The Small Matter Of The Bar Tab
Not too long ago, we were discussing a survey of the most aggravating forms of online advertising, from modal windows that slide in and obstruct whatever you’re reading just as you’re getting immersed, to the unspeakable evil of auto-play videos that even when manually paused still follow you around the page, as if intent on degrading the quality of your stay. As noted at the time,
I’m sometimes approached by small agencies that want to clutter this place up with apparently random, low-rent advertising. So far, none of the products – insofar as I’d have any say in what they are – seem likely to entice the kind of people that I imagine visit this blog. It’s just ugly visual noise that would bog down the site. You’re all welcome to bear this in mind – my heroic high-mindedness – next time I do a fundraiser.
Well, heavens. Here we are.
And so, patrons are reminded that this rickety barge is kept afloat by the kindness of strangers. If you’d like to help it remain buoyant for a while longer, there’s an orange button below with which to monetise any love. Debit and credit cards are accepted. For those wishing to express their love regularly, there’s a monthly subscription option top left. Additionally, any Amazon shopping done via this link or the search widget top right, or for Amazon US via this link, results in a small fee for your host at no extra cost to you.
For newcomers wishing to know more about what’s been going on here for the last decade, and in over 2,000 posts and 65,000 comments, the reheated series is a pretty good place to start. If you can, do take a moment to poke through the discussion threads too. The posts are intended as starting points, not full stops, and the comments are where much of the good stuff is waiting to be found. And do please join in.
Again, thanks for the support, the comments, and the company.
Thanks for the laughs and insight. Tip jar has been hit.
You’re all welcome to bear this in mind – my heroic high-mindedness – next time I do a fundraiser.
You’re so damn classy, David. 🙂
Pinged.
You’re so damn classy, David.
Given the heathen rabble, it’s uphill work.
I don’t know how to paste an image, so you’ll need to click the link below. Don’t miss it. From zinnia Jones:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFEZra4XsAEk1M2?format=jpg
K’ching! (It’s Klingon money.)
All pings, clinks and k’chings much appreciated. But no bottle tops.
The Small Matter Of The Bar Tab
Take it. Just don’t tell my wife.
Just don’t tell my wife.
And if she calls, you’re not here. You’re working late. Re-roofing the local orphanage.
Dom, you do it like this:
<img src=”https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFEZra4XsAEk1M2?format=jpg”>
Although in this particular case you probably shouldn’t do it outside of the Preview mode, because the Tweet-image in question is very oversized. And people reading this instruction in general should probably be sparing with the images lest they invoke the Wrath of Mod.
—
Consequences approaching at Evergreen.
Peter Robinson interviews Roger Scruton.
David, I put a little something in your jar! Sorry for my neglect. I have been busy. I am newly engaged to a wonderful man. I credit the lingerie of course! 😉
I credit the lingerie of course!
Yes, the erotically magnetic bra. I remember it well. Congratulations to you both, and thanks very much.
Ping.
You should do these like a telethon, where you break occasionally so that the local high school baton twirlers can entertain the audience. Or, perhaps that guy Morty with the electric keyboard who croons for the itinerants at a lounge in the Reno airport.
I credit the lingerie of course!
Not dramatic readings of David’s musings about the gals at Everyday Feminism? Oh well, de gustibus non est disputandum, I suppose.
You should do these like a telethon,
I could suspend a basket of puppies above a pit of lava. “The rope was heavily discounted and could fray at any moment,” I’ll say. “Only your credit card can save them!”
David,
Now that my imaginary state pension has been delayed for another year I need something to keep my spirits up, so I have tickled your tip jar to encourage your continued efforts.
I could suspend a basket of puppies above a pit of lava.
http://www.businessinsider.com/liberals-can-win-if-they-stop-being-so-annoying-2017-7
The American hamburger problem.
No, no – better would be to embed that YouTube clip of that guy who goes around singing Imagine after every Islamist terrorist attack in Europe to autostart every time someone lands on your site, and say you won’t take it down until the tip jar settles your current bar tab. You could keep doing this as the need arises.
Tip jar hit. Just don’t make us watch any more conceptual ‘art’ videos.
Just don’t make us watch any more conceptual ‘art’ videos.
We both know that’s a promise I can’t possibly keep.
PING
I’ve been enjoying your blog for ages, David. Have a drink on me.
