Two Blogs? Again?

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After over a year of soul-searching, I decide to spin off my book support topics to their own site.

I built my first Web site back in the mid 1990s. It was a simple site, created in HTML, that provided information about me and my books.

A [Very] Brief History of my Web Site(s)

The Internet was young back then — at least as far as the masses were concerned. Few people surfed. In fact, the whole idea of going online was so new and radical back then that my first book proposal, which was about telecommunications on a Mac, was turned down because publishers felt that there wouldn’t be enough people interested in it.

Anyway, as things heated up, I soon saw the benefits of putting more information on the Web. And then, in 2003, I discovered blogging. Surely my personal blog should be separate from what I write to support my books and articles, right? So I spun off a new site, LangerBooks.com, and published plain HTML Web pages with book promotional and support information.

Meanwhile, I fell in love with the whole blogging interface. There was no question in my mind: a blog was a perfect tool for presenting new content while automatically archiving old content. So I got LangerBooks.com into a blog format, with a separate blog for each title.

Back in those days (2003-2004), it wasn’t easy for me. I’d decided to blog with a program called iBlog that had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, its author wasn’t willing or able to keep up with technology. His software generated static HTML documents for each page of a blog. The more you wrote, the more cumbersome the whole blog updating process became. And, as those of you who read this blog regularly know, I can write an awful lot.

So in January 2005, I made the jump to WordPress. It was a big jump indeed, since I knew absolutely nothing about PHP or MySQL and very little about CSS. (What made it even bigger was that I was hosting my own blog on my own server.) I learned what I needed to know. One of the best things about WordPress is that you don’t need to know much to build a really professional looking site.

Around the same time, I decided that I didn’t want to maintain separate blogs for my books. So I brought all the books back under aneclecticmind.com and came up with some creative ways to keep Book Support topics separate from the rest of the site. Creative, yes. Effective, perhaps.

One Blog to Rule them All?

Of course, the whole time I was doing this, I was reading from “pro bloggers” about how important it is to keep your blog on just one topic. These guys were blogging to make money, I argued to myself. They weren’t in it because of a need to blog or a desire to provide additional information to book readers. So I pretty much ignored them.

But their advice was eating away at my brain in the back of my mind. After much thought, I realized that having too many widespread topics in my blog was preventing the blog from being more popular. For example, people interested in my flying and lifestyle posts — which, according to a poll on my site, is about 30% of the site’s visitors — were probably bored silly with my Mac OS and Excel and WordPress posts. And people interested in getting book support (16% of visitors) weren’t interested in wading through the other content to get the bits of information that could help them. This was preventing me from getting more site subscribers and regular readers.

So about two weeks ago, I decided to make the split.

Drumroll, Please

The question of how I did it is something I can discuss as a WordPress-related post. Let’s just say that I’ve done the basic work and have enough content in the new blog to open it to the public.

So here’s the formal announcement:

Support for my books and articles can now be found at the Maria’s Guides Web site: http://www.mariasguides.com/.

If you’re reading this post there, you’ve already found it. Otherwise, if you’re interested in articles, tips, and downloads related to my books about Mac OS, Excel, Word, and WordPress, please go check it out.

And yes, occasionally there will be cross posts, like this one. But I’ll try to keep that to a minimum.

Why Maria’s Guides?

A few years back, I made a false start on a line of eBooks. I abandoned the project, primarily because I got busy with other things that were more interesting (and lucrative). I’m thinking of revisiting the idea with shorter eBooks covering a wider range of topics. Maria’s Guides was the working title of the series and I own the domain name, so why not?

Some Things are Better Seen from the Air

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The Goosenecks of the San Juan.

Mike Reyfman took this photo during one of our photo flights this past October. It’s an aerial view of the Goosenecks of the San Juan River.

Goosenecks of San Juan River

To give you a sense of scale, the line with the little box at the end of it in the lower-left corner of the photo is a road with a parking area. There are cars parked in the parking area. You can’t see them in this photo at this size.

The landscape of the San Juan River area near Mexican Hat Utah is simply magnificent. I did a lot of flying in this area with Mike’s group, then had the pleasure of heading upriver as far as Shiprock and Farmington, NM. The few photos I took while flying simply cannot compare to the images Mike captured.

