In the Blogosphere, we say Happy Blogoversary!
It was seven years ago that Out of My Hat made its first post! This is my 857th post.
Over the past seven years I've had my streaks of writing and not writing. I've posted rants of things that drive me crazy and shared things that I hold dear. I've written things that are funny and things that I find interesting. I've told my readers about me and the things that are important to me and written posts just as an exercise in writing.
The most incredible thing that I've found through writing Out of My Hat, is that I've made a great number of friends in the ever growing blogosphere. Sometimes I mourn a little bit over the blogs that have wandered off the virtual highway and disappeared into the great internet wasteland. I rarely search for random blogs to read as I once did, but do find new blogs by reading through the lists of blogs to which my readers subscribe.
There are only a few professional blogs that I read on a regular basis. Most of them are written by bloggers that are just regular people that have taken a little bit of the electronic world and use it for the purpose of making their voice heard.
Out of My Hat has gone from only a few friends as followers, to many readers from many countries and back to a few friends as followers. Although I check to see if anybody is reading, the truth is that I write to write, write to rant and will write as long as I feel like writing rather than write as long as people feel like reading. I've thought about using advertisements on my post but figured that I'd feel like I had to write to get readers rather than just write for fun.
I think it's funny (in the sad sort of way, not the ha-ha sort of way) that I've lost friends over things I've written because we have become a society that hates people that voice differing opinions. I think it's great that I've made friends over things that I've written--not because we agree on everything, but because we enjoy the differences and embrace the dialogue that helps us to grow in our knowledge of one another.
Some times I'm disappointed that the social networking has seemed to cost me more "friends" that it has gained readers, but then again--we all get to choose what we read, who we like, who we don't like and who we want to hate. Whatever!
Today I could have written about any number of world events. I could have written about on political party's latest scandal or about a great injustice taking place in one corner of the world or another. I could have written something uplifting and inspiring or I could have gone on another rant about something that is ticking me off.
But , no...
Today I choose a little shameless self-indulgence.
Happy Blogoversary, Out of My Hat!
John <><
Showing posts with label Getting started. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting started. Show all posts
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Blogoversary!
For those of you (all two of you) that have been reading Out of My Hat since the beginning, today is the six year blogoversary of publishing at Out of My Hat! Happy Blogoversary!
I was recently scanning past posts and have noticed that the more controversial posts receive far more hits (and a few more comments) than other posts. Religious posts get a fair amount of hits and few comments. I haven't done any "Favorite bible stories," "funny stuff" or "What I like about..." posts lately (and probably need to).
I know that the demographics of readership has changed over the (few) years as Out of My Hat has found its own personality. I seem to have more younger readers than in the beginning but am still grateful for my favorite curmudgeons that continue to visit and offer their view points from a perspective that other readers have not yet attained.
This is my 19th post this month, making it the second most posts in a single month. I have enjoyed writing more often and will try to keep that up in the coming months.
For today, I'm going to take the lazy man's way out and just say--Thanks for reading. Thanks for your comments. Feel free to stop by and visit anytime.
John <><
I was recently scanning past posts and have noticed that the more controversial posts receive far more hits (and a few more comments) than other posts. Religious posts get a fair amount of hits and few comments. I haven't done any "Favorite bible stories," "funny stuff" or "What I like about..." posts lately (and probably need to).
I know that the demographics of readership has changed over the (few) years as Out of My Hat has found its own personality. I seem to have more younger readers than in the beginning but am still grateful for my favorite curmudgeons that continue to visit and offer their view points from a perspective that other readers have not yet attained.
This is my 19th post this month, making it the second most posts in a single month. I have enjoyed writing more often and will try to keep that up in the coming months.
For today, I'm going to take the lazy man's way out and just say--Thanks for reading. Thanks for your comments. Feel free to stop by and visit anytime.
John <><
Monday, January 30, 2012
Why Write a Blog?
I have become less and less regular about posting at Out of My Hat.
But if you read regularly (or irregularly as my posts are irregular), you already know that.
Oddly enough, in a couple of weeks I'll be standing before my writing club to talk about ... blogging.
Over the course of the next few days I'll be re-examining why I chose to start this blog, how it has evolved over the past few years and why I continue to publicly rant/preach/write/share about whatever might come to mind.
I know that many of my readers are also fellow bloggers (or former bloggers). Perhaps you'll share why you blog by leaving a comment.
A quick scan of the "Blogs I Frequent" list in the right column shows quite a number of blogs are are no longer being written. I guess I need to update that list. I think that the quick tweet or slightly longer Facebook status update has replaced blogging for a lot of former bloggers. I recently read (and I can't remember where to give the source) that serious writers don't blog, the write to be published.
I assume they meant that they write to be published by somebody else or to be published for pay because even a simple blog like this one is "published."