P.S. What’s ‘Ping’?
You have been pinged.
What’s ‘Ping’?
It’s the sound my phone makes whenever someone hits the tip jar.
And thanks to all who’ve chipped in so far, or subscribed, or done shopping via the Amazon links and widget. It’s much appreciated and makes a big difference to how much time I can spend here gassing with you lot.
“Give me a ping, Vasili.”
Another case of Thunderbird headed your way. Don’t drink it all at once. I understand it’s also good at getting grease stains out of the driveway. Either way, your call.
And if she calls, you’re not here. You’re working late. Re-roofing the local orphanage.
There is a local drinking establishment named, quite helpfully, The Office.
I’ve settled up, but frankly I was disappointed by the quality of the pickled eggs.
Wut?
https://twitter.com/JonahNRO/status/887852333840961536
Also pinged.
Wut?
We were talking about that over here. As so often, I’m not sure that Laurie understands the implications of her own pronouncements. She seems to imagine that anger, however pretentious and disproportionate, is a credential of some sort, a mark of radical authenticity. That pretending to be angry – or resentful, or sour – can somehow make a person interesting. And by extension, important. At least in their own minds.
Godfrey Elfwick; transracial, genderqueer, muslim atheist and all-round Warrior for Social Justice, was murdered by Twitter but has risen again as Jodie Elfwick
Hmm
Thought about making a run for it in the true Spanish tradition of ‘simpa’ (leaving the bar without paying). Recently an extended Romanian family did it for the second time to the tune of several thousands euros in a restaurant. This time the police managed to catch them.
However, looking at some of the other patrons that hang out here, I thought better of it and decided to ‘ping’
Discretion being the better….
However, looking at some of the other patrons that hang out here, I thought better of it
They’re a rough and godless bunch, it’s true. But the one to worry about is Big Mary behind the bar. Those nunchucks aren’t just for show.
David, heads up that you may want to be careful pushing the Amazon affiliate links. I’ve seen two sites get kicked out of the program by Amazon because they told people to use the links to support them. There’s some details on the Sam Harris case here: https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/6bs04z/discussion_sam_harriss_amazon_affiliate_account/
Seems bizarre, I know.
Looks like I took another wise decision!
Performance art http://www.gocomics.com/monty/2001/04/20
Seems bizarre, I know.
Thanks for that. From what I can make out – and the Reddit headline is, I think, misleading – the problem hinges on whether a site is encouraging customers to bookmark the Amazon links specific to their blogs, podcasts, etc., as opposed to coming, say, here and then clicking the links to Amazon or using the widget above. (As noted here: “A qualifying purchase occurs when customer clicks through a special link on your site to the Amazon site. Purchases resulting from clicks through bookmarked links do not fit this criteria.”)
As I don’t encourage readers to bookmark the links, which would presumably cause some tracking or formatting issue, and as my agreement with Amazon covers general, exploratory shopping – hence the widget, top right – and includes anything bought following entry to Amazon via a link here – I don’t believe there’s a problem. Provided people come here first to use the links.
Unless of course I’m missing something.
Ping!
Anything to avoid crappy ads.
Incidentally, if anyone has trouble with comments not appearing, email me and I’ll thrash the spam filter.
“A jury has convicted a western Michigan woman of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband in a crime apparently witnessed by the man’s pet parrot.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/07/20/dont-expletive-shoot-michigan-woman-convicted-murder-parrot-case/494744001/
Tipped. (No crappy ads please.)
Anything to avoid crappy ads.
It’s not a path I’m inclined to take, so long as it’s viable not to. The likely income is very limited and the inconvenience quite considerable. At risk of sounding grand, there’s also the issue of tone. The ads on offer tend to be pretty low-rent stuff – online gambling, miracle weight loss, PPI insurance claims, general tat. It’s not like they’re ads for Waitrose or Majestic Wine Warehouse.
And this is, I maintain, a classy joint.
Christina Hoff Sommers on gender differences in tennis and the media’s mendacity.
Glad to know that I can’t bookmark the Amazon link, but need to click through from here for you to get your share. I’m afraid I owe you a mea culpa, as I’d previously shopped via a DT bookmark. (That last sentence is the closest I’ll get to expressing guilt over shameless consumerism, BTW.)
the closest I’ll get to expressing guilt over shameless consumerism,
And think how much your better half deserves that shockingly expensive thing she’s been dropping hints about.
