Blogger stuff

Adding Inside the Gulch to the blogroll but I'm not adding it to NEPA Blogs. because it's an aggregation of links to like minded thinking but has no original content from local people. Hopefully that will change in the near future as recent past Prez of the Luzerne County Young Republicans  Bob Zaruta is a founder of the site. Right now it looks like a Drudge wannabe with a touch of Glenn Beck gold hawking.

In more important news  

Today Is the 10th Anniversary of Friday Cat Blogging

which led to 

 Thursday Night Basset Blogging

 

Please RSVP for Blogfest on April 19th 

 

Blogger spam filter

The new Blogger spam filter is working a little to well. It's catching the garbage but is also tagging legitimate comments from some of my friends like McGruff. If you leave a comment that doesn't appear just email me at gort42@yahoo.com so I can rescue it.


I usually do 1 or 2 posts a day but will pick up the pace until Tuesday.

Update:  Or maybe not, I just got word of a death in the family that just took the wind out of my sails.

Updating the Blogroll

What a beautiful Summer Day! Temp in the low 80's with low humidity. Enjoy the Global Warming.

Many people tell me that the top feature of this blog is the blogroll on the left sidebar. So an update is in order.

GrassrootsPA is now the Keystone Report. Chris Lilik reads too many newspapers so you don't have to. I miss the comments section.

Common Sense Political Thought got a bit out of control in the comments and has been reborn as The First Street Journal

 Frank is keeping an eye on the Mayor in Wake Up Wilkes-Barre 

 The Right to Gripe always has something to bitch about

Dr. Rick is back.

Right Wing Fringe

 

Michelle just went past the 7 year mark of tapping away and she celebrated by noting other milestones.

 

Happy Blogiversary!

 

 

NEPA BlogCon launch party tomorrow

NEPA BlogCon 2012 is excited to announce its website launch and will be hosting a launch party on Friday, June 22, 2012 from 5 to 7:00 p.m. at the River Grille in Plains. This marks the first of many events leading up to Northeastern Pennsylvania's first blogging conference.



The Launch Party will include free appetizers, door prizes, giveaways, and a chance to network with NEPA BlogCon organizers and attendees. It’s a free event, but attendees can make a suggested $5 donation.


NEPA BlogCon is a daylong conference and networking event to be held at Luzerne County Community College on September 29, 2012. It's designed to bring together bloggers of all experience levels, as well as those interested in marketing, social media, and communicating through the internet. All proceeds will benefit The Arc of Luzerne County & the NEPA Veterans Multicare Alliance.

NEPA BlogCon 2012 is excited to announce its website launch and will be

RSVP and find more details about this event on the Facebook page.


The Fearsome Foursome Leslie , Michelle , Karla and Mandy are doing a great job of a slow roll out with a radio appearance and a nice article in the Weekender with more to come.

This part of the Weekender piece I found interesting.

BlogCon is not to be confused with Blog Fest, which is a twice-yearly gathering of local bloggers that will be held again in September.

“I don’t think that BlogCon and Blog Fest really compete with each other, because they are two completely different events,” explained Hryvnak-Davies. “Blog Fest has always been a more political event in nature and informal networking with bloggers and politicians

. I am putting together a Hit the Deck event in July for us political types ( looking for a venue in the 11th CD) that everyone is welcome just like Blogfest.

What's with the Squirrels?

8 years of Another Monkey

Spring must be the time to start a blog. The Yonk just marked his 6th blogoversary and I just went past7 but DB Echo has been tapping away for 8 years now at Another Monkey, almost as long as the Blogfather. Harold occasionally writes about politics and invited me to help him build NEPA Blogs in the early stages which has become an online directory of local bloggers of all stripes. I don't post over there much anymore because he and Michelle usually post a link to a new blog that I spot before I get the chance to list it. They have built it into 'thee" place for information about the local blogosphere including a regular TV gig on WBRE.Cool.

My favorite features of Another Monkey are the astronomy posts and his Stained Glass Window project.

And we all know he has become a world renowned expert on Headless Rabbits.

7 years of blogging

Since I started doing this in April 2005 I have written 3500 posts that that have had over 15,000 comments. Depending on what stat tracker you look at there have been at least 800.000 unique visitors with over 2 million page views. If I hadn't taken a break for a few months those numbers would be higher. All I can say is Thank You.

I have had a lot of support in this endeavor. Many thanks to my blog buddies, the local newspapers, candidates,  readers, commenters and guest posters. Since I started this there must have been around 200 sites that popped up devoted to local politics that disappeared after a short time. We have a hard core of people that have toughed it out that keep tapping away.. Forgive me for not linking to you all but I'm sure I would omit someone. See the sidebar.

