Deet or Deet Free: I Used Natrapel Instead of Off and The Mosquitoes Won

Camping

This weekend our Staycation was quite an adventure.

We’ve been doing quite a bit of camping this summer and decided to try another campground.  Years ago when the kids were little we took the kids to one of Connecticut’s State Parks down at the shore, and this year DD26 wanted to go back and take her kids.

When the reservations were made, she booked for “tent site.” I think we were in the RV-Camper & tent site last time when we went as a group.

Well, tent site is what we got.  We had to park the car in the parking lot, and hoof it with all the gear to the middle of a field with some shade, along with some shady campers who weren’t aware that lanterns in tents at night cause shadows.

The walk to the bath houses was along a dirt and gravel path, about ¼ of a mile.  Not too bad in the daytime, but darn scary at night.

It was bug-infested and Pepe Le Pew  skunk heaven, with a smattering of wild turkeys and who knows what else thrown in.

I’ve always used Off Insect Repellent, but it has Deet in it.  This year my daughter had a brand called Natrapel 8-hour Deet Free Insect Repellant. The Active Ingredient is Picaridin (20%).

We used it on the kids, and everybody else, including me put it on.

It doesn’t work.  This is what I looked like – everybody said I must have at least 100 bites on my legs.  And these are only the pictures of the bites that I could show you.  I wore shorts that night and a short-sleeve top.

This is not a sponsored review.  This is my review.  The stuff is awful.  I would rather take my chances with one shot of Deet over the weekend, because I wonder how much I’ve now increased my chances of getting West Nile.  I think I’m going to get checked out this week.

Apparently though, some people have a tendency to be mosquito magnets.  I’m one of them.

Before I was able to get to Walgreens, I used my mom’s old-fashion remedy and slathered soap on me and let it dry.  It helped somewhat.

Then everybody said to make a little ‘x’ with your fingernail on the spot that was puffing up like a little pimple/blister.  If I did that, I probably would have needed 2-3 people to help me with all the bites.

I ended up talking to a pharmacist at Walgreens, who said to use Hydrocortisone  and Benedryl.  I bought the Walgreens brand products, and had minimal relief.

Salt water from the ocean was the only thing that appeared to offer some relief and I was going to try to bring a bucket of salt water back with me but everybody talked me out of it.

We still had fun camping, but with no air-conditioning and this heat and humidity, it’s pretty tough.

The camping trip before this I ended up with a wicked sunburn, and I did use suntan lotion.

I can’t wait for the next and last camping trip this season. You might not hear from me again if I keep going like this.

Give me your best home remedies to stop these mosquito bites from itching.

Update – Tuesday 8/25 – Trip to Dr. because allergic reaction to one of the “remedies.”  Doc said I have 300 bites – and now I’m on Rx Prednisolone.  Yay me.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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It’s My Party and I’ll Do What I Want To

I’ll Do What I Want To

It seems everything in life comes full circle, at one point or another.

What’s old becomes new again, or what’s new becomes old.

High school yearbooks have changed over the years, but underneath my picture there used to be quotes, or sayings.  Some kids chose their own, other times the yearbook committee staff did the choosing.  I can’t remember where mine came from, but it was:

Chatter, Chatter As I Go

and I Go On Forever

As a teenager in high school, and again when I was in college – I didn’t belong to one particular group – my friends were very diverse.  I consider my best friend, one I share the most common ground with – is a gal I went to kindergarten with and still keep in touch with.  I was sort of the “social butterfly” – hanging out with whatever group or cause held my interest at the moment.  I made a lot of friends, but none that remained close.

I’ve always been a reader and writer.  Well, I’ve been blogging for almost 2 full years now, and I’ve done enough chattering on this blog, as well as 3 others that I’ve had at one point or another.

I’ve joined forums, nings, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo Groups, you name it.

