Virginia Is For Families

Here is an interesting math exercise you can use to boost your blogging spirits. Go to Google Analytics and look up the average time readers spend on your blog(s). Then multiply it times the number of visitors you had in the last thirty days.

Now you have the total amount of time there were eyes on your blog. Sure they were lots of different eyes. But I find it encouraging to think that for 292 hours there was a brain connected to eyes that were connected to something I did here. That’s almost two weeks if my math is correct.

There are all different kinds of statistics associated with blogging. Sometimes you have to dig a little to find one that makes you happy.

Or I do at least. You may be happy all the time.

Do you think that Google Analytics gives an accurate picture of the stats of bloggers? Are there better stat programs out there?

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How can you be a sage if you’re pretty? You can’t get your wizard papers without wrinkles. ~Bill Veeck

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Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it. ~Doug Larson

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What? Unzipping the file is a very important part of the process. Nothing is going to happen until you do it. And it took me a long time to figure out how to do this in an effective manner. But after long experimentation I have found two effective ways to make it happen. Both work well. But only one way is free. You have to pay for the other.

Are you still here? Let’s move on. The paying method involves a guy in a cool maroon dress. Actually he is a wizard and he will take care of things in an effortless manner.

http://www.pc-shareware.com/unzipwiz.htm

The second program will do the same thing but it is not quite as intuitive. Still I have used it so we can’t say it is difficult.

http://www.camunzip.com/

Let’s start with this one. Download and open the program. Locate a zip file somewhere and click on it. Immediately the CAM UnZip program will appear with your zip file. In the top/left location it has Extract to: and the place it would like to go with your files. It would like to go to the desktop.

However you can create a file and put it in the file if you would like to do this. Right click on the START button down at the bottom/left of you monitor screen. Click on Explore. Click on your local disk (C:) and look below it until you come to your Documents and Settings files. Click on this and look on the right side of the window. Here are the files contained in Documents and Settings. Go there with your cursor and right click your mouse. Choose new and create New Files. Then click on New Files. You will see a lot of empty space on the right half of your window. Right click on your mouse three more times and create three files called Plugins, Themes and Misc.

Now go back to the CAM Unzip program and click on the half inch square box next to Extract to: and the files that are exhibited next to it. Your file tree should appear. Find C: and find Documents and Settings. Under it find New Files and the other three files you have created. Left click on Plugins and it should appear in the box next to Extract to:

That’s it! The Unzip Wizard has a similar and even easier process but we have run out of time and space. We have reached the point where we can actually unzip NextGen Gallery. I am sorry it has taken so long but I wanted to do this in a way that would demonstrated to someone with no computer knowledge how to do it. Things should go more quickly and perhaps be more interesting from this point. Later.

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More Writing About Blogging

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One of the things about blogging that I have found interesting is that you can go along for a long while and everything is pretty much alright. But then you wake up one morning and you feel like you may have slept on a pea. Or maybe you dreamed about flying saucers.

Or maybe you just woke up and wondered why you spend hours working on blogs every day and get nothing in return. Oh, wait. Maybe not nothing. You do receive comments from time to time that are very nice. Someone enjoys a photo or something you have written.

And that is your reward. What else could it be? Money? Don’t make me laugh. Hundreds of people coming to your site? Yeah. For two minutes and then they are gone.

So I woke up this morning and for some reason I just started questioning why I am doing all of this labor. And probably if one person had written a nice comment I would have just relaxed a little and let it go. But how many times do you expect someone to write a nice comment? I have a small group of readers who have done that many, many times. And we have sort of gone beyond that stage. We are in the psychic realm of communication where you don’t have to actually type anything on your keyboard. Right Bernie?

So that’s not really the answer. I was hoping my new blog might change things but it really hasn’t done a thing. Nobody has said much about it. Maybe it is a waste of time. Maybe blogging is a waste of time!

Taking photos is not a waste of time. However. And writing poems is not a waste of time. True art is not a waste of time no matter if you are pursuing it at a most basic level. It does matter and I will never regret spending the hours that I have spent doing it.

But the next person I read who suggests exchanging links is going to see my hands coming out of their monitor and grabbing their neck for a nice squeeze.

There is so much BS in Blogging. It should be called BSlogging. It’s like a horse race only when they open the gates five thousand ponies suddenly hit the track. It’s just beyond understanding and I hope there will come a time when just about everyone decides to go on to the next great thing. And please take a bunch of the SEO gurus too. Load them on your shoulders and carry them away. They are not needed.

They are going to hate that I said that. They are all sitting there with their SEO stuff and knowledge of CSS and advertising like cowboys who round up the herds of ponies. But did they actually ever create anything? Mostly No. And do they answer e-mails? Mostly No.

