text:
You Can Always Tell When I've Been Pugging A Lot
The tank left, as many tanks do, after Zul'Garub's raptor boss. A vote-to-kick popped up to kick our warrior. "Shitty fucking DPS" was the reason.
I glanced at Skada. The warrior was doing a bit above 8k. Not amazing, but stuff was dying fast enough and he wasn't doing anything stupid. Besides, the other two dps were doing 9k and 11k respectively. If the warrior ranked as "shitty fucking", then they ranked as just "shitty".
Our three wipes so far has been due to:
Wipe 1: Tank failing on boulders
Wipe 2: Tank pulling more than he could hold aggro on
Wipe 3: Dps who initiated the vote-to-kick being outside the ring when raptor boss was pulled.
The warrior hadn't caused any problems yet.
Since there were only 4 of us in the group, the final decision as to whether to kick the warrior or not was left to me.
Times I'll Use Vote-to-Kick
I rarely kick players for being bad. Mainly because I know I struggle to reach 6k dps myself when playing ret. If I pop all my cooldowns, I might be able to reach 7k for a fraction of a second. If I'm lucky. So unless our weakest link is getting in the way of killing a boss (Grim Batol comes to mind), I don't care about dps much.
However, when someone's pulling 4k while the rest of the group, including the tank, is sitting at 14k, I'll usually agree if a vote-to-kick is initiated.
I don't know where the DPS benchmarks should be for heroics, but I do think that if someone's doing under 5-6k, they're not quite ready for the leap yet and shouldn't queuing for them. There is a difference between normal 85s and heroics for a reason. But while it can justify a kick, I don't think it justifies abuse.
I hate when players abuse each other. I know it's not a big deal to most of the guys I play with, but if I were abused in a pug, and I wasn't so confident about my healing ability, I'd be really shaken. (I have encountered, um, strange reactions in pugs, but they always started before the first pull and were so very weird that I suspect those players were stoned. Very stoned.) I'd rather see someone removed than witness verbal abuse. When the target of the abuse is sub-performing, especially if they haven't gemmed or enchanted their gear, there's not a whole lot I can do to defend them besides kick them and spare them misery.
Initiating vote-to-kicks, though, is something I will do if a player is being a douchebag and annoying me. I don't mind carrying players, but I have no tolerance for annoying behaviour. Besides, if a person has no regard for the feelings of others, then I really have no regard for their feelings.
An Anatomy of Douchebaggery
The word "elitism" is tossed around a lot. But in my experience, the players who are the biggest douchebags in pugs aren't particularly good players themselves. It almost feels like they're people who've been picked on in the past for being bad and jump at the opportunity when they're in a position to do it to others.
Or they're people who don't really understand the game or meters, and are looking to attack before they get attacked. (I actually met a healer who spammed healing meters from 5 mans. Yes, you are going to be on top when you're the only healer. And a high hps just meant people were taking a lot of damage. No damage, no high hps.)
And wannabes. The wannabes. Players from upper-but-not-top guilds who just don't have the skill, the focus or the discipline to be excellent. Or players from more casual guilds who assume they're amazing because they've always topped the meters in their raids. These guys are quite possibly the worst culprits in heroics. They play badly, are mouthy and are quick to pry on anyone else.
Penny Arcade's Internet Fuckwad Theory is often referred to explain douchebag behaviour. Which works if you have a Lord of the Flies view of people. But I have trouble believing the person spewing out bullshit and feeling real' proud of himself for being such a badass is a "normal person". Oh, maybe he acts like a normal person when there are consequences to his actions, but, really, if someone over the age of 12 gets pleasure from shitting on others or saying "naughty words", I quite suspect there being something wrong with them to begin with.
Now, I understand anger and raging. I have quite the temper myself, although I'm more likely to get angry about time-wasting or arrogance than about wipes and mistakes. I'm also a lot more likely to get sarcastic and accusatory than swear or name call. But I understand tempers getting heated. Games are like that. You get involved in them, you use them as a safe outlet for stress and, well, I suspect (but have no proof) that the chemical effect games have on the brain trigger short term aggression or crankiness anyway. I'll never hold outbursts in raids, pvp or even nasty heroics against people.
But gratuitous abuse? Or "OMG LOOK AT ME I SAID A NAUGHTY WORD IM SUCH A BADASS LOLOLOL!!!111one"? Give me a break.
No it doesn't offend me. It doesn't hurt my feelings. It does, however, hurt my eye rolling muscles.
Hindsight Wears Rose-Coloured Glasses
I don't want comments blaming LFD and saying "things were so much better before LFD".
Sometimes I wonder if the LFD haters ever tried to pug 5 mans before the system got put in. I pugged alone in Vanilla and in pre-LFD BC. I pugged alone a lot.
Back then, pugging a 5 man alone was an all day event. If your instance wasn't overly popular at that moment, finding a full group took a few hours. By the time you had your group together, someone would have to leave. Before max level, you didn't always have the luxury of a tank-healer-3dps so you made do with what you had. You'd wipe a lot. People would often have to leave halfway through and you'd spend up to an hour waiting for a replacement while trying to 4 man the instance. I don't think I ever finished an instance with the same 4 people I started it with.
Where people nicer and did they talk more?
I vaguely remember that they were and that they did. But when you're stuck with these people for hours and when replacing them was a disgusting task, you either had to be patient or you didn't pug.
So I suspect the shitty behaviour in pugs is due more to pugging being available to those who wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes in the old system. Plus, with the all the incentives from instances nowadays, more players in general are pugging.
And really, I'd rather put up with the occasional douchebag than go back to struggling for hours every time I wanted to do an instance.Explore posts in the same categories: General WoW
Tags: 5 mans, douchebags in heroics, heroics, LFD, lfg, pugging, vote-to-kickBoth comments and pings are currently closed.
37 Comments on "You Can Always Tell When I've Been Pugging A Lot"
May 14, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Nice post and reminding me of my own experience. The bullying you can get from pugging in the LFD system can really be frustrating: I remember being told to "go delete" by one of those wannabes roxxors when playing Grim Batol for the first time after a 2-week break. Explanations on boss strats would have been more useful but somehow these douchebags just expect everyone to know everything just because they pretend to do so.
Other behaviors that get on my nerve:
– players quitting group without a word
– players quitting after first wipe
– players never even bothering to answer when tank (often myself due to tanks' scarcity) asks the over-complex philosophical question: "ready?"
– same guys complaining tank pulled too fast (when tank actually waited a good 30″ for never-coming answer)
I'm adding to the list but actually the system is great. Though I'm a bit frustrated by the bias towards playing tank (I love to heal but the system always want me to tank), I'd probably would have stopped WoW without it. I had to cut down on my playing time because of too much work and yes, pugging was just too complex to do before. Plus it works with raid which are hard for me to do with my guildies as I couldn't keep up to their rythm.
May 14, 2011 at 7:43 pm
I had a situation in a heroic Lost City run the other day. I was on my paladin and the tank was a very good druid tank who was pretty well geared and held everything nicely. He was great and made my job so much easier.
But after the first boss, he launched into a tirade at the ret paladin who did about 7k DPS and told him that he was just horrible and that he should leave. He used much stronger language than that, though. The ret pally left of his own accord.
We then got a DK to replace the paladin and moved on. Second boss, fine. It was on the way to the third boss that the tank decided to skip that first group of trash.
"skipping trash" he said. I'd only done that once, so I followed dutifully.
The DK was like "never skipped before" and promptly pulled two groups somehow.
Insert another fit of rage from the druid when we wiped.
So I initiated the vote kick for the druid.
"Jackass" was my reason. The kick passed in less than two seconds.
We got a DK tank who wasn't as good of a tank as the druid, but he was nicer and very polite.
The point, I guess, is that no one deserves that kind of vitriol in a game. I've been guilty of being less-than-nice. I recently called someone an idiot while pugging, but after the fourth time of getting beat on by 3 of the 4 mobs in a group just after using ONE Holy Shock on the tank, I was at my wits' end. The "tank" in question was a DK who wasn't spreading diseases or using Death and Decay and clearly didn't have the foggiest idea of HOW to do his job.
And the "idiot" comment came in after I'd said "Hey, (tank name), do you think you could use Death and Decay, please?"
"Please use Death and Decay to help you with aggro."
"Diseases and Death and Decay will prevent the mobs from running at me every time I cast a heal."
I always try to be nice and/or civil, and always start out that way. The druid tank I had didn't even start like that. It was just torrents of vitriol. And that was not cool for me.
May 14, 2011 at 9:33 pm
As one of the 3rd types of douchebags you describe (big fish in a little pond guild), I figure I have pretty sound reasoning when I berate bad players. No, I'm serious, hear me out. It's not me being a dick for the enjoyment of being a dick. It's becuase of how easy it is to merely be competant and, far more importantly, how completely and offensivly selfish it is to me that you would waste 4 (or 9 or 24) other people's time becuase you can't be bothered to put in the slightest effort.
I'm a fairly good player, but not a great player and I don't claim to be. I joined a big time raiding guild in wrath and I went from top performer to always near the bottom. But I'm competant. I know my class, I read up on the fights, I perform adequately. I carry my weight, in short.
In many LFD pugs, that somehow elevates me to being "pro", although I have played with actual "pro" players and I most deffinately don't constitute the term. I am very competant however, and being competant is VERY easy with just a little out of game research and a little time invested in-game to put that research into practice. It's amazing what a differance a 30 minute google search of your class/spec will do for you, but SO many people refuse to even to that. It takes 5 days of /played to hit 85, you can spend 30 minutes searching (class) (spec) (patch number).
I never berate people if they're undergeared, but I absolutely can't stand well geared players underperforming. Especially wrongly geared players. The hunters using strength rings, the DKs wearing intellect plate etc. These players have obviously not done the 5 minutes it would take to actually learn what their class does, and CERTAINLY never stood at a target dummy with recount to theorycraft their own numbers. But they will queue up with 4 other people and let them carry their weight. I consider that the more offensive than any name-calling you could possibly type to a person, you are WASTING the time of 4 people becuase you can't be bothered to give a litle effort.
Undergeared is one thing, thats perfectly acceptable (everyone has to start gearing somewhere) but I REFUSE to accept underperfomring, becuase it's SO EASY to do a decent job if you just try. Doing a great job? thats hard, and I don't expect that, but if we're wiping becuase you don't know your class, don't know the fight, and won't follow the explanation of the fight (for %^*&'s sake, kill the adds!) then I WILL call you out and berate you, and you deserve it.
May 15, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I started playing in TBC and oh God I remember the pugging. I was a class that couldn't CC and didn't have amazing DPS (fury warrior), so finding a group was a lot like pulling teeth. I was very happy when LFD was implemented, and I'm still how now, even though I play a healer.
(Plus something no one else seems to mention: sometimes I DON'T want to chit chat with people from my server before getting a group. I just want to go in, heal some shit and get out.)
When it comes to kicking, 2 people get me raging: inconsiderate assholes and ninjas. I don't care if someone has bad DPS; as long as he/she is polite, no vote kick. But when someone acts like they're the leetest player in all WoW and we scrubs should bow before them… yeah, no. I love kicking those tanks who feel it's their God given right to abuse anyone… I'm sure it's a new experience to them to find themselves suddenly back in SW. As for ninjas, they get my blood boiling especially in low level instances. I always try to explain what need/greed means, but when they still don't get it… I'm sorry, half of them are probably 8 year old kids, but they should be supervised by someone else and not me.
One of the most satisfying dungeons I've ran recently was a ZG where the ret paladin insisted we let him tank, snarked a lot (we all sucked apparently) and then tried to blame me when he died in a puddle of shit. That vote kick was so fast I didn't even have a chance to push yes 😀
May 15, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Erudax in Grim batol, If the 3 dps are not doing their slows perfectly 21k combined is normally the mark needed to stop the boss healing. You get adds at the level, but at least they stop the boss from being healed.
So I generally regard 7k as what blizzard designed Heroics around. Note I wont Auto boot if your doing less, but if we are wiping because of lack of dps your where i am going to look. On the other hand if a player is down at 2-3k hh
But for example if you have healed lost city up to the last boss, no wipes, no deaths your in 33x pve gear, correctly enchanted and gemmed and you keep wiping to going oom, is it healer problem or a dps problem? If the dps are doing 18k combined? It
a a dps problem. But odds are you will be the one kicked.
LFD averaged tanks/heals and queue times across servers it did not reduce them.
LFG was much much better at forming groups, groups to do raids, groups to do newbie quests like ring of blood, you did not even have to been on the character that you wanted to group om. LFD is arguably better at forming groups for 5 man instances but considering the dps queue went to 50-58 mins for Zx this weekend, not really. I spent a hour and 15 mins last saturday finding 20 people so we could a hour and 30 clearing uldaar 25. lfg? I could spend all weekend bouncing from group to group, never more then 5 mins to find something.
Generally if I am so frustrated I am becoming angry its a good indication I should just drop group.
The dk tank whereing 8 pvp blues and some green tanking gear who is just running into every single pull in H deadmines, no marks, no cc who on the second time he broke the cc on the mob trying to beat on me as the healer. I politely enquired did he dislike cc, his reply I don't like cc in small spaces, he has allready admitted the only time he had been their before was normal deadmines, so I was running him through tank strats for bosses.
Hour and 10 mins to run H deadmines, 5-6 wipes almost all on trash and over a stack of food on a 355 geared shaman in 3 pce teir. Oh well at least I got a captured firefly from the exotic bag.
May 16, 2011 at 10:26 am
I've run out of ghosts on a Mandokir fight twice (without anyone dying to stupid stuff) because of one really low DPS. It was a lock. She/he was a very nice and well behaved person; his entire group left after killing Venoxis, probably because they didn't have the nerve to kick him.
Unfortunately, the way things are, unless you have a real strong DPS to overcompensate someone pulling 5k, you really can't afford to carry an underskilled player through the new troll instances.
I really would like to know how a properly geared (he was) gemmed (all blue quality gems) and enchanted (even had power torrent!) player manages to do ~6k on a boss fight. On the first wipe, I assumed my meter was broken because I couldn't believe a pure dps class being so low.
May 16, 2011 at 12:47 pm
8K for a heroic 85, 10K for a Zul. Anything else, that player needs work. It does not mean they are bad players, it just means they should be doing better. Some dummy work, maybe reading about their rotation, just basic stuff. Any class in the game can do 8K on bosses in 329 item level and any class in the game can do 10K in 346 gear on bosses, most 15K+ at that level.
The person above me had a good question.
"I really would like to know how a properly geared (he was) gemmed (all blue quality gems) and enchanted (even had power torrent!) player manages to do ~6k on a boss fight."
I would like to know too.
In all quest greens, ungemmed, unenchanted, any class can pull 5K-6K on bosses, so there is no reason for that.
Anyone doing 6K with good gear, enchants, and gems, is a bad player, there is no other way to explain that. If they took the time to figure out their gear, their gems and their enchants and never took the time to figure out their rotation, they are a bad player. Sorry if that makes me sound "elitist" but facts are facts.
"But in my experience, the players who are the biggest douchebags in pugs aren't particularly good players themselves."
That sums it up. Usually the first person to start insulting people is the worst one in the group.
I had someone drop a group a couple of weeks ago complaining how horrible the DPS was and insulting everyone in the group. A quick look at the recount when they left showed that they where dead last in DPS. He was right, the DPS was horrible and he fixed it for us by leaving.
I tank, heal and DPS, so I have seen it from all ends. Tanks that think they are gods gift but can't hold aggro from a gnat. Healers who think it is their job to pull. Damage dealers that think 4K DPS is kick ass in a Zul heroic.
If they all do their job, and do it quietly, I'll run with them, if they open their mouth to insult others, I drop group. I don't kick, I drop.
I can put up with almost anything, I will not put up with anyone insulting another person in the game, even if that player sucks.
If the player sucks, help them get better if you are going to say something, otherwise keep your stupid comments to yourself.
Saying, you suck, doesn't help them, saying, use abilityname in your rotation does. Both took the same effort. One makes for a better player and a decent person and the other one makes someone upset and someone looking like a jerk.
May 17, 2011 at 12:50 pm
There was a LFG tool when I started playing in TBC; the players signed up for up to 3 dungeons/raids/quests/zones, which connected them to server-wide LFG channel and enabled them to view which players were signed for which dungeons etc. It was not very popular; I remember that being signed up for 3+ hours and not seeing a single line in the channel was common. Invites were even rarer. I don't even know how many people were aware this tool even existed, it certainly was not very popular.
Most players used trade channel to organize groups, which meant you were grounded in a city of your choice for a couple of hours waiting for the group to form, no questing or farming unless the thing you farmed was in a capital city. (Most players stay in a city even now, when they're not forced to, so I guess it was not something most players minded.) When your group was formed, there was still a big problem to overcome before you started the instance: summoning. Some players would never go summon others no matter what, there was a couple of times when I got stuck at the stone because the rest of the group waited for someone else to go help me. It also meant that I was unable to recruit new players because there was no trade channel near the summoning stone.
Getting replacements for people who left required one person going back to a city, spamming trade until a replacement was found and recruiting someone and then getting summoned again. By the people who refused to help to summon at the start. Some people simply gave up when anyone quit and left themselves – some people still do but there's less of them. And there was no top of the queue for groups in progress, they competed for players with all other groups. I remember that in the leveling instances people often didn't bother to get a replacement as it would take too much time. Unless someone dropped group before the run started.
Nowadays, having someone drop your group is not much of a punishment as the tool will find a replacement in a couple of minutes. Back then, I thought quitting the group was the ultimate insult. Last week, I had someone throwing insults at me (it's quite rare but happens sometime) because I wasn't able to keep him alive and I found myself thinking that if I ignored his insults for a minute or two, he would just quit (they usually do) and a tank whom I could keep alive would join – and looking forward to it.
Regarding heroic DPS (for 4.0 ones), most of the DPS race bosses require about 7 kDPS on average assuming neither the healer nor the tank are much better and it's not a fight with a lot of movement. Sometimes a better than average healer or tank can lower the requirement.
May 18, 2011 at 3:43 am
Ophelie, you have two problems here.
First of all, You were not running with me so any other tank is expendable and not as good or sexy etc….
Secondly, I can be a pretty big asshole even though I am a nice guy overall. During some runs people just irritate the crap out of me. I especially kick them if they are screwing up and cant speak english. I guess this isnt really a problem but I just liked the way that intro started in my head.
The easiest people to replace are DPS its not so much the numbers that matter its how they act. Like if they die every few seconds due to poison or they don't move out of stuff repeatedly then yeah they deserve to be kicked.
May 18, 2011 at 9:26 pm
Once you run with Phitom you are never the same 😀


