Happy National Black Cat Day!

October 27 Is National Black Cat Day

It's Not Easy Being An Adored National Idol

'What could I do? I was a monster': Meet Shelley, the AI horror writer that collaborates with humans to create hair-raising tales - DailyMail.com

Five days to Halloween.

Today, Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and moaning coming from ahead of the Panzermobile. Following all the noise took our brave kitty boy to the DailyMail.com site. There he found a post about an AI (Artificial Intelligence) horror writer named Shelley.

Don't worry. She's no Stephen King.

According to Cheyenne MacDonald's post, Shelley, the AI horror writer, is a product of the MIT Media Lab. Shelley was given a steady reading diet of horror stories. In this way she learned to write horror stories. Shelley now has her own Twitter account where she tweets a horror story each hour. Anyone with a Twitter account can follow her and collaborate on horror stories with her.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The post includes what the MIT workers consider a mistake by Shelley in one of her stories.  But this little kitty knows humor when he reads it. Humans ... She did it on purpose to test you."

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. Bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection. Also, the DailyMail.com site has some ads you'll want to close as you read the post.

To read the post, tootle over to Shelley

Amazon's Hall of Spinning Knives - David Gaughran

Six days to Halloween.

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to David Gaughran's blog. With a little digging he discovered a post about Amazon's fraud detection system.

According to David Gaughran's post, Amazon's fraud detection system has been catching some innocent authors. The system is designed to identify authors who use clickfarms/bots to increase the sales numbers of their books. Most of the authors' books mentioned in the post were in free promotions, so the "sales" were free downloads. As a result of the fraud detection system, the authors' books were rank-stripped. The authors were also warned their accounts were eligible for shut down if another infraction was detected. The post describes two possible reasons for the authors' books being flagged.  One is there's a problem with Amazon's fraud detection system itself or the second is the authors may have been targeted by scammers.The authors targeted even included New York Times bestselling authors.

Panzer says, "Umm ... It appears Amazon uses bots to answer authors emails, so you can't even ask what's happening."

Note: This is a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g post. Bring a thermos of tea and a half dozen muffins and three chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

Amazon Announces All-New Kindle App - Easier Than Ever to Read and Connect with Friends - Press Release

You know Halloween is coming, right?

Today, as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere he heard strange sounds outside the Panzermobile. Following the whispering took our adventuresome kitty to the Amazon press site. With no digging at allow he found a press release about a new Amazon Kindle app.

According to the press release Amazon has a new Kindle app for your iOS and Android phone or tablet. With both versions of the app you'll be able to read a book or visit the bookstore to look for another book. The iOS app gives you access to Goodreads. That feature will be added to the Android version later. The press release goes into more details about each of the features. It also includes links to download the apps.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders if he can text to Goodreads on his phone screen with his long claws."

Note: This is a short-long press release. Bring two cups of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the press release tootle over to Amazon app

A New Panzerism

Panzer on the Zen of teaching cats:

When you tell a dog to sit,
it means he can relax and get off
his feet for a minute.

Listen to me ... It's not going to happen.*

But ...
if you tell a cat to sit,
that cat has to wake up, stretch,
and ...
then get up to sit.

No, I think you can take sit off the list of things to teach a cat to do.


* From Cat Wisdom for Humans

Introducing the Smart Author Podcast - Smashwords

Today's trip in the Catosphere took Panzer to the Smashwords blog site. There our intrepid traveling kitty found a post about Smashwords new podcast.

Finally ... Nap time.

According to the post by Smashwords founder Mark Coker, the ebook distributor is introducing a new podcast called the Smart Author. The podcast will launch on October 27 with four episodes. After the launch it will become a one episode a week podcast. The post includes a schedule with episode titles and signup information.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Four episodes all at once. That's two and a half hours. This little kitty better make sure he doesn't make any plans for October 27."

Note: This is a long post. Bring half a thermos of tea and three muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Smashwords: Introducing the Smart Author Podcast

Surprising Suitor for Amazon Headquarters II - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard chortling and snickering coming from ahead of the Panzermobile. Following all the frivolity took our inquisitive kitty to the Publishers Weekly site. There he found a post about Amazon's Headquarters II.

According to the post by Kenny Brechner, the planet Saturn has entered the competition for the location of Amazon's Headquarters II (HQ2). The post is an interview with Saturn's representative Don Smilk. He uses Alexa to communicate with Mr. Brechner for the interview. Apparently, Saturn has big plans for HQ2 and is offering Amazon real estate, no taxes, free labor, Alexans and more.

The Amazon silliness ends tonight.

Panzer says, "There was the city that wanted to send Amazon a cactus. And the city that offered to change their name. And just last night the city that lit up in Amazon orange. So why shouldn't Saturn get into the competition?"

Note: This is a shortish-long post.  Don't bring any tea or muffins for today's reading selection. You'll just make a mess when you spit it all over from your laughing.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon HQ2

KDP Jumpstart Guides Authors Through the Steps of Publishing a Book - The Digial Reader

I'm fine. Back to normal. Nap time.

We didn't post yesterday because Panzer had to go to the veterinarian for a follow-up visit for his surgery. The vet said our kitty boy is totally recovered.

So Panzer hit the fuel pedal in the Panzermobile today and went exploring in the Catosphere. Our traveling bad boy stopped in at The Digital Reader site. With a little digging, he found a post about Amazon's new KDP Jumpstart program.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Amazon sent an email out on October 16 about their new training for authors called KDP Jumpstart. In the training authors learn all the steps to publish on the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. The post includes a link to the KDP Jumpstart program page.

Panzer says, "This little kitty got the same email. It looks like good training for authors so we don't have to search all over to get help."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to the training sessions, bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to KDP Jumpstart

A New Panzerism

Panzer on plausible deniability:

Here's an exercise for my cat friends to try.

You know that key fob Mom has for her new car?

Well, if you pounce on it just right, the car'e horn goes off in the driveway.

Me? I was asleep. *

Pounce again and the same thing happens.

For the best results, it needs to be done at 3 a.m.

Just be sure to be curled up in a ball on the chair far away from the key fob, when Mom comes running downstairs at the noise.



* From Cat Wisdom for Humans

CreateSpace Is Closing Its Online Bookstore - GoodEreader

Today, Panzer's trip in the Catosphere was interrupted by the Panzermobile being buffeted by crying and moaning coming from outside. Following all the noise took our kitty boy to the GoodEreader site. It only took a little digging to find the post causing all the angst was about the CreateSpace online bookstore.

I am not a happy kitty.

According to the post by Mercy Pilkington, Amazon's CreateSpace has announced the closure of their popular online bookstore on October 31. Indie authors and publishers who used the CreateSpace platform to publish their paperback books had the option to sell through the CreateSpace online bookstore. The main reason for authors and publishers to use the bookstore was the royalties. CreateSpace bookstore paid 80 percent royalty on sales compared to the Amazon bookstore's 60 percent. There's a link at the end of the post to the CreateSpace announcement about the closure.

Panzer says, "It's enough to make a grown kitty yowl. Cat Wisdom for Humans is available at the CreateSpace bookstore with the 80 percent royalty and, now, it's not even worth the time to put up the buy link here."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to the CreateSpace announcement bring another cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Createspace