Shamed into another post
This morning, Debra Anderson who is Alan Kegley's teacher at Lenoir City High School, posted a very nice and complimentary comment to this weblog that has literally shamed me into getting my act in gear and making this post. She said:

"We wanted to thank you for your articles and all the extended information you provide. Alan Kegley had introduced us to your weblog. The entire class views it daily. Thank you for your insight."

So I decided to post my response to a regular blog entry rather than posting it, as would be the usual custom, in a comment of my own. First, I have to say "thank you" to Alan for his interest and for taking the initiative to share this site with his fellow classmates. And secondly, I'd like to send out a "hello" to all the class members. I'm pleased that you visit the site daily. Finally, I want to thank Ms. Anderson for her kind words.

Now I need to point out to all of you something that I presume has become obvious to you. Blogging for me has of late turned into a weekly, not a daily, activity, so the fact that you check this site daily must be a disappointment for which I humbly apologize. My new schedule of working from 2 PM till 11 PM at U.S. Cellular has disrupted not only my blogging regularity but also my sleeping schedule. Getting home at 11:30 PM means that I don't usually get into bed until around 2:00 AM, and I am still adjusting to that routine. Maybe I'll soon become accustomed to it and get back on a more regular posting schedule here on the blog and your visits won't be quite as much a disappointment as they may have been up until now.

With that apology out of the way, I would also assert that I maintain this blog mostly for myself so if I am absent from posts for a while that's just the way it is. I'm not a newspaper columnist who commits to his publisher that he'll have a column every day. Therefore since I'm my own publisher, I tend to be forgiving to myself when it comes to my occasional absences from activity. There was, of course, no hint of intentional shaming on Ms. Anderson's part in the comment she made, and I am aware of that, but I wanted to make it clear to the class and to any of the rest of you who visit here regularly that I too occasionally find it disappointing when I visit a favorite blog and find nothing new there. So I know how that feels and hope I'll do a better job in the future of keeping you informed.

Blogging, as with any writing, is an interesting activity. On April 12th of this year, I'll have completed 3 years of keeping this blog. In that time, I've wandered all over the field in trying to determine what the primary focus of this blog is. At times it is a personal journal of activities and events in my family's life. At times it attempts to comment on various aspects of technology that capture my attention. And at other times it is merely a hodge-podge of random thoughts and ideas. But like a homely baby, it is mine so I love it regardless of what others think of it.

And speaking of blogging, Shel Israel has an interesting post from March 14th in which he indicates that "Technorati is now tracking over 7.8 million weblogs, and 937 million links. " The growth in this phenomenon has been nothing short of spectacular. In the last 5 months alone, the number of blogs has almost doubled. Anyone can do it, including a school class such as yours Ms. Anderson, and they can do it without any cost. Blogger offers the tools and the hosting space for blogs such as mine for free and is a great place for the new blogger to get into the game without anything more than a willingness to learn and the audacity to think he has something to say. So this is an invitation from me to anyone who meets those criteria to join the ranks and have a go at it. Just follow this link and you too can begin to contribute to the discussion on the Internet. But be warned, creating a blog is like planting a garden. If you don't tend it often, your neighbors (and on the Internet, the whole world is your neighbor) will walk by it and will see whether you are a good steward of the land or not.

I am hopeful that within the next month or so I'll soon have a new and for me exciting addition to this blog. I've been developing the tools and the skills necessary to start posting an occasional podcast to this blog. So you'll be able to hear what I have to say rather than just read it. Podcasting is growing on the Internet, if anything, faster than blogging. So because I enjoy playing with these online tools, if for no other reason to see if I can, I'll soon begin having a podcast for you to listen to. What I am waiting for is for James Prudente, the author of MixCast Live, to announce the availability of his hosting service for users of MCL. As soon as that comes available, I'll be speaking to you with my very own podcast. So hang in there everybody, there's more to come.
- posted by Perry @ 12:17 PM