ToaCx4 - Thoughts of a Crazy, Constitutionally Conservative Christian

What is ToaCx4, and who is The JaceMan?

ToaCx4 (pronounced Toke Times Four) - Thoughts of a Crazy, Constitutionally Conservative Christian, is an open and PUBLIC opinion journal, advice column, and "fact sheet" fielded by The JaceMan (better known to friends and family as simply, Jace) for the purposes of counseling others on issues of:  religion (all variations), Christianity, spirituality, the christian bible, the nation (USA), government, politics, history, ethics, morality, and ANYTHING ELSE that you simply "need to know."

The JaceMan is a short, straight, middle-class, God-fearing, white, Christian male who enjoys country music.  By default, he is aware that makes him a [sarcasm] vertically-challenged, politically incorrect, hate-mongering, non-tolerant, closed-minded, bigoted and sexist redneck, whose privileged position leaves him calloused to the plight of others [sarcasm].

Now why on earth you would want to seek the advice or opinions of such a fool is beyond him, but if you do, he aims to answer!  The JaceMan pulls no punches, mixes no words, and doesn't worry if he offends.  At the same time, he turns his back on nobody and willingly offers advice to those who love him or hate him, cheer him or boo him, agree with him or mock him.  He believes that everyone is worth being heard and welcomes feedback from anyone, while simultaneously refusing to stifle himself.  In other words, if you want real, honest, sincere feedback, commentary, or advice you've found yourself in the right location.  But if you're searching for an avenue to be heard without listening in return, you're probably best to continue on as staying here will result in nothing more than your own disappointment.

If The JaceMan hasn't driven you away yet, then he (read, I -- on account of it's me who is typing *cheesy grin*) invites you to start a conversation or seek advice to the "problems" that plague you by clicking on the Leave a Comment link below and asking The JaceMan a question.  Rest assured, all questions will be answered in time!

Thank you,

The JaceMan

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Important Disclaimer for Old Readers and Visitors
Although I haven't had as many "Ask the JaceMan!" sessions as I would have liked, I have decided that is what I enjoy most about LiveJournal. So, from this point forward (July 19, 2008), Ask the JaceMan is now the sole purpose of ToaCx4 (Thoughts of a Crazy, Constitutionally Conservative Christian), and will be used almost exclusively for this reason. I apologize, but I already have so many internet projects going on that I find myself coming here less and less because I have no real "PURPOSE" for posting here when I have so many other places and projects I already post. I am converting ToaCx4 to being an "Ask the JaceMan" blog full-time to give myself that needed purpose to be here and contribute so that you guys aren't constantly wondering where I'm at and what has happened to me. I hope you understand my need for having a purpose-driven blog. Thank you!

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If you like my site, please consider sharing this article so that others may "Ask JaceMan" too!

Personally... I thought that last night's show kicked Beijing's butt.  That unique projection set-up was out of this world.  The swimming whales were something special.  Yep, that opening ceremony owned... but I still don't like Canada! Just thought I would throw that last part in there.

Go U.S.A.! 

ehowton   buys me a premium gift subscription, I will re-stylize this blog and commit to making a minimum of 1 post (try for 2) a week.  Until such a time comes as ehowton  realizes that he should be following Obama's lead and share the wealth, I'll pop in whenever I dang well feel like it.

Alright... back to watching homeboy make repairs to my poor little house (burglarized last week for the 4th time since I bought it)... Yep, yep!

This is a LJ post by... ME.

Over the next few days I will list my TOP TENS for music, books, candies and more. I invite you to not only comment, but list your top tens in the comments so that we can better know each other. And please feel free to make mention of these threads in your own journals so that your friends may come here and comment as well.

Thank you!

With that out of the way, I present to you...

The Movie Top Ten
10. The Goonies
9. Remember the Titans
8. Catch Me If You Can
7. The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
6. Good Will Hunting
5. Big Fish
4. The Shawshank Redemption
3. Forrest Gump
2. A Few Good Men
1. The Princess Bride

Note: I disqualified movie series (such as trilogies that have trouble standing on their own merit without the full series in tact), tv mini series, and animated features from consideration. Otherwise this list would be ammended to include, The Lord of the Rings, Lonesome Dove, and Dumbo.