There are exceptions, of course. But most of them don’t have the time to do the things that they preach. They are too busy figuring out how to rake in the dough.

I don’t care about the dough ( in BSlogging. I care a great deal about it elsewhere). None of these BSlogging wizards makes meaningful money as far as I am concerned . I care about the beauty in nature and meaningful emotions. And I am tired to death of dealing with the BSlogging that goes along with sharing these things.

I may just decide to call in my favorite band of aliens and have them all picked up and taken someplace nice for a thorough inspection so they better behave themselves.

And before I complete this diatribe let me say that there is a special place in my heart for one Adaii Freelancer who can’t seem to find the time to answer questions about his special themes. He and the rest need to take the time to communicate and answer questions. Issuing edicts is just not a good alternative.

There are no kings and queens on the internet. But when they actually do return on Showtime I will be there! Henry VIII is returning soon. He was able to cut off your head if you displeased him. And I can respect that.

What are these guys going to do? Cut off your internet service? I don’t think so.

Update: Thanks to those who stumbled/reviewed the Virginia Breeze poems. It means a lot to me. If you haven’t done so I would encourage a look in that direction. I have a personal interest of course. But it also sends a message of encouragement to all of us who are trying to use our talents to create something that will last awhile in our blogs.

I will obviously win no popularity contests. But some of the things in here will be read and appreciated (I hope) long after I have ceased to put fingers to keypad. And this is not stated often enough in Blog Land. Sure there is talk about quality content. But that’s about it. The details are left up to the blogger’s imagination in many cases.

Quality content is something that often does not readily translate into viral impact or money making opportunities. Poetry often does not attract a large audience. Maybe it is just not that good. Or maybe it takes too much time in this fast paced world to appreciate it.

I like poetry that is easily understood but also is able stir up deeper emotions in some readers. That’s what I try to do and I have no illusions that my poetry is anything but a hobby and an amateurish effort. But it can still be good and worthwhile as well as those other things.

So I encourage everyone to try to create and/or support something meaningful in their blogs. Bernie creates wonderful photos of flowers. Helena takes wonderful photos of animals in her beloved Maxwell Zoo. Barbara always has a new and imaginative idea for a photo. And Ron is all over the world taking photos of everything that can contribute to a beautiful photo.

I hope you will support these things. Stumble/review them. Add them to your blogrolls and talk about them in your posts. Elevate the level of conversation on the web. Virginia Breeze Poetry just received about four thousand hits from SU and out of that number maybe 200 folks actually read one poem. But that’s cool. Reaching people who will enjoy this sort of thing is good. But it takes a lot of work and causes frustration at times. Have I gone beyond the recommended number of words for a post yet?

Way, way beyond? Oh Dear. I better stop!

Saturday evening we all went out to dinner at the nearby Graffiti Grill. They have excellent food there. And I had

Smoked Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon

Shiitake

Brandy Demi Glace

Bruschetta with Goat Cheese, Garlic and Tomatoes

Two glasses of wine

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Some of us had fun with the name for the mushrooms. And the food was really good. But I overdid it and am paying for it today. So it hasn’t been a good day to blog or do just about anything else. I did go down to Belle Isle again and take some more photos. The cold air helped my headache a lot.

And I continued to try and get Vista to do something other than send out warning messages. Are you sure you want to do this? Yes, Vista. You just asked me that ten seconds ago. Vista is paranoid as h*ll and probably a true reflection of the master wizard himself.

Bill.

If you had 80 billion dollars you would be paranoid too. Did you ever see a picture of his house? Many years ago I saw a photo of this house build into the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was amazing. Maybe he no longer lives there. Maybe his body double lives there along with the body doubles of his family.

I never did get Vista to work with my LCD monitor. So I decided to order Windows XP Home Edition and wipe out the Vista OS. It’s on its way with one day shipping from Amazon. And it’s the best OS Windows ever made. I’m tired of being a Vista lab rat. If it ever starts to be a reliable OS I may try it again.

Beth and her parents went to see the Dancing With The Stars people downtown tonight. They love the show and are very excited about it. Beth tells me they have been invited to go back stage and see someone named Cheryl. I’m not sure about her name but I know they adore her. They are very excited.

If I got to go back stage and meet “Someone” I would be very excited too.

I saw these two ducks at Belle Isle today and they almost let me come with in ten feet of them. They were busy eating the little fish that were falling over the spill way. The fall may disorient them and then they are eaten.

Not a good day for some of the tiny fish either. But I did get some photos of the ducks.

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Zach tells me that the hobo king and his minions live on a hill in the middle of Belle Isle. I was thinking about climbing up there and meeting some of them. Maybe they would let me take their photos and I could post them here. That would be pretty cool.

But maybe I should wait until Zach and some of his friends are around.

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