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I travelled through Tanzania for 6 weeks with my cousins a number of years ago now, (Shout out to Bec and Jim!) and as a vegetarian found that I ate a lot of spinach! Plain boiled spinach, oily fried spinach, spicy spinach, spinach with ugali (manioc mush), and on one occasion, spinach with plantains.
The plantains and spinach weren't very seasoned, and weren't all that tasty to be honest, but the combination found its way into the back of my mind and stayed there.
When I learned I liked fried Plantains, thanks to Terry Hope Romero and testing for Viva Vegan!, I decided to revisit the combination and see if I could come up with something I would like. And I did.
I like my plantains to be mainly green with just a little yellow, and maybe a tiny touch of black for this, but that is my personal preference. If you know you like your plantains more or less ripe, use them as you prefer.
Preparation Time – 10 Minutes
Cooking Time – 10 Minutes
[gluten free]
[soy free]
Canola Oil
1 just about ripe Plantain, (more green than yellow and black but not completely green) peeled and sliced into ¼-inch thick slices, see Note above.
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Chili Flakes, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Salt, or to taste
- 6 cups Baby Spinach, or chopped Spinach
In a large, heavy skillet heat a thin layer of canola oil over medium-high heat. You just want enough oil to completely coat the bottom, not to have the plantains swimming in it.
Fry the plantain slices until golden brown, about 3 minutes each side. Remove from skillet, drain on paper towels, and roughly chop into small (no more than ½-inch square) pieces.
Using the same skillet and same oil (add a little more if necessary) with the heat reduced to medium, sauté the garlic, ginger, chili, and salt until aromatic, about a minute.
Add the chopped plantain pieces and sauté for another minute until well combined and the pieces are coated with the garlic, ginger, and spices.
Add the spinach, sauté for about 3 minutes, tossing well to combine, until the spinach is all wilted.
Taste for seasoning and adjust as required.
Serve immediately.