As a multi-generational blogger, I hang with many different folks, both my age, and those who are probably the same age as my daughters.  I hold many interests – remember, I’m the “reference librarian“ wannabe – and enjoy discussing different topics – food, crafts, fashion, kids, lifestyle, travel.  You know, ‘different strokes for different folks.’ That sort of thing.

I thought I had finally found a ‘home’ where I could be comfortable with, let my hair down.  Everything was going OK, and then the walls came tumbling down.

When the walls came tumbling down

When the walls came tumbling down

When the walls came tumbling down

everybody ran as they screamed at the sound

…. Def Leppard

This whole mommy blogger thing is just too much and getting on my nerves. Since I’m a Baby Boomer, I’m way too savvy for drama, and when is everybody going to realize who really gives a rats *ss about it?  In the end, does it really matter?  Although I like to make some income on my blog, in the end-all, it’s not my bread and butter.

• “She’s picking on me”

• “She’s calling me names”

• “She Drinks”

• “She Doesn’t Drink”
  

The conversations reminded me of when we had to get a mini-van for the kids and sit one in the back, and one in the way-back because “she’s looking out my window.”

waa waa waa…. who needs the drama?  I’m no drama queen and I have better ways to spend my time than listening to gossip, following like a lemming off a cliff or trying to make a constructive comment in a forum, and then being one-upped.  I don’t need one-upmanship.  Or one-upwomanship.

Although I did make several wonderful new friendships and will miss the daily bantering with those few, I know I will continue to visit their blogs and enjoy their tweets.

But see, I left on my own volition, before I got burned at the stake – it wouldn’t be the first time I would have gotten kicked out of a forum, even though it would have been through no fault of my own.  I’m keeping track with gum on the bedpost.

I’m so outta there.

So, my blog may lose traffic, I may lose followers, but you know what?

I don’t care.

I blog for me, not traffic, and not stats.  Umm um, no more. Been there done that.

If you like my writing, fine.  Visit, comment, or subscribe to my blog.

If you don’t….then move on. (It’s even stated in my About  Me disclaimer … trust me on that one)

I’ll write what I want to anyway.

For those who are sticking around – thanks.  Mwah :kissing:

photo credit: Jim, the Photographer

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Camping – Tips – And Other Frustrations

Friday Frustrations

Welcome to another edition of Friday Frustrations Meme!

This is where you’ll find my end-of-the-week Rants, always a favorite!

From the Never-Too-Old-To-Learn Department:

The continuing saga of merging my 3 blogs has me learning the ropes of CSS style sheets and all that.  I’ve been going back and forth trying to decide whether to add a Baby Boomer section, or just leave all my general stuff under Veranda Chit Chat.

Actually, I’m quite proud of the fact that I coded numbered comments into my style sheet all by myself.  @Mamikaze on Twitter made the suggestion! Thanks! I feel like a Baby Boomer Tech Genius now!

Contests and Giveaway Woes

I’ve been running a little behind in getting all my contests and giveaways up and running.

What’s perplexing is the fact that many of the people who are entering are Just.Not.Reading.THE RULES

You’ve heard of Cider House Rules?  Well, these here are Moomette’s Rules and I rule the roost.

So, if you don’t read The Rules, you are disqualified.  Sez so right In Bold.  I’m instituting a Zero Tolerance Policy, because I just don’t have the time to police comments.  :pissedoff:

I belong to many (OK, Lots) of ning sites and social networking forums, and it seems to be the general consensus that it’s happening to many bloggers who are offering Giveaways.  Seems to be the Sweepers who just enter and run.

I put out a Tweet about this, and Debbie @Birdonawire responded:

I think Debbie was right-on.

Moving On…

Sometimes I feel a little comment starved – don’t we all at times? So to remedy that feeling, I just joined this cool site called The Secret Is In The Sauce, (SITS) and hope to garner a little comment recognition and support.

I know it’s hard to manage your time and comment on all the blogs out there – between doing administrative work, writing posts, Twittering, guest posting and I could go on ad nauseum, but really, as I saw on a Tweet and I can’t give the person credit because I don’t remember who it was it passed so quickly in my tweet stream, but it was something like:

Comments are like tips, if you like the post, leave one!

