8 Year Blogiversary!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this here blog thingy is now eight years old. Along the way, I've posted over 11,000 posts, most of them originals (though occasionally re-runs). I've gone from having no focus, to merely a constantly shifting one. I've gone from occasional hobbyist blogger, to obsessed prolific blogger, to burned-out blogger, and back to basically occasional hobbyist.

So, it's funny to note that the day before yesterday marked my eighth anniversary during a time when I'm really not blogging all that much. And it's especially ironic, since now that I'm temporarily sort of retired from the job force (I'll be back, folks, just not yet!), I actually am freed up to blog pretty much unimpeded, I've fallen back to an average of less than a post per day! I blame that on two things, a lack of structure in my schedule at the moment, and in a general lack of focus on my part. Both things drove my blogging schedule in the past. Now, oddly enough, there is no schedule but still lots to do, and I find myself on projects, chores, errands, and then my evening feels like "me time." I know the complaint sounds weird when I have barely a part-time gig on the side to occupy my "work time." Most people should have such problems. Trust me though, free time has a way of filling up.

Anyway, that's a long way to go to tell you that while my output has been a bit skimpy, I have no plans to shutter the blog. Several of my favorite bloggers have either closed up shop, or intend to do so soon. I plan to keep this thing going, even if it is just my occasional place to rant. It's not like I have a massive audience of daily readers, right? I figure, any repeat business I have managed are people who just like to see what I have to say about things on a given subject, and in that area, they will generally find something I've had to say.

I'll continue to comment on the important happenings as they strike my fancy. I may end up bringing back a few features that I've allowed to lag, and I'll more than likely increase my output as the presidential race picks up steam. I'm quite sure the SCOTUS rulings in a couple of weeks will bring me online, and I know that I can't stay away for long.

So, apologies in the unlikely event that there are any readers out there who want me to write more often, but also a promise that I'm not going anywhere either. There may be days at a stretch with no new material, there may be too many posts in a row on a given subject, and I may have a month with 17 new posts in it, but I will be back! I mean, I have a habit of talking to and arguing with myself anyway, so I might as well do so in a way that doesn't appear nuts. Right?

Thanks for reading. I'll make more.

Blogiversary: SIX Years!

As I type this, we are in the waning moments of June 2, 2013. That means this is the end of the first day of my seventh year blogging at Greenlee Gazette. I started this blog--as I've often said--in frustration. Picture it: it was 6.5 years into the Bush era. Democrats, liberals and/or progressives were not just frustrated. We were the mush squeezed out of the end of a steam-rollered tube of left-wing ideology. The Karl Rove/Frank Luntz alternate reality machine had clobbered us pretty severely. We were standing up shouting "reality doesn't match what we're being told!," but we were largely ignored.

Feel free to scroll back in my archives, they're all there. It was a  vastly different time. We're now in a similar era for the opposing party, a second term (though not as deeply in), with a kinda lame-ducky vibe, and some "scandal," though nothing nearly so subversive as the Bush era crap. Nothing came of those, so that may have something to do with why Democrats aren't worked up over Obama scandal-ettes. But that's just the political backdrop. My mission as a blogger just got rooted in that fertile ground. That's not all there was to it.

An early dream, still unrealized.

Mostly, what the blog solved for me, was my a solution to my vast introspection. I'm a notorious "self talker," talking to myself to such an extent that it can be embarrassing when someone overhears. It comes from living until my early 30s on my own. It also comes from the discovery that if I say things out loud, I tend to remember them better. But once I had a blog? All of those spoken-to-no one thoughts were typed down, and--oddly enough--read by others! Woo hoo! I'm not crazy, I have readers!

Well, maybe you all are crazy too. But that's okay, we have each other. Over these last six years, the blog has been alternatively a catharsis, a burden, a diary, a platform, a creative outlet, an argument practice-zone, a lighting rod for controversy and a pet project. I have no plans of giving it up, though I often wonder if there's a way to have my cake and eat it too: keep the platform, but not be so shackled to it.

