Berry Interesting!

Did you know pineapples belong to the berry family? The pineapple is a multiple fruit made up of coalesced berries. The name comes from its pine cone-like appearance.

But I'm Not a Stinker

You Are a Skunk

You are confident about your place in the world, and you've happily carved out your own niche. You have a strong personality, and you have no desire to lead or follow anyone. You don't think that you are strange, but others tend to think you are a bit eccentric. You are brilliant and a rule breaker. Social graces don't come easily for you.

What Black and White Animal Are You?

Maybe this blog needs a category for skunks.

The title of the post is an inside joke, btw. I'm only a stinker to those with their noses in the air.  Things aren't always black and white;  life has shades of gray, after all.

bird dog

From our Word of the Day feed

bird dog noun
1. one of any of various breeds of dogs trained to hunt or retrieve birds.
2. Informal . a person hired to locate special items or people, especially a talent scout who seeks out promising athletes.
3. Slang . a person who steals another person's date.

---

My pop used to raise bird dogs, even taking them to trials and winning trophies. I've got some old home movies around here of the last hunting dog he owned, along with her litter of puppies but I haven't transferred any of them to digital yet. (I'm sure my home movies would really drive up the traffic to this blog!)

I've never known a person who fit the second definition and heaven knows I was never a good enough athlete to be bird-dogged.

I AM familiar with the slang term, though, because I was a bird dog when I met my ex-wife for the first time. Some home town boys brought their dates by my house and my roommate and I got the boys drunk and after they passed out we moved in on their women. Looking back, we shouldn't have done it...not because it was a despicable thing to do (all's fair in love and war, after all) but because neither my or my roomie's relationship with the girls turned out well. Oh well.

When I first saw the word in the widget module for today, the first thing I thought of was this old tune. It came out a long time before this concert, but it was the best YouTube had to offer.

Bird Dog - Everly Brothers (live 1983)

#WishMeLuck

Do you do Twitter? I do, but I don't tweet. (a "tweet" is a post, just in case you don't know)  I signed up for an account mainly to follow a few people/organizations, two being Alton Brown and the Dallas Cowboys. I've followed others, but the constant, multiple re-tweets from other followers drive me crazy so I've un-followed nearly everyone else.

I am a huge fan of Alton Brown and his work on The Food Network and his tweets are sometimes funny, sometimes full of snark but usually both.  He often tweets a reply to a question with an uploaded photo of his answer on a sticky note, almost always good for a smile.   I noticed a *"hashtag" #WishMeLuck  on one of his posts and clicked on the link.

*(from the site- Definition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.)

I almost wish I hadn't.  Most were mundane, one of the main reasons I don't follow many on Twitter:

Gonna try to sleep early tonight #wishmeluck

Driving lessons with daddey :) #wishmeluck

(I realize most tweets are done on a phone and typos are frequent, but "daddey" need to give her some spelling lessons)

Some were a little sad, even though I didn't know the people:

Surgery got moved to tomorrow #wishmeluck

Surgery tomorrow #wishmeluck

Got Tommy John surgery tomorrow. #wishmeluck

2 surgeries in 1 tomorrow #wishmeluck

I don't know the demographics of Twitter, but I would wager the service is mostly used by young people because there was a lot of angst about school. With some of these tweets, there's no wonder there's angst.

Looks like I'm winging this exam tomorrow. #WishMeLuck

im gonna actually try to study rn for the first time since like 5th grade #WishMeLuck

Memorizing Romeo & Juliet prologue in one night #WishMeLuck

I find out if I got into UGA tomorrow night... #wishmeluck

Gonna go bomb my chemistry midterm. #wishmeluck

Hopin for the best on these exams lmao #WishMeLuck

Early night, I have an exam tomorrow, #WishMeLuck

One exam tomorrow at 10am then my stresses about science is over!!! .... At least until January #wishmeluck

If I can make it to school tomorrow it will be my 3rd time this year making it a full week #wishmeluck

There were a lot of tweets about jobs, either starting them, applying for or interviewing for them:

Wellll, just sent in my application to be a Flight Attendent #wishmeluck

Got My First Job Interview Tomorrow #WishMeLuck

Bout to go get interviewed at chilies!! #wishmeluck

All ready for my interview!:) #WishMeLuck

applied at Maurice's #wishmeluck

Just turned in my TEC application #wishmeluck

And some were really funny; I think I'd like to know more about them...or maybe I wouldn't:

Teaching mom how to follow people on twitter was hard enough, now she has an Instagram. #wishmeluck

Setting my alarm for 6:40 so I can get up and attempt to look cute tomorrow #wishmeluck

Drinking till my mouth doesn't hurt anymore #wishmeluck

first tattoo #wishmeluck

About to shave my fur off #wishmeluck

Helen is gonna try to shower #wishmeluck

And my personal favorite of the bunch; he sounds desperate, using quite a few hashtags:

Court in the am  #wishmeluck #praying #pleasedropcharges #missmycannabis

Skinner's Guilt Confirmed

So says the Texas Attorney General:

Abbott says DNA testing confirms Skinner's guilt in murders - Houston Chronicle

Being Green

From the archives:

Being Green...

