The site has all the questions from Write from Karen's Monday Morning Meme. I'm reposting those I think are most interesting, for me at least.

• Are you an urban dweller, a suburbanite, or a country person? Are you happy where you live? Without giving too many details, tell us about the place where you live. What makes it different than other places? What do you like the most? The least?
• Would you rather be overdressed or underdressed for a party? Why? Tell us about the last time you were overdressed and/or underdressed; what happened? Did anyone notice you were over/under dressed?
• What five things would you put in a time capsule?
• If you could give a single piece of advice to the film industry in Hollywood, what would you say? If you were a powerful film producer, what sorts of films would you produce? Why?
• If you could be guaranteed an honest answer to three questions, what questions would you ask, and who would you ask them of?
• Have you ever worn your slippers, or pajamas, in public? If so, when and why? If not, would you ever consider leaving your house looking less than your best? What do you think of people who do so? (Be honest, we all judge on some level).
• What three sounds do you love? Okay, now tell us WHY you love these sounds.
• Which are scarier to you: ghosts or aliens? Why? Do you believe in either/both? Why or why not?
• What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have any funny/odd memories of the library?
• If you could interview anyone, who would you interview, and what would the first question be?
• What is the oddest thing you ever bought for yourself?
• What modern day convenience would you be willing to give up forever? Why would you give up that particular convenience and how would you give it up?
• When you are having a bad day, what do you do as a little ‘pick me up’?
• How far do you live from the place where you grew up as a kid? Tell us about the place you grew up – would you choose to go back there and raise your own family (if you have one)? Why or why not?
• If you had to name a smell that always makes you nostalgic, what would it be? What sorts of memories does the smell evoke?
• If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience, would you do so? If not, why not?
• Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Explain, please. Would you be willing to spend a night alone in a remote house that is supposedly haunted? Have you ever seen, or thought you’ve seen, a ghost or evil spirit? If so, what did you do? If not, how do you think you’d react?
• Do you think that the world will be a better or a worse place 100 years from now? Explain your answer, please.
• Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again? Explain, please. Is money or love more important to you? How much money would it take for you to step away from your current life?
• You are given the power to kill people simply by thinking of their deaths and twice repeating the word “goodbye.” People would die a natural death and no one would suspect you. Are there any situations in which you would use this power?
• What is your opinion on the death penalty? Let’s say the person is a serial killer and has admitted his/her guilt, and it is your job to sentence that person. Could you give that person the death penalty? Why or why not?
• Would you be willing to become extremely ugly physically if it meant you would live for 1,000 years at any physical age you chose? Explain your answer.
• What do you have to have with you when you travel? Why?
• The getaway car is waiting outside – where is it taking you?
• What do you think is the sexiest profession for a guy?
• What’s more important, where you live or what you do for a living? Why?

Blog Talkers was founded by Write from Karen 2006 - 2008.

I answered several of them while it was still active.

Blog Talkers Talk #84 Push the button. Go on, you know you want to…

If you could have a magic red button on your desk or in your home, that did one thing when you pressed it, what would you want that one thing to be? (Be specific – tell us what you want and WHY you want it). …more

9. Orphan pages. Memorize this: Every page in your site needs a readily seen link back to the home page. Why? Sometimes users will forward a URL to friends, who may visit and may want more information. But if the page they get is a dead end, forget it. Always put a link to “Home” on every page, and make your site logo (usually found near the top left side of the screen) link back to your home page--that will quickly solve this problem.

via The 10 Most Deadly Mistakes in Website Design | Entrepreneur.com

The rest of the points were pretty well known: disabling the back button, broken links, poor navigation, outdated information, slow site, pop ups/ new windows, and too many or clashing fonts, colours and styles.

About colours, fonts and styles - Make it readable! Contrasting, easy to read plain fonts. For a long time it was popular to have pretty looking pages in shades of light grey, beige, and so on. Pretty, but unreadable.

I would debate the point about having your name, address and so on. If you have a business you could include a business address, or mail box, whatever you choose to use.

Also, including social media links. I think they are better left at the bottom of your site, for people who have read something of your site. Otherwise, people will not read and just skip to the social media links as a short cut. Not really the order you want them to look at your site.

I wanted to keep track of the books I've enjoyed over this winter. I've had a back-to-reading time lately. Even more while the Internet was off. I would spend a lot of the day reading, having books as company when the world got too quiet.

Most recent is Sarah Pinborough. Her books usually don't have happy endings which is a good change. But, it was sad to have some of the characters I came to like finish off the story deceased.

• Christina Henry - I went looking for more of her books and have read all available so far.
• Rachel Harrison - a new favourite. Described as a feminist horror writer.
• Kelly Link - her short stories are hit and miss for me.
• John Langan
• Kelley Armstong - I've read several of her books years before now.
• Rebecca Schaeffer - Her first book was a good story but by the third in the series the gore was too much for me.
• John Scalzi - I read several but did not like one of them.
• Jill Bearup - I liked her first book but I think it was too much humour for me.
• Sophie Irwin
• Wallis Kinney
• Lindsay Wong - Disappointed to find I did not like her short stories as I had hoped to.
• Kim Harrison - Reading more of her series but I don't feel as connected to the series as I was in the earlier books.
• Emily Croy Barker
• Sarah Beth Durst
• Auralee Wallace - Canadian writer. I'll read more of her books.
• Dawn Cook - The writer has another pen name that I forget right now.
• Cory Doctorow - Canadian science fiction writer.
• Kimberly Raye - Really enjoyed her books over the years. She doesn't seem to be writing any more.
• John Wyndham
• MaryJanice Davidson - She was a favourite but the most recent in the series claim to be the last. I think she writes more for fan/sales pressure now and the books don't have the same sense of fun.
• Shirley Jackson - A long time favourite, reading and re-reading her books.
• Kelly Barnhill - "When Women Were Dragons" I'd gladly read whatever she writes next.
• Margaret St. Clair - A vintage science fiction writer and an inspiration for 'Dungeons and Dragons'.
• Celina Myers - Promoting her book, 'Hollow' for fans of YA vampire fiction. It was probably good for them. Not so much for me.
• Raven Snow - It could have been better. I won't look for more.
• Kevin Gallant - The one I did not read. I tried but the writing was poor and I kept editing it instead of being able to read it. I've read that some books on Amazon now are being written by AIs (artificial intelligence). This could be the case but the characters showed promise.
• Adrian Tchaikovsky - An apocalypse story for people who want to learn about science as well as a good story. I'm reading another of his books next.
• Gerry Dee - Canadian comedian and game show host. I read his autobiography.
• Cassandra Rose Clarke - A favourite for years. Somehow one of her books was under my bed with the dust bunnies I swept out.

All of these are in the book bags to go to the second hand bookstore or the Little Library boxes around the local area here.

I haven't heard the term commonplace book until today. It sounds like an art journal, a diary which includes drawings, maybe a scrapbook which includes things cut and pasted in from magazines and other sources. It is a curated collection of thoughts, ideas, and interests. The idea isn't so new but the phrase is new to me.

This description comes from a site which hosted commonplace journals. Its gone now.

A commonplace book is a collection of remarkable quotations, reflections, and oddities gathered from one's reading, thoughts, or experience--in short, a reading and writing journal.

A private commonplace book is also a great way to organize your research by author, source, and subject, and gives you the ability to display and search your notes by each category and by keyword.