Who knows if blogging will still be "a thing" six more years down the line, or if it will be absorbed by something.  In the NewsFlesh series of zombie apocalypse books, blogging replaces journalism. I'd argue that we've already merged to a degree, possibly to the detriment of journalism. But it's also opened a world of discovery to people who needed an outlet, and helped inspire people who may not have sought out traditional journalism. I think on the whole it has been a positive development. I know that I'm inspired to carry on. And I'm sure I'll be here next year with another update.

In the meantime, thank you for reading, and please come back and bring your friends!

Blogiversary: 10,000 Posts! 70 Months! I'm Still Here!

It's been a long time since I wrote one of these self-congratulatory, back-patting posts. And truth is, I'm a little bit late. This is actually my 10,034th post. But you know, there have been a fair amount of repeats in there along the way. But since I almost always include updates and additions even to reruns, I'm going to count it!

My mission at Greenlee Gazette has always been a bit fuzzy, which is probably why I don't garner a heavy following out there on the internets. I'm happy for every set of eyeballs I get, and truthfully would probably get stage fright if I ever broke through to big numbers. But I'm still having fun, even if it isn't quite as prolific fun as my first couple of years. In those days, I posted everything in a frenzy of blogging. But as the years go by, you get more discriminating, and there are more outlets (Facebook, Twitter, both of which I discovered years after the blog started), and more demands on my time.

Click Here for Greenlee Gazette on Facebook  •  Click Here for Greenlee Gazette on Twitter

I still spend an obscene amount of time in front of my computer(s). And my political angst-o-meter is somewhere between the boiling rage I was feeling during the waning days of the Bush years, and the placid relief I felt after President Obama was first elected. I've even felt relief when going back over some of my early posts, that even though I was a sufferer of Bush Derangement Syndrome, it was a far more honest and reasonable disorder than I see in the right's Obama Derangement Syndrome. I was even fair to Dubya when gas prices spiked to over $4, and the country was wigging out.

So, no, the Obama Era isn't perfect, though I never painted him as a messiah. There's still plenty to bitch about, whether it is disappointment with Harry Reid's lack of spine, or whatever right-wing wacko is calling gay people evil. And of course there are fun things to talk about, and pleasant distractions. I struggle to balance the serious stuff with some good ol' frivolity, to the point that I've actually had complaints that I'm not "newsy" enough. But I'll continue to put up new installments of Blast from the Past every weekend, whenever I have time.

So, as long as Google is still supporter the Blogger format, and I still get a couple hundred readers a day, I'll continue this little hobby. As always, thanks for stopping by, and please bring your friends!

Five Years of Greenlee Gazette: My First Post

As I said a couple of posts ago, Greenlee Gazette has reached its fifth birthday, as of June 2, this past Saturday. Here is a look back to my very first post. Comments follow at the end.

ORIGINAL POST, June 2, 2007

AWAKE IN LAS VEGAS

This blog will never be found by anybody. Well, at least I don't think it will.

It would be nice someday, to see it bloom into something interesting, but for now it is a work (barely) in progress. A place for me to write down my frustrations, my growing rage at the state of our society.

As I type this, my first blog post on my first blog, I'm watching a FOX NEWS ALERT! on my little office TV. The alert has to do with a "foiled terror attempt on JFK Airport." Now, I was able to glean--even on FOX--that there was barely anything to this plot. In the first 30 seconds, I heard "only in planning stages," "not feasible," and that it didn't have anything to do with actual airplanes or the passenger areas of the airport.

But, right now, at least 45 minutes into my viewing, they are still on this singular "story," showing endless b-roll footage (in triplicate split screen!) of passengers, planes, air marshals with guns, live shots of the airport. . . To a casual (lazy) viewer, not listening intently, you'd think something BIG was going down RIGHT NOW at the airport.

It is only the most current example of the media's handling of damned near everything that inspired my first post. Without a place to put my frustration, I'm going to end up like that character, "Exidor" on "Mork & Mindy." I may be babbling conspiracy theories to my invisible entourage, but that doesn't seem as crazy if it's done here in cyberspace!

As I said before, I don't expect this to ever be read by anybody, unless I specifically TELL them to read something I wrote. I don't even know if I'll remember to come back here with any frequency. But, if somehow you did find me. . .if you found something I wrote interesting. . .or if you even want to argue with me. . .have at it! Drop me a line.