So for my little fifteen to twenty minute session, I plan on sharing some sites that offer to publish your blog, some tips to publishing to get hits or build your following, some of the many different types of blogs that are out there.
If you were going to talk for fifteen minutes on why you read blogs, what would you say?
What do you, the reader, look for in a blog?
(Is it cheesy to solicit my readers for help with my presentation?)
If I look back to my first post, I can read some of the reasons that I started blogging (and no I haven't written one additional word to that book!) and see that they pretty much still work for today. Perhaps I should be more purposeful about blogging. As it is, Out of My Hat is just a sort of catch all kind of blog with random posts at random times about random subjects.
I guess it is appropriately named.
John <><
But if you read regularly (or irregularly as my posts are irregular), you already know that.
Oddly enough, in a couple of weeks I'll be standing before my writing club to talk about ... blogging.
Over the course of the next few days I'll be re-examining why I chose to start this blog, how it has evolved over the past few years and why I continue to publicly rant/preach/write/share about whatever might come to mind.
I know that many of my readers are also fellow bloggers (or former bloggers). Perhaps you'll share why you blog by leaving a comment.
A quick scan of the "Blogs I Frequent" list in the right column shows quite a number of blogs are are no longer being written. I guess I need to update that list. I think that the quick tweet or slightly longer Facebook status update has replaced blogging for a lot of former bloggers. I recently read (and I can't remember where to give the source) that serious writers don't blog, the write to be published.
I assume they meant that they write to be published by somebody else or to be published for pay because even a simple blog like this one is "published."
So for my little fifteen to twenty minute session, I plan on sharing some sites that offer to publish your blog, some tips to publishing to get hits or build your following, some of the many different types of blogs that are out there.
If you were going to talk for fifteen minutes on why you read blogs, what would you say?
What do you, the reader, look for in a blog?
(Is it cheesy to solicit my readers for help with my presentation?)
If I look back to my first post, I can read some of the reasons that I started blogging (and no I haven't written one additional word to that book!) and see that they pretty much still work for today. Perhaps I should be more purposeful about blogging. As it is, Out of My Hat is just a sort of catch all kind of blog with random posts at random times about random subjects.
I guess it is appropriately named.
John <><
Monday, September 12, 2011
600
It's post #600.
600 posts isn't anything monumental as bloggers go, especially when it's been over 5 years of blogging here at Out of My Hat. Several of the blogs that I read post on a daily basis. Most post much more often than I do. Several of the blogs that I once followed have faded into the cyber mist and no longer exist. Others have taken their places as new people have started blogging and I have found new blogs to follow. I haven't taken the time to delete idle blogs from my list of "blogs I follow" and should probably clean that up...someday.
I was looking back over the previous 599 posts and looking at the most often viewed posts and the posts that received the most comments. The second part (the most comments) is a little bit skewed since some of you now comment on Facebook instead of on the post itself.
For a short time, I was having the posts appear as "notes" on Facebook but then I really had no way of tracking how many hits I was getting. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, I don't suppose that it really matters if anybody reads the rants of Midwest, small town boy.
This post from December 2006 is the one that has received the most hits--4,045 to date. That's a little over eight times as many as the second place post's 488 views. Most of them are at around the 50 mark with a few reaching toward a hundred hits. Numbers dropped as I became less regular for a time and are slowly picking up with more regular posts and from linking to my blog from Facebook. Twitter has had little impact since I only have a few followers and really haven't figured out how to use it to my advantage.
I know that the large number of hits on the few posts that have large numbers are from search engines that find something that causes people to click on a link and read them.
I also took some time to read comments from the posts that drew the most comments here at Out of My Hat (again, Facebook comments were not tracked). I found it interesting that I receive far fewer opposing comments here than on Facebook. Apparently, Facebook friends feel more free to share their opposing viewpoints than those that post here. Posts with labels--message, religion or favorite bible stories--receive few comments.
In the five+ years that I've been rambling at Out of My Hat, I'm no closer to writing a book than I was when I wrote my very first post suggesting that it was in my future. Maybe it still is...
In any case, blogging has been a far greater experience than I ever imagined it to be. I have made cyber friends from around the world. Some contacts go beyond the comments on our blogs to Facebook friendships, personal e-mails, cards or letters via snail mail and an occasional meet at Ted Drewe's.
Thanks to all of you that have stopped by to read, share a comment or share a link to one of my posts.
John <><
600 posts isn't anything monumental as bloggers go, especially when it's been over 5 years of blogging here at Out of My Hat. Several of the blogs that I read post on a daily basis. Most post much more often than I do. Several of the blogs that I once followed have faded into the cyber mist and no longer exist. Others have taken their places as new people have started blogging and I have found new blogs to follow. I haven't taken the time to delete idle blogs from my list of "blogs I follow" and should probably clean that up...someday.