We are truly fortunate to have a couple of local newspapers with great reporters that give us fodder to write about everyday. W-B/Scranton is one of the few markets left in the USA with competing papers. I have occasionally broke a story but our local press do it everyday.





Of course I couldn't do this without the encouragement/tolerance of Mrs.G who initially  wasn't thrilled with the time I was spending online and going to political events but then told me to start blogging again when I was on hiatus. I don't write about all the things I want to because of time I have to waste doing things like making a living, taking care of our family and properties.  It's a hobby and I refuse to put advertising on the site so I don't make any money from it not that anyone can actually make a living writing about local politics on the Internet.

One of the neat things is that this little Blog in Northeastern PA is now recognized as a news outlet. Candidates reach out to me me and the other local bloggers sending us press releases, calling us on the phone and even have staffers that are devoted to internet outreach. A couple of press secretaries became my BFF.

We have also expanded  beyond the virtual world hosting Blogfest where politco's of all stripes can get together in an informal atmosphere. Since it's inception 2 years ago Blogfest has been described as the best political event of the season. No speeches are allowed and the rule is agree to disagree but don't be disagreeable.

Norton is back

After a 2 year break the only WNBA fan I have ever met is blogging again. He and Buzz didn't catch on the west coast so they loaded the Univac 3000 into the VW microbus and came home.

One Vote Counts is back on the blogroll.

I also added my favorite recovering politician turned radio host Dave Madeira's site.

The David Madeira Show

Posting problems

I'm having problems getting to the Gort42 dashboard in IE but it is accessible in Firefox. It's going to take a bit to get used to the layout in Firefox so bear with me.

Blogfest tonight

The next blogger meetup will be Friday March 30th at Rooney's Irish Pub 67 S. Main St. Pittston, PA 18704 starting at 6PM. There is big bar area with tables off to the side and plenty of free parking across the street where the Tomato Festival is held. It's easy to find just drive north on River Street from W-B and it's on the left. Or south from Scranton and it's on the right.

It looks like we will have a good turnout. So far I have received confirmation from about 20 campaigns for Congress and State House that the candidate and/or supporters will be attending. That includes Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Pastafarians. The statewide candidates have been invited along with local office holders not up for election this year and people interested in running for local offices in 2013. Some national figures have been invited and you never know who just might make it. Last time over 150 people showed up. Our political bloggers from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties will be there along with our readers, commenter's and people who are just interested in local politics.



Since it's inception 2 years ago Blogfest has been described as the best political event of the season.

There are 3 rules to the event.

1. No Speeches

2. You must wear clothes even if it is warm.

3. Agree to disagree but don't be disagreeable.

There is no charge for admission.

The Yonk is 2000 posts old

The Lu Lac Political Letter written by my good friend David Yonki who has been an online scribe since May 2006 has become one of the first reads for political junkies locally and across the state marked another milestone.

The LuLac Edition #2,000, March 28th, 2012

2,000 AND COUNTING

I’ve always been a milestone guy. I think if you stop counting, you stop caring. Your stats are a reflection of who you are, how you play the game, how you work the project.Today, LuLac is presenting its 2,000th edition. Bloggers call them posts but I’ve tried to resist that since starting this site in May of 2006.

Congrats Dave. We are looking forward to reading the 3,000th edition.

I'm coming up on the 7th year of doing this and just checked my stats making this my 3428th post. It's all how you measure it. The Blogfather has been doing it even longer.

"Lies, damned lies, and statistics"

After Blogfest we shall gather for the Kentucky Derby/Blogoversary celebration at the ancient home of the Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society, Marks Pub formerly Daugherty's in Miners Mills to mark our milestones.

RIP Paul Stebbins

I first met PJ in 2006 when he announced he was running for State Representative in the 120th HD. He ran an energetic campaign but lost in a 3 way primary. He attended a few of our Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society get togethers (the forerunner of Blogfest) and we ran into each other at various Republican events. The last time I saw him was at Aaron Kaufer's kickoff and he told me was looking forward to the next Blogfest.

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PJ was a regular commenter on Gort42 and wrote many guest posts. He even announced that he was running for state rep on this site. You can view his contributions and my coverage of his race here.

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He was a person of generosity and good humor that made you instantly like him. An educator who was a coach of youth sports and did his best to make his community a better place. We should all follow his example. My heartfelt condolences to the love of his life Suzie and his family.