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were truly recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.

But too bad we didn't do the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.  We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-ass young person.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off.

Bug in the Frosting

When I got a post in my reader from one of my favorite recipe sites, I did a double-take. What sort of monster bug was in her kitchen?

It didn't seem to have any eyes, but that didn't make it any less frightening.  I then thought that might be the rear end of the bug...even more frightening!

Then I scrolled down to see all the photo.

Whew!

Visit Cooking Classy for some great recipes!

Citizenship Test

Could you pass a US citizenship test?


In order to become a US citizen, immigrants must pass the Naturalization Test. American citizenship bestows the right to vote, improves the likelihood of family members living in other countries to come and live in the US, gives eligibility for federal jobs, and can be a way to demonstrate loyalty to the US. Applicants must get 6 answers out of 10 in an oral exam to pass the test. According to US Citizenship and Immigration services, 92 percent of applicants pass this test.

You must get 58 or more of these test questions correct in order to pass.

I'm a good citizen!

Could you pass a US citizenship test?

A Few Feline Facts

Did you know cats can get any disease a human can and more, including rabies, mental disease and skin conditions? In fact, dandruff is common in cats and it can be especially stressful for cats with dark fur and may lead to depression.

I'm not sure giving one a Head and Shoulders ^TM shampoo would be a good idea, though.

disbosom

From our Word of the Day module in the right-hand column

disbosom dis·bos·om [dis-booz-uhm, -boo-zuhm]
verb (used with object)
to reveal; confess.

---

I have a confession to make: back when I used to have a subscription to Playboy, I often would like disbosom over datbosom.

Now What?

Did you know Wile E. Coyote once caught the Roadrunner?  It was in the episode titled "Soup or Sonic".

cahoots

From our Word of the Day module in the right-hand column:

cahoots (kəˈhuːts)— pl n

1. ( US ) partnership; league (esp in the phrases go in cahoots with, go cahoot)
2. in cahoots, in collusion

---

I've never been one to engage in conspiracy theories; I believe it was just Oswald who shot JFK, I believe we landed on the moon and I'm sure it was Islamic extremists who flew into the World Trade Center towers and not some diabolical plan by Bush and his evil henchmen. (and if you DO think that about Bush, then get the hell off my blog, you're too damn stupid to read what I write.  There's a lot President Bush should answer to and take the blame for, but that's not one of them.)

That said, I am beginning to think that the Democrats and Republicans, for all their public squabbling that would have you think differently, are in cahoots. Honestly, I can't tell the difference.

It's A Long Way To The Top - Margo Bernard

Yet another version of one of the greatest rock songs of all-time. Wish there was an official video, but...

Chaotic Mess

They got the "chaotic mess" right, for sure.

You Are 8% Abnormal

You are at low risk for being a psychopath. It is unlikely that you have no soul. You are at medium risk for having a borderline personality. It is somewhat likely that you are a chaotic mess. You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection. You are at low risk for having a social phobia. It is unlikely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement. You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

How Abnormal Are You?

And He's No Cereal Killer

Did you know the man on the Quaker Oats package is named "Larry"? I always thought he was William Penn or Ben Franklin.  He looks a little bit like Santa.

Romney Sings Concession

Note: I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of the election but I wouldn't have been thrilled if it had turned out differently. Whatever...this is funny and points out the problem that comes from having a candidate that is nothing like the average American.

Time to Reboot

Dear Republicans,

You've got a problem:



I really don't think it's possible to "continue normally".

Clear cache, cookies, run HijackThis, look through the logfile, fix the errors, reboot.

Install True Conservatism...you know, the one that's for limited government, lower taxes, personal responsibility, etc.  Open up the big tent, kick the RINOs out, along with the racists, the gay bashers and religious extremists. Let in the conservative libertarians and stop harping on the social issues. Stop it with the anti-abortion and anti-gay stands; neither are illegal, haven't you heard?  Abortion is here to stay and gay marriage won't be the downfall of this great nation, but the continued loss of our liberties very well may be.  If you don't back off on these two issues, you'll never get the future generation on your side.

