Saturday, January 10th, 2009
I have often said that my life has turned into one big blog post. That’s either really good or really pitiful. Depends on what kind of mood I’m in. I would say that it is good more than not.
You know, it’s not easy waking up every morning thinking of things to write about. It’s a snap during the spring, summer and fall. I mean, during those seasons, I have dozens of things to discuss. I think my record is 7 posts in one day last summer. To me, that’s exciting. To other people, that may be a bit absurd, but still, I think it’s fun.
During the warm months, I am outside all the time, either working or driving around. Flowers are blooming and everything is growing. We start walking in the woods again and we go to all sorts of exciting places.
Just this afternoon, we were discussing all the adventures we would like to have this summer. Laura wants to go whale watching. I keep saying, “What? Whaling?” I give a little chuckle and she belts me one. I really should watch what I say more often. Okay, seriously, we’ll probably go whale watching this summer. I also want to find a cheap canoe on the internet for sale. Either that, or we’ll rent one. Whatever happens, I want to go canoeing too. I just need to find the best spot to go. I sure wish someone would come out and tell me, instead of us driving all around looking. “Hey Jay, go over here. That’s where everyone goes.” That would be nice.
Spring has flowers, summer has lawns, autumn has leaves to write about. What does winter have? I really try to do my best, but sometimes I get “blogger’s block.” I just made that up. Okay, wait a second. I just typed “Blogger’s block” into Yahoo! and a whole bunch of sites came up. What’s with that? I guess I didn’t make it up. If you are battling blogger’s block and want some tips to get over it, you can read here.
One of the things I try to do to get over my block is to go for a walk. That usually loosens my mind up. If I just sat at the computer all day, I would have zero ideas. By getting outside and walking, I look around and do a lot of talking. The things I look at and the conversation I have usually bubbles something to the surface that I can bring inside and share with you. That’s good, but there are still those days…
I have had strange ideas of traveling, simply to write about it. I think of how weird that would be, but then I think a little harder and realize that people do that all day long. It’s called being in the newspaper and magazine business. I am sure I could do it for myself, but if anyone ever held me accountable, I think I would fall apart. I’m no good with creative pressure.
I’ll make you a deal; as long as you keep reading, I’ll keep waking up, thinking of things to write about. If it ever gets really bad and I can’t think of something to write, I’ll start taking suggestions. Until then, hagoone’.
By the way, did I mention it’s snowing again?
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Monday, November 24th, 2008
I have been writing on this blog since August of 2006. I am close to 1000 posts and 1500 comments. I am proud of this achievement, especially since I started this blog back in the day, only to talk about my flight lessons. Obviously, I got off track somewhere along the way.
Out of the 1500 comments, 99.9% of them have been very favorable. There are a few posts on my blog that have really helped people, especially the “Plugged In, Not Charging – Windows Vista + Laptop” and the “Installing Our New Harman P38 Pellet Stove” posts. Between those two posts, I have 266 comments (at last count). I really like it when a conversation starts that I don’t have to be involved in. The more that people add to it without my input, the better it gets.
Every so often, I write something or link to something that someone doesn’t like. I either get a “not so nice” comment or I receive a personal email. I read these comments and emails and either delete them (if you are just venting) or I end up thinking about them for a few days.
If your message moves into the “thinking about it for a few days” pile, I usually respond.
My first reaction is to fight. I say something to myself like, “What the heck is going on here? What did I do? This person obviously has a problem that has nothing to do with me.” I get all pumped up and start typing a response. Then, usually after the first or second sentence, I delete whatever I am writing. I relax and give it a few days.
This is when my mother’s side kicks in and the guilt takes over. Thanks mom. The light begins to peek through and somehow, some way, I start seeing the most minute way that I might possibly have had some part in the exchange. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but there have been times in my life when I have actually been the cause of a few teensy weensy little issues.
Usually, I don’t mean to offend people with the things I write. I simply express what’s on my mind. When I start typing, I am usually thinking of a few readers. These are the folks I know who read this blog. What always amazes me is the number of people who I don’t know who come here to read. I never met them, never had any type of exchange with them and probably will never get to know them.
It’s a tricky place to be.
I mean, here I am, typing, typing, typing about all the things I like, don’t like, things I enjoy and things I don’t care for all that much. I am bound to write something that annoys someone every so often. For all I know, you work for an oil company and I like pellet stoves. Who knew?