Now let me hear from YOU!

Dear Jaceman,

Isn't it true that the tea parties are nothing more than partisan propaganda being held by right-wing extremists?

-Anonymous Dude
San Francisco, CA

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A friend of mine from Twitter, @jamieharrington, was wanting to append a “signature” to the end of all of her WordPress posts.  After I figured out what she was after, I let her know that the “best” (meaning what I would do, so that must make it the BEST option, right?) way to handle it would be to modify her WordPress theme.  I told her that if she didn’t want to take that approach, there was probably a plugin for it.  So, I set off to find it.

And find it, I did.  I pointed her to FT Signature Manager.  She thanked me for the link and set off on her merry way to give the installation a go.  She got the plugin installed, but couldn’t figure out how to configure it.  I figured that it was just a case of the WordPress 2.7 branch’s backend being so drastically different than previous iterations.  So, I tried to explain to her where to go to configure the plugin.  After she couldn’t find the options, I decided to install it myself and walk her through it.  (Aren’t I sweet?)

What I found was that it took me a few minutes to figure out how to set this thing up too, but we eventually nailed it down.  I gave Jamie the information, and she added her signature to her blog.  A couple of her readers commented that it was pretty neat and that they would like to do the same.  With that, I decided I would write up a detailed tutorial (complete with screenshots) walking users through installing and configuring this signature plugin.  So, without further adieu, I present to you the tutorial…

These directions assume that you are using WordPress 2.7.x.  If you are using an earlier version of WordPress, I assume that you know how to manually install plugins for WordPress, and you should start this tutorial at step 3.

1. Getting Started

The first thing you’re going to want to do is install FT Signature Manager, and you might as well take advantage of WordPress’s new built-in, plugin installer.  After you have logged into your WordPress Admin panel, scan the sidebar for “Plugins” and expand it if it already isn’t.  Then click on Add New.

2. Find the Plugin

After the Add New plugin page has loaded, you will have the option to search WordPress for plugins.  By default the search criteria is set to “term.”  Leave that as is and type in “ft signature” before clicking on the search button.

3. Install the Plugin

The search results should find and return the plugin “FT Signature Manager.” Simply click on the text link reading, “Install” to proceed.

4. Confirm Plugin is Activated

After confirming that you wish to install the plugin, it should already be activated, but you should confirm this by checking Plugins > Installed to be sure.  If it doesn’t show up in the activated list, you may activate it here the same way you would any other plugin by clicking the “Activate” link.

5a. Setup that Signature

Now that the plugin has been installed and activated, we need to let WordPress know whether or not the default behavior is to show the signature every time (When you make a new post, you have the option to turn the signature on or off from within the posting screen.  You will find that option near the bottom of the posting screen labeled Signature Options.) or not. And of course, you get to set your desired signature up (using HTML) complete with text, images, or whatever you want.  Access the signature configurator by clicking on Users > Signature Options in the sidebar.

5b. Signature Setup Continued

Determine what you want your signature to read (text) or show (image), and input the HTML into the text box.  Note that if you wish to use a multiple line signature, you will need to manually create the line breaks using the BR tag as shown below.  When you have your signature’s text/image HTML entered, you can click on the Update button to not only activate your signature, but to also gain a preview of what your signature is going to look like on-screen.

6. Post Away

At this point, your signature is setup and ready to roll.  All that’s left now is to test it out by making a post and seeing your signature in action.  Keep in mind that even if you set the default behavior to always on, this plugin will only add your signature to posts made AFTER installation and configuration.  It will NOT automatically append your signature to your prior posts, although you can go back and add it yourself, if you feel so inclined.

Thanks — I hope this helps some of you!

Note: You can actually see the results of this plugin directly below.  Notice how the signature previewed in the image above is now shown below this post.

Mirrored from JaceMan's Journey.