Lead by example, don't preach down to people. If you're going to talk the talk, you'd damn well better walk the walk.

There's really not much wrong, after all.




Of course, you can ignore my advice and continue down the losing path, but don't expect another vote from me.

Beat This Fact

Did you know a woman's heart beats faster than a man's? The bigger a person is, the slower their heartbeat. Women are generally smaller, so their heart beats 6-8 beats faster than the average man's heart.

I have known some women whose hearts were made of stone, though.

Double Trouble

I can identify.

I Must Trust My Lust

Your Lust Quotient: 35%

You are a fairly lustful person, but nothing out of the norm. You usually keep your lust under control, but sometimes it gets the better of you.

How Much Lust Do You Have?

I have a little more than 35% when I look at that graphic on the quiz.

Nutty Trivia

Did you know cashew nuts contain a poisonous oil? The cashew tree is a relative of poison ivy and cashew nuts in their natural form contain poison, but roasting makes them safe to eat.

Cashew!

Gesundheit!

Victory!

Of the Pyrrhic sort.

national debt

Since the election was called for Obama several hours ago, I've been doing a little research on the national debt, the most pressing issue facing our country and the next term of the President. I won't give links or explain my math - I'm tired from the tension of following the returns, plus if you want to double-check the figures, you can look 'em up yourself, but from what I could find out, each single U.S. citizen owes over $50 thousand as our share of the national debt.

That figure is staggering, but the figure that's alarming is that Americans under the age of 18 inherit over 200 thousand as their share of the national debt.

That's what's so distressing about the election results. I saw people gloating over Obama's win, but I don't think they realize the implications. I'm not saying a Romney presidency would've been any better; he has a history of being a big govt. politician, too.

I wouldn't have been overjoyed if Romney had won; to me, he was the lesser of two evils. I don't understand the celebrating, esp. by those people with children. Thanks to the last half-dozen presidents (actually more than that), we've saddled the next several generations w/ a mountain of debt and if Obama's first term is any indication, it will only get worse.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.86 billion per day. Let that sink in;  nearly four billion a day increase. (or will be four billion very soon) Listening to a radio show just now, I heard that our debt is over 30% more than Greece's...and they're on the verge of collapse.

The only way to even begin digging our way out of this crushing debt is by raising taxes...not just on the rich, but on the main body of taxpayers, the middle class. Sure, corporations can have (and probably will have) their taxes raised, but anyone with even the most basic understanding of economics should know that cost is passed along to the consumer. From there it becomes a vicious circle - taxes go up, prices go up, the consumer has less money to spend on other things, other industries suffer, etc. and so forth.

Just raising taxes won't cut it, however. The military budget can be cut, but I don't see that helping much, so...that leaves only benefits to be pared and who thinks that will be done?  History shows it won't.  So, that puts the burden on the taxpayer and it will be impossible to retire this debt in ours or our children's lifetime...and in fact, the debt will even grow larger until our economy collapses.

So, celebrate while you can, "congratulations" on your "win". Eat, drink, and be merry, fiddle while Rome burns. The bar tab will come due sooner than you think.

I think I'll go on to bed.  I'm sure the sun will come up tomorrow and the world won't end on Dec. 22.*  I just hope my country can survive the people we've elected and the fools that elect them.

What I'm really afraid of is when the Chinese come to collect on the I.O.U.'s we've been giving them.

*Edit to add:  That's the Mayan calendar date the world is supposed to end.  The official Inauguration Day is January 20th. However, as that date falls on a Sunday in 2013, the public swearing-in ceremony will be held on Monday, January 21, 2013.

Sorry for any confusion.  I just woke up after a few hours of fitful sleep.  I thought I'd feel better after resting.   I don't.

Stamping Out Our Rights

U.S. law mandates that when images of postage stamps are printed, a line is drawn through the denomination and must be in a different size to prevent people from cutting out the images and using them as stamps. This graphic of the new "Four Flags" forever* stamp fills those requirements, but the result is more than a little ironic.

*meaning they'll always be valid for the full first-class postage regardless of any rate increases.

I Hate Myself For Loving You-Joan Jett

Topix Widget

Get the Topix news widget for your website or blog. Looks like it will be some advertising along w/ a couple of local news stories.

