Tag: blog

The Blog’s Birthday

This blog started 11 years ago tonight. I wanted a blog, but wasn’t sure why or what I’d write about. My first post was the equivalent of dipping your toe in the water.

4.track.currentIt’s the 4th of July. I have to work on what is a hot and sticky day in Connecticut. There are a few thunderstorms on the radar, but not enough to really worry about. Helaine is packing. Twice, she’s had me get on the scale with a suitcase. Both were light (by airline limits that is). I haven’t done any packing yet. And, I still have a quiz to take to get ahead in my “Natural Disasters” class at Mississippi State.

geoff-and-puppiesThe blog has taught me how to write. That makes sense. I practice every day.

My writing takes advantage of the powers of word processing. Everything is written, then rewritten more than once. I never did that while in school.

A finished blog entry is nearly always shorter than the first draft!

I like short paragraphs.

On an average day around 1,200 pages get read. If I talk about a storm headed toward New England traffic can increase tenfold or more.

More-and-more Facebook makes it difficult to get direct traffic. Do people start blogs anymore? Should I bother anymore? I wonder all the time.

I like it when you read my words. Ego? Probably. It does give me satisfaction to know I can share my thoughts.

This blog is always the truth, but seldom the whole truth. I hide bad news and shield friends and family. This is not TMZ.

Thanks for stopping by.

Eight Years Ago Today: My Blog’s Anniversary

What this blog does provide is a running narrative on my life. I often go back to entries reference while trying to remember something that’s happened.

It’s the 4th of July. It’s a hot and sticky day. I’ve got to work. In that regard today is similar to July 4, 2003 the day this blog began. Pretty much everything else has changed over the course of 4,903 entries and 14,168 comments.

Stef was in high school. I hadn’t completed my courses for Mississippi State. There was no Facebook or Twitter or iPhone. Ivy was still with us, relaxing and comforting. I drove south on I-91 to get to work!

Geofffox.com existed before the blog began, but it was (in the custom of the day) a “one off.” Everything had to be custom coded. It wasn’t made to be updated regularly–certainly not every day.

My friend Peter Sachs was the driving force here. He made the suggestion. He actually mounted the software on his server! I used MovableType then. It’s WordPress now.

The first day’s entry got a few dozen hits. I was ecstatic. Now I average thousands of views daily. I lost the real count years ago, but estimate my cumulative traffic has surpassed 5,000,000 page reads.

Posting a daily entry has become an obsession. The last day I didn’t post was October 22, 2006, a day I was sick enough to have a doctor (whose face I never saw) visit my hotel room in Las Vegas!

With Facebook and Twitter posting a blog is a lot less important. Blogging is now “old school.” There have been times I’ve thought of stopping.

What this blog does provide is a running narrative on my life. I often go back to entries while trying to remember something that’s happened.

I perceive the blog has lost some of its edge since I’ve gone to work at FoxCT. Being happy and content doesn’t make for provocative entries.

Thanks for coming here. It means a lot to me.