Cubs?

I don't know what to say. For the first time in my life -- heck, for the first time since 50 years before I was born -- the Chicago Cubs are World Series champions.

I kinda like that. And I kinda hate that.

I like the story of finally breaking free of the demons of the past and reaching the top. From that standpoint, it's wonderful.

But, it's not just "the Cubs." It's "the Chicago Cubs." Chicago. And I hate Chicago.

Why? Well, name some people from Chicago. Barack Obama (in his adult life). Hillary Clinton (bron there). That right there makes it the most awful place in the United States.

Now, sure, there are good people from Chicago. And for them, I'm happy.

Truth is, I was cheering for the Indians. Yes, that's an American League team. But, I don't like Chicago, and the Indians have a history of baseball in the Columbus area. The Columbus Indians and Columbus RedStixx of the 1990s were Indians affiliates. And, then, blog buddy Don Surber is an Indians fan. It would have done him good to see his Indians win the World Series for the first time in his life.

Oh, well. Maybe next year. My Braves don't look like they'll be competing in the Fall Classic.

Setting up your own blog, Part 2: Adding your own domain name

Earlier, I wrote about getting started with your own blog. It was mentioned that you could get your own domain name to fully brand your Website. Today, we're going to talk about doing just that.

Now, there are two circumstances under which you'd add your own domain name to your blog:

1. You are starting a new blog
2. You are adding to an existing blog

Those are a little bit different, and a little bit alike.

It's pretty straight-forward, actually. Keep in mind that we're focusing on Blogger and WordPress.com blogs, okay? If  you decide to use another blogging service, check with that service for how to create a blog with your own domain name.

Blogger

The cheapest way is with Blogger. It's free for hosting (as is WordPress.com) and the domain names are only $12/year. Domain names are through Google, which also owns Blogger.

First, go to https://www.blogger.com/ and login in or create an account and a blog. You should receive a popup offering to create a domain name for you. Go ahead and accept the offer, and let it look up some suggestions based on your blog name. You can also type in a domain name you want.

If it doesn't prompt you there, don't worry. From the main menu, in Settings > Basil, look to the Publishing section and you will see an option to Buy A Domain. Click that and you'll get a Google Domains popup.

Now, here's the bad news. Someone may already have that domain name. You may have to try a few things and look at a few suggestions to find one that's available and that you're happy with. But, once you do, you're good to go.

Well, after you actually buy it. It's probably $12 if it's a .com domain. If there's a Premium badge next to it, it means someone else bought it and is squatting on it in order to sell it.

If you already have a blog

If you already have a blog and are wanting to add your own domain name to it, just go to Settings > Basic and look in the Publishing section, as described above.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Google makes it kinda easy.

WordPress.com

It's pretty easy from WordPress.com, too. Go to https://www.wordpress.com/ and click Create Website.

WordPress will walk you through the setup, giving you options for the type of Website, a general layout, and general appearance, all of which can be skipped, or changed later if you like. They're just to set up the initial look and feel.

On Step 4, you get prompted for a domain name or keyword. This will be your Website address. If you want your own address (removing the "wordpress" from the URL) here's a good spot to do that. It's $36/year if  you select from this menu.

If you already have a blog

If you set up your blog without purchasing a domain name, you can always do that later.

From the main menu, look for Domains. Click that. Then look for the Add Domain button (see it in the image above?) and click it. You can then enter your choice for a domain name.

Again, pretty easy.

Summary

If you use Blogger for your blog, use Google Domains. If you use WordPress.com for your blog, use WordPress.com to register your domain.

Setting up your own blog

About 10 years ago, I posted a series about setting up your own blog. Looking back on it, a lot has changed.

When I looked at free blogging platforms, they included LiveJournal, which is now owned by Russians. Really.

Another free option was MSN Spaces. Remember that? No? Now you know why it isn't around any more.

There was AOL Journals. It's nowhere to be found.

There was ... um ... well, that was about it. Except for a couple called Blogger and WordPress.com.

At the time, I suggested those two and none of the other ones for free blogging. There may be some other decent free blogging platforms around, but I'm sticking with those two.

Paid options are available, too. WordPress.com has a paid option. Or, you can use a third-party Web host and install WordPress there. But, you'll need your own domain name for that. And that means we're getting ahead of ourselves.

But, this is a good time to talk about domain names.

Your Own Domain

Do you want your own domain name? If you use Blogger or WordPress.com, you don't need your own domain name to have a blog. But, if you want your own for whatever reason, then you have plenty of options. However, that means your blog is not really free.

If you don't care about your own domain name, skip to the next part. If you do, though, here are some options you have. There are more options than I'm going to mention. I'm just focusing on a few of the cheapest or most popular options.

Basic Registration

To get your own domain name, you'll pay around $12 ... or more. Often more. Sure, registrars will offer sale prices for multi-year or bundles with other services, but here's the basic one-year price (rounded to the nearest dollar) for some of the most popular registrars.