I was looking back over the previous 599 posts and looking at the most often viewed posts and the posts that received the most comments. The second part (the most comments) is a little bit skewed since some of you now comment on Facebook instead of on the post itself.
For a short time, I was having the posts appear as "notes" on Facebook but then I really had no way of tracking how many hits I was getting. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, I don't suppose that it really matters if anybody reads the rants of Midwest, small town boy.
This post from December 2006 is the one that has received the most hits--4,045 to date. That's a little over eight times as many as the second place post's 488 views. Most of them are at around the 50 mark with a few reaching toward a hundred hits. Numbers dropped as I became less regular for a time and are slowly picking up with more regular posts and from linking to my blog from Facebook. Twitter has had little impact since I only have a few followers and really haven't figured out how to use it to my advantage.
I know that the large number of hits on the few posts that have large numbers are from search engines that find something that causes people to click on a link and read them.
I also took some time to read comments from the posts that drew the most comments here at Out of My Hat (again, Facebook comments were not tracked). I found it interesting that I receive far fewer opposing comments here than on Facebook. Apparently, Facebook friends feel more free to share their opposing viewpoints than those that post here. Posts with labels--message, religion or favorite bible stories--receive few comments.
In the five+ years that I've been rambling at Out of My Hat, I'm no closer to writing a book than I was when I wrote my very first post suggesting that it was in my future. Maybe it still is...
In any case, blogging has been a far greater experience than I ever imagined it to be. I have made cyber friends from around the world. Some contacts go beyond the comments on our blogs to Facebook friendships, personal e-mails, cards or letters via snail mail and an occasional meet at Ted Drewe's.
Thanks to all of you that have stopped by to read, share a comment or share a link to one of my posts.
John <><
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Quick Post
Just a quick post from the hotel this morning:
We spent a wonderful couple of days with Aaron and Jenny in Chicago and then took in a Cardinal baseball game in St. Louis last night. The game could have been better (meaning the Cards lost), but I enjoyed being at the park just the same.
It was Christian Familly Day at the Ballpark, so after the game we heard some great testimonies from the players about what having a personal relationship with Jesus means to them.
I'll write more about that when I'm not typing on my cell phone keyboard. This morning we're meeting friends for brunch at Bevo Mill (google that if you're not from St. Louis) before heading home.
Have a great week!
John<><
We spent a wonderful couple of days with Aaron and Jenny in Chicago and then took in a Cardinal baseball game in St. Louis last night. The game could have been better (meaning the Cards lost), but I enjoyed being at the park just the same.
It was Christian Familly Day at the Ballpark, so after the game we heard some great testimonies from the players about what having a personal relationship with Jesus means to them.
I'll write more about that when I'm not typing on my cell phone keyboard. This morning we're meeting friends for brunch at Bevo Mill (google that if you're not from St. Louis) before heading home.
Have a great week!
John<><
Friday, July 01, 2011
Blog Ads
I'm not talking about ads for my blog, I'm talking about ads on my blog.
I get solicitations for running ads weekly when I get my updates from Lijit and ads are also available through Google. These ads would run on the sides of the normal blog body and be generated based on a number of factors that I have only limited control over. It's like having a bill board on the side of my blog. Bloggers get paid for this service based on the number of times readers "click" on the ads displayed on their pages.
I know that a number of blogs that I read run ads. In fact, some of you blog in order to run the ad space. I can't ever remember actually "clicking on an ad from a blog. I have clicked on ads on Facebook and it's pretty much the same kind of thing.
I'm not really concerned about the income this might generate as much as I'm wondering if there is any negative impact. Don't get me wrong here -- the only reason I'm thinking about it is that I'm curious about the potential income. It's not like I'm in need; just curious about an unused but available resource.
So how about a little feedback?
Try it.
Don't do it.
No opinion.
Something else.
Leave a comment. I'm interested in what you think.
John<><
I get solicitations for running ads weekly when I get my updates from Lijit and ads are also available through Google. These ads would run on the sides of the normal blog body and be generated based on a number of factors that I have only limited control over. It's like having a bill board on the side of my blog. Bloggers get paid for this service based on the number of times readers "click" on the ads displayed on their pages.
I know that a number of blogs that I read run ads. In fact, some of you blog in order to run the ad space. I can't ever remember actually "clicking on an ad from a blog. I have clicked on ads on Facebook and it's pretty much the same kind of thing.
I'm not really concerned about the income this might generate as much as I'm wondering if there is any negative impact. Don't get me wrong here -- the only reason I'm thinking about it is that I'm curious about the potential income. It's not like I'm in need; just curious about an unused but available resource.
So how about a little feedback?
Try it.
Don't do it.
No opinion.
Something else.
Leave a comment. I'm interested in what you think.
John<><
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Half Past 2011
Wow! What has happened to the first half of 2011?
Actually, even though today marks the end of the first six months of the year, half way by number of days won't be for another day or so. Still -- the year seems to be flying by!