UPDATE: OK, I'm having more fun than I thought I would playing with the layout, and learning how Blogger works. Maybe I'll keep it up!

Meanwhile, I've kept Fox "News" on in the background most of the time I've been online. Disgraceful. There is apparently NO other news going on today besides a foiled "terror plot." A plot that seems no more threatening than any of the other "foiled plots" we've heard about over the last couple of years. My take: The Homeland Security guys are embarrassed by the handling of the TUBERCULOSIS GUY, and pulled out the best thing they had to make themselves look a little better. Better luck next time, guys.

And that's what was going on the day I started the blog. Obviously, I was learning how to embed hyperlinks. I hadn't yet learned how to put up pictures, or didn't think of it. I'm sure I'm not the first person enraged by FOX "News" into action (and I hadn't started putting "News" in quotes when referring to FOX!). And I won't be the last. They're still going strong. But so am I!

A few years ago, I instituted a feature called "One Year Ago Today. . ." I stopped doing it. But now that I have five years of blog posts stockpiled? And now that we're in another presidential election year, the second with Mitt Romney? I think I'm going to have to re-institute it, this time with a variation: 5 years ago, 4 years ago, 3 years ago, 2 years ago! They may be reruns, but they'll be new to you (and a Blast from the Past for me)!

Blogiversary: Greenlee Gazette is Five Years Old!

This past weekend--June 2, to be exact--was the 5th anniversary of this here blog thingy. I started the blog on a whim, out of frustration. It was the Bush era, and I was watching FOX "News" (sometimes I torture myself), and had heard the fourth or fifth thing in half an hour that I knew was wrong. A lie, a misstatement, a spin, a distortion, a combination of those, whatever. My psyche was screaming to be heard, and I didn't have an outlet?

Or did I? At that moment, I happened to be reading a blog. And I noticed up in the corner, "Create Blog." And, so I did. Greenlee Gazette was chosen as the title, both as an homage to Huffington Post (which wasn't yet the behemoth it became) and a one-sheet by the same name that I used to create and pass out in my 6th grade classroom.  I began small, but it became something of an obsession. And like someone who has started a diet or hobby, I couldn't shut up about it. In the early days, I posted a couple of things every couple of days, then very soon started posting four, five, maybe ten things per day (I've settled down since then). What started as something of a personal journal very quickly became a liberal, current events, pop culture blog, occasionally sprinkled with gay rights. You know, stuff that interests me.

That turned out to be a little too scattershot and diffuse to really ever get much of a following. Actually, when I started, I doubted I'd attract any attention at all, outside of the few people I'd told about it.  Maybe six weeks in, I discovered SiteMeter, which keeps track of vistors, and Ping-O-Matic which alerts the interwebs when you've posted something. Suddenly, I had an audience! Still nothing to shout about, I know. If you want to be famous online, you need a niche. Though I did come up with some semi-regular and regular features, my subject matter seems to be just too broad for mass consumption.

But that's okay! I appreciate all of the people who have visited, and love it when I hear from them (most of the time). Recently, I've branched out to Facebook and Twitter to make accessing my posts easier, and there my numbers are even more sobering! But I'm happy to report that my good friend and contributor "Rev. Stu" at Stupid Monkey Planet Church of Primatheism has flourished at Facebook, even though they keep banishing him to Facebook jail. As I said, you need a niche, and he's got one!

So, going forward--and I do intend to--we'll see what the future brings. We've got the Presidential election this fall, and all that entails. We've got either a ton of bragging or a mess of crying to do after that. So either way, there's going to be plenty to talk about. I'll be here. Thanks for reading, and bring your friends! While you're at it, like me (and Stupid Monkey Planet) on Facebook and follow me on Twitter! It just takes a click (click the buttons below).

Blogiversary: Greenlee Gazette Hits 4 Years!

I used to write these blogiversary posts once a month as self-incentive to keep going. I stopped doing that several months ago, but I think it's worth noting that I've hit four years of blogging. It's certainly not a point that I thought I'd hit, ever. I've recounted the birth of the blog a few times in the past, but just suffice it to say that it was started in the depths of the second Bush term, and the world was a different place.