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When I read his obituary I both laughed and cried.

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Paul John Matthew Stebbins Jr.

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Paul John Matthew Stebbins Jr. surprised and annoyed us all one final time by dying suddenly Wednesday, March 7, 2012, in Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

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On Aug. 25, 1979, according to him, "God gave the ladies of the world a gift." One special woman was lucky enough to unwrap that gift and on June 26, 2004, he married his best friend and soul mate, of almost eight years, Suzie. He even forgave her for being a New York Yankees fan.

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Besides his wife, "PJ" found the greatest joys in the Boston Red Sox, being the best uncle, bargain shopping, Phil Collins, Republicans, funny movies, the Florida Gators and pushing his father's buttons. (And maybe the occasional hate mail that showed up after he wrote an editorial.)

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He was a member of St. Barbara Parish (St. Anthony of Padua Church), Exeter.

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He graduated from Bloomsburg University with a degree in elementary education. Paul also served as treasurer for the Young Republicans.

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With heavy hearts, he leaves behind, in addition to his wife, the former Suzie Scavone, his father, Paul Stebbins Sr.; siblings, Lea Black, Tonya Stebbins, Mandi Stebbins, Krissy Blank, Katie Cartwright and Jacob Cartwright; in-laws, Mark, Rosemary and Becky Scavone; grandmother, Irene Stebbins; aunts, uncles, cousins, several very much loved nieces and nephews; and his crazy dog, Yogi.

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Relatives and friends are invited to a memorial service from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Gubbiotti Funeral home, 1030 Wyoming Ave., Exeter.

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PJ would ask that you honor his memory by donning your favorite Red Sox ball cap and/or voting for a Republican!

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His more practical family members, however, ask that you honor him by smiling through the pain, doting upon your children, tolerating someone difficult, making amends, being a better friend, and most importantly — turning to someone you love, right now, and telling them so. These are the qualities that he possessed and that the world needs more of.

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Many thanks to his doctors, Charles Manganiello, Mark Bernardi, Vijayaramanr Pugazhenai and Susan Brozena, and to all of the nurses at the Geisinger heart hospital.

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In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Bridge Foundation, 35 E. Northampton St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701.

Spring Training

Forget the groundhog or the equinox, the first sign of Spring is Baseball! Today there was the first game between the Phillies and Yankees and the hope is to see these two teams play again in October.

I've been a bit of a slacker on blogging lately but I hope to return to normal this week.

So what's happening.

Mitt Romney won Michigan, on to Super Tuesday

There is a new Luzerne County manager who is looking for good pizza

Rush said something outrageous again but this time it may cost him

Phil Scollo looks like a real contender in the 10th CD

Only in Wilkes-Barre could a gift of a million dollars blow up into a controversy

Comments

Blogger recently decided to use the captcha system to verify and annoy commenter's on this site and the rest of the world of scribes that uses Blogger. It is commonly used on many commercial sites such as Ticketmaster that has frustrated me when I'm trying to buy something. Please don't tell Dan Mueser that I buy things online. The regulars over at LuLac are bitching about it and I have received remarks on why this used to be such a great forum for discussion but has slacked off lately so that may part of it. The old word verification worked just fine in my opinion in keeping the spammers away. Occasionally one or two spam comments would slip through but was immediately deleted as soon as I spotted it.

In the past I have taken the word verification off but then got swamped by the spammers. So you have live with it my dears readers and would be commenter's like the new Facebook Timeline requirement that makes it harder to read your friends updates.

Change is not always good but it is the only constant.

The alternative the Yonk came up with

It appears my blogger set up is asking for multiple verifications. Sometimes this can be frustrating. I tried it the other day on Gort 42 and gave up. If you are having a posting problem, e mail me through the blog, or at my e mail address yonkstur@aol.com or my Facebook Page. Here’s the link:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1612355787 Just put in the message line or Facebook message: “For LuLac posting”. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I also got shot down on LuLac so you can always email me at gort42@yahoo.com or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/gort.fortytwo#!/gort.fortytwo

Death to spammers.

Note to candidates

Please send me your press releases as a Word Doc or in the body of the email. I just spent half an hour trying to convert a PDF and format it for Blogger without success. I have an early appointment in the morning, see you tomorrow.

Gort on TV

I was the guest of Tiffany Cloud on the WYLN show Storm Politics today. This was first TV show for me although I have been a on few radio shows before and as the old joke says I have a face made for radio. It was fun and Tiff was a gracious hostess who is also a long time reader of Gort42. I made sure I gave a shoutout to my blog buddies in NEPA.

