I like statistics. Not calculating them but I like reading things that tell me what percentage of something did something, does something, was something and as a result something happened. You can write a story with statistics.
For example, I was looking at my dashboard and they have a lot of statistics there. They haven't always had the setup they have now but gradually it has been improved upon. Anyway, I can remember for several years not much happened on my stat board. The numbers would slide up one by one. Telling me someone or something came by. I was up around 10,000 as of 2010, I think. They don't have a long term record that I can see but I think that's right.
Last year I changed my NaNoWriMo profile and pointed people here. Honestly, I didn't think people read my NaNo profile. Really. Why would they? But suddenly, those numbers were moving up in double digit segments. By the end of the year it was in excess of 11,000.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know bots make the numbers rise. I've been doing this awhile, thanks. But they're not the only thing that raise the count. If I delve below the surface, I can see where people and things are coming from and they were coming from my profile on NaNo. Every entry that says NaNoWriMo in the link is from that profile. And there were a several.
Today I looked and in two years I've had more hits than in at least three years before 2010! I'm now on my way to 17,000. I expect to hit that number before the end of next week.
Let's see. I changed my bio on NaNo. The numbers went up. I began linking to my FB page. The numbers moved faster. I linked my posts to my G+ stream. The numbers really started to click. And now, Multiply is closing and I've directed people from there with a link. The numbers moved a bit faster AND I went from 4 followers to 20, most of those all new people. I placed a link on Blogster and gained a couple more.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know some are still bots. I don't care. Those bots are feeding themselves on my posts and carrying them elsewhere to distribute to potential people who, one hopes, will in turn come to enjoy my blog. Someone doing a search on something will get a hit on my blog...they might come by. I might make a new acquaintance, gain a new follower, start a new conversation.
That's a good story.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Fried Day
Coming up with witty titles is half the battle of getting a blog written. I like it when I title a post at the beginning and when I finish it still has the same title. More often, however, by the time I finish a post I have a totally different title in mind. Sometimes I leave it blank until I finish so I can save time.
I'm thinking that today's title won't change. That is pretty much how I feel. I've hit the files hard this week and I'm simply exhausted. I still have to go home, clean house, pay bills and pack in time to leave on Sunday morning. It doesn't sound like much but it is. I really should never have hired someone to clean for me, even for a few weeks. Now I hate cleaning house more than ever but I hate clutter and dirty dishes in the sink and laundry in the hamper!
I've finally got my online writer's group sorted out. We were using Facebook for the group but have moved to Google Groups because of all the features they have on their site and it integrates with all things Google. I spent last evening overhauling the site with one of the members and now I think we're pretty well set. I hope so. I need to do some serious writing.
I've had Sarah in the evening most of this week. She is such a wonderful little girl. We played card games before but last weekend I bought her a Chutes & Ladders game. How many of you remember that? I do! Anyway, some time ago I taught Sarah a couple of card games, Old Maid and Go Fish. She liked them but hated losing the first time and in fact, refused to play again. We talked about winning and losing and how it was just a game and it wasn't important who won as long as we had fun. The next time she came over she was ok with it. This week I won first on Chutes & Ladders. I squealed "I won!" She crossed her arms and smiled at me and said, "You can have a 5 minute happy dance." I lost it and laughed, asking her where she heard that. She told me the teacher says it. I did get up and do a happy dance, not 5 minutes though. Then, I had to play a second game. I hope the child doesn't become a gambler. She won't quit until she wins a game.
I'm going to go home, get things cleaned up a bit and relax.. alone for the evening. My vacation starts on Sunday and I'm so looking forward to a week in the mountains. I haven't been to Gatlinburg but I have been to Highlands, SC and that area. I loved it. And when we moved here we came through the Smokies. I've always wanted to go back. Jerry and I planned a couple of times to go to that area for a vacation but it just never worked our where we could go. There was just never enough money for long trips. We settled for things closer to home. I really just want some peace and quiet and to read and do nothing.
I'm thinking that today's title won't change. That is pretty much how I feel. I've hit the files hard this week and I'm simply exhausted. I still have to go home, clean house, pay bills and pack in time to leave on Sunday morning. It doesn't sound like much but it is. I really should never have hired someone to clean for me, even for a few weeks. Now I hate cleaning house more than ever but I hate clutter and dirty dishes in the sink and laundry in the hamper!