Different in a way of course. Many things are the same. The economy, which had shown signs of slipping in 2007, really hit the skids in 2008. A lot of people don't remember that the economy tanked before Barack Obama was elected, or even nominated, but it's true. Anyway, all of the political bogeymen that once haunted my dreams are now employed by FOX "News," or pretending to run for president. And that's probably the most surprising thing about hitting the four year mark: once again, we're entering a presidential campaign.

Last time around, I was exhausted by the old regime. I was perhaps a little too optimistic about the prospect of a Democratic President in general, and Barack Obama in particular. I figured anything would be better though, and I still think it is. I can't imagine what the last two-and-a-half years would be like if we had President McCain, and Vice President Sarah Palin. Except that we'd probably have to listen to less Palin than we do now. I mean seriously, how often do we hear about Joe Biden?

Anyway, the Obama era, and the upcoming election put my blogging inspiration in an entirely different place than it was when I started. It's kind of like when FOX "News" had to stop pumping up Bush, and had to start bashing Obama, only in reverse. And without all the lying.  I'm now rooting for the home team, while complaining about the players, the coaches and the opposition. I'm a supporter of Obama, but far from an Obamabot. Still--as in 2007--I'd vote for a rock with a "D" on it before voting Republican for president. The 2010 midterms showed me (as if I really needed to be reminded) what they really do when they get elected.

But there I go about politics. I do that a lot. But I also like to go off on weird tangents, and I like to put up amazing, or interesting, or just weird stuff to keep readers interested. And I hope I've injected enough humor even into the serious stuff, to keep from being too heavy handed. And speaking of readers, I was amazed to see my readership spike in the last month to triple the usual. Sure, it was mostly due to two posts, one of which was very old, but whatever. People--over 18,000 of them--came to visit me, and lots of them checked out the joint. It remains to be seen whether they'll keep coming back.

Meanwhile, I'll still be here, blogging away (though with summer coming, maybe not quite as much). As always, thanks to The Other Half for indulging my hobby, to Stupid Monkey Planet for helping me out, to my friends (Marky, Dona, Kardinal, Tracy and many others) who read and boost my ego. And to people like my badger friend from across the political divide, and others who stop by, read and comment.  I do this for me, but it's great to know that other people are paying attention, even if they disagree.  So, thanks for stopping by. Bring your friends!

Happy New Year to Me: 150,000 Readers!

Okay, maybe this is lame. I've been blogging for 3-1/2 years (and the blog archives now span five different years), so 150,000 readers doesn't qualify as much of a big deal. Some of the other stats in the image at left are a little anemic. But still! I happened to check my stats at the exact moment that I hit 150,000 readers? That's kind of serendipitous, don't you think? Also, remember that people access the blog in ways that don't register on the Site Meter counter. RSS readers, for example (you fickle people you!). In addition, I only added the Site Meter dealie several weeks after I started blogging. So I lost--oh, I don't know--dozens of people right there. So, sure, the bigger blogs might register 150,000 readers in an afternoon. So what? When I started this blog thing here, I never thought I'd get more than friends and family (again, dozens) as readers. So, yayyy me! Heh. Happy New Year!

Blogiversary: 3-1/2 Years!

I used to run these blogiversary posts once a month, but have not done it in a while. Even I can only take so much self back patting. But this one's a genuine milestone, three-and-a-half years! That's really something when you consider that I wasn't sure I'd finish the first week. Even for the first several months, marking the moment was important, because it gave me something to shoot for. First month, first half year, first 1000 visitors, first 1000 posts. Eventually, I just decided I was shooting for the trifecta: 100,000 readers, 5,000 posts and three years. Well, I've shot past them all now.

In fact, November was my biggest month ever for readership, tripling the number of visitors over last year at over 7,200.  The page views (which includes people who decided to visit the archives) was over 12,000, which was also a personal record. Now, I know this is all small potatoes. Baby potatoes. Dehydrated potato granules. But it means something for me, and all of those numbers keep me interested, and keep me going.

Of course, I'm about to blow all of that to hell, by going out of town for an early Christmas party back home in Ohio.  So, while my number of posts in November was on the smallish side, it will likely be fewer in December. Lucky for me, my good friend Stupid Monkey Planet is going to fill in for at least a couple of posts, to pull my bacon from the fire. He says he's got some surprises planned. I'll also probably pop in from the road, and may leave a few Holiday Cheers queued up to keep things fresh. So, thanks for reading, and as always, bring your friends!