This will be my thirteenth post for the month of June; slightly off the 3 posts per week that I set as a writing goal. All-in-all, I'm happy with that. Vacation, camp, just being busy -- all are excuses that I've used, but still managed to post more than any month so far this year (and more than a third of this year's total posts).
I've noticed that more of my posts are centered around my spiritual beliefs and philosophy; less are about government, politics or general rants. There are still the occasional nobody-really-cares-about-my-personal-life-but-it's-my-blog kind of posts. And of course, the rare post on magic, performing, etc. Out of My Hat has changed a bit over the past few years. It's still just a place for me to write. I certainly enjoy the wide readership that I have experienced over the years and look forward to your comments (so please leave them). I never expected to have readers from around the globe and from so many different backgrounds. As the regularity of my posts has declined, so has the overall readership. Thanks to the faithful that still stop by to see what's posted from time to time.
Somebody recently asked me if I'd done any more writing on my book (from my very first post). The answer, of course, is no. I have had some other ideas on books to be written, but none has managed to be more than that -- an idea. It seems that I don't even have the time to record my random thoughts here. Where am I going to find the time to purposefully write a book?
I do have some new thoughts on blogging and will be asking what you think about them in the coming weeks. If you read regularly and are on Facebook, I really appreciate it when you share a post that you like with your friends. There is a Facebook icon at the bottom of each post that makes it easy. If you want to "friend" me and follow Out of My Hat from Facebook, you can do that here. Please add a comment to your friend request to let me know that you're a blog reader so that I don't just ignore your request. You can also add your name to the small list of followers about halfway down the right-side column.
I am looking forward to the second half of 2011. I know that it will be filled with both challenges and opportunities (much like the first half was). I look forward to hearing from you in the remainder of the year and, as always, would enjoy the opportunity to meet you. If you are looking for a family getaway, Southwest Missouri has much to offer. Let me know if you're going to be in the neighborhood.
John <><
Actually, even though today marks the end of the first six months of the year, half way by number of days won't be for another day or so. Still -- the year seems to be flying by!
This will be my thirteenth post for the month of June; slightly off the 3 posts per week that I set as a writing goal. All-in-all, I'm happy with that. Vacation, camp, just being busy -- all are excuses that I've used, but still managed to post more than any month so far this year (and more than a third of this year's total posts).
I've noticed that more of my posts are centered around my spiritual beliefs and philosophy; less are about government, politics or general rants. There are still the occasional nobody-really-cares-about-my-personal-life-but-it's-my-blog kind of posts. And of course, the rare post on magic, performing, etc. Out of My Hat has changed a bit over the past few years. It's still just a place for me to write. I certainly enjoy the wide readership that I have experienced over the years and look forward to your comments (so please leave them). I never expected to have readers from around the globe and from so many different backgrounds. As the regularity of my posts has declined, so has the overall readership. Thanks to the faithful that still stop by to see what's posted from time to time.
Somebody recently asked me if I'd done any more writing on my book (from my very first post). The answer, of course, is no. I have had some other ideas on books to be written, but none has managed to be more than that -- an idea. It seems that I don't even have the time to record my random thoughts here. Where am I going to find the time to purposefully write a book?
I do have some new thoughts on blogging and will be asking what you think about them in the coming weeks. If you read regularly and are on Facebook, I really appreciate it when you share a post that you like with your friends. There is a Facebook icon at the bottom of each post that makes it easy. If you want to "friend" me and follow Out of My Hat from Facebook, you can do that here. Please add a comment to your friend request to let me know that you're a blog reader so that I don't just ignore your request. You can also add your name to the small list of followers about halfway down the right-side column.
I am looking forward to the second half of 2011. I know that it will be filled with both challenges and opportunities (much like the first half was). I look forward to hearing from you in the remainder of the year and, as always, would enjoy the opportunity to meet you. If you are looking for a family getaway, Southwest Missouri has much to offer. Let me know if you're going to be in the neighborhood.
John <><
Monday, May 30, 2011
Texting
It's Sunday night and I'm just checking out blogging from my cell phone. I've done this once before and was wondering if everything is still set up.
I sent a test message that went through okay, so I'm hopeful that I can post short articles from time to time (<150 characters).
We shall see...
John <><
I sent a test message that went through okay, so I'm hopeful that I can post short articles from time to time (<150 characters).
We shall see...
John <><
Monday, May 09, 2011
Guilty
I've been feeling guilty about the fact that I haven't written in quite sometime and that my posts are getting to be quite rare. It's not that I don't like writing--I do; or that I don't have anything to say--again, I do; it's just that I don't seem to make the time for it these days.
In fact, I barely make the time to read the few blogs that I follow and am a little bit pleased that I am not the only one that seems to be posting less often, giving me fewer blogs to read through on a regular basis.