Google: $12 ($12 first year)
GoDaddy: $15 ($12 first year)
Network Solutions: $38 ($20 first year)

Many hosting companies will offer to register your domain for you, so you may find good prices if you go the hosting route. However, the idea here is to do it most economically.

Private Registration

Then, there's private registration. That is an extra service that's above and beyond the standard domain registration. It's totally up to you whether or not you want your information private. I choose to do that. If you don't, anyone can look up your name, address, and phone number. Nope. I'm going private.

Google: Free
GoDaddy: $10
Network Solutions: $16

Net Registration

Here's the yearly price for registering a domain and having the information private:

Google: $12
GoDaddy: $25
Network Solutions: $54

I've used all three of these services. I have moved all my domains to Google Domains because it's cheaper, the interface is easy to use, and it does everything I need it to do.

Choosing A Platform

If you don't want your own domain name, you'll likely want to use Blogger or WordPress.com for your blog. Your URL will be http://yourblog.blogspot.com or http://yourblog.wordpress.com

If you do want your own domain name, you can use a third-party for hosting, which means add around $100 or more per year to the cost.

Or, use either Blogger or WordPress.com for hosting. Here's the total yearly cost.

Blogger: $12 (hosting is free; $12 for domain registration)
WordPress.com: $18 ($13 for hosting; $5 for domain registration add-on to hosting; net is $18)

You can't register a domain name through WordPress.com unless you buy it with a hosting plan.

So, whether you get your own domain name or not, I'm suggesting Blogger or WordPress.com for your blog. I've used both. I like WordPress better, but not enough to justify the extra cost. For some, it's worth it.

Money Money Money

If you want to monetize your blog, fine. Keep in mind that if you bombard people with ads, that turns them off. I have ads on this little blog, but they don't get all up in your face. Blogger lets you put your own ads on your Website. They also have their own advertising service for which you may apply. I participate, but haven't made a lot of money on it. Very little, in face.

WordPress.com does not let you put ads on your Website. Well, they do, but that's with the $5,000/month package. They have their own advertising service that's available with the $100/year plan.

If you're going to pay WordPress.com $100/year to host your Website, you might as well pay a third-party host and get the full WordPress software, which is more setup, but lets you put ads on your Website.

Blogger clearly has the advantage in price on this topic.

Before we leave this topic, let me reiterate: if you attempt to monetize, don't be obtrusive with your ads. Put yourself in your readers' place.

Nuff said.

Summary

So, do you want your own domain name? If so, I'm suggesting to use Google domains. Cheaper.

For hosting, either WordPress.com or Blogger (Google). I'm suggesting Blogger because ... cheaper. Unless you aren't using your own domain name. Then they are the same price: free.

Pub-D-Hub

I got my first Roku device in early 2011. And I've been a big fan of Roku ever since.

For those that don't know, Roku is a device to allow you to stream online content to your TV. I've written a little about it, but there are Websites dedicated to the whole topic. Here's one that has a lot of good info.

Anyway, Roku has a lot of apps (they call them "channels") that offer a wide variety of content. Just about anything you'd want. Anything. Yep.

Of course, it has all the major services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google Play, HBO, Sling TV, ... well, the list goes on and on.

One little app that I enjoy, though, is called Pub-D-Hub. And, like the name indicates, it's a hub for public domain content. ("Pub-D hub" get it?) I don't like that the Website is a ".info" address -- that just screams spammer -- but my concerns have been alleviated over the years.

Pub-D-Hub has a decent amount of public domain content. Sure, it's all free content that you can get from other places, but I like the fact that I don't have to search all over for it. It puts a lot of stuff all in one place. It's convenient.

Pub-D-Hub also has a "Gold" package. Now, charging for public domain content? Not cool. But, I don't mind it in this instance. First, the price is really cheap. It's less than $5/year. I don't know but I strongly suspect the subscriptions from me and from others helps defer, and maybe even fully cover, the cost of running the servers. I suspect that if it does -- and I'm not even sure it does -- that it barely does.

Next, it's not really mandatory to get the Gold package to use the service. It offers more, but there's still plenty to watch using just the free plan.

The Gold plan doesn't get rid of commercials. The free plan doesn't insert commercials. Pub-D-Hub is one of the few free services that doesn't interrupt content with advertising.

The Website isn't some slick, Netflix or Hulu looking Website. It's functional and easy to use. Not a lot of extra bells and whistles, but they aren't needed.

Content is updated regularly. Monthly for free plans and weekly (Sundays) for Gold plans. And, like I said, it's public domain content.

Old movies. Episodes of old TV shows. Classic TV commercials. Educational films. Old time radio programs. Newsreels.

I enjoy watching content from Pub-D-Hub. If you have a Roku, check it out.

World Series

I've never been to a World Series game. I've not had a lot of opportunities to go, since I don't live near any teams that actually play in the Series. Well, often, anyway.

I've established before that I like baseball. A lot. But to go to a World Series game, I'd only pay to go if it was a team I followed. And that's the Braves. Now, to be sure, the Braves have been to the World Series. Both trips while in Boston were before I was born. One Milwaukee trip was before I was born and the other was a few months after I was born. Of course, I wasn't following baseball that year, and if I had been, I wouldn't have cared if a team from Milwaukee went or not. I'd have probably been following the Cardinals or the Reds. Most people from Georgia followed one of those teams before the Braves moved to Atlanta.

