Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Two Years of Blogging

Yep, you read that right. 

I've been at this every day for two solid years, and occasionally before that. 

The first posting was a rather dry recipe for Hummus.  Some day, I'll revisit that.  That particular recipe feels like "unfinished business", and I don't care for unfinished business.

There is a steady stream of folks popping in and reading here from all over the world, mostly from the US but a significant number of readers from Israel, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands.  Hi folks!  Some day I may even get off this island to travel...

In case you're curious about this sort of minutia, it's 83% Windows, 6% each of Mac and Linux/Unix which mirrors the market.  I've got all three here at the house and I'm considering what version of Linux to put on some older laptops.  When you have decided that the current machine is old (more than three years) and slowing down, try a reload of the original operating system first and if that doesn't work try Linux.  If you are one of those folks that is a casual user of their computer, all you really need is the Browser for 99% of what you're doing anyway and Firefox is on everything now.

Hmmm maybe there's a topic in that...

The top ten articles of all time - since everyone loves a good top ten list are in descending order:

1) Morning Rain Brings Barky Showers
2) Hotmail Annoyance - Turn off Keyboard Shortcuts
3) Willie T's Bar Key West Picture
4) Parking Hours Discussed at the Commission (Wilton Manors)
5) Merry Xmas, Here's your sign!
6) Gold Medal Flour Extraordinary Biscuit Recipe
7) Ikea Poang vs La-Z-Boy Rocker
8) True Story - 2 Duck Hunters in Wisconsin
9) New Post, New Month, Last Picture
10) Happy Birthday to My Blog

My habit is to sit here with a blank screen and do a "Brain Dump".  Usually it is right off the top of my head.  I'll have the idea and let it gel and write away.  That is when I have an idea.  If no idea, then I have a few sources where I can prime the pump.

The whole deal with pictures, by the way, was a writer's crutch.  I've found that I can usually pump out a couple hundred words on something simply by describing a picture.  Instead of merely saying "the sky is blue" my own sense of style requires my describing the scene down to the last wordy detail.

Why do I do this? 

It is a great creative outlet, that is for sure.  After writing 746 articles including this one, there is a simple pleasure in seeing your thoughts spread out in front of you.

It is a way to tell my Sister and my Friends about my life.  Sometimes briefly, sometimes in excruciating detail.

It is a way for me to keep my writing skills up and to improve them.   I am a Project Manager.  It requires that I am able to take complex topics and write them in a way that I can explain them to those who need to know about the matter at hand.  I have to do it in such a way that I don't get too many basic questions.   If I do get those questions, I haven't quite done what I am supposed to.

It is a Portfolio of Work.  I am not planning on writing a book on "something".  If one comes out of it, this is a head start.  More accurately, I have used this blog as an interviewing tool.  As a Project Manager I have been asked to provide technical writing samples.  I explain this blog obsession to them and I've been asked more times than I expect to provide a link.  Think of that as subtle self-promotion.  I've told interviewers that I have written a series of articles on how to upgrade and "implement" a computer and tell them to come here and read the articles tagged "implementation".  It gives them a place to begin.

It is also on my online resume.  I am careful in that respect and make edit comments - both my own and others.  In some ways, this can be considered an online resume just as much as that word document I send off to people.

So here I am two years on.  I promised myself to allow for a vacation if I need it.  I haven't completely dried up with topics yet, but when that happens, I'll go to low power and take a rest.  After all, there's always that photography thing that I could use.

For now, enjoy the blog.  There's a lot here.  Some are excellent, other articles are just blather.  If I do take that vacation, I'll let you know.

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