Pampa, TX News

The Fighting Frisbees

Did you know the U.S. military studied the Frisbee to see if the same idea could be used in warfare? The U.S. Navy spent $400,000 on research to see if Frisbees could be used to launch flares. Flying disc

siesta

siesta si·es·ta [see-es-tuh] noun

A midday or afternoon rest or nap, especially as taken in Spain and Latin America.

---

Sure wish this would catch on here, along w/ the fantastic British tradition of afternoon tea.

We could omit napping up against a cactus,though.

Formerly Favorite Font

Comic Sans used to be my font of choice when I was in MSN Groups.  I used it as the default font in this blog when I started and even wrote a post about it.

As is with nearly all these quizzes, I like to think most of the results really do apply to me. The "people appreciate you best in small doses" is probably true, too. That's OK; I feel that way about most people, myself.

You Are Comic Sans

You are a nothing but a big goofball. You're quite playful and fun! You're widely known for your zany personality and your vivacious attitude. To say that you stand out in a crowd would be a definite understatement. Remember that you are overwhelming at times and that people appreciate you best in small doses.

What Font Are You?

Dont Bring Me Down - ELO

Fall Back!

Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour tonight!

(Sunday morning @ 2:00 a.m.)

Change your smoke alarm batteries, too!

Adam Ant as Brad Bonner

A Facebook and long-time online friend recently posted some Adam Ant videos on her wall and seeing them reminded me of an old episode of Northern Exposure where he played Brad Bonner, a British rock star (typecasting in reverse?) visiting Cicily, Alaska and wanting to make a "tribal rock" video with some of the local natives. 



The character taking the video is Ed Chigliak, played by Darren E. Burrows. Mr. Burrows and I share many of the same political beliefs and I am proud to count him among my Facebook friends. (Burrow's Facebook fan page)

Pulling For One Side

Did you know tug of war used to be an Olympic event?

1904 Olympic Games Tug of War

The ancient sport was an official Olympic event from 1900 until 1920. There's a Tug of War International Federation that still organizes tournaments and it is also a part of the Highland Games.

The sport still has some "pull" in some parts of the world!

November Trivia Tournament Begins!

Test your trivia knowledge at the ToTG Daily Trivia Game!

A new tournament starts at the first of every month. Easy to play: register, pick a nickname and play the quiz, simple as that! One warning, though; the questions are anything but easy, with every category being the hardest offered at the site.

The topics change every day, from General Knowledge, Literature, World Trivia, Science and Technology, History, Movies as well as a UK category.

Choose from four possible choices but hurry as fast as you can; your total points depend not only upon correct answers but how quickly you complete the quiz.

ToTG Daily Trivia Game

Halloween Dictionary

From the archives:

---

Halloween Dictionary

Bobbing Apples: What happens when you leave your bra off while running.

Boogieman: Guy who passes time at a stoplight picking his nose.

Coffin: What you do when you get a piece of popcorn stuck in your throat.

Frankenstein: Hot dog and a mug of beer.

Full moon: What your repairman reveals when he bends over to fix your fridge.

Goblin: How you eat the Snickers bars you got for Halloween.

Invisible Man: What a guy becomes when there's housework to be done. Also, see "Mr. Hyde."

Jack O' Lantern: An Irish Pumpkin.

Jack the Ripper: What Jack does to his lottery tickets after losing each week.

Mummy: Who kisses the boo-boo after you scrape your knee.

Pumpkin Patch: What a pumpkin wears when trying to quit smoking.

Skeleton: Any supermodel.

Vampire Bat: What Dracula hits a baseball with.

Witch: See "Mother-in-Law."

Zombie: What you look like before that first cup of morning coffee.

Because I'll Have a Buzz On

Your Halloween Costume Should Be A Bumble Bee

Eerily, that fits somehow!

What Should You Be For Halloween?

Blogthings: We're Not Shrinks, But We Play Them On the Internet

Black Magic Woman - Santana

Best Halloween Songs

Too many videos to embed in a single post in here, but some great tunes.

25 Best Halloween Songs of All Time

Unique Pumpkin Carvings

25 Extremely Unique Pumpkin Carvings

My personal favorite:

Find A Grave

Find A Grave

Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and a note to a loved one's grave, etc.  See the graves of thousands of famous people from around the world.

Find A Grave

Spooky - Classics IV

Satan's Baby

One of the funniest Scare Tactics episodes of all-time.

My Imaginary Friend

Here's a photo I took of my imaginary friend.

See? I told you I wasn't crazy.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Today's StartSampling trivia contest question was this:

Who Am I?  Try your luck at this contest! We have provided information about a product character or icon. Can you guess who it is? With his toga-style outfit of leaves, green skin, and impressive stature, it's hard to miss this icon. Who is this icon? Good luck!