I really do try to appeal to people’s good sides and am always trying to create more interest than not, so I did a little research. This might also help out all those new bloggers I know out there who are just getting off the ground. If you are interested in learning more about how to write, what to write and blogging etiquette in general, check out the following sites:
- The Rules of Blogging by Snooze Button Dreams
- The rules of blogging by Justinsomnia
- Blogging Rules Of Engagement
- Blogging etiquette – For Bloggers and Readers
- Blogging Etiquette – The Unwritten Rules
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Thursday, August 14th, 2008
All Winter, I say that I can’t wait for Summer. This is for obvious reasons. I always say that I can make it up to January 15 with Winter and then I’m done. If I can’t grow anything, I am not a happy camper.
This next paragraph really has nothing to do with this post. I just thought I would throw it in here.
Laura and I were eating dinner this evening when I noticed Finnegan Gordon Belle (Flipper Human the cat) laying on the chair next to us. Now, just to give a bit of background on this cat…he is grouchy when he sleeps. He really has no time or patience for people who get in the way of his “resting sessions.”
Well, after I finished slowly (repeatedly) placing my food in my mouth, I decided to walk over and pet the cat. I got a few good pets in. I thought this was nice. What did the cat do in return? He looked up at me, shifted his weight, sat up and bit my hand. Nuff said. I walked away and left him alone. Sure, when he wants to get picked up every other minute of the day, I accommodate him, but when I want to play, noooooo.
Here he is, the bum…
Man, you can almost see the attitude.
Ok, back to the post. If you haven’t noticed around the blogging world yet, things are a bit slow this Summer. I guess people are outside, enjoying the weather. I am sure all sorts of families are vacationing at the beach and places like that. Gee, even I got in the car a few times this season. Well, let’s just say all this enjoyment hasn’t really helped my reading habits. Blog reading I mean. Yes, it’s sad but true.
In my opinion, if you want to be one of these crazy bloggers, you have to write all the time. You have to wake up and want to bring the camera with you when you get your morning coffee. It truly is a disgusting way to live, but if you’ve ever written in a format like this, you’ll know what I am talking about.
The thing of it is…we computer people LOVE to read what you write. It doesn’t matter what it is. We just want to keep up with your lives. I should actually be writing this to myself because I have been slipping through the cracks lately. I mean, I have been cutting down some small trees on the side of the property, but I don’t think I can bring the camera every time, nor do I think people want to continuously read about it. I’m not even sure what I can take a picture of. I keep asking Laura if it looks any different than it did earlier and she just gives me a sad look and turns her face back and forth, saying…”no, my sweet prince, it doesn’t.”
I sometimes make the joke to Laura that people don’t need to call me to see how I am doing. All they need to do is read this silly thing. It’s kind of not fair because I do a lot of calling. Trust me, let’s not change this arrangement. I like you reading and I like doing the calling. Oftentimes, I feel more comfortable if things are on my terms.
I guess I get a little depressed when I see the internet get light for a while. I think overall traffic takes a hit during the Summer. I never thought I would see the day when I get excited at the prospect of a rainy day in September…when all the kids are back at school and college is in session. Ooohhh, look at all those users checking out my sites. The Christmas season is a whole other story.
It’s amazing. For all the cool things we do in the Summer, we really don’t feel like writing about many of them. Maybe it’s the sunshine. Maybe it’s the guilt of bringing the laptop out on the deck with us and writing, when we really should be looking at the squirrels. Perhaps that’s why some of the best authors like to go up to their chilly cabins to write and don’t do it on the beaches of Barbados. Really now, Barbados is no place to write. Maybe Vail…
My friends, the good news is there are new blogs being formed every day. Just yesterday, an old friend of mine showed interest in making a blog of his own. I hope he does because the world needs more smart writing. I am actually curious about what he has to say. I am sure there are other great blogs that have been started recently that I never knew about. Oh, it’s going to be fun because the blogging season is right around the corner.
So, for those people who have shown interest recently about blogging and why they should get into it, I will explain what I like about the whole thing. Basically, I think this is a place for people to get to know me. I really like the format and I feel comfortable sharing things here. I really don’t care if some trucker from India reads this thing every morning before he has his breakfast. If he finds me entertaining and gets a kick out of the projects that I do, then that’s cool. You know, I bet there are a few truckers who like to read my blog.
Also, I really like to take pictures. Here, I can post them and tell people all about what I was doing. Of course, if you haven’t noticed, I think the stuff I do is reeeeally important.
The best thing is when I help people. I know I have said this before, but when someone gets some use out of what I write, that makes it all worth while. You can imagine the blisters on my fingers from all this writing. Can you imagine that?
