A New Panzerism

Panzer on climate change:

Mom says this climate change thing is all about the hot weather we're having.

So, she bought a small air conditioner ...

and it helps a lot.

You know ...

sit in front of it ...

Mom, It's MINE.  Get your own.

fur blowing back in the wind ...

ahhh ... yes ... I am one cool kitty!

I'm thinking, maybe Mom should have bought one for herself, too.

Stannis Baratheon Is Alive Says George R. R. Martin

Ugh. My head. My tummy.

Panzer is feeling a little better today, so he made a quick trip over to GalleyCAT. Our poor kitty boy found a post about Game of Thrones. You all know how much our kitty boy loves that show.

According to Maryann Yin, George R. R. Martin says bad guy Stannis Baratheon is alive and well in his books. The TV show may have killed him off, but he still lives in GRRM's book pages. There's a link in the post to GRRM's statement in his Not A Blog site Comments section where he confirms Baratheon is still alive.

Panzer says, "I hate it when the TV/movie people kill off characters without bothering to ask the author."

To read the post, tootle over to Stannis Baratheon

Little Kitten Copies Momma Cat Bathing

Panzer is taking the day off. Enjoy this very short YouTube video.

Microsoft Windows 10 Privacy Settings

A little privacy please.

Panzer woke up from his afternoon nap to all kinds of crying and hissing and booing. Following all the noise, took our brave kitty boy to the New York Times site.

According to a post by J. D. Biersdorfer, Microsoft's new Windows 10 has taken a lot of your privacy away. It will be tracking your keystrokes on your computer keyboard, keeping track of your Contacts list, and keeping track of where your computer is. Why? Remember that little (actually huge) Privacy Terms document you agreed to when you installed Windows 10? Well, you gave Microsoft permission to do all that and more, because the privacy defaults allow this. To opt out now, you'll have to change all of your privacy settings.

Panzer says, "If you don't care that Microsoft knows everything you type in your emails, your work documents, and your private journal, don't change your privacy settings."

To read the post, tootle over to privacy

No Awards For Five Hugo Categories

Whew! After all that, I need a nap.

Panzer went to The Bookseller site today. Our big kitty boy was looking for followup information on his April post here at Cats and Crime about Puppygate and the Hugo Awards.

Digging around at The Bookseller, our brave kitty found a post by Charlotte Eyre about the Hugo Awards. According to Ms. Eyre, when the final votes were tallied, there were five categories which had "No Awards" presented.

Wanting more information, our inquisitive kitty decided to see what else he could find in the Catosphere. Traveling over to the Flavorwire site, he found a post by Alison Herman explaining the whole situation from before Puppygate to through the voting and after.  The post includes information about George R. R. Martin's awards ceremony for the "losers." 

Panzer says, "Hmmm ... Do you think the doggies learned anything?"

Note: To read all these posts, you will need a l-a-k-e of tea.

To read the Flavorwire post, tootle over to Hugo Awards battle

Smashwords: Smashwords and Flipkart to End Distribution Relati...

Whew! Another one gone.

Panzer made a trip over to the Smashwords Blog today. Our telepathic kitty discovered a new post by Mark Coker.

According to Mr. Coker, India's FlipKart ebook sales site is ending their distribution agreement with Smashwords. It appears FlipKart doesn't have a large enough structure yet to accommodate Smashwords distribution needs.

Turns out, when authors joined Amazon's KDP Select program and cancelled their distribution to other e-tailers through Smashwords, FlipKart couldn't remove the ebooks fast enough for Amazon. Authors where finding their ebooks removed from KDP Select and threatened with losing their KDP accounts because their ebooks were still listed for sale on FlipKart in violation of the Amazon exclusivity clause.

This also means authors won't have ebook distribution in India through Smashwords and will have to use Amazon for that.

Panzer says, "Just shows the ripple effect Amazon has on the ebook world."

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post, so you'll need a r-i-v-e-r of tea and a m-o-u-n-t-a-i-n-sized muffin, while you read.

To read the post, tootle over to Smashwords: Smashwords and Flipkart to End Distribution Relati...:

A New Panzerism

Panzer on statistical analysis:

It's pretty easy to tell when information supplied as fact is incorrect.

Now take for example, Mom's statement, "The average cat sheds his body weight in loose hair each month."

Average? You maybe. Not me.

Obviously ...

This is not true.

There is no such thing as an average cat ...

All cats are way, way above average.

Just For Fun Mars Trip

I'm going to Mars! Well, At least my name is On the Insight Mars Rover  

Sign up by September 6 at NASA to send your name to Mars and get your own boarding pass (with Frequent Flyer Miles) by going to Insight.

Setting The Price Of Your Novel

Just resting before my nap.

Panzer was tootling around the Catosphere just enjoying his Saturday afternoon. Our lazy little kitty made a leisurely visit to The Blog at the Huffington Post site.

Doing a little rolling around in the posts there, he found one by author Kristen Houghton about pricing your novel. There's information in her post for Dead Tree book authors as well as ebook authors. Of course, determining the price for a Dead Tree book is more complicated than for an ebook. For example, the printing costs and discounts for volume purchasers must be taken into account for DT books, but not ebooks.

Panzer says, "I'm glad I don't have to worry about all that extra stuff for my ebooks."

To read the post, tootle over to pricing your novel

Simon & Schuster Giving Away Books Thru Hotels.com

I'm going to the vet today.

Today is National Take Your Cat To The Vet Day and Panzer has a vet appointment. So ... our big brave boy made a quick trip to the GalleyCAT site before we leave.

According to a post by Dianna Dilworth, Simon and Schuster will be giving free ebooks to travelers using the Hotels.com service. Travelers will be allowed to download one free ebook from a choice of seven. Authors included are Steven King, James Lee Burke, Philippa Gregory and four other bestselling authors. There will be certain restrictions.

Panzer says, "Do I get a free ebook for traveling to the vet today?"

To read the post, tootle over to Simon Schuster