Blogging Milestone: 7,000 Posts!

I knew I was creeping up on 7,000 posts, but only thought to check today. And whattaya know, I was four posts away! So here I am, almost 40 months and 7,000 posts in my little blogging endeavor.  I'm a little surprised to still be here, and still wonder if I spend too much time doing it.  For all the time spent here, I'm still only getting 4,000-6,000 visitors per month. But I suppose that's not so bad, for an (almost) one-man show, with no promotion, right?

Anyway, I'm still having fun doing this. And with election season coming up quick, I shouldn't run out of things to talk about. I'm making an effort to spread the politics out, and throw in doses of fun and frivolity.  Certainly not in the quest of readership--pure politics sites get lots more hits--but because it is far more fun this way.  If you've happened by for the first time, please come back. And while you're here, scroll down, or check out the archives. Lots of nifty stuff here!  Oh, and please bring your friends!

Blogiversary! 3 Years! Best Month Ever!

Oddly, my third anniversary is marked by a month that starts with almost no posts. Not my fault! We had a triple birthday celebration to attend, and there was just no time to post anything earlier.  But I have to thank all of my regular readers, and anyone else who has happened by for a spectacular month.

May was a huge month for Greenlee Gazette, marking double--or even triple--any previous month for visitors.  For the big blogs, this would have been a disappointing month to say the least, but for me? 6,000+ visitors in a month? Outstanding!  I'm not sure what it was exactly, but people are suddenly reading my writing, and I'm pretty jazzed about it.

I'm still a long way from being destination reading on the interwebs, I know that. But I'm also a long way from my inauspicious start three years ago, when I didn't expect more than a handful of readers in any given week.  My dream of starting a weekly feature that people put on their calendars still hasn't happened. Life sort of gets in the way.  But I'm proud to have lasted this long, and I'm happy that others have helped me out along the way.  I'm a little burned out some days, a little tired of it all sometimes. But I'm nowhere near ready to give it up.  In fact, this past month has fired me up if anything.

So if you like what you've seen, please come back, and as always, bring your friends!  And if you really like what you've read, or really hate it, leave me a comment or an email. I respond to almost anybody! Thanks.

Blogiversary! 35 Months! 6,400+ Posts!

Wow, that was a fast month!  It seems like I was just sitting here patting myself on the back for 34 months completed, and here we are again.  April was a good month for Greenlee Gazette, with more readers than any other month this year, excepting one month. Not too bad.

I'm still enjoying the gig, and don't doubt that I'll make it to my three-year blogiversary. But I have to tell you, some days are a chore.  Still, there is never a shortage of crazy, stupid or entertaining things to report on.  I went from blogging out of frustration with the Bush Administration, to a sense of relief in 2008, and now I'm frustrated with both the Obama Administration, and the never-ending flood of crazy from the right-wing (tea baggers, especially).

It will be very interesting to see what the rest of the year brings. Will America's short-term memory allow it to put Republicans back in power, even though they are largely responsible for our economic woes to start with? Will the tea baggers split the vote, causing the Democrats to retain control?  Will Don't Ask, Don't Tell be repealed? Will Sarah Palin become President of Teabaggistan?  Stay tuned.  I'll be here.  And as always, thanks for reading, and bring your friends!

Milestone: 100,000 Hits!

I'm jumping the gun only a little here, as my 100,000th reader will log in sometime in the next 12 hours or so. Actually, that is probably a little off. People access the internet in many ways, and the SiteMeter I use only counts them if they enter a certain way. RSS readers don't register, and I'm sure there are other methods that don't show up either. In fact, Google AdSense says I've had over 183,000 "page impressions." I didn't sign up for AdSense until sometime into my first year, and didn't put the SiteMeter up until month 4 or so.

But hey! That just means that at least 100,000 people have clicked in! Sure, I've been doing this for almost three years, so that is rather paltry by other bloggers' standards. But this is (with rare exceptions) a one-man show, done as a hobby with no promotion. So woo-hoo! Thanks for reading, and please bring your friends!

UPDATE: It happened!