Consequences for our old ‘By Any Means Necessary’ chum, Yvette Felarca.
But the one to worry about is Big Mary behind the bar.
So not quite Shotgun Suzie, but does seem rather like Betty and Lucy Coltrane . . .
—Twelve books and some short stories of reading also available through that Amazon link.
One of my favourite blogs. Tip jar hit.
A small contribution to restock the Guild of Evil’s wine cellar.
May your sock drawer remain organised even in times of crisis.
Tried shopping via your US Amazon link – I hope it worked the way it’s supposed to. Will do that from now on when I need to get something from Amazon – I do enjoy this blog.
I apologize that it wasn’t more, but, I don’t have a lot, and so don’t spend a lot. I know – I’m weird.
Will do that from now on when I need to get something from Amazon
Much appreciated.
I will place all my Amazon orders thru you and be glad to do it!
In other news I think this transgender fad is becoming a cult. They’re all getting that cookie-cutter look, like Moonies or Hare Krishna or [fill in cult]:
http://theothermccain.com/2017/07/20/crazy-is-a-pre-existing-condition/
Rachel Maddow hair: check
Large ugly glasses: check
Blank stare: check
Stupid pout: check
A fad is by its nature short-lived, but a cult can grab a person for life. I have a relative who was in a cult and still would be except THEY kicked HIM out (he had financial reversals, mainly because they’d drained him dry, and couldn’t continue to pay). Once somebody realizes the financial potential of these poor souls and becomes the Church of Transgender, they’ll be even worse off than they already are.
Keep up the good work, David.
Pinged.
Token of appreciation from a lurker.
Token of appreciation from a lurker.
Some things I still like about this place, ten years on.
Unpredictable comment threads.
The glorious ping of a tip jar notification.
Lurkers de-lurking (even momentarily).
It’s strange to think that the overwhelming majority of people reading this thing, and coming back regularly, don’t stop to chat. Perhaps it would bring shame upon their families.
Courtesy of a link from nakedcapitalism.com–hummingbirds!
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/07/hummingbird-secrets-speed-worlds-smallest-bird/
‘Ping’
Not a hummingbird, but amusing nevertheless: http://anodtothegods.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/floaty-slow.gif
Godfrey Elfwick; transracial, genderqueer, muslim atheist and all-round Warrior for Social Justice, was murdered by Twitter but has risen again as Jodie Elfwick
Not anymore, the bastards. JFC, what the hell is wrong with them??? A little clever satire is too much for them to bear?
email me and I’ll thrash the spam filter.
I wonder, has the spam filter been made aware of the Scold-O-Mat 9000?
A little clever satire is too much for them to bear?
Well, there is gab.ai.
Haven’t logged in in months, and got my latest follower earlier today . . .
Thanks David. Ping.
A little something for the barge and its captain.
Ping.
Thanks again to all who’ve tickled the tip jar. It’s what keeps this place here.
I suppose I should point out, belatedly, that the ping is accompanied by a vibration in my trouser pocket.
What?
Relevant
*vibrates trousers*
Is that a ping in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?
Done, with gratitude. Paid in New Zealand dollars, not your effete Northern European rubbish.
[ Picks pebbles and glass eye out of tip jar. ]
[ Puts them in bowl of trail mix kept on bar. ]
Amazoned! Thank you for everything you do. This blog is a beacon of quality, and long may it continue.
This blog is a beacon of quality, and long may it continue.
Why, thank you.
[ Tosses more shiny pebbles in tip jar ]
Ping!
[ Flicks through mail-order catalogue in search of much larger, jewel-encrusted tip jar. ]
[ Flicks through mail-order catalogue in search of much larger, jewel-encrusted tip jar. ]
Dude…Use the Amazon button up a…oh…
I have vibrated your trousers, sir.
That sentence sounds so adorably British!
Just don’t make us watch any more conceptual ‘art’ videos.
We both know that’s a promise I can’t possibly keep.
Great! Pinged.
A little something towards the weekend soiree …
A little something towards the weekend soiree…
Bless you, madam. May your towels never lose their fluffiness.
Bit late but enjoy. Ping.
Something for your wine cellar.
P.S. Great blog.