Tag Archives: blogging

Fortjuly Anniversary

So, if a fortnight is 14 days (but counted as nights), then a fortjuly should be 14 years. I suppose it should really be a fortwinter to align with the counting nights aspect. But that would mean we’re on the 13th “day” (year) of this blog, and this post celebrates the blog’s 14th anniversary, so fortjuly it is.

As in: “It has been fourteen years — a fortjuly — since I started this blog.” By other metrics: 1,438 posts (42 pages); 1,996,695 words (damn, just missed it being a cool two-mill); 287,266 sentences; or 63,337 paragraphs.

As usual, there are charts and lists.

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Subscriber Purge

Back in 2021 I got tired of having lots of supposed subscribers but almost no views (let alone engagement). I issued a purge warning post. A month or so later, I went through my subscriber list and mowed down the bulk of them — people I’d never heard of other than their subscription.

I’m aware that some subscribe to blogs they have no intention of reading just to publicize their own blog. To be blunt, I do not like this practice. Don’t subscribe to this blog unless you’re interested in this blog. That seems so … obvious to me.

In any event, it’s that time again. A purge is at hand. The Blog 14th Anniversary is coming up July 4th, and I intend another massive purge shortly after that date (after the usual post of charts and graphs).

So. If you’ve been silently lurking, if I don’t know you from past interactions, then speak up now or face being removed from the subscriber list next month.

That is all.


A Belated Janus Post

I usually publish a pair of Janus posts in early January, one looking back (with charts and stats), one looking forward (with intentions for the year). This year I’m “juuust a bit outside” the strike zone.

I got a respiratory virus just before Christmas, and it took me out for Christmas and the song-celebrated Twelve Days after. Mid-January I was dog-sitting and decided to take the whole month off from the interweb (and, to a large extent, even the computer).

Now I’m back. With charts and stats.

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Friday Notes (Nov 22, 2024)

It has been another slow month here, and I remain conflicted about trying to blog both here on WordPress and now, on Substack. Last May I committed to posting on my WP programming blog (The Hard-Core Coder) every two weeks.

I’d discovered that I didn’t like writing about programming as much as I enjoy doing it, but figured I’d give it one more try (hence the commitment). So far, I’ve been keeping it up, and plan to continue, but it’s one more thing taking time from this blog.

It’s possible (but maybe not yet likely) this is the penultimate Friday Notes.

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A Blog Invasion?

Starting yesterday afternoon and continuing to this moment, Logos con Carne’s page view stats have exploded far beyond anything I’ve seen here in the thirteen years of this blog:

I’m pretty sure this is due to an automated process, not a sudden popularity. The number of visitors is roughly normal, even a little low today, so it’s one entity “reading” all those posts, and the click rate seems too fast for it to be someone actually reading the posts.

And, of course, no Likes or Comments, so I have no clue WTF is going on.

Anyone else seeing a huge uptick in stats? I’m a little freaked out about it. I’m not one to be paranoid, but could this have anything to do with the recent election? The only reasonable theory I have is that someone is training a pet LLM and picked my blog for source text. (Clearly because of the superior writing therein. 😏)

Many of us left field bloggers fantasize about popularity, but — after some initial excitement — this obviously isn’t that. But what is it?

Anyone else seeing this? (I just made that image, but as I go to click [Publish] the count is up to 4,715 and growing with every refresh.)

Stay low-key, my friends! Go forth and spread beauty and light.


Friday Notes (Oct 25, 2024)

It’s been a slow month here, this is only my second post, and it could be the last. (This month, I mean, not forever.) One thing that has become clear to me is that Substack Notes is too much of a time sink. I’ve been learning to tear myself away from it.

I’m sure I’ll keep posting there, though. I’ve been updating some of my older posts and republishing them for a new audience. I wrapped things up here on computationalism some time ago, but now I have an excuse to revisit and distill those thoughts.

As for this blog, at least for now, there’s always Friday Notes.

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Friday Notes (Sep 27, 2024)

Maybe it’s a hold-over from school days, or maybe it has to do with fall (my favorite season), but the year really does hinge on fall and spring for me. You’d think spring would be the logical year start, but I see September as the turnover point. Summer’s over, another (school) year begins.

In any event, it’s fall when I most often find myself thinking about, and planning, the year ahead. The last few years I’ve made a lot of progress but have slacked off the past year. For the coming year, I’ve decided to throw away a lot more stuff.

Including some piles of notes, but for now it’s time for Friday Notes

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Friday Notes (Aug 30, 2024)

Between it being kind of a weird month (on several counts), my increasing activity on Substack, and some hobby project work, I haven’t posted much here this month. In fact, this is only the second post this month. Given the date, probably the last.

Which may be something of a harbinger. I do seem to be migrating towards Substack and, to some extent, leaving this blog behind. It feels like abandoning a friend, though, and I’m finding it hard to let go. And probably won’t, at least not entirely.

But who knows. Maybe it’s all Friday Notes from here on out…

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Change Winds Blowing

I’ve been sitting on a fence for several months now, and it’s starting to get a bit uncomfortable. Back in March I opened branch office over in Substack land. Ever since I’ve been trying to figure out whether to shift operations there or remain here. (Or try to do both more or less equally.)

A complicating factor is that, despite both Substack and WordPress being blogging platforms, there is something of an apples and pumpkins comparison. They have, for me, contrasting pros and cons, mead and poison.

Change is hard, but it can also be invigorating, and it might just be time.

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Lucky Thirteen

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).

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