Well, it’s getting a bit late now and I fear that I am not making sense anymore. I just want to warn you that the camera comes back out tomorrow and I am going to be outside with it. I am going to take a picture of something and post it here. You just wait…
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Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
I just read a great article stating that in March of 2005…at that point in time…there were 40,000 – 50,000 new blogs created PER DAY. Ok, that’s a lot of blogs. Granted, most of these blogs are set up, posted to a few times and then fall into the abyss. This whole revelation got me thinking about what we are supposed to be writing in these things.
As you may have noticed, I like to write. I really enjoy the fact that I can have an experience, share that experience and maybe, just maybe, someone out there will get a kick out of something I wrote. People look at blogs for so many reasons, but I think I like it most when I bring back a memory of something someone experienced along the way. My Block Island post is a good example. With as much fun as I am having, there is still that nagging feeling like I am doing something wrong. I think that someone is going to read my posts and see that I am not following the “Proper” format or, I don’t know, screwing something up. I’m not the most experienced blogger out there. Some blogs I have read have archives back to 2000. I spoke with Paul the other day about this and he said that what I am doing is fine and that I should just write what comes to mind. I seem to remember, though, him mentioning a while ago, something about “Blog Etiquette,” which is something like “Netiquette.” (Who makes up these words?) I trusted him, but verified through a search. He was right and here is what I found:
“It seems like every human on the planet now has a blog. As with any other public display, there is an etiquette to having a blog that is appreciated.
The first thing to remember is that this is going to be public knowledge – not just today, but for the rest of your life. There are enough scanners and archivers and printers out there that even if you take down words after one day, those words can be part of your permanent record. Things that you feel are really nifty to say at age 16 can be incredibly damaging to your professional career when you’re 22 and looking for a job.
This isn’t a matter of censorship – it’s a matter of giving mature thought to each thing you publish. You are publishing to a world audience. The world will, in fact, judge you, and not always fairly. It’s a fact of life that we all have to accept. Be prepared for the consequences – and accept the responsibility – for each thing you choose to publish.
This leads into a second point. Always be accurate. Lies have a way of always being discovered. A blog’s reputation – and indeed a person’s reputation – is built on how well it can be trusted. If one lie is found in past blogs, it can destroy all the work you’ve put into blogs since then. We can find numerous examples of this happening in other media situations.
Use a spell checker on your content. Yes, the web is casual – but if people have trouble reading your content, they won’t come back even if it’s interesting. The easier you can make your content for people to read, the more readers you will have. Every person has a different tolerance for spelling problems. You might not mind certain errors, but laugh out loud when you see others. You need to consider that some might consider your own errors in the same manner.
Finally, be yourself. Speak with your own voice. Write about how you feel about the issues. There are plenty of “straight news sites” out there. There is only one you, coming from your own background and history. Share your insight and feelings on the topics you love. That will draw in people who appreciate that view and who want to hear more.”
I think that was very well written and verifies what Paul said. We all want original and insightful content for people to enjoy. There seems to be some limitations on what I can write about though. I have to admit, I don’t know if I like having to think so hard about everything I put here. What if I am in a bad mood on a certain day and my way of venting is to write hard and fast and what if I don’t necessarily want to cross my Ts and dot all my Is? Is that going to follow me around my whole life? Oh man, if it does, someone might actually find out that I am…HUMAN and not some blog writing robot. Boy, I wonder what my future employer will have to say when they find that out. But wait…what if someone actually judges me? What will happen then? Perhaps the very non-judgemental world we live in will spin out of orbit.
My advice: go ahead and write about what you want to write about and stop worrying about all the rules stiff people make up for us. Just be prepared to be called on it someday. Have a good comeback line. The most entertaining stuff out there is non-rehearsed and you know we all love a good scandal. I’m not sure Einstein cared too much about what his neighbor though of him.
Now that I have that out of the way, let me give you my opinion. I think this is the best blog out there. I think it should win awards and be praised on the evening news. After doing an extensive search, I have not found any others in the world that compare. With that said, I am now giving the opportunity for all you, YES all of you, to steal what I write about. You may have noticed some new buttons hanging out in the right column all about RSS and feeds and news and all that. Those are for you. Just click the one that relates best to you and go have a ball. You really have to like my golden nuggets of wisdom though, or else…well, that’s just silly.
I am sure this post had a point somewhere. I know I had one when I started. Oh well, I guess this is what happens when I am given too many toys to play with. Till next time…
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