I’m hoping to get some opinions here as to whether or not I’m properly handling this situation.

Mike Fitz runs a blog where he posted about his reasons for frowning upon TweeterGetter.  His conspiracty is that the big reason TweeterGetter is bad is because Gary McCaffrey is stealing passwords of Twitter users.  To me this notion is crazy for several reasons, but I tried just playing devil’s advocate and asking Mr. Fitz if he’s worried about that if he has or planned on posting the same warning for other services that request your Twitter credentials.

Technical jargon alert:  Of course, this problem isn't Gary's fault, it is a natural result of Twitter refusing to take advantage of  0Auth in their API.

Anyway, when I defended TweeterGetter one of Mike’s readers decided to make a childish, homoerotic, suggestion about my sexual preference.

http://mike.brisgeek.com/2009/02/14/tweetergetter-twitter-password-harvester/#comment-43401

I was disappointed to find that rather than admonishing his reader, Mike instead opted to result to joining in and calling me names.

http://mike.brisgeek.com/2009/02/14/tweetergetter-twitter-password-harvester/#comment-43410

When I called him onto the carpet about that, he attempted to deflect the entire issue.

http://mike.brisgeek.com/2009/02/14/tweetergetter-twitter-password-harvester/#comment-43431

I pointed out that I didn’t appreciate his comments nor the way he was choosing to handle the entire discussion.

http://mike.brisgeek.com/2009/02/14/tweetergetter-twitter-password-harvester/#comment-43435

I’d have to say, I’m done with the issue now.  I probably won’t be returning again, but I want to make sure that I have handled things properly thus far.  Your thoughts?

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In the sake of fairness, the ENTIRE article, and my comments can be viewed HERE.

If I have handled things poorly or improperly, you have my permission to tell me so.

Mirrored from JaceMan's Journey.

It has been less than 24 hours since I first blogged about Gary McCaffrey and his TweeterGetter service.  Last night when I made that entry he was closing in on 4,000 followers.  Today, some 18 hours later, he’s closing in on 7,000.  As of me beginning to write this he stands at 6,851 which will no doubt be even larger by the time I finish this entry.

What has TweeterGetter done for me specifically?  It’s hard to say.  What I do know is that When I signed up with TweeterGetter yesterday I stood at 102 followers.  As of this writing I am at 165.  Now, that’s a pretty huge jump considering my lack of Twitter exposure when I only had 102 followers before we began, and I don’t want to credit all of that to TweeterGetter either.  It’s hard to say how many of 63 followers I’ve picked up in the last day were a by product of TweeterGetter and how many were a result of the article I wrote concerning the service… or even how many were simply “natural” follows due to my having been very active [providing SOLID content and STELLAR (in my own and correct opinion) humor] on Twitter in the last 24 hours.

In the end I don’t really care that much.  One thing is certain, even if I didn’t pick up a single follower via TweeterGetter, which I know I have — I still would have nothing negative to say about it or Gary.  The reason is simple.  In spite of all of this “pyramid scheme” and “ponzi” talk, this application is negatively affecting NOBODY.  Even if I do not “benefit” from it, I wasn’t harmed by it either.  The fact is no money has changed hands (so far); nobody is being forced to do anything; and everyone who has signed up has been presented the OPPORTUNITY to opt-out of following Gary before they ReTweet his message.  I won’t even mention that in no way can TweeterGetter force you to remain one of his followers after you sign up.  If you wanted to simply sign up and then unfollow him IMMEDIATELY, there’s nothing stopping you from doing so.

So, what then is the big deal?

Well, the big deal is Gary himself!  This thing is ingenious!  It’s powefully simple in concept and execution and that is what is making him both an overnight success and controversy.  I would love to get an interview with this guy and pick his brain.  I must admit, this little idea has planted a seed or two into my own mind.  Of course, I may never launch them as I’d hate to be remembered [sarcasm] for bringing “pornography and prostitution” to the masses as Gary has done.[/sarcasm]

So, in less than 48 hours Gary has managed to acquire some 7,000 followers for himself and many others of us have leeched off of that success to grab a bonus 10, 20, 100, 200, or 500 for ourselves.  No babies nor animals were harmed in the making of TweeterGetter, and I have made contacts with several people I probably never would have otherwise.  Not only have I made contact with them, but I have shared laughs with them and am looking forward to long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with each and every one of them.