Regarding Twitter:

I just can’t understand all the tweeps who are tweeting about “get more followers.” Must be some sort of affiliate thing, or you buy your followers, or whatever.  Not that I care, I vet all my followers and while I welcome (most) everyone, it’s hard to have social conversations with what, 10K people? Really.

Wrapping it all up…

Hard to believe that next weekend is the 4th of July.  Our camping trip is coming up soon and we actually use.a.tent – which means I’ll have to get on The Hubster’s case gently remind my husband that we need to air the thing out and find the air mattress that DD26 and charming-son-in-law gave me at Christmas so this princess won’t feel like I’m sleeping with rocks a pea under my sleeping bag.  Camping, moi- can you believe it?

So, any frustrations you’d like to air share with me?

Until next Friday …

Visit Conversations With Moms for more Friday Frustrations

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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All In A Twitter: Friday Frustrations

All In A Twitter – Friday Frustrations Meme

Welcome to Friday Frustrations, a weekly blog carnival dedicated to getting things off our chests.

There’s something about Memes – either you love them or you can’t stand them.

Frankly, I’ve gotten to like them, because they’re a way for me to lighten up and share some of the fun, enjoyable aspects of my life with my readers, as well as show a lighter side of me.

However, memes are also a way for me to let out some of my … frustrations and rantings.  I used to have a “Rant” tab on my old theme that was at Moomettesgram’s Musings, but I took that down.  Don’t forget about my “Rant” disclaimer in my “About Me”  page where I warn readers ahead of time that you never know what to expect here. That being said, I’m a Mom Bloggers Club Ambassador, and I’ve found a new meme that was listed in the “List Your Meme” group there, so  you’ll probably see on here quite often from now on.

It’s called “Friday Frustrations” which you can also find at Conversations With Moms.

Today I’m ranting about my frustrations on Twitter.  The timing is appropriate, since, if you look at my Twitter Profile, you’ll see that today marks the 1-year Twitterversary of when I joined.

I’m, well, can you say, “addicted” to Twitter.  I could tweet all day long if I could.  I really enjoy it because I use it as not only a social networking site, but also as a reference site.  It’s like one big college classroom where I can find out info about blogging resources, entertainment, all things pertaining to “Mommy Bloggers”, fashion, breaking news – you name it!

So WTF is my beef?

Twitter is touted as a “social networking site.” Well, yes and no.  I’ve found there’s a definite difference between my daytime tweeps and evening tweeps.

Lately, most of the tweeps who tweet during the day seem to be less into conversation, and more into self-promotion.  I try to start general conversations, and my tweets go unanswered.  I get paranoid. I think I’m being ignored.

So then I try to crash politely interject myself into a conversation that seems friendly, hoping someone will answer me back pay attention to me.  Silence.

OK, so then I decide to join the fray and send out a few of my own self-promos.  Either you do or you don’t self promo.  The rule of thumb that I’ve read from such community and social media  gurus like Chris Brogan and sites such as TwiTip, (by Darren at ProBlogger) is for every 8 general, sociable, chat-them-up and work-the-crowd tweets, you can then send out one self-serving tweet.

Sure, I can play this game.

I have almost 3500 people following me, and why can’t I even get one answer or “back-at-ya”?  I don’t get it some days.

Sometimes I’ll rant and sign off in a huff. :razzmad:

Evening tweeple are more into conversation, and not really doing the promo bit.  At night is when you find the Twitter parties, charitable events and  site-warming parties going on.  Those are a lot of fun meeting new tweeps and following the #hashtags.

But again, Twitter can be full of cliques, just like in middle school and high school (OK, college, workplace – What-Eva)

Sometimes you think it’s hard to fit in, and sometime you just want to give up on the whole thing.

But, not being one to throw in the towel, I’ll just keep crashing joining conversations and pushing listing my new posts and affiliate links blogging resources, just like everybody else.