So to alleviate my feelings of guilt over not writing, and to get over my new found compulsion to make sure that everything is thoroughly researched and just right before publication; I'm just going to start writing. I'm not to the point of committing to writing every day yet, but I will commit to at least three times per week throughout the summer--allowing for the occasional exception due to vacation or a kid's camp away from computer access. You may see the weekly Friday/Saturday/Sunday posts as I scramble to make my three posts each weekend, but there it is--three posts per week--feel free to call me on it if they fail to materialize.
It's Monday and I'm counting this as one for this week. I realize that as a post, it's not much; but it is what it is and I have too much to do and a nap to take before going in to work the mid-shift tonight. The week ahead will be full and I'm looking forward to the coming weekend when we get to see Aaron and Jenny; but I owe you two more posts and I'll make certain to deliver them before next week rolls around.
John <><
In fact, I barely make the time to read the few blogs that I follow and am a little bit pleased that I am not the only one that seems to be posting less often, giving me fewer blogs to read through on a regular basis.
So to alleviate my feelings of guilt over not writing, and to get over my new found compulsion to make sure that everything is thoroughly researched and just right before publication; I'm just going to start writing. I'm not to the point of committing to writing every day yet, but I will commit to at least three times per week throughout the summer--allowing for the occasional exception due to vacation or a kid's camp away from computer access. You may see the weekly Friday/Saturday/Sunday posts as I scramble to make my three posts each weekend, but there it is--three posts per week--feel free to call me on it if they fail to materialize.
It's Monday and I'm counting this as one for this week. I realize that as a post, it's not much; but it is what it is and I have too much to do and a nap to take before going in to work the mid-shift tonight. The week ahead will be full and I'm looking forward to the coming weekend when we get to see Aaron and Jenny; but I owe you two more posts and I'll make certain to deliver them before next week rolls around.
John <><
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Happy Birthday!
To be more correct, I suppose it should be "Happy Anniversary"
Out of My Hat wasn't really born on the 25th of July, 2006, but that is the date that it was first published. Looking back, that very first post is still one of my favorites...and I still think that I need to write that book.
I don't really expect that to happen until I decide that I'm willing to commit a set amount of time to write on a daily basis. I haven't even been able to keep a faithful time for posting regularly on this blog. How could I ever manage a book?
Out of My Hat hasn't changed much in four years. I've added a few widgets to see who is reading and a recent addition to count down to retirement. Topics are about as varied as I originally expected but I feel like I should do more under the label of "Favorite Bible Stories" or "message".
I'd like for you to endure fewer rants on politics or religion but they seem to be a pretty big part of discussions in society so I'll probably continue with the occasional thought here. I'd like to write about more fun stuff--fun for me to write about as well as fun for you to read. In the beginning, this started out as something that I was doing for me. I never would have guessed that I would have regular readers from around the globe or that I would make friends from so many countries. I feel a little bit obligated to provide some meaningful writing instead of writing about "the life of John" most of the time.
I'll try to look at this day as a new beginning. I want to recapture the fleeting enthusiasm for writing that was here four years ago. I really do want to write more often. I think that Facebook, Twitter and other social media sources have contributed to a decline in blogging. Several once regular bloggers have quit writing blogs for the ease of the short "status update" or "tweet" about their current moment by moment situation. I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with the decline in the frequency of my posts.
Originally, I thought that I'd be posting once, maybe twice, per week. At times it was much more often than that. Other times it was only a couple of posts that were weeks apart. I'll try to be more consistent and get back to the once or twice per week where I started.
In any case, if you've been with me from the beginning (or reading for some time), Thanks for your loyalty. If you're relatively new to Out of My Hat, stick around. We'll have some fun, discuss a variety of topics and enjoy the daily input from blogs and bloggers from around the globe.
John
Friday, January 08, 2010
Not a Daily Blogger
Okay! I admit it! I am not a daily blogger. It's not that I don't have any thing to say. It's that I don't have the time every day to (semi-)organize my thoughts and write a post. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that I'm not disciplined enough to (semi-)organize my thoughts and write a post every day.
But I would like to continue to offer daily links to help any readers work their way through reading the New Testament this year. So I've added a Daily Bible Reading section to the upper right column of the blog. I'll try to post the links there each Sunday and hope to publish comments often to the content as we progress through the year. Many of the Gospel stories will be repeated as the different writers tell of Jesus' life from their perspectives and to different people. I may not comment on the event or lesson in one Gospel, only to comment on it later. In any case, there is an abundance of good material to help us in our daily lives as well as to prepare us for the eternal life which follows.
Each day's reading will only take a few minutes of your time. I hope that you will consider reading along with us.
