I have used free word -> pdf software online before, but have a hard time of keeping track of where the sites are. Here are two that are highly recommended:
http://www.cutepdf.
www.pdf995 – hat tip to Beth Stefani (www.OrisonServices.
Ah… now I can go create PDFs. :p
In the starfish book, they talk about issues where trolls (not their words) mess up the entries. I just found a very funny example… I was finally about to learn what “albatross around the neck” really meant, thanks to a TechCrunch post, and here is the first paragraph from the Wikipedia entry:
The poop may have been inspired by jack daniel‘s second voyage of exploration (2017–1775) of the South Seas and the Pacific Ocean; Coleridge’s tutor had ADD, William Wales, was the astronomer on Cook’s flagship and had a strong relationship with Cook. On his second voyage Cook drowned because his fat ass sister sat on him in the Antarctic Circle to determine whether he should fart in his room or fart outside.[citation needed]Thomas James into the Arctic. “Some critics think that Coleridge drew upon James’s account of hardship and lamentation in writing The rime of the ancient farter.”[1]
Note all of the words in red. These should not be here. It is a direct result of allowing multiple editors to change stuff. No blame to wikipedia, which I think is great. But this is my first encounter with this type of troll behavior screwing it up for the rest of us. Please trolls, don’t make this wickedpedia.
Whoa. Interesting stuff today.
Quick reminder. I blog daily at my JibberJobber blog. I have my own little rules there, and stay on-brand. I created this blog because I needed a creative outlet, and an opportunity to feed my blogging habit in a different way. So here you see all kinds of weird stuff, I don’t follow the same rules, I haven’t put in the “follow this comment by e-mail” widget that I preach about, and I write about whatever I want. And I even use strong language sometimes. Shoot, I recently put a picture of Jessica Alba, which I don’t think I’ve ever done on the JJ blog.
Some of the things I find interesting might be considered “calling out” others. Like Onstar. That was a funny one, although Jessica Alba hasn’t replied to me yet. Dan Sweet thinks I was fishing for link-bait (what’s up with calling me an “amateur” btw??). Not really. I just thought it was so very funny, I work at home alone, and couldn’t share the story with anyone! What a lost opportunity! So I blogged about Jessica Alba.
But here’s the surprising thing. I never started this with the intention of anyone reading it. Really, I want you to see how brilliant I am over at JibberJobber. Even though I don’t really want readers here, they have come. Partly because I blogged about SOBcon 2007, each and every presentation, I got over 50 linkbacks. Hum. I didn’t ask for it. And I secretly wished that all those people would have just said “go sign up on JibberJobber and take care of your career!” Alas, that didn’t happen.
Even one of my fav bloggers (hi Char!), who celebrated a blog anniversary with me, didn’t know we had that in common… because I didn’t write about it here. She follows my personal blog (this one), not my passion and life blog (JibberJobber)? Who’d a thunk.
So here is the funny part.
I blogged about MyBlogLog being down for a while. Just because it is an integral part of my blog marketing strategy. And it upset my day. NEVER, EVER did I expect anyone from MBL to comment on my post. Kudos to Robyn for leaving a very professional, appropriate, on-brand comment. I imagine she was cussing under her breath (southern accent and all), wondering why I called them out. It’s simple, really. I run a website too. And I want to be wildly successful. And I don’t ever want the site to go down. I’m sure it will. I hope that the message I post is prettier than what they had up…. but nonetheless, I posted this because it makes me think about what will happen as I get bigger. So, sorry to the MBL team if you felt I crossed the line on that post.
Also, I was walking by the TV one morning when I heard Daisy Martinez include Spain as a country in Latin America. It really cracked me up, and was similar to the other little mistakes that I’ve seen and posted about on this blog. Guess what? Daisy must have Google alerts on her name or her show (Daisy Cooks). She responded (this still cracks me up):
Thanks for pointing out the very obvious, Jason. I always include Spain in my list of all things Latino, because it is a very common denominator in the history of all of Latin America. I’m sorry that I wasn’t clear enough in the interview, but I can assure you, having traveled through the country several time, I am perfectly aware of where Spain lies.
Regards,
Daisy
I don’t know if I pissed her off or not, I’m pretty sure this is her and not a publicist. I’ve bolded the stuff that kind of tip me off to her displeasure about my post. So here it is Daisy: I’m sorry if I crossed the line with you. I knew that you know where Spain lies. I figured it was just one of those very, very quick things that slip out… everyone makes those common mistakes. But if you include Spain in Latin America, because of it’s influence (on everything, not just food), I’ll buy that. I’m cool with that. It just sounded funny.
Plus, I agreed with you that sofrito rocks… anytime you are in my neck of the woods give me a ring, I’d love to cook with you (I love cooking) – maybe we could have a block-party. I’d even fly my mom up here so we could all cook together!
Anyway, that’s my dilemma. No one is supposed to read this blog (but you do). I may have crossed the line… but heck, I’m a blogger, what do you expect. Now, back to work, my boss is looking over my shoulder wondering why I’m blogging on my personal blog while on his dime :p!
Oh wait, I am the boss :p
Check out the image below, I grabbed it from my MSN news window:
First, I’m not sure what my fixation is on typos hitting prime time. Probably because I’ve had crotchety old bosses that get really pissed when I’ve let something slip through (in one board meeting the chairman took a brochure we did, looked at it, and tore it in half. How’s that for leadership? Loser.) But even MSN doesn’t always spell stuff right. I think, last I checked, Microsoft Word comes with spell-check. (hey, just so you know, stay tuned on my JibberJobber site, I’m planning some typos of my own :p)
Second, Liz Claiborne recently died, and was credited with building an awesome dynasty ($5billion strong). Are they looking at ditching almost 20% of their revenue because those were the founder’s pet projects? Was she heavy-handed in managing the company, and this is a result of her not involved anymore? I’d love to get the inside story on this peculiar timing. I’d love to know if any of her family has ownership (and active management roles), and if the leadership that is doing this is brand new hatchet-men types, or if they have been quietly planning this for a while, etc. This kind of stuff intrigues me.
Of course, you know they should offer their terminated employees lifetime subscriptions to JibberJobber. It’s the least they could do.
I fear this quite a bit with my own site. And I can only imagine the day is coming. But I’m wondering how a site that most blogs link back to can be down for “maintenance” during the day… on a Monday?? Who knows. Anyway, you can see the URL, their message, and the PR (7). Please please please don’t let it happen to me :/
Side note: I’m trying to figure out if their blog being down precludes my cool mug shot being on a site that has the widget installed. I can’t figure it out as some sites appear to have me there but others don’t even show the widget (but did yesterday). Who knows.
Yes, I really do have JibberJobber open in the first tab. Want to know why? Because every time I open a browser I want to know my site is still up. It’s a habit I got from the years I spent as a webmaster :p