It’s all part of the game.  It’s fun, yet frustrating at times too.

Anybody else experience my frustrations?  Let me know!

Follow @Moomettes on Twitter and – Geezumcrow, say hello and TALK TO ME!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Prime Real Estate Advertising Spots – Location Location Location

As a WAHM I like to experiment with different techniques to increase my reader base as well as, of course, my earnings.

I posted on Twitter today that I will be rearranging the furniture on my blogs, so to speak.

Tonight I removed, for the most part, all the affiliate advertising from companies other than work-at-home moms.  I like to support those who have helped me the most and whose products I believe in and use myself.

I’m going to cut out the “middle-man” and be offering affordable Advertising Rates to all small businesses and work-at-home moms on my other blogs which are also PR3, including Moomette’s Magnificent Reviews and Mama Mentor.

Whenever I shop, I always seek out the off-the-beaten path small business.  I’m not a fan of mall shopping, and am hoping that many small businesses, Etsy, Ruby Lane and Bonanzle  readers will find my rates affordable.  Mother’s Day will be here before you know it!

Advertising banners are available in varying sizes and will be Above the Fold on my sidebars.  Monthly and long-term rates will be available.

I have a large Twitter following and submit my blog posts to Twitter and many Web 2.0 social networking sites, including Facebook.

I’m currently participating in a Cross-Blog Conversation with Christie, an intern at Work At Home Moms Talk Radio and as she stated on her one of her responses that I “take no prisoners.”

My decision was based on the fact that many of the affiliate marketing companies such as Linkshare, Bidvitiser, Commission Junction and Logical Media require that you reach a minimum payout requirement before they’ll disburse any funds to you.  I’ve decided that I’m not donating my prime real estate ad space to those companies for free, and Magpie is not an option with me.

Contact me for a Media Kit.

There’s tabs on top navigation bar for “Advertise” as well as “Contact” or you can email me at:

moomettesmagnificents06 (at) yahoo (dot) com

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Follow What You Feel Is Right For You: Now You Know the Rest of the Story

Many of my readers know that at the beginning of the year I had accepted an opportunity to be the Editor of the Timeless Bliss channel for mature and Baby Boomer women at Blissfully Domestic.

You will not see the “Editor” banner on my websites any longer.

I have resigned from that position due to a conflict in ideology.

Part of my duties included approving and editing the posts of the 20 wonderfully, talented women contributors that I recruited whom graciously volunteered their time and talents.  These women came from all walks of life:  several were doctors; one was a lawyer, there were Squidoo experts, crafters, beauty consultants; journalism majors.  All shared one common denominator ~ a love for sharing their knowledge and experiences in life, be it professional tips, family tips, life experiences.

I built that channel from the ground up ~ recruited the writers;  got it included in Alltop Women; built the Amazon store.  I had a tremendous amount of hours and time invested in that site.

The one positive aspect coming out of this whole event was that I was able to connect with the wonderful women who became Contributors.

The following is an excerpt of my Resignation letter:

I am submitting my resignation as Editor of the Timeless Bliss channel at Blissfully Domestic, effective immediately.

My decision was based on several factors.

I am a baby boomer who came of age during the late 1960s and early 1970s.  I am a native New Englander, and attended college at an all-woman’s liberal art college in Massachusetts.  Because of my experiences, I feel that there exists a conflict on my interpretation of acceptable posts on behalf of the contributor’s I have recruited and the mission statement of Blissfully Domestic.

Thank you for the opportunity, but I just don’t think this is a good fit.

Additionally, after the on-line meeting this past week, I feel that I do not have the additional time to contribute to the additional duties you are requiring of Editors for the 5-minutes posts.  Many times, it take much longer than that just to choose an appropriate picture for a post, much less research material and re-write it.

I feel that I have more than given it my “all” by recruiting who I feel, are excellent writers.  Some of the Contributors to the Timeless Bliss channel are credentialed experts in their fields; several are doctors and published writers.  Many others have varied interests and are capable writers.