And you know what happens if a few bad apples turn out to be spammers who aren’t bringing anything positive to my tweeting experience?  Simple, I’ll elect to unfollow them!  Just as I know they will do if I don’t bring some value their way too.  So, with all of that being said, the whole concept of this being nothing more than a numbers game is ludicrous.  If it turns out to be nothing more than a numbers game you can rest assured that just as quickly as Gary reaches 10,000 followers (and I predict that takes place some time tomorrow or Saturday at the latest), he will find his follower count back down around 2,000 or less because people will quickly abandon ship.

So I say, we give things some time and we find out what Gary’s long-term plans are and about how he plans on enriching the lives of others by tweeting.  Maybe it will turn out that he really is interested in nothing more than making his follower count hit astronomical heights, and if that’s so — rest assured I will unfollow him quickly.  But maybe he will turn out to be one of best and most engaging tweeple under the twitosphere.  And if that happens, I’ll be glad that I “erred” on this side of the line rather than the side that chose to hang him first and ask questions never.

Oh, I almost forgot this is MY blog and I can spam it if I want to!  *giggles* So, please allow me the liberty of pasting my token “spammy” TweeterGetter link here so that you may follow me.  Thanks!

http://tweetergetter.com/jacebarnett

Mirrored from JaceMan's Journey.

Ricci (along with several other internet marketers), at She-Sales Seminars is screaming foul, murder, calamity, and in all other ways, DECEIT over TweeterGetter.  TweeterGetter is a new viral Twitter community building application that works by allowing you to not only promote your own Twitter page, but also letting all of your followers promote your Twitter page too, while they promote their own.

In any event, many marketers are upset and say that Gary McCaffrey is “prostituting” Twitter.  I think it’s mainly jealousy speaking, as they can’t stand to see people taking “shortcuts.”

Those who don’t think it’s a shortcut claim that it just doesn’t work, because “ReTweeting Gary’s message only benefits him.”  They argue that your followers are already following you, thus you don’t gain any new followers and only Gary benefits.  This argument is easily proven false by acknowledging that yes, my followers are already following me, but THEIR followers aren’t!  When they sign up for TweeterGetter under me, all of their followers who see the value in TweeterGetter don’t just follow Gary, they follow me too!

Now for those same marketers crying, “Where’s the relationship in that?”  I ask you, is this not the same thing as the EXTENDED Networks found on LinkedIn?  Do those disgust you too?

What about this whole thing just being a ploy to get Gary more followers?  Well, if anyone signs up and doesn’t want to  follow Gary, they don’t have to — they can simply untick that box.  What this means is that not only is Gary not charging for his application, but he isn’t even making it a requirement to follow him to use it.  Which I don’t think would be unfair if he did.

I argued in the She-Sales Seminar thread that crying foul over someone getting a bunch of followers is stupid, because unless I provide quality content to my follower I won’t be keeping them anyway.  The fact is, if you follow me on Twitter and all I do is spam you, you’re not sticking around anyway.  The only way you remain a follower of mine is IF I provide value to your Tweeting experience.  Thus that “relationship building” they are complaining is missing is actually VERY MUCH PRESENT.  And if it isn’t present, then you lose your followers anyway — thus leaving their whole reason for waving the red flag null in void!

Face it folks, this is nonsense!  TweeterGetter is a great idea, and Gary’s only sin is that when he introduced it to the Twitter Nation he did so without Filsaime, Reese, Kern, Ambrose, or Belcher on his birth certificate.  Any attempts to masquerade this “boycott” as anything more than jealousy and slander is simply ridiculous.

Please Gary, take solace in the fact that not everyone is against you.

Good night!

Mirrored from JaceMan's Journey.