The show can be seen on Service Electric W-B channel 7, Service Electric Hazelton channel 35 and Metrocast channel 7. It is not available to those of us who have Comcast but you can see it online at this link:

http://www.wylntv.com/

Or just go to the WLYN home page and click on Watch Online on the top bar.

Air Times:

Tonight 8PM

Thur 9:30PM

Sat 5PM

Sun 11AM

Mon 8:30PM

Tues 9:30PM

Technical difficulties

Yesterday I received a message from my friend Wil Toole

Not sure if it is me, my puter or your site ....... there is brown background which prevents me from reading your postings.

The blog looked normal on my computer so I told him to check back later. I didn't make any changes to the template and haven't had to mess with the html code since the last blogger update so I thought it was a problem with his computer. I checked the blog on 2 other computers and it appeared fine. Then I got a few other messages saying the thing and I finally figured it out. It's a browser problem.

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Gort42 looks fine on Internet Explorer 7 but is all messed up on Firefox. The last few months I've had the opposite problem with a few sites. Whenever I load NEPartisan and Oliver Willis with IE7 I get a pop up box that says the site is running a script and freezes my computer requiring me to do a restart but they both work fine when I open them with Firefox.

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I'm not sure what the problem is but I will try deleting some recent links and pictures to see if it will solve the problem. So bear with me folks while I try to solve this problem instead of posting about a few of these stories.

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Feds set to probe Sterling project

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Payroll tax break: Extension proposals from both parties fail in Senate

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No challengers yet for Luzerne County state legislators

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Lou Barletta compra programa de la piedra de Rosetta para aprender español

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Update: The culprit was Michelle's picture of President Obama I snagged from her flickr account.
I deleted it and everything is back to normal.

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The blogroll is restored, mostly

More navel gazing.

I was able to return my blog buddies to the side bar and added a few sites that I like with the exception of NEPartisan. For some reason everytime I open it in Internet Explorer 7 it crashes my computer. It opens in Safari without any hiccups but can't load it to the blogroll on Firefox. I need some help computer geeks.

In other blogger news our good friend Joe Valenti of Pittston Politics got clobbered in the flood but he and his family will come back better than ever.

NEPA Blogs has been a hot site for the last few months. For the longest time me and DB Echo did all the hunting and linking but then we brought Michelle on board and her energy and internet savvy has made it the place to go for news and links from the local blogosphere. Believe it or not I was only interested in linking to political sights then Michelle dug up blogs about all sorts of subjects and NEPA Blogs has become something of a media sensation.

Now my pals have a gig on the new show on Channel 28

NEPA Blogs will be presenting a "Blog of the Week" on the WBRE's PA Live! every Tuesday. PA Live! airs weekday afternoons on WBRE from 4:00 to 5:00.

And tonight you can catch some of our local scribes at
NEPA Blogger's Roundtable

Somehow I just deleted my blogroll

I guess I know what I'm doing the rest of the night. Anybody that wants a link let me know. I have to rebuild the thing from memory so I may miss someone.

Update: Still rebuilding, hope to have it done by the weekend. Also need to spend some time blogging.

The road back

I have been posting sporactly the last few weeks after shutting down the operation last November. It looks like I have lost my audience as the Sitemeter tells me my unique visitors have dropped from 400-500 on a good day to less than 100 now. I miss blogging so now my challenge is to rebuild an audience. As the Blogfather told me many moons ago the way to create traffic is content, content, content so now I will opine again on various local and natonal issues and let you my dear readers take my head off if you disagree. I have made so many friends ( and a few enemies )doing this that I just can't resist. Even Mrs. G want's me to do it again.

So what is going on?

The Blogfather has been in a full throated defense of Tom Leighton as Mayor of Wilkes-Barre, Mark is a Republican and Tom is Democrat which validates my theory that party labels don't matter much in local elections.

Another Monkey has been all over a site that has been stealing content from the rest of us. Blogger etiquitte demands a link back to the source. But it looks like this jerk has taken the site down.

NEPA Blogs has been hot with a bunch of new bloggers being listed.

The Lu Lac Political Letter has been trying to cover everything.


Common Sense Political Thought wants to play games with the debt ceiling and still thinks because it snows there is no such thing as global warming.

Steve is also worked up about the content thief

Then there is the best political blogger in PA. The Morning Call's John Micek who writes Capitol Ideas. What a natural, well informed and funny.

Signing Off

This concludes our irreguarly scheduled program. Thank you for tuning in.


Klaatu barada nikto


So Long and Thanks for All the Fish