Tag: advice

This one simple trick will make authors love you forever!

If you like their books, say so! Like, on social media and stuff. For example: TINSEL RAIN is coming out Friday. If you’re a Kickstarter backer, and you liked the book, there is almost nothing better you can do for me right now than say so on as many of your favorite social media platforms as you care to post to. With the link (https://www.amazon.com/Tinsel-Rain-Tom-Vargas-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0B243FV1N), and a picture of the book, if you can swing it.

And here’s the thing: if you don’t like my book, you can still do this with books that you do like. It is a very rare author indeed who will object to people saying in public how awesome their book is, and what the link is to buy it. So, even if you hate my guts, the advice I’m giving is still good.

Tweet of the Day, I Gotta Push Back On This edition.

I feel that the advice dude made the right decision.

I mean, let’s face it. When your car stalls out and you come home to find your husband banging your neighbor’s daughter, AND he won’t do couples counseling, AND you write some columnist for advice… well. You probably know the answer already; you just don’t want to hear it. Which is why the advice columnist engaged in what I called ‘advice triage:’ he’s not going to waste ink telling the lady to go divorce her cheating slob of a husband, because she clearly won’t. But he might be able to teach her how to restart a stalled-out car.

I’d have made the same call, frankly.

Computer advice bleg: my wife needs recommendations for a new computer.

Basically, she needs a good recommendation for a reasonably-priced off the shelf computer (mid three-figures) that will play Dragon Age Inquisition well.  She’s not going to build her own, because she’s not into that sort of thing; and she’s not really likely to need anything more graphics intensive for another four, five years.  With that in mind, suggestions welcome.

My primary camera is not much longer for this world (replacement advice bleg).

This is, by the way, the major reason why there hasn’t been much CPAC footage from me: the video came out awful, and the photos aren’t doing much better.  I’ve had this camera for a while; I shouldn’t be shocked that it’s starting to fade.

Suggestions on a replacement?  I don’t need something as light as my current one, but I need good video recording quality and I don’t have the budget for a $2K camera. Or $1.5K.  Or $1K… actually, I don’t really have a budget at all, but I can scrounge up a decent amount by August.

Moe Lane

Continue reading My primary camera is not much longer for this world (replacement advice bleg).

Greg Mankiw advises the Obama living in his head.

I feel sorry for Greg Mankiw: I really do.  Here he is, living a life that allows him to place articles in the New York Times – which is not a bad place to be – and he publicly mucks it up by publishing a piece that crashes and burns on the first word of the title.  The title is “How to Break Bread With the Republicans,” and as advice goes it is… not bad.  Absolutely useless, but not bad.  But it’s still absolutely useless, primarily because it assumes (as the “How” in the title shows) that the President simply doesn’t know how to reach out to his Republican opposition.  Trust me, President Obama knows: he simply doesn’t want to.  Obama doesn’t want to because… well, there are multiple reasons. Continue reading Greg Mankiw advises the Obama living in his head.

Some un-asked for practical advice for Tea Party folks.

Since I temporarily have some people’s attention:

  • If you are a website design-type person: now would be an excellent time to either promote the site that you have designed to act as a national clearinghouse for upcoming Tea Parties, or to actually sit down and design one.  I suggest something lean, stripped-down, has an easy-to-remember link, and designed to let people easily post their own locations and contact information.
  • If you are a deep-pockets conservative/Republican looking to fund something: here you go.  Won’t cost you much to fund the above suggestion, and it’d be frankly a help.  Alternatively, you could bankroll a local Tea Party group; that’s even cheaper at this stage (donuts, coffee, and megaphones).
  • If you are a non-nasty candidate for any office, or a staffer for same, or a campaign manager for same: get yourself and your candidate to the next one of these.  Bring a megaphone.  Have your candidate tell the crowd that he/she is just as tired of this as they are.  (This advice also works for people already in office.)
  • If you are just a regular person: first, I apologize for the ‘just;’ elitist of me, and we’ve had quite enough of that lately.  Second, go find a local Tea Party group.  If you happen to know how to run an office, organize a meeting, or coordinate things over the phone, please find a local Tea Party group now.

I think that this should cover it – oh, yes, almost forgot: megaphones. Twenty bucks. Good for when you forget the bullhorns.

Moe Lane

Crossposted at RedState.