I've finally got my online writer's group sorted out. We were using Facebook for the group but have moved to Google Groups because of all the features they have on their site and it integrates with all things Google. I spent last evening overhauling the site with one of the members and now I think we're pretty well set. I hope so. I need to do some serious writing.
I've had Sarah in the evening most of this week. She is such a wonderful little girl. We played card games before but last weekend I bought her a Chutes & Ladders game. How many of you remember that? I do! Anyway, some time ago I taught Sarah a couple of card games, Old Maid and Go Fish. She liked them but hated losing the first time and in fact, refused to play again. We talked about winning and losing and how it was just a game and it wasn't important who won as long as we had fun. The next time she came over she was ok with it. This week I won first on Chutes & Ladders. I squealed "I won!" She crossed her arms and smiled at me and said, "You can have a 5 minute happy dance." I lost it and laughed, asking her where she heard that. She told me the teacher says it. I did get up and do a happy dance, not 5 minutes though. Then, I had to play a second game. I hope the child doesn't become a gambler. She won't quit until she wins a game.
I'm going to go home, get things cleaned up a bit and relax.. alone for the evening. My vacation starts on Sunday and I'm so looking forward to a week in the mountains. I haven't been to Gatlinburg but I have been to Highlands, SC and that area. I loved it. And when we moved here we came through the Smokies. I've always wanted to go back. Jerry and I planned a couple of times to go to that area for a vacation but it just never worked our where we could go. There was just never enough money for long trips. We settled for things closer to home. I really just want some peace and quiet and to read and do nothing.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Multiple Solutions
My week has been a bit better and I've slept much better as a result. Maybe the thought of a vacation is the cause. I don't know and it doesn't matter. There has been far less pain and that is entirely due to the weather.
I just finished exporting my post from my old Multiply site "Dixiegirl's Place" to a back up blog. There are problems but I don't know if it is because Blogger is doing its thing and sorting the download. One minute I can see the posts on the blog and the next I can't. I elected to do a back up blog because, as I mentioned before, this blog is a mirror of that one minus some random posts. I plan to go through them and compare posts to see what is missing and move the missing ones here. Eventually, that back up blog will be deleted. I've closed it by limiting readers only to myself. You do that in your settings by adding you as the only reader.
I'm also going to set up some photo albums on Youtube. They'll be slide shows rather than albums of photos. Family won't be as happy but I think it will work just as well. They can be viewed easily. I don't really want to store all my photos on another site. The risk of losing them is simply too great. I'm going to copy them to disc to back them up and label them.
At the moment, I'm really exhausted. I'm going to go to bed now. I can't get into the backup site at the moment so don't know how it is progressing. I can see the posts on the dashboard but not on the blog. It says maintenance is being performed so maybe that's good. I have to say, I'm very unhappy with the media importer. It simply didn't work. So very glad I downloaded my albums. I'd hate to be at this point and find I couldn't get the photos down.
If all goes well, I'll close the site well before December 1. I'll post the closing date ahead of time. I am sorry to leave. I have been so blessed to have all of you here with me. You've carried me through some rough times and I shall miss all those who move on to other things besides my blog. You have no idea how very much you've come to mean to me. Wherever you go, may you be blessed in all you do.
I know some of you have already moved to other sites. Good luck to you. I've done the sinking ship one time too many and I'm going to stay with a platform I trust and that has proven stable. Slowly, I'm learning that it does all that I've been able to do here with the exception of photos. I've easily fixed that. So it makes sense to do what I've been doing long before Yahoo 360. My email is in some of the post over the last few weeks. Keep in touch if you will. If you've already joined me on Blogger, wonderful. I'm already enjoying your blogs, some of which belong new friends I found during this transition.
Good night.
Friday, September 7, 2012
A Lonely Dark Mountain
I stood on the front porch earlier and watched a fantastic show of lightening as it slashed through the night sky. In the city it never gets really dark but nothing compares to the blinding white of lightening.