I’m not sure how aware you may be of  amount of time that I have spent recruiting; sending outreach letters; tech instructions and basic hand-holding for those who are not familiar with Word Press or photo selections.

I have developed the Diva ning site into an informational base, and encouraged participation from my contributors.

Additionally, I follow-up by pinging the TB URL when a new post is published, and maintain the Twitter account.  I am quite surprised that there has not been any promotion by BD of the Timeless Bliss channel.  Although I visit daily, I have yet to see one of the TB contributors on the scrolling marquis banner.

I have sent out advertising requests to my contacts. Although the meeting indicated that there may be a promise of “substantial” (or similar verbiage) advertising revenue, I don’t foresee TB being high on the priority list.

All my duties have been fulfilled, and all pending posts have been published.

I leave you with an extremely talented group of contributors.

Thank you.

Please visit the following post written by The Mother’s Handbook.net

Please read all of  the comments if you can.  It gets really scary the farther down you go.  The comments only cement in my mind that I made the right decision and should have realized it sooner.

The Gene For Common Sense is on the X Chromosome

And now you know the “Rest of the Story” as the late Paul Harvey would say,

“Good Day.”

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Bonanzle ~ WAHM Ventures Into New Online Marketplace ~

Bonanzle ~ WAHM Ventures Into New Online Marketplace ~

One of my new goals for 2009 as both a Work-at-Home Mom and a Baby Boomer trying to establish a supplemental source of income in order to retire,  was to phase out my eBay store and set up a new booth at Bonanzle, the latest online marketplace.

Over the past year, I’ve slowly liquidated much of my merchandise and my eBay store specialized  in strictly Vintage Collectibles ~ mugs, dinnerware, sewing patterns and boutique children’s clothing.

The changes that eBay implemented within the past year became just too much for me to keep up with. I couldn’t believe how much I am paying in Fees each month, just to maintain an online presence at this auction site. Whether I sell anything or not, the fees just keep racking up.

Despite what many of the eBay blogs and mainstream news articles I’ve been reading are saying, mainly, that people are supposed to be looking to eBay and Craigs List for bargains ~ I haven’t  seen an increase in my business.  The holiday shopping season sales this past year were very dismal in comparison to previous years.

Tonight I closed my eBay Store for good.

As an active member of Twitter, I found out about an alternative venue and marketplace, .

It’s premise is simple if you’re a Seller:

• Import Items from eBay or Craigs List

• Import Items with one click

• Import eBay Feedback

As a Buyer, you can search for items by categories, or those posted within the last 24 hours.

There are no fees to list your items or set up a booth.  Yay!  Fees are only incurred once you sell your wares.

Bonanzle accepts Paypal and other methods of payments, such as Google Checkout and Money Orders.

I was able to set up my booth in minutes, and it didn’t take long at all for Bonanzle to import my items from eBay.  The process couldn’t have been easier!  The FAQs and Help instructions are very easy to follow.

You can even create a special “Bonanza” to improve sales! What’s a “Bonanza”?

It’s a quick sale where everyone on the site is directed to your booth for a couple hours to get your stuff gone. Pick a day, start time, and duration below. Choose the items from your booth that you most want to include in the sale. Pick a discount price for those items. Then show up at your booth at the time you declared.

What does this new venue mean for me?  I can continue to sell the items I have a passion for ~ vintage collectibles, as  well as boutique clothing items.  I’ll continue to promote my new Bonanzle Booth in the manner I was promoting my eBay store ~ through widgets, Squiddo, Facebook, my blogs and Twitter.

The only difference I can see is that I won’t be paying fees unless something sells.  Hopefully, through viral marketing, the word will get out about Bonanzle and the Buyers will arrive!

I can’t believe I waited as long as I did to open a booth.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Bonanzle will give eBay any competition this year.  I’m thinking the answer will be “yes.”