subset: commoncrawl


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Spoiler alert: The sequel to X-Men First Class will be called X-Men: Days of Future Past. Fans of Chris Claremont's X-Men will already know that this means we'll be visiting a horrendous dystopian future, where mutants are basically stuck in interment camps and a mutant-hating regime rules the world. This is the result of an assassination of a powerful mutant-hating senator in the present day by Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Producer Bryan Singer reveals this massive bombshell in the above video interview with IGN, in which he explains:
It's being written now and it starts shooting in a few months... It's going to be very ambitious. It's called Days of Future Past, and it deals with aspects of that comic but also some new things. I just don't want to give anything away. Matthew Vaughn will be directing, and we're very excited about that.
He also hints that they want to make the X-Men movies into a coherent universe, much as Marvel has done with its own in-house movies leading up to and coming out of The Avengers. Says Singer, "I think there's a strong desire to broaden out the universe. The X-Men universe on its own is every bit as big as the Marvel Universe. And I think it's time to reach out and explore it, and perhaps even bring some connectivity between the films, as Marvel's done so well."
At Comic Con, Collider talked to Jumper writer Simon Kinberg, who's writing the screenplay, and he said the movie would be "epic" and "mythic," and a bigger movie than the first one. He added: "It is unlike the other X-Men movies and yet very much a celebration of the X-Men movies."


