Godzilla

4. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be?
Agent Pendergast – black suit, black shirt, black tie, and black shoes in a black Rolls Royce!

5. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban legend or nursery rhyme?
Crop circles – so fascinating.

6. What is a cause near and dear to your heart?
PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Arachnids (Don’t squish – catch and release!)

7. What's the strangest item you've used as a bookmark?
Do Sticky Notes count?

8. Do you have any nicknames? What are they and how did you earn them?
Ninja Captain Alex – and that was given to me by my blogger buddies!

9. Name one habit you want to change in yourself:
Is perfectionism a habit? Because sometimes I wish I could scale that back a bit.

10. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself:
Believe it or not, I never wanted to be an author!

SOME A-to-Z QUESTIONS

1. What was your favorite A-to-Z post from 2011?
Probably the first one of the Challenge, the Letter A Last year my theme was to feature blogger buddies and for A it was Chuck’s Apocalypse Now and RaShelle’s A No. 2 Pencil Stat.

2. What brought you to the A-to-Z originally? Tell us about your first A-to-Z:
I found the Challenge a few days before the first one began in 2010. I was struggling as a blogger and decided what the heck, I’d give it a try. I made fifty new blogger buddies that month and my blog was off and running!

3. Are you doing a theme?
Oh yes! Big surprise…

4. Are you writing & scheduling posts in advance?
Of course!

5. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet, and why? What letter do you like least?
Well, C is rather easy for me. (I wonder why?) X is probably the biggest challenge.




I hope you've enjoyed these questions and answers. Don't forget, you are welcome, even encouraged, to ask any additional questions you might have in the comments section. Or feel free to answer the questions yourself! We won't tell.

Nicole from Madlab Post with A to Z Survival Kit

        Nicole from The Madlab Post returns with part 2 of her survival tips for the A to Z.  She's talking about stuff bloggers should be doing Challenge or no Challenge.   You can let us know what you think in the comment section.


        
 Save your blog posts on an external CD-R or Drive

       Those of you who have a habit of writing your blog posts within the post editor should carefully consider either copying and pasting the text into a word processing document or writing the post in notepad or MS Word, etc. and then pasting what you wrote into the post editor. Doing so can prevent the annoying setback of losing everything that you just wrote when your computer crashes or when your internet browser freezes or when the blog page you are working on suddenly reloads itself because you mistakenly clicked on the reloading icon in the browser or hit a shortcut key to go open another web page by accident…silly, I know, but as the saying goes…shit happens.


       The key takeaway here is to do your best to minimize the risk of this same shit happening to you while you’re Blogging from A to Z. Have a way to access your 26 blog posts and any related media (photos, URL addresses to online references where you found information pertaining to your posts, documents with ideas or schedules for you’re A to Z blogging tasks, etc.) anytime and anywhere.

Reach out to Fellow Participants for Help

        Arlee, Alex and the other Blogging from A to Z hosts do a great job of helping Participants with navigating the challenge with ease and they probably answer dozens, if not hundreds of questions and requests during the challenge. The thing that many fellow bloggers may forget to remember or not realize is.....the hosts are blogging too and maintaining the backend of their own blogs while also managing the front-end and backend of the A to Z challenge, which is a LOT of work.

       I mentioned all of this to say....don't underestimate the abilities of your fellow bloggers and A to Z participants when it comes to seeking help with some aspect of the challenge that you don't understand, seeking morale support, troubleshooting or any other need that you may have that is related to the challenge.

      Doing so can give the hosts more room to focus on their main tasks at hand, which are making sure that the A to Z Challenge is operating as smoothly as possible.

Have Alternative Means to Access the Internet

        Last week, I woke up and found my internet access gone. This must be a mistake, I thought. After all, I paid the damn bill. After troubleshooting, checking plugs, restarting a modem, etc. I finally called my internet provider, who told me that there was a power outage in my area due to some problems with their equipment on their end. They expected to have the service restored in 48 hours…..a length of time that seemed like FOREVER to a multitasking, freelance writing, Netflix streaming, work-at-home Twitter-addict like me. Imagine if something like this happens to YOU during a time when you need internet access the most. This is why bloggers can benefit from having alternative sources of internet access, just like it is important to have a substitute blog.

      Get a public library card that allows you to sign up for time at a computer station within the library, find a friend or relative who will let you use their computer to publish your blog posts or visit a local coffee shop that offers free WiFi. Maintaining resources for internet access also helps you travel more without having to be stuck in front of a computer for 26 days. Right now, I know of at least two retail stores and a bank in my city that provides free WiFi. You know what this tells me? It tells me that I can perform many of my Blogging from A to Z duties while running errands outdoors….all in the comfort of a local Starbucks or Greyhound bus. So, if you lose internet access, wherever you normally get it, there is no need to fret. Just buy a latte’ and keep it moving!

Do YOU have what it takes to Survive the A to Z Blogging Challenge?


        Whew!  I have experience with some of these things that Nicole mentions here.  Which of the above tips have you tried if any?  Are there any other suggestions that you have to offer?


         Here's another one of the video's Nicole submitted to the A to Z Video Contest.  Prompts for the second half of the alphabet:

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A to Z Challenge Survival Kit Part 1: Guest Nicole at Madlab Post

     Today we are joined by Nicole from Madlab Post.  As you'll probably gather from the following, Nicole takes her blogging seriously.  Today she offers some suggestions that are good for not only the Challenge, but for your blogging activity in general if you want to protect your blog content.