Anyhow, when the Atlanta Braves made it to the World Series, it just wasn't financially feasible to go. I couldn't afford it. So, I've never been to a World Series game.

I'm not excited about this year's matchup. Sure, there's a lot to be excited about, but if it's not my team, I really don't care as much. But, the fact remains that either the Cleveland Indians will break a 68-year World Series championship drought, or the Chicago Cubs will break a 108-year World Series championship drought.

Before this year, the Cubs hadn't even been since 1945. The Indians have been and lost three times since their 1948 victory, most recently in 1997 and 1995.

Either way it works out, it'll be a big deal. Even before it started, though, it's a big deal for Jim Schlegal, a World War II vet who attended the Cubs' last series (a 4 games to 3 loss to Detroit) in 1945. CBS Sports reports that someone heard about family attempts to raise money to send him to a game and made it happen:

CNBC host Marcus Lemonis has given Schlegal two tickets. So Schlegal will get to see another World Series in Wrigley Field, 71 years after he saw his first one.

[Tip: Diane Meyer at Respublica]

The series moves to Chicago tonight, and Schlegal will get to see his Cubs play. Good on all the parties involved in making that vet's dream come true.

I'd like to see blog buddy Don Surber celebrate a Cleveland victory, since I don't have a dog in the fight. But if the Cubs win and a World War II veteran gets to see his life-long team celebrate, I'm okay with that.

What are today's kids going to remember?

I remember how different things were when I was much younger. For one thing, we said the Pledge of Allegiance in school. School lunches were a quarter. You didn't act up in school.

Things were different then. Of course, being from the south, we said "sir" and "ma'am" without being reminded to. We had fireworks on Independence Day. We had...

Well, what brought this about, you might ask.

No really. Go ahead and ask. I'll wait.

...

Well, since you asked, I read a post that Carol Marks wrote over at Moxie Beautiful:

We learned how to tell time on a clock with a face. Some of us fixed popcorn on the stove, in a pan. We passed paper notes during class or in between classes. We used textbooks in school and the aroma of ditto machines lingered in the air. We took our film, from a camera, to the store to be developed.

Our generation received the news from news anchors on one of the three big major networks. We listened to the radio and called in to request our favorite tunes. We also listened to vinyl records on a turntable. We waited in long lines to get concert tickets.

She's a few years younger than I am, so some of the references she makes fit me and some don't (doggone kids). Of course, every generation does this. My grandparents (they've all passed on now) would talk about seeing an airplane for the first time, or seeing something called television. Paved roads. Riding in an A-Model car.

Our parents did the same thing. And now we're doing it. And, of course, our children and grandchildren will do it too.

I do wonder what today's youth will be going on about. "I remember when iPhones actually had a button on them. And when you had to drive a car itself. And cars only went around on the ground. And we only had 500 channels..."

But, it's not really those kind of things that make us different. I mentioned in the first paragraphs about love of God, family, country, and school. I don't see that so much today.

We were young American children, and we loved our God, our families, our country, and our schools. Maybe we didn't know better. I think that today, they just know worse.

Both ways

This whole "Trump won't accept the results if he loses" nonsense is ... well, nonsense.

It's be almost funny if it just wasn't so ... well, okay, it is funny, despite everything.

On the left, including the media, they're getting their panties in a wad because Trump wouldn't agree to unconditionally accept the election results. This is the same left that backed Al Gore's refusal to accept the 2000 election results until the Supreme Court ended that hissy-fit.

The other group that's jumping on Trump is the #NeverTrump crowd, many of whom have a field day with Hillary's rigging of the Democrat nomination.

I understand the dislike of Donald Trump. I'm no fan. But the #NeverTrump crowd getting in bed with the pro-Hillary crowd ... well, let's just say I'm torn between disgust and disappointment. Some of those carrying the #NeverTrump banner are people I've thought a lot of over the years. I'm hoping they wise up.

Back to the election rigging thing, The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler nailed it:

After the farcical “investigation” by Comey’s FBI of Hildebot Clintoon’s clearly treasonous and criminally negligent handling of classified material, not to mention every single other investigation of Congress’ ending up in nothing at all no matter how damning the evidence? After Project Veritas publishing, on a daily basis, irrefutable proof of ProgNazi operatives not only admitting to, but bragging of their massive vote fraud operations? After the IRS being used as the armed goons of the ProgNazis to suppress dissent up to the 2012 election (and the inevitable pointless show “investigations” not leading anywhere afterwards)? After the too numerous to count reports of precincts voting more than 100% Democrat in previous elections? We could go on for another 200 pages, but we trust you get the point.

Yet we’re supposed to just forget all about that and hand our lying, cheating, thieving oppressors a blank check to go forth and continue using us like a rented mule?

Like I said, I'm no fan of Trump. But I'm not going to call him out when he's right. And on this, he's right.