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Golden Triangle touts decade of success
TUPELO – The newest member of the CREATE Foundation, Lowndes County, joined last fall and brought along an impressive resume.
And its lead economic development agency has been the driver of much of that success.
Joe Max Higgins, CEO of the Columbus-based Golden Triangle Development Link, said Lowndes County has benefited from the creation of more than 5,200 jobs and $4.5 billion in capital investment since 2003.
Last year, the Link – formerly the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link – added West Point, and this year added Starkville under its economic development umbrella. The three cities have long been dubbed the "Golden Triangle," so the Link changed its name to reflect that.
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When Higgins started in 2003, industrial acreage in Lowndes County was about 2,000 acres. Today, with Clay County included, the acreage has grown to 7,500. The GTDL is currently gathering information about Starkville and Oktibbeha County.
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The most recent success story for the Link was Yokohama Tire's decision to build a plant near West Point. The $330 million project eventually could add 2,000 jobs.
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And the results speak for themselves.
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Follow the Money: Prevent Embezzlement
With the economy improving, John was thrilled to see his small company starting to boom. With all the new business, he was so busy signing new accounts and training his new staff members that he delegated the bookkeeping responsibilities to a long-time employee he trusted. As time passed, John started noticing discrepancies in the business' account, and discovered that the employee had been embezzling money from the company. Unfortunately, embezzlement is not uncommon and is often difficult to detect. What could John have done differently to prevent this kind of problem?
Embezzlement is a crime of opportunity and trust. A person who is trusted is placed in a position that allows him or her complete access to the financial data of the business, typically with minimal or no oversight by the supervisor or owner. The best way to prevent embezzlement is to, first, be honest yourself in your activities. Leaders must lead by example. Secondly, pay your employees well and treat them well. Third, hire the right employee. Start by checking all references. Consider obtaining fidelity bond insurance coverage on this employee. If the employee is not bondable, do not place that person in the position of handling your financial matters. Run a criminal background check.
Here are some simple techniques that decrease the opportunity and temptation for embezzlement:
1. Assign designated duties Do not have only one person handle the incoming mail, deposits, balance the checkbook and send statements. This is difficult in smaller businesses that have only a few staff members. In this case, the owner needs to handle or outsource payroll, tax preparation, balancing the checkbook and management of the accounts payable. If the owner chooses to outsource this work to a bookkeeping company, the same due diligence of inspecting the bookkeeper's work is very important.
2. The owner should review reports Every day, you should have an end-ofday report, an adjustment report, a history of payment that breaks down cash receipts, credit card payments, checks and outside financing for services, on your desk. The owner should compare the deposit slip receipt to the deposit. Do an occasional mini-audit of the books. Let your staff know you're checking daily by questioning them. For example, say, "I see Mrs. Smith didn't pay for today's fee; is there a reason why?" This shows your employees that you are keeping an eye on the day's activity. These checks take five to 10 minutes of your day.
3. Review your bank statement Inform your staff that they are not to open any mail from a banking institution. Even better, have your bank statements sent to your home address, if your mailbox is secure. Scan the checks that were written. Your signature should be on each check.
4. Know where your money is going If you do utilize an employee to process your accounts payable, develop a system for your mail. Staff members should put the incoming mail in one location on your desk. Review the bills and put them into an in-basket for the employee to process. Have them print the checks and attach them to the invoice, then sign them. If you don't recognize a check, question it. A different staff person should stuff the envelopes and mail the payments. If the same person pays and stuffs the envelope, the checks can be changed.
5. Establish office policies Make deposits daily, close and balance each day, bill services as rendered and send periodic statements if purchasing extends over time. Review your monthly reports. Each month should be closed out prior to running the reports, to prevent changes from happening. Write pre-numbered receipts for all cash payments and monitor petty cash. All records should be kept at the office. Do not allow employees to work extended hours, and establish password control for sensitive areas, such as payroll.
6. Watch your overhead numbers. Learn to read your financial statements You should know the basic overhead numbers for the business. One example of a common fraud/embezzlement system involves double payment for supplies, or the creation of dummy vendors. Another example is the ease of obtaining preauthorized credit cards in your name, using the credit card to pay personal bills and developing schemes to pay the credit card. Run periodic credit checks on yourself and watch open lines of credit.
7. Be a fair, consistent, honest leader Leaders live in glass houses. We cannot expect our staff to model differently than we ourselves model. Don't take supplies from the office home. This teaches your team that stamps, pens and office supplies are okay to take home. Watch your use of time in the office. If your time involves taking personal calls, surfing the Internet or running a side business and you are not focused on your primary business, your team will do the same.
Time embezzlement is the greatest loss to the majority of practices. Set your office policy regarding cell phone and Internet usage during office hours, and then abide by it yourself. An employee who embezzles by spending time on the phone or Internet not only hurts your bottom line, but he or she impacts the entire business.
Know that you shouldn't become immediately suspicious of your team, but that there are steps you can take to reduce your risk. Consider these steps to be a positive focus for your business.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Dr. Rhonda Savage is an internationally acclaimed speaker and CEO for a wellknown practice management and consulting business. She is a noted motivational speaker on leadership, women's issues and communication. For more information, visit www.MilesGlobal.net or email email@example.com.


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The Bureau of Building and Codes is an intricate part of the physical make-up of Mansfield. All property owners or person(s) in charge of a property should contact the Bureau prior to starting any building, demolition or zoning project for the following reasons: 1.) To verify if a permit is necessary for the project, 2.) Zoning clarifications 3.) Cost of a permit, 4.) Process of obtaining a permit and final plan approval. Many people overlook this aspect, which results in "stop work order citations" of projects
The Bureau is also actively investigating complaints which are critical to residents within the neighborhoods of Mansfield such as miscellaneous junk and debris accumulation, weeds over 10" in height, vacant and dilapidated structures, junk vehicles and miscellaneous zoning complaints. We encourage the citizens of Mansfield to contact our office with their concerns regarding existing housing complaints. The Bureau is committed to business growth through new construction and civic pride for our existing neighborhoods in order to make Mansfield an even better place to live.
COVID-19 Occupant Load Determination
Commercial Building Plan Requirements
Residential Building Plan Requirements
Residential Electrical Meter Resets and Service Upgrades and New Service Checklists
Click Here to view Licensed Contractors
Solicitor Registration Requirements
Contractor Registration Requirements and Forms
Click here to view list of Garbage Haulers
Zoning Permit (fence, shed, pool, sign, water/sewer tap and demolition application)
Zoning Map & Guidelines
Contact Us
Building & Codes Department
30 N. Diamond Street
Mansfield, Ohio 44902
Monday - Friday 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Phone: (419) 755-9688
Marc Milliron, Manager/Electrical Saftey Inspector