What do you think, have you tried selling or buying on Bonanzle yet?

Visit my new booth at: Mooettesgram on Bonanzle

Related Posts:
End of the Beginning ~ Happy Trails to You, eBay

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Save Handmade ~ Indie Designers ~ WAHM Clothing Designers ~ eBay Sellers To Be Affected By Upcoming CPSIA Act

Are you a Work-at-Home Mom or an Indie Designer of children’s clothing or toys? If you are, then listen up as big changes are in store that could affect your business and will be taking place on
February 10, 2009.

I was on Twitter last nite and came across a hashtag, #CPSIA and checked it out.  As of February 10th, a pending legislative mandate will no longer allow the sale of used kids clothing or toys unless they’ve been tested for lead and a host of other potentially hazardous materials.  You can follow the conversation on Twitter by following the hashtag #CPSIA.

This is a huge deal for WAHMs with their own websites, and will also affect eBay and Etsy sellers of childrens clothing. I have many indie designers of children’s clothing in my Moomette’s Magnificents Olde Towne Shoppes, and sell boutique clothing in my eBay store.

Not to mention the fact that businesses such as Goodwill and other thrift stores will be affected.

‘Lil Moomette’s mom, my DD26, is a huge fan of Once Upon a Child, a children’s clothing consignment store that sells upscale clothing and toys. OUAC is terrific source for finding gently used clothing for a fraction of the price, enabling families (and grandmoms) to save a few
dollars in today’s economically-challenged times.

You can find out more about what’s happening and try to help by visiting Cool Mom Picks.

For further reading, the LA Times has posted an informative article HERE.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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End of the Beginning ~ Happy Trails to You, eBay

Welcome Readers to 2009!

I’m so excited about the prospects for this year! In my last post of the year for 2008, I mentioned that I have some really great things planned, and will be taking my blogs in a new direction. I’ll be filling you in as I go along.

Here’s what’s worked and what didn’t work for me in the one year that I’ve been online, blogging and trying to establish my goal to work from home and retire from may day job.

eBay

If you’ve been following along, I started my online presence by selling on eBay, opening an eBay Store where I quickly became a Power Seller. The economy and eBay have changed since 2007, along with the rules of the game for eBay sellers.

Selling on eBay is a LOT of work, and not as easy as it sounds. I spent a whole year devoting quite a bit of time (for free) as a Moderator on an eBay forum that is now defunct. I made many friends, and learned the ins, outs and politics of eBay.

I also had joined many WAHM eBay groups, some of which were free, while the majority required a membership fee. I picked up a few tips and volunteered quite a bit of information. However, selling on eBay is very cut-throat, and the groups were a tough nut to crack if you weren’t in with the “in crowd.” I dropped out of all of them.

The year 2007 was very profitable, while 2008 was a bust. Buyers on eBay are looking for the cheapest deals.  When I sold New, With Tag boutique childrens clothing, the Best Offers I were receiving were at thrift store prices.   I can’t purchase inventory; maintain a store; pay eBay store fees; selling fees; Paypal fees; template membership fees on Sellers Sourcebook and then turn around and sell the item at a loss.

I tried reading all the eBay blogs I could ~ switched inventory around ~ tried selling gently used kids and women’s boutique clothing; new boutique clothing; my favorite category (vintage collectibles); household items and books. It became a constant, daily grind to promote what I had for sale, either through listing fees, auction bump sites or Twitter.

Recently I have made some very good friends through Twitter who do quite well on eBay, are in it for the long haul, and recommend that you visit their auction bump sites.

The one thing I don‘t want to do is hound my Twitter followers by always trying to hawk my wares.  You may or may have heard about Tweebay ~ I haven’t read up on it at all, and due to my final decision, don’t think it would be for me.

In my mind, I gave Ebay my best shot.  It was my baby.  While there is money to be made on eBay, I think I’ll be a much happier person with the new blogging, administrative and social networking roles I’m going to be undertaking this coming year.