A Quick A to Z Challenge Survival Kit 

        Being as prepared as you can is one of the best ways to ensure that your experience Blogging from A to Z in April is less stressful and more fun. After participating in a few different monthly blogging challenges during 2011 including NaBloPoMo and The WordCount Blogathon, I learned the importance of having alternative plans in place for unexpected problems that arise with technology and online services. This is especially relevant for bloggers who utilize services that are available free of charge such as open source blogging software or free blog hosting platforms such as Blogger and Wordpress(.com). There is no one in tech support to call or email if something goes wrong. You usually end up having to just wait and see what happens.

        Here is a quick little survival kit that bloggers who plan to participate in the 2012 Blogging from A to Z Challenge, or any future blog events for that matter, can implement to save time, energy and sanity….all of which you’ll quickly lose if you’re busy yelling expletives because you can’t seem to shake that hopeless and powerless feeling of being stuck at a computer that you can’t use the way you want.

Backup Your Blog 

         Save backup files of your blog posts. You should already be doing this anyway whether you’re participating in the A to Z Challenge or not, but it's all the more important when you have 26 days’ worth of brand new posts that you worked hard on writing. Most, if not all blogging platforms have a way to backup your blog within the settings. Some services allow you to automate the backup process while others don’t. If you have to backup your blog manually, do this often, like every day or twice a day if you publish multiple posts on a daily basis. A manual backup is as simple as exporting your blog to a hard drive or CD-R disc. The file will be in XML format, at least for Blogger users. 

Have a Secondary/Plan B Blog on a Separate Blogging Platform, Ready to Go in Case your Host goes down for Maintenance, Unexplained events, Hacking, Spam or other Unforeseen Technical Difficulties

         If you haven’t already, you should open an account with another blog hosting service. The second blog can serve as your Plan B or alternate place for A to Z posts if something happens to your main blog. I’m speaking to you from experience, so take heed.

          On May 11, 2011, Google’s Blogger service was shut down for a so-called “maintenance” issue, causing posts and comments published that day to be removed from blogs on this platform. Blogger also appeared to be in read-only mode, so people could still visit blogs but bloggers were not able to publish new posts. The issue affected many bloggers, especially those of us who were participating in the WordCount Blogathon where we had to blog every day in May for a total of 31 straight days of blogging. This read-only mode continued through to May 13^th.

         While the posts and comments on many blogs (except for mine, which I’ll explain in the next “Survival Tip”) were restored within a few days, this maintenance issue with Blogger caused many blogathon participants to panic and I was one of them. Instead of skipping a day or waiting around for Blogger to get back up and running as usual, I started a new blog on Posterous titled it The Madlab Post-Lite and published myDay 12 post over there. 

        During that time while checking out various options for blogging, I also realized that I had an old Wordpress account that I opened but never did anything with. Now, I have two alternative blogs to use if necessary.

       I’m sure many of you who are gearing up to tackle the Blogging from A to Z Challenge in April would hate to experience missing posts, missing comments and the removal of your ability to publish new posts on your blog. This is why I urge you to open a new account now. Do not, however, start a second blog using the same service that your first blog is being hosted on, because that defeats the whole purpose of having an alternate option for new posts in the event that something unexpected happens to your main blog.

        If you use Wordpress for example, then start a Blogger blog, or vice versa. If you use Tumblr, start a blog on Google+ or vice versa. Do you own any domain names that came with a free website or blog feature? Try playing around with it to see if it can be part of your Plan B if you ever need to use it at the last minute.

       The possibilities are endless and the alternative blogging platform that you choose is up to you. It doesn’t really matter which one you use, so long as you have a means to blog on all of the 26 days in the A to Z challenge. Some blogging options include Wordpress.com; Tumblr; Typead; LiveJournal; BlackPlanet; Myspace (remember this Social Networking site? It does have a blogging feature!), Redgage, Gather; Google+ and Posterous. I’ve used nearly all of these services at one point or another so I can attest to the fact that they all pretty much have every basic feature needed to write and publish a blog post.

Consider Developing a Routine to Backup Your Comments

        After the Google hiccup (as mentioned in the previous “Survivial Tip”) that caused posts and comments to get deleted, I started saving every single comment that I receive on my blog. 

        The one and only comment that was posted on my May 11^th blog post was not restored by Blogger and remained missing, so I found the original notification for that particular comment, in my email (sidebar: Email or SMS notifications can come in handy in a variety of situations) and republished the comment as a reference in one of my blog posts, a few days later. I then decided to save or backup every comment on my blog posts.

        Now, I do this manually and some of you who get more than a dozen or so comments on your blog may find this particular task to be time-consuming but it is worthwhile to at least try to figure out a comment backup plan that works for your lifestyle and your blog. If you use self-hosted Wordpress, maybe there is a plug-in that you can utilize to backup comments. If you use Intense Debate or Disqus, maybe you can find a backup solution within those services. Just try to find a way to keep track of all your comments, if possible. Funny enough, the missing comment that I am referring to is showing up on my restored post, at the time of this writing. So I guess it has been restored, miraculously. I say, whatever! Too little, too late. Backup your comments!


          Our thanks to Nicole for this first installment of her guest post which will be continued tomorrow.   She points out some issues that many of us don't usually think about and probably don't want to think about.  Maybe we should.


           Do you back up your blog as Nicole has described?  What are some of your blog horror stories?




          Here's one of Nicole's entries to the A to Z Video Contest.  Are you still stumped for ideas for the April Challenge?    Try this:

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