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Modified Mustangs & FordsFeatured Vehicles
1966 Ford Mustang Coupe - Secondhand Smoke
Scott Sanford turned his mom's daily driver of 17 years into a smokin' restomod
"The car was in poor condition overall when I got it," Scott Sanford says about this '66 Mustang coupe. "It ran…but not very well. The body was dented and paint was in bad shape. Interior ripped and sun-baked—two sets of seat covers says it all! But with little to no rust, it was a good candidate for restoration."
Another classic Mustang fanatic rolling the purchase dice? Not quite. In this case, Scott knew much of this tired notchback's history, because it had been his mother's daily driver for no less than seventeen years. His mom (who was its second owner) really loved the vintage notchback, and even after losing her driver's license for medical reasons, hesitated to give up her treasured Mustang. After her license was revoked, the factory 289 2V coupe continued to sit, unused, in the family's Reno, Nevada, driveway for an additional two years before finally being offered up to Scott for restoration and modification, back in 2010.
At the time, for reasons of vehicular nostalgia, Scott had been looking for a '67 or '68 to restore, since his own very first Mustang had been of that particular vintage. But the opportunity to preserve and resurrect a pony that had such deep, long-term family ties was just too much to resist, so Scott soon trailered the hand-me-down hardtop from his parents' Nevada home to his own digs in Greeley, Colorado. After beginning teardown at home, he soon dropped the project off at the door of a local shop known as Cool Cat Customs, where the bulk of the exterior and chassis work was then undertaken, with Scott taking an active role as project manager on the build, overseeing the direction of modifications and making sure all the appropriate parts were on hand at the shop when needed.
At the shop, it was immediately confirmed that his parents' dry Nevada climate had been very, very kind to the old coupe: "We only found about three spots [of rust] on the car, smaller than a quarter," says Scott in describing its unreal solidity. Despite such well-preserved sheetmetal (aside from all its dings, minor road warts and a bit of front-end collision damage), Scott knew the family '66 would not remain stock. Had he found a '67 or '68 to do, his plans were for an Eleanor-style build. In this regard, he'd already been eyeballing the body offerings of a company called Fiberglass Specialties, out of Boulder City, Nevada, which luckily also manufactures a somewhat Eleanor-esque kit for the earliest Mustangs. Consisting of front fascia, side skirts (with exhaust cutouts), cowl-style hood, and rear decklid with duckbill spoiler and endcaps, this Fiberglass Specialties kit set the basic tone for Scott's exterior mods, though shaved door handles, sequential LED taillights, a frenched gas cap, and myriad other custom details further personalize the coupe, now finished in DuPont Dark Charcoal with ghost stripes. That charcoal hue kind of goes along with Scott's "SMOKED1" plates—which are also a nod to his favorite Sprint Cup driver, Tony Stewart (Uh, doesn't Smoke drive a Brand C? Nevermind.)
Inside, Scott's project shows a similar blend of OEM styling—as in the beautifully re-skinned factory-style seats—and modern touches like a custom console with HVAC controls, along with assorted billet trim and hardware, and the leather-wrapped Flaming River waterfall steering wheel on an ididit tilt column. The shifter is Hurst's V-Matic, the engine is now pushbutton-started, and the instrument cluster and matching glovebox door are CNC-milled T6061 aluminum by JME Enterprises. Cabin makeover was performed by Steve Markley Interiors, of Greeley, Colorado, and you can see that it favors comfort and class over any form of raciness, as Scott's mission for the notchback consists primarily of cruises and extended road trips.
The updated powertrain reflects that road-friendly role. The car came to Scott with its original C-code 289 and C4 automatic. He removed and sent the small-block to Accelerated Auto (in Greeley) for a bottom-end rebuild using 0.040-over 10:1 pistons teamed with a livelier Comp Cams roller bumpstick and an all-Edelbrock top end featuring E-Street alloy heads with 2.02 intake valves, an aluminum intake and Performer 600 carb. Admittedly more mild than wild, the rejuvenated small-block now sits upstream of an AOD four-speed automatic and an 8-inch axle packing 3.50 gears and a clutch-style limited-slip diff. Scott reports that the mild gearset helped by the AOD's 0.67:1 overdrive provide both effortless cruising and off-the-line performance that is way more punchy than stock. Spiffed up with March Performance billet serpentine front dress, complete with A/C, the 289 looks clean and stylish in an engine bay now free of shock towers, thanks to a Mustang II front suspension conversion complete with tubular unequal-length control arms, coilovers, and rack-and-pinion steering, all from Autoworks International. Rear suspension remains conventional, but is upgraded to five leaves and set up for lower ride height, and hulking Wilwood 12-inch discs now hang at each corner.
The three-year project came home to Scott just prior to last July's photo shoot, but he admits he's still in the final detailing and shakedown stages (is a Mustang ever finished?). Still, the rejuvenated hardtop has already impressed its previous owner. "She actually cried," Scott says of his mom's reaction upon seeing her former commuting companion all dressed up and ready for at least another couple decades of service in the Sanford family. Yes, it's a cross-generational keeper.
|The Details
|1966 Mustang coupe
|Scott Sandford
|Bored, decked, and balanced 289
|Sealed Power 10:1 pistons
|Comp Cams cam with stated 0.533 lift and 270 duration at 0.050
|Edelbrock E-Street heads with 2.02 intake valves and beehive springs
|Edelbrock intake and 600-cfm Performer carb
|Built by Accelerated Auto
|Ford AOD four-speed automatic
|Built by Advanced Transmission; Ft. Collins, CO
|Ford 8-inch, 3.50 gears with limited-slip diff
|Hedman long-tube headers, 15⁄8 with 3-inch collectors
|JBA exhaust, 21⁄2-inch
|Front: Mustang II-style with coilovers
|Rear: Stock-style leaf
|Front: Wilwood 12-inch discs, drilled & slotted
|Rear: Wilwood 12-inch discs, drilled & slotted
|Front: American Racing, 17x8
|Rear: American Racing, 17x8
|Front: Nexen, 225/45R17
|Rear: Nexen, 245/40R17
|Custom black/grey leather interior by Steve Markley Interiors; Greeley, CO
|Custom center console, power windows, pushbutton start
|ididit tilt column with Flaming River Waterfall wheel
|Kenwood audio with four Boston Acoustics drivers plus 12-inch sub
|AutoMeter Ultra-Lite gauges
|Motorized trunk lid
|Eleanor-style front fascia
|Exhaust exits through side skirts
|Sequential LED taillights
|Frenched taillights and gas cap
|Fiberglass Specialties 'glass skirts, hood, and trunk lid
|Ghosted longitudinal stripes
|Body/paint/suspension by Cool Cat Customs; Greeley, CO


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Even as the Washington and Montgomery Conventions carried on with their respective business, another notable gathering started in Richmond, Virginia, on February 13, 1861. Though Virginia had initiated the D.C. meeting at the Willard Hotel in a last-ditch attempt to save the Union, other leaders in the state were pushing for secession and their sentiments led to yet another convention in Richmond to consider it. The states of the nascent Confederacy were eager for Virginia to join their new nation. South Carolina sent a commissioner to represent the state in Richmond and influence Virginia toward secession. The commissioner's name was John S. Preston.
On February 19, 1861, 150 years ago today, Preston addressed the Virginia Convention. He ostensibly explained South Carolina's grievances that led to its secession, but of course Preston was also trying to build momentum toward Virginia making the same decision. His argument centered on the urgent need of preserving the slave system the two states shared.
Preston's speech was lengthy but he essentially argued the non-slaveholding states had: 1) prevented the slave states from expanding into their fair share of the frontier; 2) forced slave owners though the tariff to bear an unfair share of federal taxes; 3) failed to perform their constitutional duty to apprehend fugitive slaves and had actively obstructed the efforts of others to that purpose; 4) incited the slaves through the abolition movement to "arson and murder"; 5) conspired to abolish slavery with increasing zealotry and violence.
This summary cannot communicate the clear anxiety conveyed by John S. Preston. But one representative passage that does. "South Carolina has 300,000 whites and 400,000 slaves," Preston stated. "The whites depend on their slaves for their order of civilization and their existence. Twenty millions of people, with a powerfully organized Government, and impelled by the most sacred duties, decree that this slavery must be exterminated. I ask you, Virginians, is right, is justice, is existence, worth a struggle?"
John S. Preston's anxiety is far from unique. Even as they depended on them, white Southerners deeply feared African Americans, especially in the Lower South where the concentrations of slaves tended to be higher than in the Upper South (South Carolina in particular with its black majority). Susan O'Donovan, writing in yesterday's Disunion blog in the New York Times discusses slave communication networks in the prewar South, which conveyed orally their interest in current events especially as they affected them. Whites had some inkling of these networks, O'Donovan indicates, and feared them.
Speaking of large groups of slaves hired from their owners to work on railroad construction crews, Susan O'Donovan discusses the observations of a Georgia planter who distrusted bringing so many slaves together from across the region, even if it was to work on useful infrastructure projects. She writes:
Indeed, protested a Georgia slaveholder named Richard Lyon, large operations that gathered thousands of slaves who were strangers were nothing less than "regular convention[s] in which all the negroes … will be abley & fully represented." Lyon cringed when he saw slaves on the go. They were the stuff of a slaveholder's nightmare: the "Tackeys among us," said one in reference to the 18th-century Jamaican rebel. Out-and-about slaves talked too much, listened too much, learned too much and remembered too much. But most of all, Lyon knew, the slaves on those crews would sooner or later go home, "their minds inflamed by the vicious with false & mischievious notions … Can any sensible man doubt the result?" asked Lyon only half rhetorically.
Susan O'Donovan then asks, "Should we respect Richard Lyon's anxieties?" Historians should certainly take them seriously because they appear to have propelled the South's drive to secession. Both Richard Lyon and John S. Preston clearly exhibit a manifest fear of the slaves. Preston, in particular, believed that the slave system and white civilization in the South could not survive without the unconditional support from the central government. Only a friendly central government with its military muscle could allay their fear of the slaves. If the government in Washington, D.C. would shortly fall into the hands of men they considered hostile to slavery, better to form a central government of their own because many white Southerners sincerely believed their lives depended on it.
Their fear also demonstrates how little white Southerners truly understood the slaves. But that is a story for another time.
To read the full-text of John S. Preston's speech to the 1861 Virginia Convention, please visit <this page> on the Documenting the American South website at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