When I came home from work I actually went to bed because I was so exhausted I couldn't bear it any longer. I've pushed through the last two weeks and forced myself to ignore the storms that had gathered around me - my job, my allergies, my family, my grief all have simply depleted me. I reached the end of it at 6:30 p.m. I went to bed and went to sleep.
The phone rang a few times but I'd left it in the living room and decided that, tonight at least, other people's crises weren't important enough to crawl down the hall to respond. I went back to sleep. The last call woke me and I did get up, with what I can only say was horrendous effort. I hurt everywhere. Probably a result of the low pressure system boiling overhead. I hobbled to the bathroom and then, to the kitchen where I saw it was 8:30.
In the distance I could hear thunder and the windows were blazing white every few minutes. I went out back and lowered the patio umbrella and then went to stand on the front porch and watch the light show. I returned my oldest's son's call and let him know I was o.k. Then I returned my youngest son's call. He wanted to know if I was all right. I asked about Sarah. He told me Sarah and her mother had moved out today. I didn't know that. I knew she was planning it but not when. I'd have remembered that.
If you've read much of the blog you know I actually love storms. Normally, I'd be sitting out on the porch watching this one. Not tonight. I'm fairly tired of the storms and I'm at a loss anymore how to deal with them. It only gets worse each passing day.
I changed my blog title this week because it was suddenly apparent to me that my life has always been lived on this tiny ledge, swept by storms. More than once I've slipped and nearly fallen off during the storms. My life has been filled with a myriad of storms and I used to weather them well. There was usually someone to pull me back up and help me still the racing of my heart and slow my breathing. Mama protected me until she died. Jerry took over and sheltered me from the full brunt them when he could or held my hands when he couldn't. Storms are best shared. He died. Now, I ride them out alone on a small ledge on a lonely, dark mountain.
When I came home from work I actually went to bed because I was so exhausted I couldn't bear it any longer. I've pushed through the last two weeks and forced myself to ignore the storms that had gathered around me - my job, my allergies, my family, my grief all have simply depleted me. I reached the end of it at 6:30 p.m. I went to bed and went to sleep.
The phone rang a few times but I'd left it in the living room and decided that, tonight at least, other people's crises weren't important enough to crawl down the hall to respond. I went back to sleep. The last call woke me and I did get up, with what I can only say was horrendous effort. I hurt everywhere. Probably a result of the low pressure system boiling overhead. I hobbled to the bathroom and then, to the kitchen where I saw it was 8:30.
In the distance I could hear thunder and the windows were blazing white every few minutes. I went out back and lowered the patio umbrella and then went to stand on the front porch and watch the light show. I returned my oldest's son's call and let him know I was o.k. Then I returned my youngest son's call. He wanted to know if I was all right. I asked about Sarah. He told me Sarah and her mother had moved out today. I didn't know that. I knew she was planning it but not when. I'd have remembered that.
If you've read much of the blog you know I actually love storms. Normally, I'd be sitting out on the porch watching this one. Not tonight. I'm fairly tired of the storms and I'm at a loss anymore how to deal with them. It only gets worse each passing day.
I changed my blog title this week because it was suddenly apparent to me that my life has always been lived on this tiny ledge, swept by storms. More than once I've slipped and nearly fallen off during the storms. My life has been filled with a myriad of storms and I used to weather them well. There was usually someone to pull me back up and help me still the racing of my heart and slow my breathing. Mama protected me until she died. Jerry took over and sheltered me from the full brunt them when he could or held my hands when he couldn't. Storms are best shared. He died. Now, I ride them out alone on a small ledge on a lonely, dark mountain.
The Mental Test
This was amusing to me so I thought I'd share it. Honestly, I have a use for this test.
A noted psychiatrist was a guest at a gathering of humor editors, and his host naturally broached the subject in which the doctor was most at ease.
"Would you mind telling me, Doctor," he asked, "how you detect a mental deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?"
"Nothing is easier," he replied. "You ask a simple question that everyone should answer with no trouble. If there is hesitation, that puts you on the track."
"What sort of question?"
"Well, you might ask, 'Captain Cook made three trips around the world and died during one of them. Which one?'"
The editor thought a moment, then said with a nervous laugh, "You wouldn't happen to have another example, would you? I must confess I don't know much about history."
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