Blogiversary! 34 Months, Over 6,300 Posts

Time for another small pat on the back to myself for reaching yet another month of bloggyness. When I started the blog, I had no way of knowing whether I'd be around a month or even a week later. So, almost three years later, I still am impressed with my own follow-through. And if you knew me, you'd understand why: I get distracted.

I very often--especially if lubed up with alcoholic spirits--volunteer to take on projects, as a favor to friends, or just "drunk talk" projects I vow to undertake. Often they do get done, but grudgingly, and only if there is a deadline. With no cutoff time, I'm likely to lose interest, sometimes even before I get started. Most of the time, I have to set a schedule, sometimes on paper, just to make sure I get done what I set out to do. So, an infinite, sprawling, daily commitment to a public forum? One with (by contrast to other blogs) scant readership? Doomed to fail. But I've done it!

And scanty as you are, I'm glad to have you stop by. This past month wasn't one of the best, but it wasn't one of the worst either. With RSS readers thrown into the mix, I averaged about 100 sets of eyeballs per day. That's low enough to keep me from getting a swelled head (or stage fright), and high enough to keep me at it. I've tried to keep up with some themed posts like "What Happens in Vegas," with middling success. I'd still like to try a scheduled, weekly feature, and will keep brainstorming on that. One regular feature I'd like to revive is "Shameless Gossip," which is always fun. And I'll likely be starting a new one, "Captain Obvious," which will feature something that should be so obvious it need not be said. . .but needs to be said anyway.

Meanwhile, I'll keep plugging away as usual. With warm weather here, I have a feeling The Other Half will be demanding evening activities, which will probably limit the amount of blog time I have available. But I'll still be here. Hey, I have to hit that 3-year blogiversary, and the 100,000th visitor! So, thank you once again for reading and as always, bring your friends!

Blogiversary! 33 Months! 6,140 Posts! 97,000 Visits!

Wow, and another month goes by. This time, there were a few significant events that transpired, even in a shorter-than-usual month. The biggest change in my life in years was the acquisition of a new car, and of course the sale of the old truck. For some people, this may be no big whoop, but for me--as the driver of a 1998 Jeep Wrangler for nine years--an almost new 2009 Mitsubishi Galant was an extra special treat.

Another big thing, for me anyway, was my month-long (and still going!) adventure in dentistry. It is only my latest go-around, but in February alone I had a cleaning, a checkup, a consultation and gum surgery. This will be followed in the next week or so with a filling (for my first cavity in 25 years), and a surgery followup. Whee!

Now, blog-wise, February was also a big month. I had more "hits" than in any other month in the past year. For some reason, it seems to be the least interesting news item or faux controversy that always spurs a spike in readership. This time, it was President Obama (and Bush) with their feet on their desks. I still don't get the fascination or the poutrage. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I plan to mock mercilessly any faux outrage that comes down the pike! So basically, nothing will change much.

Blogiversary! 32 Months! Over 6,030 Posts!

UPDATE: That "20" in the graphic is a goof created by updating an older one. I make this kind of error at work occasionally when updating signs. I'll let the oops stand, but thought I'd note that I'm aware of it!

Back patting time again. This is my monthly blogiversary update. These months are typically the blogging doldrums, but it is a bit unpredictable. During the winter, people can shift to other pastimes (such as sweeps event television), or they might have a bit of cabin fever and actually seek out a blog. I can't ever tell. As soon as I hit an upswing, it can just as quickly be a ghost town around here.

Of course, I've blown it myself, by having inconvenient things--y'know, like real life--intrude just when the blog is picking up steam. The most recent week which started with a visit from my parents, and culminated in the purchase of a new car is the latest case in point. Also, a bit of blogging fatigue can easily set in. But here I am, one month older, one more blogiversary. So what about the future? I'll take it as it comes, one day at a time. But, I'm never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. . . See here for more.

Ha! Thanks for reading, and as always, please bring your friends!

Blogiversary! 31 Months! Over 5,900 Posts!

Wow. I'm still here. My goals for the blog keep shifting. At first, I wasn't sure it was going anywhere. Then, my goals were six months, a year. 1,000 posts. And here I am, more than 2-1/2 years in, creeping up on 6,000 posts. I get bummed sometimes that I've never really "broken through," but then again, I'd probably get stage fright if I did.