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Communist Tour of Bucharest
Good Living Bucharest
Event Details
Walking tour of Communism, with English-speaking guide. Major landmarks and events in the Communist history of Bucharest will be explored, including the violent beginnings of the Communist regime, the nationalization and forced demolition of thousands of houses, the People's House (nowadays, the Parliament Palace), the Ceausescu family and their megalomania, and the violent anti-Communist revolution of 1989. The tour takes about 3.5 hours.
The meeting point for the tour is the Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral. (near Unirii Square)
Have questions about Communist Tour of Bucharest? Contact Good Living Bucharest


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By DAVID GREEN
A few residents on North Washington Street aren't opposed to the installation of sidewalks in their neighborhood; they just want a little extra time to get the job done.
Their request made sense to Morenci city council members who voted unanimously Monday night to delay the deadline.
City council adopted a sidewalk repair and installation program in 2005 and designated the area of town near the elementary school as the starting point. Several properties in the area have no sidewalk at all and others are in need of repair or replacement.
A portion of the work was completed, but the project was derailed due to funding. The city shares in approximately half the cost of sidewalk work if property owners make arrangements through the city and complete the work by the deadline listed in notification letters.
Washington Street resident Gary Valentine said he doesn't disagree with the need to install sidewalks—he's watched people walk in the road for many years—but he thinks the six-week time limit was too short.
Valentine noted that mention of his neighborhood was mentioned in the Observer more than two years ago and nothing was done.
"Now it must be done on really short notice," he said. "I'd like to see an extended amount of time. It's foolish not to take advantage of the city's plan, but it's a large outlay of cash."
Brad Lonis agreed, noting that the bad economy will make it challenge to get the work done quickly. He suggestion that residences should be given the same time frame as the school. A walk along Locust Street by the elementary school will be installed next summer after the renovation projects that include paving the parking loop in front of the school.
City supervisor Barney Vanderpool agreed that the process became rushed after waiting to see what the school had planned.
"I apologize on that part," he said.
Councilor Tracy Schell made a motion to allow the same time frame as the school, but she agreed to a change after council member Keith Pennington reminded the group of the annual budget for sidewalk repair.
In order to take advantage of the funds already budgeted for the current fiscal year, he suggested giving residents a June 30 deadline. Council voted 7-0 in favor of the delay.
Councilor Leasa Slocum expressed concern about the next phase of repair, wondering if those residents would also seek an extension.
Vanderpool said he would alleviate that concern by getting notification letters out earlier in the future. That will allow residents more time to make arrangements for having the work completed.
The next phase of the sidewalk plan moves to Gorham Street. Several residents there were ordered by city council to install walks in 1994.
At that time, a court injunction was sought against the city and at least one resident removed a sidewalk rather than repair it.
Although several property owners installed new walks, others refused to cooperate and complained about sidewalks leading to nowhere at the edge of the city.
SKYLINE DRIVE—Council approved a regulation to limit parking to the south side of Skyline Drive, the road leading from East Street into the industrial park.
Police chief Larry Weeks said he had received complaints about semi-trailers parking along both sides of the street and sometimes in the middle of the street.
He recommended keeping the north side of the street free of parking since fire hydrants are located on that side.
LIBRARY—Three-year appointments were renewed for two Stair Public Library board of directors, Sally Kruger and Mike Gillen.
RADIOS—Chief Weeks was given permission to replace three radios. Funds would come from the account derived from drunk driving arrests.
INVENTORY—City administrator clerk Renée Schroeder attended meeting at the Lenawee Economic Development Corporation. Director James Gartin wants the help of community officials in creating an inventory of available buildings and property.
INVESTMENTS—City treasurer Stephanie Mossing attended a meeting designed to help communities protect investments in light of national economic concerns. Savings are insured to $100,000, Schroeder noted, and Morenci splits its savings between the two local banks.


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So its only are partial DP trip but maybe some of you guys would be interested in this
Next January we will be driving from Reykjavik, Iceland To Capetown South Africa in a ex army truck taking 6 months.
We will be going via west and central Africa, some of the DP places will be , Nigeria, DRC, Rep Congo, Morroc/mauritania no mans land border/ Angola/Mali
There will be 14 passengers and 2 staff who arrange the visas/drive and deal with the cops,we will be mostly camping and cooking ourselfs to keep the costs down
this is the second time we have organised this type of trip.
If you are serious about joining us, then check out our website and contact us via the contact form


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Allen Memorial Art Museum: Highlights from the Collection showcases more than 200 artworks to illustrate the unique story of the development of a museum for Oberlin College. Founded in 1917 and since its beginning open free to all, the AMAM is recognized as one of the finest college and university art museums in the United States. The collection of more than 14,000 works includes masterpieces by Hendrick ter Brugghen, Turner, Monet, Cézanne, Kirchner, and Modigliani, as well as important holdings of Asian, african, and ancient art.
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If you are interested in purchasing a catalog please call: 440-775-8663
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Allen Memorial Art Museum at the address listed below.


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Originators of 'Print-n-Go!', 365tickets.com sells e-tickets to over 200 visitor attractions and theme parks for all the major suppliers in the UK and abroad. Selling mainly online, 365tickets.com always sells at gate price or less with no additional booking or processing fees.
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TigerTough seat covers for Explorer rear seats. This set includes covers for seat back, seat bottom, and headrests.
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Ask any mother and she'll tell you that being a mom is tough. But amid the diaper changes, soccer games, sniffly noses and book reports, God is there, as a program at St. Mary of the Hills parish in Milton is helping women discover. Called the Ministry of Mothers Sharing, or MOMS, the national program increases women's awareness of motherhood as a vocation and a sacred calling.
Ask any mother and she'll tell you that being a mom is tough. But amid the diaper changes, soccer games, sniffly noses and book reports, God is there, as a program at St. Mary of the Hills parish in Milton, Mass., is helping women discover. Called the Ministry of Mothers Sharing, or MOMS, the national program increases women's awareness of motherhood as a vocation and a sacred calling.
Paula Murphy, a member of the team at St. Mary's, says the program meets a need that goes back several years.
"We had been hearing from young mothers who felt a little disconnected," said the mother of three grown sons. Then, in the spring of 2004, she attended a presentation by Sister Paula Hagen, a Benedictine nun and the founder of the program.
With her was Joan Regan, the director of religious education for St. Mary's, who had worked through the program independently several years ago. "I learned that even the littlest thing I did as a mother was looked on as worth great value to the Lord,"
said Regan, a mother of eight children, ages 12 to 29.
Inspired by Sister Hagen's presentation, Joan and Paula assembled a core team of women at St. Mary's and first offered the program in the fall of 2004. Three years later, the current group has a broader scope.
"It was designed for mothers, but it really is for any woman," Murphy said. "[For example] we've found in the group a lot of extended family issues. It's learning a different way to cope with some of the things we're dealing with on a day-to-day basis as women."
The group meets weekly in the rectory chapel, a holy and homey place. Comfortable chairs are arranged in a circle and the sacred atmosphere is enhanced by a candle burning near the altar. On the candle is a silhouette depicting the visitation of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Elizabeth, her cousin, when both women were with child. That reaching out between women is the model for the eight-week ministry.
"Mary shared her feelings with Elizabeth. That's the basis for the whole MOMS program. It's women ministering to each other," Murphy said.
The small community of prayer and support that MOMS offers provides an important supplement to the weekly celebration of the Mass. According to the Rev. Arthur Wright, pastor of St. Mary's, it's that small-group structure that allows people to open up to each other.
"Through this sharing of experiences," he said, "women help each other see God's grace at work in their everyday lives."
He added that this need for deeper relationships is by design.
"Jesus knew we couldn't do it alone. We need that connectedness to help each other, and share joys and struggles, on our journey back home to God."
To help women see the spiritual aspect of their work as mothers, prayer has a central role in the program.
A typical meeting begins with an opening prayer, and then moves into a scripture reading or poem related to the key concepts for the week. From that point, there is a facilitated discussion that helps women connect their day-to-day experiences with the reading, their private journal writing, and to each other.
"Women talk about their everyday life," said Regan. "And the facilitators, the journal and the questions for discussion guide you to see the spiritual component."
Every session closes with a sharing prayer, where participants pray aloud if they wish. This ritual strengthens the bonds of mutual trust.
"Usually I pray alone, or with my family or in church. But [praying in] this small community of eight women – that's something really powerful," Murphy said.
Does the program's eight weeks of prayer and discussion turn women into perfect mothers?
"If anybody knows that doesn't exist, it's mothers," Murphy said, laughing. "We're not there to give advice. We facilitate a program that exists that is a self-journey."
"We're not going to teach anybody anything," added Regan.
So how does the program help with the sometimes mundane tasks of raising a family?
"It takes all those to another level," she said. "It's not just doing a chore, it's a ministry. We're helping them awaken their own spirituality, and to realize that it is in the everyday moments. It's really a spiritual journey toward your everyday life."


