Blog interrogation: Larry Hnetka

Welcome Larry to Blog Interrogation. Time to go Hmmm and tell us about your blog and your approach to blogging.

The hardest question first. What is the name of your website, and can you pick one feature or story to illustrate the flavor of the site to newcomers?

The name of my weblog is Larry Hnetka Goes HMmmm.I checked my archives and in one of my first posts back in June 2004, I said I couldn't come up with a clever blog title. That statement still holds water today, don't you think?

Headlines were never my forte so I took the egotistical route and used my full name in the blog title (hence, the Larry Hnetka portion). The "HMmmm" was supposed to be the clever part. I had Googled the phrase things that make you go hmmmm and was shocked to find over 1,500,000 hits for the term. The one that stuck out the most was HMMmm: the Newsletter of High Mountain Mensa.I figured if those brainiacs could HMmmm so could I. Scan through the entries in my Journal category. You'll get more flavour about me than you'll ever need or want to know.

This is a killer question if you are a perfectionist. In the history of the site, if there were one thing you could change, or one decision you could reverse, what would it be?

As I'm not a perfectionist, just anal-retentive with a dash of anxiety disorder on the side, the one thing I might change about my site is to add a second sidebar. I've deleted many sidebar buttons and widgets over the last while trying to leave important links or information. Right now, my solitary sidebar is too long and disorganized. I'm surprised I can find anything there, let alone someone who lands on my weblog without any warning.

Would you ever consider changing the name of your site to reflect the passing of time? For instance, after reading The Onion, I compared the first posts with the latest, & the name Has Bean sprang to mind. What do you think in your case?

Short answer: nyet to changing my blog name.

Long answer: I used to beg my parents to change our surname to Smith or Jones, anything but Hnetka. My mother's response was always, "you could have been one of the Karpuke's or Mazapuke's or (gasp) Yaddamaminski's -- be proud of your name."

Although I have an uncommon surname, bloggers have confused me with some "Harry Hnetka" fellow, much to my disbelief, My surname is of Ukrainian origin and so if you're a Hnetka, you're one of the family. I've had one or two relatives ticked off at me for using the surname because I Google ahead of them. I've even had an inquiry from one of my uncle's old girlfriends who hadn't had made contact with him for 40 years. She wondered what ever happened to him. My response was short. He had married twice, had several children but unfortunately dear Uncle X passed away accidentally some 25 years ago. He died in his car in his garage with the car engine running and the garage door nailed shut from the inside. She never replied back. Those moments make me tingle with the sheer HMmmmness within them.

Back on track, how many has beens, I mean, writers, does it take to create your site? And how much do they earn per hour?!

I am the one and only great HMmmmer penning all the yadda yadda blah blah yadda on my blog. I have not earned one Canadian penny from my blog. Besides I couldn't afford what it would cost to hire myself to write all this stuff anyway.

Finally, if you could get an article published on any website on earth, other than your own, which would it be, and why?

Haven't really thought about asking another website to consider publishing an article from me. That concept is more typical of the old submission-for-publication to hardcopy magazines and the like.

Having said that, I have found some weblogs who've stolen my content verbatim without any reference that the content came from me. Unfortunately, it's never the big guns who take your copy. It's usually the new bloggers who copy and post without linking. I look forward to the day when some high traffic poobahs come and ask me if I will consider posting their content on my site. That's when I will throw back my head and laugh ha ha while collecting the cash from them and HMmmming all the way to the bank.

Ed extracts the bones from the blog interrogation

Thanks, Larry, for going into such depth about your blog.

I am amazed that anyone would copy another writer''s work verbatim, and expect to get away with it , especially if they are trying to promote their blog. Der. And why anyone would copy your work, that really dumbfounds me!

Joking aside, I am forever grateful for your expansive responses, this has come right when my own pen has dried up temporarily. As for your suicidal uncle story, sorry, but that made me laugh out loud. May he rest in peace and I hope they didn't damage the garage door too much trying to pry it open to get to him.

And don't worry about not earning from your blog yet. It all comes to he who waits. Cheers.

So, who is next up? Denise will get the stage to herself tomorrow.

Please don't think your blog is too serious or too trivial to provide the answers to these questions. Everyone has a story to tell and the interrogation is a good measure of your understanding of your blog. You get backlinks for good measure too.