John <><
But I would like to continue to offer daily links to help any readers work their way through reading the New Testament this year. So I've added a Daily Bible Reading section to the upper right column of the blog. I'll try to post the links there each Sunday and hope to publish comments often to the content as we progress through the year. Many of the Gospel stories will be repeated as the different writers tell of Jesus' life from their perspectives and to different people. I may not comment on the event or lesson in one Gospel, only to comment on it later. In any case, there is an abundance of good material to help us in our daily lives as well as to prepare us for the eternal life which follows.
Each day's reading will only take a few minutes of your time. I hope that you will consider reading along with us.
John <><
Saturday, November 28, 2009
An Invitation
I know--the last thing that many of you need is one more blog to read. But since I have a new one that I'm following, I wanted to share it with you.
Bible, Baseball, Burgers and Bar-B-Que--it sounds like something that I'd write, doesn't it? Actually, it's written by my son, Aaron. In the About Me section he writes, "I like the Bible. I like baseball. I like burgers. I like Bar-b-que. The number of things I like more than these four "B"s can be counted on one hand."
I'm looking forward to reading the insights of a young man that is preparing for the ministry. I'm a bit jealous that he gets to more ball games than I do. I don't mind that he's a better (and more adventurous) bar-b-que cook. I share in his quest to find the ultimate burger and look forward to hearing what he is learning from the Bible.
Follow along with me and see what kind of blog this becomes...
John <><
.
Bible, Baseball, Burgers and Bar-B-Que--it sounds like something that I'd write, doesn't it? Actually, it's written by my son, Aaron. In the About Me section he writes, "I like the Bible. I like baseball. I like burgers. I like Bar-b-que. The number of things I like more than these four "B"s can be counted on one hand."
I'm looking forward to reading the insights of a young man that is preparing for the ministry. I'm a bit jealous that he gets to more ball games than I do. I don't mind that he's a better (and more adventurous) bar-b-que cook. I share in his quest to find the ultimate burger and look forward to hearing what he is learning from the Bible.
Follow along with me and see what kind of blog this becomes...
John <><
.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Two Year Anniversary
Today marks the two year anniversary of Out of My Hat. It has been much different than I expected. I never really expected to have a readership that went beyond family and friends much less one that circled the globe. Thanks for stopping by.
It has been awhile since I've gone off on a rant or really had anything blog worthy. Today isn't much different. I will say that I received the much anticipated letter from Bilbo in today's mail and will have to begin my return letter. I still owe Amanda a card--Sorry, Amanda, and need to write again to my own computer challenged dad. Maybe this letter writing will take on a life of its own and we'll all see a resurgence in the art.
I'm experiencing more of the insanity that is our government while I spend time on administrative duties at work. On the one hand I am very grateful that the manager is allowing me to work in the office vs. burning up my sick leave. On the other hand there is so much needless and frustrating work that is done to justify somebody's job way up the line that one has to wonder--How did we ever manage to be a world power when so much time, energy and money is being wasted on bureaucracy? I figure that it will be at least two more weeks: one week 'til my test and then God only knows how long it will take the flight surgeon to get around to reading the results and taking an action. In the mean time, your hard earned tax dollars are continuing to support me and my family while I do a job that I'm not trained for and the radar room is short one more controller.
Turning to politics...
(do we really want to go there?)
Recent e-mails have been forwarded by the religious right declaring Barack Obama to be the Antichrist. Just Google Obama, Antichrist and you'll be directed to many blogs, articles and sites giving the reasons for that author's claims. I find it interesting that christian (lower case intentional) radicals think that they can keep the Antichrist out of office by getting people to vote against him.
Hey, genius, if you really believe him to be the Antichrist then his coming to power is fulfillment of prophesy and well out of your control! Don't you think that your time would be better spent telling people about the real Christ? If the end is near, maybe you should do a quick check on your own relationship with Jesus. Forget religion at this point. Let's talk about salvation vs. condemnation, heaven vs. hell, separating the wheat from the chaff! What ever the words you choose, if the Antichrist is coming to power the Judgment Day is not far off!
Whoa...whoa..oops!
That was me falling off my soapbox. Sorry 'bout that. I'll just stay off it so that nobody gets hurt.
By the way, my computer is now in the shop and I'm writing from my daughter's ancient laptop. The guy at the shop says, "The good news is that the part is readily available and only costs about ten dollars. Unfortunately we have to completely disassemble your laptop to get to it, install the new part and then reassemble it." Total cost: ten dollars for the part, one hundred and forty dollars for the labor! I think I'll make computer repair my next career (maybe sooner than I'd like).
You may have noticed that the coming events section to the right is blank. I've actually just booked a couple of events and will have them up soon. One is a back-to-school event and the other is a fall block party.
Tonight is the regular meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. I am looking forward to seeing one of our members that has been in Haiti. Actually I'm looking forward to seeing everybody...especially Dwayne.
I'd best be thinking about what magic I'll bring to the meeting and start getting ready.
