Yeah.

So, it's been a full quarter since I last posted. While I hate the self adulation of posts explaing why someone hasn't posted in a while, I must indulge myself. 

Nah, never mind.

It's one thing to look at the reasons why, but it's quite another to waste time on it. The simple fact is that blogging became a low priority for me. Life took over and it became apparent other things needed more attention. 

Since I've been able to shift things around I've made time and I'll be back to blogging. I have a few really cool ideas of things to discuss, so I cannot wait.  

The discovery that Shawn Hornbeck lived among people for four years in the St. Louis area was amazing. He was literally hidden in plain sight. When he was found I was dumbstuck, as I live in the city he was found.

Kirkwood, MO is a nicer suburb of St. Louis where we all feel safe. This added to the shock, but also added to the guilt that maybe we should have seen him in Kirkwood. Heck, one of the main grocery stores in our town had a bench with his photo.

Still, I guess it can be expected that we wouldn't have noticed. What is sticking with me is the media's inability to get the story right when it broke.

This is more of a note to myself, but be aware, if you go to this resource for self-publishing you will spend an hour or more. The site lists more than fifty references for you to use to get the most out of your self-publishing efforts. 

For instance, the stock photography sites alone will be worth the time savings.

It's amazing that so many resources are categorized and are basically free.  

I've had this hanging around in my Firefox tabs since he announced it, so I thought I should comment on it. Jason Kottke has dropped out of the micro patron process.

Everyone knows he dropped out, so it's old news. What I find fascinating is that he posted that he received 1450 micro patron payments that totaled $39,900.

To me that seems like a very small amount. It works out to roughly $28 per patron.

It seems small to me due to the value that Jason brings to his website. Not only do you get great posts, but his remaindered links are fantastic.

My mouth dropped open when I read Steve Rubel's entry about "hacking" Google Book search. The idea is that you look at the table of contents in a book, pick a section or page you want to read and then search for that part. As Steve says, "If you're lucky" you will see the pages you want.

Supposedly this works with all O'Reilly and Frommers books, which is incredible in and of itself.

As a publisher of online information, it's interesting to watch the other guys try to find new ways of moving the traditional book publishing market to the online market. In this New York Times article, author Warren Adler shows a newfound appreciation for the online publishing market.

Warren Adler is the author of many books including War of the Roses. He's decided that online publishing helps sell more real word books. He says: