I Almost Forgot How To Do This...

Just a quickie here to bring all six of you up to speed since the Google/Facebook censorship fiasco in March.  A side note...the "new" OHNT site is still up and running and open to any HNTer who needs a place to post something.  There's some familiar faces over there.  So to speak.

Went to my eldest (oldest?) niece's wedding in Colorado in May.  Stopped off in Utah to see an old girlfriend from my sophomore year in high school whom I'd gotten back in touch with on Facebook.  We hadn't seen each other in 40 years.  Of course, my FB friends didn't disappoint, and somehow decided that the wedding I was attending was actually ours.  Ummm...nope.  That's her in the left picture, and my freshly wedded niece in the right one (for whom a couple of people thought was MY bride--really, doesn't anyone actually read FB posts anymore??).

Things were busy with our annual Symphony Under the Stars concert. We celebrated the 100th birthday of Frank Sinatra, and it was a HUGE success! Lots of people telling us that this was, by far, the best summer concert we've done. Can't say that I disagree! A sad time though, as we mourned the loss of a good friend, and our principal percussionist. Cancer sucks, in case you weren't aware...

August brought together my fellow classmates for our 40-year reunion.  It was fantastic to spend time with some of these people, particularly the ones that have somehow stayed away from FB, or who weren't part of my friends list.  Lots of fun, but I didn't really take any pics.  iPhone was about to crap out (which has since been upgraded to iPhone 6S--only three days before Apple announced the newest upgrade....fml...).

Mom's 80th birthday was coming up on Oct. 1st, so my siblings and I asked her how she wanted to celebrate.  We're thinking a nice dinner, maybe have the grandkids along too and do something around town.  She says, "Let's go to Vegas!"  So we spent four days in Vegas!  Lots of fun!  (if you ever get the chance to see the Beatle's "LOVE" by Cirque du Soleil, I highly recommend that you go!)

In spite of not getting to see anyone on the Colorado trip, I did get to see one of my oldest bloggy friends just this week! Sam, from Sam's Stories, moved here to Montana almost two years ago, and only about three hours away.  Sadly, I have failed in that we haven't actually seen each other since my California trip about two and a half years ago (see #60, proof #1 over there in the sidebar, or go here).  Sam had a conference on this side of the state, so she took a detour and came to see me!  Of course, that meant she had to spend the night, meaning that I had to spend about two weeks to sandblast the bathroom, dust all the forest fire ash, and hide the dirty laundry.  It was all worth it though!  We're already planning our next sleepover!

Theoretically, now you're caught up. More or less. What's new with you?

We Beat Google! HNT

Yep, we're back in business!  If you want to skip the drivel and get right to the pics, go here.

When Blogger sent out the message that they were going to shut down blogs with "adult" content, the uproar was immediate.  Many of us would have had our blogs taken away from us.  Admittedly, Blogger/Google is a free service, and they can do whatever they damned well please.  But shooting themselves in the foot like this, and totally out of the blue, was just plain wrong.  It was big news on FB, and I jokingly commented that we should do one last HNT before they closed the OHNT site down.  Then we thought about it, and it seemed like a pretty good idea!  So we ran with it.  "Fuck Blogger!" HNT!

Then Blogger/Google reversed their decision, in no small part because of the public uproar.  By this time, I had already received a handful of submissions with promises of more.  So rather than pass it up, the focus became "We Beat Google!" HNT.  And my, how it's been successful!

If I had to characterize this particular HNT, it would be "surprise".  Surprise at the age range--from 21 up to early 60s!  Surprise at the newcomers who heard about it from other bloggers, or missed out on the action from a few years ago.  Surprise at how certain people stepped up their HNT game--at least a half dozen off the top of my head who are sharing far more than they ever have before!  Surprise at some of the old-timers who came back for this one.  All in all, a pretty good showing!

We've got over 3 dozen submissions tonight.  Will we do it again?  Who knows?  HNT was officially retired over a year ago.  I didn't think it would ever come back.  I suspect it will come back again at some point, but for some sort of very special occasion.  For now, let's just enjoy it's current return!

March Madness

That title should get some hits for me...

Let's see if I can get you caught up somehow.  January was my 10th blogaversary.  I missed it at the time.  Which seems appropriate.  Still not ready to give up the ghost, but it's sure hard to come here on any sort of regular basis.  Unlike Hypersexual Girl, over at Love and Lust.  She's a monster!  She hasn't missed a single day in six and a half years!  Anyhoo, I started thinking about the past 10 years.  And the friends from those early days.  Whose kids are now young adults.  Whose families have undergone all sorts of change--births, deaths, marriages, divorces.  It's sort of like watching the Brady Bunch.  Congrats to all of you that I met back then who are reading this now.  We're still around!

Ooh...  HNT is coming back! Briefly.  Towards the end of February, Blogger/Google sent out the following email to some of its users:

Dear Blogger User,

We're writing to tell you about an upcoming change to the Blogger Content Policy that may affect your account.

In the coming weeks, we'll no longer allow blogs that contain sexually explicit or graphic nude images or video. We'll still allow nudity presented in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts, or where there are other substantial benefits to the public from not taking action on the content.

The new policy will go into effect on the 23rd of March 2015. After this policy goes into effect, Google will restrict access to any blog identified as being in violation of our revised policy. No content will be deleted, but only blog authors and those with whom they have expressly shared the blog will be able to see the content we've made private.

Our records indicate that your account may be affected by this policy change. Please refrain from creating new content that would violate this policy. Also, we ask that you make any necessary changes to your existing blog to comply as soon as possible, so that you won't experience any interruptions in service. You may also choose to create an archive of your content via Google Takeout (https://www.google.com/settings/takeout/custom/blogger).

For more information, please read here (https://support.google.com/blogger?p=policy_update).

Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

Needless to say, that news didn't go over very well, and so I decided to do a special "Fuck You Blogger" HNT on March 19 over at OHNT.  Our last shot before disappearing forever.  I got a lot of positive support, and immediately got about a half dozen pics for it!  Then the unexpected happened...  After a huge outcry and ridicule, they reversed their decision!  After talking with a couple of people, the consensus was to keep on schedule, and call it "We Beat Google!" HNT.  So it's on!  March 19th.  Send me your pics and they'll go up on the OHNT site.  Should be fun to see everyone!

What else...?  Montana Legislature is in session, and true to form, the state was the butt of national jokes when one of the Tea Party whack jobs introduced a bill to reform indecent exposure laws.  And his infamous comment about outlawing yoga pants.  Saner minds prevailed when the bill was immediately tabled in committee (unanimously), but it set the tone for the rest of the session.  Be sure to watch the national news, because there will be plenty of other opportunities to embarrass the state in the coming weeks!

My oldest niece is getting married in May.  In Colorado.  Not sure of the reasoning for that, but OsTour'16 now has a destination!  I'm sure that pics will follow...

Ummm, that's about it.  See you at HNT, and then here in a month or two, if lucky!