The Earth has completed yet another orbit from this particular spot, so here we are (or at least here I am) with another Blog Anniversary. Almost hard to believe the Earth has spun ’round the Sun thirteen times since I began this blog. My blog’s a teenager now!
Thirteen years, fourteen hundred posts (this is post #1400), lots of wyrds (1.8 million). Lots of Wyrd, for that matter. This has been a self-documenting project from day one.
Needless to say, I have lists, stats, and charts (oh, my).
We’ve just now reached that point in Earth’s orbit known as Summer Solstice (June 20, 2024, 20:51 UTC, 3:51 PM local time). Welcome to summer!
I’m dog-sitting my pal Bentley until Saturday, so my attention is elsewhere than blogging right now. Hope you’re all having a good summer!
I was raised by a book-loving dad who passed on to me both the love of reading and the love of books. (He also passed on a love of maps, but that’s a story for another post.)
One of my dad’s lifelong goals was to publish books, and by a round-about path he ultimately accomplished that goal. As an old TV commercial has it, “And I got to help!” He began with a printshop that eventually grew to a (very, very) small boutique book publishing shop. We did maybe half-a-dozen books.
So, a love and respect for books has long been with me.
I don’t drink coffee. I never have. (Call me different and you’ll be right at least nine times out of ten.) In my whole life, I’ve consumed maybe two cups worth. That required multiple attempts — usually friends forcing it on me because “you’ll like this [flavor|variety|brand|style], I promise!”
They’ve all struck out. I just don’t care for the stuff, not even iced, not even extremely flavored and tarted up. In contrast, I’ve always liked iced tea, and therein lies my tale for the day. Because tea has plenty of caffeine, too.
And it gave me a double lesson about [1] why people drink coffee (one word: caffeine) and [B] the downside of drinking coffee (one word: caffeine).
Today is the Vernal Equinox, the official starter gun for spring! Now we get six months of more sunlight than not. And the length of the day is changing (towards the long summer days) at its fastest rate during the year (except for the Autumnal Equinox, the other fastest).
Ironically, the last few days have been chillier than what has passed for normal this winter. The high three days ago (on 3/17) was only 30 degrees (Fahrenheit, of course).
The weather has been so strange (thanks to global warming) that I just had to make a bunch of charts to share here.
February 15, and winter finally decided show up:
And it’s awfully pretty, I gotta give it that!
This post contains the post statistics charts I didn’t have room for in the 2023 wrap-up post. There are a lot of them, and I don’t imagine they’re of much interest to anyone but me. I post them mainly to document the blog. A set of milestones, if you will.
I confess to being fascinated — and utterly befuddled — by which posts receive attention and which little piggies get none. It’s particularly interesting to me when an old post — especially one that never got many views — suddenly gets noticed and sometimes even slightly popular.
Mostly the stats are similar to previous years, but 2023 did bring a few surprises.
The other face of Janus looks forward to the Christmases yet to come. Or words to that effect. The last post looked back at some highlights from 2023; this one looks forward to the hopes, plans, and guesses for 2024.
Hopes and plans are easy enough, but when it comes to guesses, I’ve never thought much of futurists. I don’t have much truck with “could” and “might” when it comes to the actual world. Science fiction is my favorite fiction, but futurists claim to be prescient, and I very much doubt it.
Regardless (and heedless), some hopes, plans, and wild-ass guesses, for 2024.
I thought this year’s Janus posts — one looking back, one looking forward — would be unusually late, but it turns out they’re only one day later than last year’s pair (assuming I post what I’ve just started writing today). Hosting my furry nephew Bentley over New Year’s accounts for the (thoroughly delightful!) delay this year and last.
As usual, this post looks back at the previous year, 2023, and tomorrow’s post (assuming I write it and post it) looks forward to what 2024 might hold in store (guesses and hopes).
And, of course, there are stats and charts.
Imagine my surprise at finding myself in:
Because I still remember wondering if 1984, when it finally arrived, would be anything like the book. (Not to mention how far off 2001 seemed back then.)
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