Tag: Blog Like It’s 1999

  • Site Redesign… Eventually

    I have been thinking about this for awhile now; I need to redesign the site here. It feels like I need to update some stuff, maybe make it look a little better. To be honest, I have never found a layout that works for me, in all the years that I have tried creating a blog site. Even going back to 1999, and my first Blogger page. Building a page and site and all of this has never produced a site that I was comfortable with.

    I know the first question one needs to ask themselves when they start building out their site, is what is the purpose? What is the point? Well, I want to place that I can write daily.

    Okay, mission accomplished.

    But… I must say that the reason just about all of you come to this site, talking like 75% of you, is to read the reviews I write. So, that would lead me to believe that I should play up the review stuff, and not do too much of the “personal blog stuff.”

    I don’t know… I never feel comfortable with building this thing. Makes me feel a little selfconscious, and also rather clueless to technology.

    You know… I’m just going to copy Fox Reviews Rock layout. It’s simple, effective, and rocks. It’s a cooI site and I like what they do.

  • Wrapping Up the Year

    This has been a busier week than I had anticipated. The kid is finishing up her school week, and the wife is wrapping up her final week at work as well. Then people got sick which throws life sideways. Not that I am complaining, as this is a great time of year, and I do enjoy the fun, and stress that comes along with the week leading up to Christmas, and New Year’s.

    Oh, and I volunteered for a puppet thing around Lincoln Center. (If I gets some pictures, I’ll post them.)

    But being that my family and I are about to start cleaning, and wrapping gifts, baking treats, going to movies, and spending time together, I thought it best to start reflecting over what this blog has been for the past year.

    First of all, for the more than four of you who now stop by daily – thank you for taking the time. This year I earned the most views and visitors that I have ever had, and that also means that every year I have written this blog, views, visitors, and subscribers has grown. So, again, thanks everyone.

    I have started to think that I need to redesign the blog, and maybe even start to change it’s focus. Though I enjoy writing about random things, like I was a blogger from 1999, the truth of the matter is that my reviews of short stories is the true driver to this site. I have no intention of stopping doing either type of post, but it seems that I should make it easier for people to find the reviews I write. I’m not the best at designing a good functional website, but I think it might be time to spend some actual time on working this out.

    On the fiction/publishing front – I did fall short of my goal. In 2023, I got one story accepted and published, so for 2024 I had aimed for getting two stories accepted/published. What I accomplished was one acceptance. Going over my submissions numbers, I saw that I sent out to half as many publications in 2024 as I did in 2023. Not sure how this happened, as I thought was keeping pace with the previous year, but something fell through the cracks. What was most apparent to me was that I am still “playing” at publishing, and not taking it “seriously.” If you want to accomplish anything, you have to put in the time and the work, and I didn’t. I am still proud of what I accomplished with my writing this year, but if I want to earn enough money to buy a new MacBook Air, then I need to work a little harder.

    Did I mention my Merch Store? I’m going to make that “1999” thing a thing.

    As for the next two weeks, I’m going to put up my normal fun Holiday stuff, and then I’ll put up the “Best of 2024.”

    Other than that, again, thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope you had a good year, and are looking forward to the Holidays and 2025!

  • ODDS and ENDS: Talking to the Dog, Shopping for Quirk, and Wrapping Up

    (Jump back, what’s that sound?)

    I know that I am not the only person who does this, because I have seen other people in my neighborhood do it, especially at night. And that’s talking to your dog on a walk. Now, I’m not talking about telling your dog that they are a good boy, or asking them to hurry up, or to slow down. No, I mean having a conversation with the dog. At home, I talk to the dog all the time. Like, if I have an idea, and I need to talk through it, the dog will be the recipient of my line of thinking. But out for a walk? No, I don’t want to look like the crazy guy on the block. Until, the other day, when I did it. I had several things I needed to take care of the next day, and I thought when the dog was trying to poop, that would be a good time to ask her if my agenda was in good order. She seemed to agree, or at least she had to no where else to go.

    As we are approaching Christmas, the wife and I have started looking for gifts for our family members who have a very excellent sense of humor. Last year, the winner was the fat plush cat with balls, which, for some odd reason, is no longer available on Amazon. For us, the quirk gift needs to revolve around a cat or cats. They do seem to be the funniest. Something with cat butts, or an art piece of cats watching use the bathroom are our winning ideas so far. No matter what we select, we do have to hope that it lands well, hence the good sense of humor being a requirement, but we also have to imagine and wonder what the reaction will be.

    AND as we approach Christmas, that will also mean that I need to wrap up my year on the blog. I only have two weeks left of live or daily created blogs left, and then I will start scheduling the final two weeks of the year. Lot’s of Christmas jokes, but I will again do a “Best Of…” week as well. In the past few years, I have let the “Best Of…” be the posts that received the most views, so you, the readers, have decided. This year I am going to change it up and select what I think were the five best blogs I put out. Maybe this is a good idea, maybe no one cares. Maybe it’s good to change things up from time to time.

  • ODDS and ENDS: DMV Time, Tottenham Confusion, Merch Store, and Vote

    (I feel so bad, I got a worried mind…)

    My driver’s license is going to expire soon. This means that I need to make my quadrennial appointment with the New York State DMV. Unlike most people, I don’t mind wasting time at the there. Normally, I get some good reading in, or have a fun time people watching. In New York, they let you schedule appointments. It implies that you will be seen at a certain time, but really, these appointments are just guidelines; a mere suggestion of when service will be rendered. Hence why I bring a book. And it’s easy to dump on the people who work at the DMV. What I have found is that if you are pleasant and show up with the correct paperwork filled out, the DMV staff not only is surprised that they don’t have to explain the process to you, their actually relieved.

    So, let me get this straight… Tottenham can beat Man City, but they can’t beat Crystal Palace? Right…

    The Merch Store is open people. All items share my philosophy of the type of blogger that I am.

    You should vote, if you haven’t already. Make a plan. Tuesday is the final day, you know.