John
It has been awhile since I've gone off on a rant or really had anything blog worthy. Today isn't much different. I will say that I received the much anticipated letter from Bilbo in today's mail and will have to begin my return letter. I still owe Amanda a card--Sorry, Amanda, and need to write again to my own computer challenged dad. Maybe this letter writing will take on a life of its own and we'll all see a resurgence in the art.
I'm experiencing more of the insanity that is our government while I spend time on administrative duties at work. On the one hand I am very grateful that the manager is allowing me to work in the office vs. burning up my sick leave. On the other hand there is so much needless and frustrating work that is done to justify somebody's job way up the line that one has to wonder--How did we ever manage to be a world power when so much time, energy and money is being wasted on bureaucracy? I figure that it will be at least two more weeks: one week 'til my test and then God only knows how long it will take the flight surgeon to get around to reading the results and taking an action. In the mean time, your hard earned tax dollars are continuing to support me and my family while I do a job that I'm not trained for and the radar room is short one more controller.
Turning to politics...
(do we really want to go there?)
Recent e-mails have been forwarded by the religious right declaring Barack Obama to be the Antichrist. Just Google Obama, Antichrist and you'll be directed to many blogs, articles and sites giving the reasons for that author's claims. I find it interesting that christian (lower case intentional) radicals think that they can keep the Antichrist out of office by getting people to vote against him.
Hey, genius, if you really believe him to be the Antichrist then his coming to power is fulfillment of prophesy and well out of your control! Don't you think that your time would be better spent telling people about the real Christ? If the end is near, maybe you should do a quick check on your own relationship with Jesus. Forget religion at this point. Let's talk about salvation vs. condemnation, heaven vs. hell, separating the wheat from the chaff! What ever the words you choose, if the Antichrist is coming to power the Judgment Day is not far off!
Whoa...whoa..oops!
That was me falling off my soapbox. Sorry 'bout that. I'll just stay off it so that nobody gets hurt.
By the way, my computer is now in the shop and I'm writing from my daughter's ancient laptop. The guy at the shop says, "The good news is that the part is readily available and only costs about ten dollars. Unfortunately we have to completely disassemble your laptop to get to it, install the new part and then reassemble it." Total cost: ten dollars for the part, one hundred and forty dollars for the labor! I think I'll make computer repair my next career (maybe sooner than I'd like).
You may have noticed that the coming events section to the right is blank. I've actually just booked a couple of events and will have them up soon. One is a back-to-school event and the other is a fall block party.
Tonight is the regular meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. I am looking forward to seeing one of our members that has been in Haiti. Actually I'm looking forward to seeing everybody...especially Dwayne.
I'd best be thinking about what magic I'll bring to the meeting and start getting ready.
John
Sunday, July 13, 2008
#200
The counter on my blog says that this is post #200.
When I started on the blogging adventure (just less than two years ago) I never could have imagined that I would meet people from all over the world or that anybody would actually come back to read more of my rantings and raving about a wide variety of topics. I am also surprised at the number of blogs that I subscribe to and look forward to reading on a daily basis. Some are younger than my kids, some are older. Some bloggers are rock steady, everyday bloggers. Some are frequent, some not so much so. Some are political or centered around a theme. Some are quite varied. Some write about their personal life, some about their work life. Some are poetic. Some write long posts. Some posts are quite brief. Some have quit blogging for a variety of reasons. And some have been at this for years. It is an interesting Community.
My wife thinks that we are weird. I'm weird for reading what you write and you are weird for reading what I write. (This from a woman that watches Jon and Kate +8!)
I learn a lot from reading your posts and your comments. For instance, after reading Mike's post on blogging statistics, I went back to sanitize a previous post. I removed the name of the cruise line, the name of the ship and the names of the crew members. I'd hate for anybody to lose their job over something that I wrote! Maybe it's somebody's job at the cruise line to search for their name on blogs to find out what passengers are saying about their cruises. Paranoid? Maybe, but those statistics come from somewhere.
I realize that I write little to do with religion or with my beliefs. Probably not such a great trait for an evangelist. Just as I sense that my magic ministry and preaching is turning more toward stronger evangelism, I think that it will also appear more often in my writing. I hope that doesn't scare any readers away. My evangelism style is more along the lines of sharing the love of God than trying to scare the hell out of you.
In my first post, (still one of my favorites) I wrote something about writing a book. I have not written a single page but I have much more material to share thanks to you and to the experiences of life in the past two years. I actually believe that I am a more joyful person today than I was back when this blogging gig started. Maybe I'll have a few pages written by the time I hit post #300.
Thanks for reading.