If any photographers are out there reading this, let me take you some cool places like this! Visit Flying M Air’s Web site for information about aerial photography from my helicopter.

Praying at the Wall

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More humor from a friend.

Here’s another amusing tidbit I got from a friend of mine. If you know the author of this piece, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

A female CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long, long time.

So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was, walking slowly up to the holy site. She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.

“Pardon me, sir, I’m Rebecca Smith from CNN. What’s your name?”

“Morris Feinberg,” he replied.

“Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?”

“For about 60 years.”

“60 years! That’s amazing! What do you pray for?”

“I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims. I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop. I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults, and to love their fellow man.”

“How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?”

“Like I’m talking to a f*ckin’ wall.”

More eBay Headaches

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Is it worth it?

Two weeks ago, I put my old dual G5 computer, 20″ Sony monitor, and a bunch of other odds and ends on eBay. The idea was to get rid of them and make a few bucks in the process. As I whined in my post, “The High Cost of Writing Tech Books,” it’s costly for me to buy the up-to-date computer hardware and software I need to work. I was hoping to get some of that hard-earned money returned by selling some equipment that was still in good shape.

The headaches started almost as soon as the auctions ended:

  • The Sony monitor was listed with free pickup in Wickenburg (where I live) or Tempe (where my husband works) or $62.50 UPS Ground Shipping. Well, the moron who bought it, who lives in Indiana, didn’t read about the UPS ground shipping. He read “free shipping” and thought I was going to send a 50-pound monitor to Indiana for free. What a deal for only $20.50, which is what he paid. He won’t pay shipping and now he won’t answer my e-mails. So I’m stuck in the middle of a transaction with no end in immediate sight.
  • The dual G5 sold for a surprising $700. Retail on this used machine is around $1,000, but I would have taken half of that, so I’m very pleased. The problem here is that the buyer didn’t pay for it. He had someone else pay for it on PayPal with a check. Then he demanded immediate shipment. PayPal clearly instructed me not to ship anything until the check cleared. It’s been 5 days and the check has not cleared. I’m wondering how this transaction will go sour. I figure that either the check won’t clear at all or the buyer will get POed when I ship to the person who paid, which is the only way I can be protected by PayPal.
  • I sold a used 7-port Iogear hub. It has 4 USB 2.0 ports and 3 Firewire ports. I sold it because I wanted it to use with my iSight camera and the damn thing never worked right. I figured it was the camera, but since I never tried it with any other Firewire device, I didn’t know for sure. The USB hubs seemed to work fine. I summarized all this in the listing. I sold it for pretty darn close to the cost of a brand new identical hub. (See my post, “Is eBay for Suckers?“) The buyer paid, I shipped it out. Yesterday, I get an e-mail message from the buyer saying that the USB ports won’t run at 2.0 speeds and that the Firewire ports won’t work at all. Hello? Didn’t I say I was having problems with the Firewire ports? And how the hell am I supposed to know what speeds the USB ports actually run at? If the buyer wanted a brand new device with a warranty, he should have bought it from a computer dealer, not someone unloading junk on eBay. And here’s a word of advice to anyone reading this: Don’t buy anything made by Iogear. It’s crap.

So now I have a bunch of other items here I’d like to unload. But I’m starting to think that eBay is bigger hassle than the few dollars I get back for my efforts. (The computer being the exception; if that transaction doesn’t go bad, it will be worth the trouble.) The only ones making real money on this are eBay and PayPal. So I’m wondering if I should just throw out this stuff and be done with it.

Any experiences with ebay that you’d like to share? Use the comments link or form for this post to speak your mind.

FARs Explained

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The FARs in a way an intelligent person can understand them. Maybe.

I was down at Williams-Gateway Airport (IWA) in Chandler the other day. They’ve got a great pilot shop there with lots of books, charts, and real-life pilot supplies. I’d venture to say that it’s one of the best pilot shops in the Phoenix area.

(Side note here. If you’re a Phoenix area pilot looking for a destination for a quick flight, try Willie. The controllers are friendly, there’s plenty of parking, and there’s both a restaurant with excellent breakfast and a pilot shop to give you an excuse for the flight.)