Sometimes I have to Google the answer on some of these advertising questions, but not today.  Being a child raised on '60's TV, the answer was easy.



That reminds me of an old joke from my junior high days:

What do you have if you have a big green ball in one hand and another big green ball in the other?

Total control over the Jolly Green Giant.

The Galloping Gourmet

Better than 90% of the Food Network programs on today, The Galloping Gourmet was one of my favorite TV shows when I was growing up.   I'll never forget watching the show right before lunch one summer and my dad coming in from work and growling "What are you watching?"  I told him it was a cooking show and I think he probably wondered what sort of boy he had sired.  It didn't take but a few minutes of watching before he too was laughing at Graham Kerr's funny stories and cooking techniques, both done with frequent gulps from the ubiquitous glass of wine always at hand.

If you've got 20 or so minutes, watch this video;  if you're pressed for time, at least watch the first few minutes to understand why I loved this show and how it was the forerunner of today's cooking shows.  Julia Child had the first well-known cooking show, but Graham Kerr was the best!

Beer and Rump Pot Roast

Big Hits

More than a little annoyed at the end of the Cowboys/Giants game, I got online to try to take my mind off it. I wasn't going to visit any of the rash of doom 'n gloom posts that have hit my reader and were being posted on the Cowboys website and Facebook pages so I decided I'd pop in here and check the stats, see who has been visiting and what they were looking at.

I'd noticed quite a few hits yesterday on my Cast Away posts and the movie must have played on TV and I didn't notice it in the listings. The Feedjit stats showed that, but don't tell the entire story; many people have the Do Not Track extension on their browser so their visits won't show up on it or have some other "stealth" application or add-on. Unless they have Blogger cookies blocked, however, it will show up on the Blogger stats. (and I've previously blocked some of the tracking stuff, but I won't be able to see the top navbar and have to go in via the dashboard to create a post or look at the stats) Looking at the day's stats, I noticed there had been quite an increase in traffic earlier.

As you can see, there was quite a few visitors, relatively speaking, that came to this blog. ("relatively", because ToTG doesn't get all that many visits.  200/day is fairly avg., sometimes more, sometimes less.) I have it set to not track my own page views or the visits would double on the days I have nothing better to do than come in here.

I decided to switch to the "day" mode on the stats and saw this:

90+ visitors in a matter of a few hours. Wow. Wish it would be like that all the time; I would put in some paying ads...which would probably drive the traffic away.  I also wish the Cowboys had put that many hits on Eli Manning.

I'm glad I'm not trying to make a living at this blogging thing.

My Winter is Discontent

I guess this is true, but there's no quiz that shows just how much I hate winter.

Your Winter Personality is Comfortable

When the weather gets cold, you love to settle in and get cozy. There's nothing better than being tucked under a warm blanket. You can't help but be influenced by the world around you, and winter is your time to slow down and relax. You are genuinely nice and a joy to be around. You have a natural serenity that makes others feel calm. You are unpretentious and very real. You find it easy to connect to others just by being yourself.

What's Your Winter Personality?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

Massive Mass

Did you know?

All the planets in our solar system could fit inside Jupiter. The largest planet, composed mostly of gases, has two and a half times the mass of all the other planets combined.

Social Disease - Elton John

Clever homemade video w/ clips of "The Twilight Zone".

Catchy tune and great lyrics w/ probably the best line of any rock song:

"I get juiced on Mateus and just hang loose!"

The Patron Saint of Bachelors

Did You Know?

Canning was invented in 1809 by Nicolas Appert?

His process was moderately successful and adopted by Europe and the United States. The glass containers that were first used proved bulky, costly, and brittle, but the early methods of making cans weren't much better. Sheets of tin were cut with shears, then bent around a block and the seams heavily soldered. A good tinsmith could make only about 60 cans a day.

The industry grew with the 1847 invention of the stamped can. Civil War soldiers were supplied with canned meats and vegetables using this method. A machine for shaping and soldering the cans automatically was exhibited in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Whoever invented the can opener deserves sainthood, too.

Rare Error

This popped up earlier when I was trying to edit a post; it's very rare to get Blogger errors, one of the first I've had in a long, long time.  Blogger is so much better than MSN Groups, where I quickly learned to copy any post before hitting "send" because sometimes they'd go off into the ozone, never to return.  That's happened only a couple of times here in my blog.

I do get HTML errors in posts, but they have a feature that allows you to ignore it.  It "fixes" any tags not closed for you, though.

I love Blogger, wish I had discovered it earlier.