The world is a vastly different place from where it was when I started this blog. It began out of frustration with the Bush administration and the dominance of FOX "News." Today, Bush is a (bad) memory, and the Obama era is--though still pretty fresh--in full swing. I'm not as impressed with it as I'd hoped, but really, could anybody fix the mess we were in quickly?

I've still not lit upon the "destination feature" I've been hoping for. I'd like to come up with a great idea that people look forward to on a schedule, like Democratic Underground's Top 10 Conservative Idiots. Maybe in 2010 I'll find that idea. In the mean time, I'll keep plugging along, though I probably won't swing into full blog force for a couple more days. Still enjoying my holiday vacation.

So thanks for reading, and as always, bring your friends!

Greenlee Gazette Milestone

As a few critics have been delighted to point out, this blog does not receive a massive amount of visitors. Fortunately for me, I don't really care. This is a one-man show (pretty much), and done as a hobby on my own time. I don't make a cent from it, and have no publicity outside of Google. So, I'm rather happy with what small audience I do manage to pull in. It's a little over 100 people per day, in addition to a fluctuating amount of RSS readers, maybe 30-50 more.

I happened to check my SiteMeter account at an opportune moment this morning, and grabbed the page at left. 88,888 visits! Nifty.

Blogiversary! 2-1/2 Years! 5,800 Posts! 88,000 Visits!

Boy howdy! I made it to 2-1/2 years? How about that. Out through the end of the Bush Administration, and into a new era. An era that I'm not altogether sure about, but one I'm happy does not include "Vice President Sarah Palin."

I was pleased to see a modest uptick in readers, particularly those notoriously finicky RSS readers. I had more visits in November than in all but two months of the last year, with a steady increase since June. Which is a huge relief after the dramatic post-election exodus.

So, I'm still here, and will continue to be. I thank all readers for sticking with me. I hope to provide you with diversions from the faux outrages to more realistic news items of the day. In any event, thanks for reading, and by all means, bring your friends!

Blogiversary: 29 Months, 5680 Posts, Over 85,000 Visitors!

Well, I'm having an inauspicious start to November. It's been slow-going around here, due to several projects and events this weekend, including:

- A visit by The Other Half's brother-in-law

- Putting the top and doors back on the Jeep

- A picture scanning project for a family Christmas DVD

- Continued adjustments to our computer network with the addition of Windows 7

- A Halloween party at Stupid Monkey Planet

So, not so much in the blogging department. This being the beginning of a new month, I've hit yet another blogiversary. That's usually the time I indulge in a little back-patting for having made it yet another month, while simultaneously wishing I'd done something a little differently, a little more or a little less.

Doing a daily blog while having a full-time job and full-time life is difficult. But I'm still enjoying it quite a bit too. Some of my attention has gotten fractured since joining Facebook. Things I might have originally blogged now go there, particularly if they're just silly videos and such. So, only the most blog-worthy things land on the blog.

Visitors-wise, things have remained steady after the initial post-election dropoff. In October, I actually had more readers than all but three months of the last year. Even the notoriously fickle RSS readers have been up more than usual. That's heartening to a guy who already spends much too much time behind one screen or another. So, thanks for reading, and as always, bring your friends!

Blogiversary: 28 Months! Over 5,555 Posts!

At some point, I really probably should stop doing these monthly "atta boys" to myself. It's kind of like when people tell you that their toddler is 38-1/2 months old. But every month, I sort of feel like "hey, I did it!" So, why not.

The month of September was an odd one, in a way. I blogged less than I did all summer, having gotten distracted with Facebook and other things. I was gone on an unscheduled trip for my grandmother's funeral, further lightening the posts. And yet, I had the best month in a long time, my third best for the year, visitors-wise. Cool!

I made a little headway into getting some regular features, or at least some nifty headings. I hope to do a little more in the near future. I also will try--again--to lighten things up a little more. Things can get dreadfully dreary around here sometimes, even if it is so easy to be snarky with the current bunch of political goings-on.

So, thanks for reading. I hope you don't all leave while I do for the next several days. I'll be popping in as much as I can (without offending my family, hopefully!). And as always, bring your friends! Thanks, everybody.