Jeppesen FAR Books

Among the books on the shelves was a series by Jeppesen titled Federal Aviation Regulations Explained. Ah, I thought to myself. Could this actually be a successful attempt to explain the legalese text of the FARs?

Now I don’t really like Jeppesen as a company because of the restrictions it places on suppliers. For example, when I ran an FBO some years ago, none of my pilot supply providers were able to become Jeppesen dealers, so I could not carry Jeppesen products. (Fortunately, ASA products are just as good and I had no trouble getting them.) But I do admit that Jeppesen has products that no one else carries and that their products, in general, are good. It certainly wasn’t worth turning my nose up at Jeppesen and missing out on a good book.

There were three versions of the book, each tackling a different group of FAR parts. One fat book, mostly for private pilots, covered Part 1, 61, 91, 141 and NTSB 830. A slightly slimmer book, mostly for commercial pilots, covered Part 1, 119 and 135. Another book, mostly for mechanics (I think), covered Part 1, 21, 43, 65, 145 and 147.

imageAlthough I would have purchased the first two books mentioned here, the price tag on the first book ($35.95, I think) was a little rich for my blood — especially since I hadn’t actually read any book in the series. I decided to try the series with the volume that I needed most: the one that included coverage of Parts 119 and 135. (My helicopter charter business operates under Part 135.) The cover of the book I bought is different from the one shown here; I think (hope) I bought the latest edition, dated 2005.

Now I don’t want you to think I don’t understand the FARs I’m supposed be be operating under. I do. Mostly. Every once in a while, I stumble upon a rule that I’m not quite sure of. I usually call other pilot friends or sometimes the FAA to get an interpretation. I know enough about the FARs to operate safely and legally and stay out of trouble, although I fully admit that I make no effort to understand the rules that don’t apply to my operation (i.e., rules covering cockpit recording devices, beverage carts, autopilots, and multi-pilot operations). After all, there’s only so much information that can fit into my brain. I’d rather fill it with the information that matters.

Aviation Law 101

I jumped into the book during breakfast at Willie’s Flight Line Cafe restaurant. I basically opened to a random page, paged around until I found a topic that interested me, and started reading. I was immediately reminded of my Business Law 101/102 text book back in college — a big, black volume that stated laws, interpretations, and cases.

So, for example, Page 42 begins a discussion of FAR Part 135.79, which covers Flight Locating Requirements. This applies to my operation, since I’m required to have procedures to help rescuers find me if I make an unscheduled landing and get stuck somewhere — or crash, which I prefer not to think too much about.

First, the book provides the complete text of the paragraph and all of its sub paragraphs. This is the same information you can get in any FAR book or on the FAA’s Web site.

Next, it provides a plain English Explanation of the rule with a few examples of how it might apply.

Then it lists some Cross References to other FARs, the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), and Advisory Circulars.

Finally, it lists some Chief Counsel Opinions related to the rule. This is how the rule has been interpreted when challenged in court or other proceedings.

This particular example is pretty straightforward. Other parts are more complex. For those, the book also includes Preamble information and case excerpts associated with the rule. This, when combined with lengthy Chief Counsel Option excerpts, can go on for pages.

I find the case studies and opinion excerpts the most enlightening when dealing with a complex rule. They clearly explain how a pilot did (or did not) get into trouble for doing something (or not doing something) related to the rule and why the situation was (or was not) an issue. At breakfast the other day, I was completely absorbed in the Part 135 applicability regulations, which illustrated how pilots got in trouble for operating Part 135 flights when they weren’t certified for Part 135 operations. It made me very glad I had my Part 135 certificate.

A Good Addition to Any Serious Pilot’s Bookshelf

In all, I highly recommend these books to anyone who is serious about a career in aviation. Written by aviation lawyers, they are equivalent to the business law books I had to read to get my BBA years ago. They tell it like it is and help you understand the rules in a way that a simple reading of the FARs cannot. The next time I’m at Willie, I’ll pick up the first book in the series for my reference library.

You can learn more about the books on Jeppesen’s Web site.