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Interviewed by:
Charles Weiner
Interview date:
Monday, 3 June 1974
<p>Then, the project finally got authorized in 1961 — but again after a rather amusing set of coincidences. At that time the Stanford project was sort of known as the Republican project because Eisenhower had proposed it to a Democratic Congress. At that time there was a project that the Democrats wanted in Congress which the Republican administration did not want. This was for the Hanford Reactor to generate power into the electrical net, because it was considered to be socialized electricity by the Republicans, to have power generated by a production reactor.


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The Economics of Self-Publishing a Book
a guest post by Louise Herman
Hello everyone, and I hope you are enjoying the week.
I have decided to take a week's respite from writing the third book in my YA urban fantasy series, Split Blood, to catch up with author interview and guest post requests. I am looking forward to discussing my thoughts and opinions on the economics of self-publishing a bookas well as giving some advice on what aspects of self-publishing is essential to a budget and what I have experienced as a waste of time and money.
Why did I decide to Self-Publish my books?
I would love to say it was a choice, however, after I sent a number of emails to literary agents and received no replies, I decided to close my eyes and jump straight into the self-publishing ocean.
It was nerve-racking at first because I had no idea about self-publishing but after a lot of research and learning from my mistakes along the way, I am enjoying the self-publishing journey.
What are the common misconceptions of self-publishing?
I think the biggest misconception about self-publishing is anyone can publish a successful book in today's technological world.
For example, you have a great idea for a story, you get so engrossed in writing it, you take the leap and self-publish it on the internet and then you sit back and wait for the big bucks to start rolling in, along with literary agents fighting to represent you, right?
Not quite!
The reality is only a handful of self-published authors break even (the total cost of publishing against the profits of the sales, after each website has taken its percentage) and if you do not have a regular presence on social media sites then you could find it difficult to be seen and network with influential people who can help potential readers find your books.
These people are bloggers and reviewers.
I have built up a good relationship with many bloggers and have added them to my list of 'Go to People' when I need to do author interviews (to discuss my past, present and future. This is not all about promoting my work. It is for potential readers to get to know the person behind the books), Guest Posts (topics related to writing that are important to me) and Spotlights (a full discussion about myself, my work and upcoming projects).
It's also fun to communicate with these bloggers because it is a two way process. They advertise an author on their blog and social media sites, therefore, as an author, I also do the same (I will post the promotional item on my blog, which advertises their blog to my followers, and on my social media sites).
However, not all bloggers work the same way.
Some specialise purely in reviews but some are open to other forms of promotion.
I have found that trying to get reviews can be quite hard because many are overwhelmed with requests and often close their review request channels until they can catch up with the backlog.
While others will state they do not accept requests from self-published authors, with some going as far as to state that they have a problem with the quality of the self-published books they have previously read.
I used to find this slightly insulting but when you take into consideration that they are doing these reviews for free, they should be allowed to have an opinion on what types of books they want to review.
NOTE: Reviews are usually free and reviewers usually have full or part time jobs but review in their spare time. This means try to give at least three months' notice to your reviewer. If you are asked to pay for a review, try somewhere else! Not only is it slightly frowned upon in the self-publishing industry but it's just an unnecessary, extra cost to your ever rising budget!
What are the advantages of self-publishing?
I like that I have the opportunity to learn about online publishing first hand and that I have the chance to communicate with a range of people with similar interests.
I learn something new every week to help enhance my writing and advertising skills and I really enjoy having full control over every aspect of publishing my books.
What are the challenges of self-publishing?
Although I enjoy having full control over publishing my books, I do sometimes think that it would be nice to have a literary agent to help take on some of the advertising tasks because having full time job, restricts the time I can dedicate to writing and sometimes the advertising infringes on the writing time.
I have also found that it takes a lot of work and effort to gain a strong following. I write Young Adult Urban Fantasy novels, which is a popular genre and I have found that it is extremely difficult to get new followers interested in looking at my new pieces of work if there are no reviews to give them an inclination of how the book has been received by other readers.
There will be potential readers and followers who will read the synopsis and give the books a try but there are some who use reviews to help them decide whether or not it is the kind of story they would enjoy reading.
It is the latter type of follower that bad reviews can affect your potential sales.
Some reviews that are lower than five stars can be disheartening to an author but if they offer constructive criticism (e.g. "there was too much fighting in it") then it could be a case of what one person dislikes about the storyline, another reader maybe looking for this type of drama.
However, if they give you one star because they "just couldn't read it because you should never write again", it offers nothing to a potential reader about the story and many would not take this type of review seriously.
And lastly, I have given out copies of my eBooks for a review in the past, only to be disappointed to never receive one.
It is disheartening but all these things are part of the learning process and have helped me focus on what works and avoid what wastes time and money.
What are the costs to publish your own book?
Here are the basics of what it cost me to self-publish my first book (The Orcus Games: Blood Moon):
- Book cover artist – This is difficult because it depends on the type of cover you want? You can get book cover images from a variety of stock photography sites and prices vary on each site. For a basic book cover with an image that does not need to be edited and text, I would estimate between £50 (~$70) and £150 (~$212).
- Proof-reader or Copy Editor – Between £600 (~$850) and £1,000 (~$1418) (depending on word count, how many hours it takes them to work on the book and how much work the book needs).
- eBook Conversation Costs – If you cannot convert your eBooks yourselves then it might be worth getting a professional to do this for you. I convert my books myself but I have received quotes in the past for this type of work and the prices were between £50 (~$70) and £150 (~$212).
- Distribution costs – (for reviewers who only accept hard copies): I have heard that some websites do give a small discount to authors who buy their own books but I am yet to find these sites. Therefore you would be paying the same price as a customer to purchase your paperback books to send to reviewers. Many authors buy in bulk for this purpose and can spend between £599 (~$849) and £1099 (~$1558) for an order of 100 books.
- URL for website – Having your own website is essential for an author and you can buy domain names from nearly anywhere on the internet at the moment.
I have a website through Fat Cow and bought my URL through them as soon as I set it up.
It cost me approximately £8.99 (~$12.75) to buy the domain name + £60 (~$85) for the year (with added extras).
However, different extensions can either increase or decrease the cost (e.g. com, co.uk, org. Etc.)
- Publishing sites percentages
- Amazon – There are two royalty options. (correct as of January 2016)
- Option 1: Keep 70% of the royalties. However this option is only available to books sold in a specific territory of countries set out by Amazon Kindle. Any books sold outside of these regions will give you a 35% royalty.
- Option 2: Keep 35% of the royalties. This is the standard royalty rate.
- Smashwords – (correct as of January 2016)
- "Smashwords authors and publishers earn 85% or more of the net proceeds from the sale of their works. Net proceeds to author = (sales price minus PayPal payment processing fees)*.85 for sales at Smashwords.com, our retail operation. Authors receive 70.5% for affiliate sales. Smashwords distributes books to most of the major retailers, including Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and smaller retailers. Sales originated by retailers earn authors/publishers 60% of the list price."
- Lulu – (correct as of January 2016)
- Lulu prides itself on working on a 90/10 royalty split, therefore if you have published your book after 6th September 2011 and it is priced at $1.24 or higher then you can qualify for a 90% royalty revenue.
- Amazon – There are two royalty options. (correct as of January 2016)
What advice would you give to someone wanting to self-publish their first book?
There might be something I have missed out because every week I am learning something new about the self-publishing world but so far I have eight tips that would help a new author get started:
- Test it out on free sites like Wattpad first to see if there is an audience for it and find Beta readers in these groups to help highlight elements that may need extra attention (e.g. such as continuity issues, plot holes, creating believable characters or scenes, etc.)
- Build up a following and make amendments based on the feedback
- Get a professional book cover artist (unless you are good with graphics software or you are a good artist)
- Get your work proofread or copy edited
- Publish on the main publishing sites
- Build up a group of regular reviewers
- Be active on social media (not just to talk about the book but share your interests and get involved in group discussions)
- Remember success doesn't happen overnight (it could take years), so continue with your passion and never give up!
About the author
Louise Herman is a North London Fantasy author obsessed with pear drops sweets and 80s Fantasy films.
In between reading James Herbert novels and drinking too much coffee, she writes Young Adult Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance novels.
Louise Herman has currently written five YA Fantasy books to date (December 2015); The Orcus Games Prequel Trilogy and The Split Blood series, which take the reader on a journey of magic, mystery, obsession and forbidden love with seductively dark consequences.
For more information, please go to: www.louisehermanauthor.com
Find out more:


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The Epson International photographic PANOAWARDS 2012
Publicado el 08/01/12
There will be a late entry period from the 21st April until Saturday 28th April. Late entry fees will apply.
The third Epson International Pano Awards is dedicated to the art of panoramic photography. Advances in digital photography and software such as PTGui and Adobe Photoshop has resulted in an explosion in image stitching, especially in the panoramic format. Panoramic film photography also remains alive and well.
The Epson International Pano Awards showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and is the largest competition for panoramic photography.
The 2011 competition saw 3586 images submitted from 985 photographers in 62 countries.
For more information: The Epson internacional PANOAWARDS


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Choreography by: Peter Martins
Music by: Charles Ives
Peter Martins' first ballet, a series of solos and duets for two dancers that is set to eight short pieces by Ives, is an edgy, contemporary work full of propulsive movement.
Calcium Light Night was Peter Martins' first choreographic work. It premiered in Seattle, Washington in 1977 as part of a concert touring engagement organized by Martins while he was still a Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet. The work is set to several compositions by the American composer Charles Ives and entered the repertory of the New York City Ballet in January of 1978. Subsequently, George Balanchine incorporated Martins' Calcium Light Night into Ivesiana, his own ballet to the music of Charles Ives, for several performances. Ives, who was born in Danbury, Connecticut in 1874, was a true pioneer of a strong national art. Virtually every work he wrote bears relation to American life, and his early development was greatly influenced by village concerts organized by his father, who was a band leader during the Civil War. The Ives compositions that Martins used for this ballet are from various sets of pieces and are not presented in chronological order.


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Longtime tax collector changes course, seeks reelection
Democrat Earl K. Wood, 95, is lured back into race by Republican ploy
ORLANDO, Fla. – Let the election -- and the games -- begin.
Last-minute political maneuvering in Orange County and Tallahassee reshaped the political battlefield, leaving Orange County's 95-year-old tax collector unopposed in the Democratic primary and no Republican yet named in the Orange-Osceola state attorney's race.
Earl K. Wood, who had said he would not seek re-election as tax collector, wound up in the race despite the absence of former Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty.
Wood had said he would only run if Crotty got in the Republican primary field, because Crotty's countywide popularity would jeopardize the chances of Wood's assistant and preferred successor, Kelly Goodwin, winning Wood's office, with its $151,000 salary.
But confusion reigned in the seconds before today's noon qualifying deadline, leaving both Wood and Goodwin in the field -- but not Crotty, who chose instead to run for Republican state committeeman.
With Wood back in and the Republican field swelled to four, Goodwin tried to withdraw her candidacy seconds before the noon deadline, but was unable to file the paperwork in time. Her withdrawal has since taken effect, but she had to forfeit her $9,065 filing fee because it was late.
Wood, who was first elected in 1966 and rarely shows up at the office, seemed unsure of his next move after he was told Crotty was not running and both he and Goodwin were still in the race.
"You gotta be kidding me?" a surprised Wood said. But he quickly reverted to the political pro that has kept him in office longer than most of his constituents have been alive. "I want to maintain the integrity of that office." Asked if he was up to it at his age, Wood responded, "Oh sure. I'm only 95 years old. I'm going to 105."
As the political machinations played out at the supervisor of elections office, Crotty was seen a half block away, in his car.
Local 6 caught up with Crotty there and asked: "Earl K. Wood was not going to run, then you were going to run, so he was going to run. Now you're not running, but he's running ... How did you pull that off?"
"I guess when you're the old fox like Mr. Wood, he might think it's the good old days that you can pull these kind of switcharoos," Crotty said, adding, with some satisfaction. "I think maybe the old fox got foxed."
Reminded Wood could win reelection for another four years, Crotty said, "God bless him."
Wood turns 96 next month and would be 100 before completing another term, an advanced age not lost on Republicans. If Wood does not complete his term for any reason, the governor would appoint a Republican to replace him.
All Is not settled, either, in the race for Orange-Osceola state attorney. It pits incumbent Lawson Lamar against two former prosecutors: Jeff Ashton, who Lamar assigned to the Casey Anthony case, and Ryan Williams.
All three are Democrats and will face off in the August 14 primary.
Who, if anyone, the winner would face in November is now up to the Republican Party of Florida. The lone Republican challenger, Joerg Jaeger, withdrew today, giving the party until June 14 to name a candidate or cede the election to the winner of the August 14 election, which would then be open to all voters.
Jaeger, who appeared in campaign forums to be arguing Lamar's case against Ashton and Williams, had been a former Lamar campaign fundraiser and was widely seen as an extension of the Lamar campaign.
One of the Republicans running for tax collector, Jim Huckeba, has an unusual pledge: he would try to abolish the office as soon as possible.
"I got other things I can do," he said. "Let's face it: this office is ministerial or procedural in nature. You don't need an elected tax collector who's knocking down a salary of $153,000 plus benefits on top of that."
Other Republicans running for Wood's seat are former Orlando city commissioner Vicki Vargo and Jim Duffy.
Copyright 2012 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Photo Phriday 2Friday, November 21st, 2008
It's the end of the week and thus time for another Photo Phriday. As it turns out, my short-term memory is a thing of useless complexity. You see, I somehow managed to forget about it until just now. The intention was to set up a super neato shot sometime during the week to keep up the old photography learnin'. Seems I had other things on the brain (I'm lookin' at YOU new XBOX 360 Experience!)
What happens now is that I post yet another OLD photo, with promises to make next week's a brand new one that's better thought out. We can dream, yes?