February 1st 2016

I would love to say I'm back with a fresh perspective and a new attitude, ready to tackle the new year and post tons of great content and really interact with my readers.

I would. Really. Love to say that. But I kinda can't.

I have been struggling with blog ideas lately. After taking some time off to do holiday things and get a bit of a break, I really thought it would just kind of naturally come back to being fun and exciting and worth reading. But I don't know if it will.

When I first started this blog, I wanted to really share my views on Nonsteading and why technology is our friend. In the past 6 months or so, I've written over 100 posts and the most popular ones were a breaking news story and a Top 10 list of British TV shows. Occasionally I would post something that really connected with someone, and that was great. But am I really writing enough stellar material to justify publishing something every day?

I used to get so frustrated looking over my Twitter feed, seeing authors and creative types resharing the same blog post for a week. It really seemed like you should post your stuff, share it around on the social sites the day it came out and maybe for one additional day, but then leave it alone. I never felt right trying to force people to read my words, and I guess I still don't. I also hate feeling like I'm "selling" someone on my point of view. If you want to see what I've written, well, there's links to stuff, enjoy. I always felt like people would get sick of seeing me link the same blog post 300 times in one week, because I had not posted any new content.

I guess what I'm really wondering is, am I alone in this? Does anyone else feel like you should only market fresh work? Does anyone else mute/unfollow people who post the same link over and over every few hours? Should you publish something everyday, just to have new material or should you wait until there's some real gem and only publish once or twice a month? Should you only blog about big events like releases and preorder dates?

Until my holiday break I was getting about two thousand unique views a month here, and I felt like that was great. What I'm wondering now is, what made you visit? Was it an interesting tag line? Was it the title of the blog post? Was it the repetition of the link? Was it that you actually enjoyed reading what I wrote? What exactly should I be aiming for?

Now, yes, that may seem lazy, asking readers to tell me what they want to read, but I am honestly curious as to the draw. If everyone told me that Caturday was my biggest pull, that doesn't mean I'm going to just turn the blog into one giant Caturday machine. I'm more curious in honest feedback about what I've done so far, and what people would like to see more of. Most of the time I don't get any comments on these posts (maybe a few +1's on G+) so hopefully someone will take pity and leave their thoughts.

Hope

It's my birthday and I'll sigh if I want to...

It gets harder and harder every year to think of something fun to do on this date in history.

It's my birthday and I will sigh and eye roll if I want to.
Also, my book is free today to celebrate, grab your copy here.

Almost everyone hits an age where birthdays turn on them.

For some, it happens early, right after 21, when they realize there's not much point in counting any more milestones.

For others, it happens after 29 or 39, when they don't want to tell anyone about depressing milestones.

But whenever it happens, there is usually a distinct lack of  presents.

Buying gifts for an adult is hard. I understand that, and I sympathize. Gift giving for children is a piece of cake. It requires very little effort. That is part of what makes it fun.

That also doesn't mean we should stop trying. Sure, there's always the reliable gift card/cash/voucher type of present, where the recipient is appreciative, Hardly overwhelmed with delight and wonder, but appreciative. I don't suggest you stop giving those gifts, for some of us, that may be our food budget for a month or three, or our heating bill, or our overdue student loan payment.

What if I told you we could make gift buying/giving/receiving fun again for those old enough to rent a car? Because gifts like cash and cards almost always end up being spent on something mundane. No less vital to our survival, but decimating to our sense of fun.

With that in mind, a few simple suggestions, fresh from:

~Non-Steader Philosophy~

1: If you have to/want to/need to give a monetary equivalent* gift-
(*Note: this includes all forms of cash, card or paper voucher type of presents, things which come in envelopes, things you can hand the person and usually require no ribbon or festive paper)

These gifts are always appreciated. In most cases, the recipient feels joy and gratitude. Often the recipient is broke, desperate or has a payment of some kind due, and this gift saves their bacon.

These gifts are important, please keep them coming! Consider some alternatives. Wouldn't taking them to dinner be more personal? If you are giving them cash and you know they will use it on a bill, you probably know the person pretty well. Why not offer to just pay a specific bill for them and then give them something small to actually open?

Any of these would make you stand head and shoulders above anyone else who remembers their birthday.

2: If you have no idea what to get the person or they are hard to buy for-

This can be tough, I know. The first thing: what do they enjoy; second thing: what they do with their time. Do not think this means you can buy your mistress/significant other/spouse a toaster or other appliances, that* always ends badly.
(*Unless they asked for it specifically. That's a whole separate blog post.)