Presently I’m in the process of liquidating all of my inventory and hoping to sell off everything through the Best Offer feature. I’ve read in many newsletters that eBay is trying to eliminate sellers of Vintage Collectible items.  That means me.

Slowly I’m moving all of my vintage collectibles over to my own site ~ Moomette’s Magnificents Olde Town Shoppes.

If you sell on eBay, let me know ~ are you going to stick it out this year, or move on to a different platform for selling?  What kind of year was 2008 for you?

Thus ends the first chapter of my online beginnings.  Happy Trails to you, eBay.

Recommended Reading:

Tweaking my eBay Store – How a WAHM Needs to Re-Assess an eBiz

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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What I Learned in Grade School ~ Play Nice ~ Don’t Plagiarize

OK readers, friends & bloggy buddies ~  today’s Rant of the Week is we’re going to have a little lesson in how to ‘Play Nice With Others.”

See the little banner on the top right of my sidebar that I recently relocated due to an unfortunate incident?  Above it in red, it says “Don’t Even Think About It.” Underneath, it says “Yes, It’s Copyrighted.”

What that means, kiddos, is that we have to revisit what we all learned in Grade School:

You Do Not Copy Other People’s Work. Period.

• That means, you don’t look over your shoulder at the person sitting behind you and copy the answers off of their paper for a test;

• You don’t strain cross-eyed and look to your next-door seat-mate and copy their paper;

• And you don’t copy a fellow Blogger’s posts and pass them off as your own without giving proper credit to the author when due.

Now I’m sure this has happened to many bloggers before me.  But, being the Baby Boomer that I am, and having my policy re sugar-coating clearly stated in the Disclaimer on my About Me Page ~ I don’t put up with any carp.

I spend quite a bit of time on many of my posts, writing into the wee hours of the night.  I try to find just the right words and nuances, and research synonyms, grammar, all those neat things I learned along the way in life.  Some of my readers obviously were out to lunch in school, and didn’t pay attention.

It’s way too easy for those types of people to see a good post ~ and in this computer day and age ~ just do a “copy, paste” and voila ~ it’s on their blog page ~ as if they had written it themselves!

NOT.  You see, kiddies, I check to see if anyone is plagiarizing my material.  I take pride in my work, and the words I choose.

Bloggers cover the whole demographic spectrum.  Teens, Home-Schoolers, Moms, Dads, Businesses, yes, even Grandmas & Grandpas.  We are everyone ~ we are everywhere.

So now I’m going to get ugly.  Why?  Because I wrote what I considered a very nice post about my friend Suzanne, the eBay Coach, and a very generous giveaway contest for $120 worth of CVS products she recently sponsored.  Now granted, I didn’t pontificate on the State of the Union, the upcoming political conventions, the Olympics, or how the universe was created.

However, Elaina Rodriguez Stanley, who “writes”  Small Figures in a Vast Expanse saw fit to come along and copy my post.  http://elainarodriguez.blogspot.com/2008/08/cvs-products-contest.html You see, I posted my article on August 21, and low and behold, there were my words, copied verbatim, posted by her on August 24.  No mention of any credit to me as the author.

If I see an article worthy of being mentioned in my posts, I give a “Hat Tip” to the author, with a link back to them.

Duh ~ it’s called “linky luv,” or a “back link,” or how about ~ being honest and giving credit where credit is due?

Plagiarism is a serious offense, not to mention it says a lot about the ethics, morals, and integrity of the writer who stole the work.  I know a wee bit about the law.

Now I’m not going to go off and write all the words I really want to write about how I feel about plagiarism, because this is a family blog.  Gram is not above spewing a few little profanities now and then whenever I’m hot-flashing.   But just to let you know ~ Elaina Rodriguez Stanley, occupation listed as “Assistant Librarian,” on Blogger,  not only got two comments on her blog from me indicating she stole my work, she also got an e-mail from me.

Her response?  “Sorry, Charlie.”

Go Suck an Egg, Elaina.

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