What if they are addicted to Netflix and never leave the house unless it's on fire? Maybe they could use a fluffy place to put their feet up and a place for their drink. If they have to walk to work maybe they need a really perfect umbrella. In England, they call those "brollies". As it should be. These gifts are useful, classic, well-made and on the pricey side.

Try to focus on what they might need, not just what they don't want. You will often hear this adult saying things like "I don't need anything" or "I just don't want another golf glove" or "I have enough polo shirts!"

For these people I always suggest a movie night. You pay a month of their favorite streaming service, bring whatever snacks/drinks/alcohol they might desire and make a fun sleepover-type thing out of it. Alternatively, you can buy a month of their service, maybe offer to babysit their kids for a night (if they have any), and then just give them all the stuff, gift-wrapped and hand-picked. Maybe they would rather be alone, or would like to spend it with someone special. Either way, they have something to open and something to be excited about. It's a win.

3: If they are into a specific hobby, game, TV show, movie, anything with merchandising-

Do. NOT. Buy. Merchandise. Ever. Unless you have specifically heard from this person that they want nothing more than a Bob's Burgers t-shirt, or a Game of Thrones replica tiny sword. That is the only exception. If there is something they really want, and it is affordable, sure, get that. Do not let your relatives just leap on the "Get anything from American Dad" bandwagon.

There are only so many pieces of memorabilia! Even a super-fan has limits. I would love a vintage Emma Peel Lotus Elan model car, but you can't say to people "The Avengers" and expect to get the right stuff. I buy those kind of collectible/specialized/specific objets d'art myself, because I know exactly what I'm looking for; because I'm the fan.

Don't do this to your loved ones, unless they ask. If they ask, pay attention. Listen for specific instructions. There is a huge difference between Sherlock and Elementary. Not all Sherlocks are equal!

4: If they don't even know what they want or you are broke, destitute, poor-

You want to do something amazing but it would require funds. Funds you do not have. Well, you can't spell funds without fun! There is a surprising amount of stuff that is fun and cheap/free.

Hit these websites, sign your friend up a week or two in advance (some require it at least 7 days before the big day), make sure to use their name (a lot of them check ID to prevent fraud). But use your address or a dummy email (you don't want them to get spammed for their birthday/ruin the surprise!). Then let the fun/travel begin! Plan out your day of free things, based on what's in your town, what's available, what's open, etc.

This works for those "difficult to buy for" people as well, since those are the type of people who usually adhere to the "Events and Experiences are always better than things" part of the Non-Steading Philosophy. If they want actual gifts but really don't know what they want, you can always turn it into a scavenger hunt. Pick the best free things you think they will enjoy, make small boxes with the clues inside, wrap them and dole them out over the day. They get to open stuff and get free things!

Non-Steader ProTip: Keep an eye out for "purchase necessary" scams. You only want the freebies!

5: If they gave you anything in a mason jar*, ever, at any point in history, for any birthday-
(*Note: this includes jams, jellies, mixes, pancake batter, homemade glitter, anything but does not cover if you said "I'd love your homemade apple butter for my birthday" that's on you.)

This person is dead to you now. Just walk away.

Websites from #4:
http://thefrugalgirls.com/birthday-freebies
http://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/free-things-you-can-get-on-your-birthday#.beoLDo8r
http://www.thepennyhoarder.com/100-places-will-give-free-stuff-birthday/

Grab a free book today: http://amzn.com/B014OKNOZE

http://bit.do/brtPT
http://ow.ly/U6SSx

Garden of Ideaden

Well, my blog these past few days has been a little limp. I've been missing my normal sparky word choice and witty repartee. I'm going to share something with you here, it's a bit personal. But I feel that any good relationship includes sharing, so you deserve to know.

Damn phone knows who's boss now.

My phone deleted my idea pad.

I have this spot on my phone where I write down all these ideas that I get throughout the day, week, etc. Then when I have time, I sit down and craft eloquent blog posts. The problem is, when I sit down to write, I can never come up with ideas. I have to allow my brain to spark creatively in its natural habitat, away from the computer. This leads to notes, words, phrases that later become brilliant blog entries. It's a veritable Garden of Ideaden. And now it's gone.

I had entries dating back to last year of things I wanted to write fun short article-format, infographic-laden missives about. But now I'm starting from scratch, so my blogs may be a little spartan until I build back up that creative bulwark. Or if I can figure out a way to find it in a cloud it may have been saved in. I'm still searching. I might have emailed it to myself once... that's an area to explore.

Regardless! Thank you for your patience while I ferret out new brilliance from my daily life in a substantial pool of random thoughts tailored for blog-filling. It should not take long.