John
When I started on the blogging adventure (just less than two years ago) I never could have imagined that I would meet people from all over the world or that anybody would actually come back to read more of my rantings and raving about a wide variety of topics. I am also surprised at the number of blogs that I subscribe to and look forward to reading on a daily basis. Some are younger than my kids, some are older. Some bloggers are rock steady, everyday bloggers. Some are frequent, some not so much so. Some are political or centered around a theme. Some are quite varied. Some write about their personal life, some about their work life. Some are poetic. Some write long posts. Some posts are quite brief. Some have quit blogging for a variety of reasons. And some have been at this for years. It is an interesting Community.
My wife thinks that we are weird. I'm weird for reading what you write and you are weird for reading what I write. (This from a woman that watches Jon and Kate +8!)
I learn a lot from reading your posts and your comments. For instance, after reading Mike's post on blogging statistics, I went back to sanitize a previous post. I removed the name of the cruise line, the name of the ship and the names of the crew members. I'd hate for anybody to lose their job over something that I wrote! Maybe it's somebody's job at the cruise line to search for their name on blogs to find out what passengers are saying about their cruises. Paranoid? Maybe, but those statistics come from somewhere.
I realize that I write little to do with religion or with my beliefs. Probably not such a great trait for an evangelist. Just as I sense that my magic ministry and preaching is turning more toward stronger evangelism, I think that it will also appear more often in my writing. I hope that doesn't scare any readers away. My evangelism style is more along the lines of sharing the love of God than trying to scare the hell out of you.
In my first post, (still one of my favorites) I wrote something about writing a book. I have not written a single page but I have much more material to share thanks to you and to the experiences of life in the past two years. I actually believe that I am a more joyful person today than I was back when this blogging gig started. Maybe I'll have a few pages written by the time I hit post #300.
Thanks for reading.
John
Friday, August 24, 2007
Untitled
As I was reading my favorite blogs the other day, I noticed that I had been dropped as a link on the Magic Utopia page. I guess that's okay because I haven't had a lot to say about magic lately. I have been looking at some different venues although I realize that the ministry aspect is really where I spend most of my magic work. I do know that I'll need to branch out a bit as I near the end of my ATC career--both for something to do as well as a supplemental income. For now, magic is not the center of my focus. In fact, I only really spend a lot of thought on it as I prepare for a coming event.
Besides, I am extremely honored by some of the blogs that have added a link to this page and I am enjoying reading their blogs and the pages that they read as well. Even though we have varied backgrounds and interests, people are people. We love our families and bragging on them from time to time. We love to laugh and realize that not everything is a laughing matter. We are curious about each other and about life in general.
So we read and we write. We use our imaginations. We entertain. We teach and we learn and we find out that though we may be worlds apart, we are more alike than we are different.
If you've come here looking for something about magic, I guess I owe you an apology. If you've come because you know me as an evangelist and have come here looking for more in the way of spiritual matters or theology, I suppose that I owe you an apology as well. What you will find when you read these posts will just be me, John. The posts will be as varied as my interests and weighted toward the things that I am most passionate about. I hope that you will visit often, laugh occasionally, and leave a comment when you feel inspired to do so.
In person, I'm trying to be a nicer John. You know, a bit more tolerant, a bit less negative, a bit more helpful. In short, I'm trying to be a bit more like Jesus. I've got to tell you, it's not easy. In fact, it's pretty hard. In some way, I hope that it will come through in these posts as well. If you ever want to know more about my motivation to follow the teachings of Jesus, e-mail me directly or better yet, give me a call. The information is on the right side of the page.
John
Besides, I am extremely honored by some of the blogs that have added a link to this page and I am enjoying reading their blogs and the pages that they read as well. Even though we have varied backgrounds and interests, people are people. We love our families and bragging on them from time to time. We love to laugh and realize that not everything is a laughing matter. We are curious about each other and about life in general.
So we read and we write. We use our imaginations. We entertain. We teach and we learn and we find out that though we may be worlds apart, we are more alike than we are different.
If you've come here looking for something about magic, I guess I owe you an apology. If you've come because you know me as an evangelist and have come here looking for more in the way of spiritual matters or theology, I suppose that I owe you an apology as well. What you will find when you read these posts will just be me, John. The posts will be as varied as my interests and weighted toward the things that I am most passionate about. I hope that you will visit often, laugh occasionally, and leave a comment when you feel inspired to do so.
In person, I'm trying to be a nicer John. You know, a bit more tolerant, a bit less negative, a bit more helpful. In short, I'm trying to be a bit more like Jesus. I've got to tell you, it's not easy. In fact, it's pretty hard. In some way, I hope that it will come through in these posts as well. If you ever want to know more about my motivation to follow the teachings of Jesus, e-mail me directly or better yet, give me a call. The information is on the right side of the page.
John
Thursday, August 23, 2007
New Toys
As I have been reading other blogs, I see some of the cool things that they have. I think, "I would be so much cooler if I added something like that to my blog." Most of the time I have no clue about how to add these cool things which is why I pretty much remain uncool. But I was playing around last night and added a counter and a visitor locator. You can make me appear to be an internationally known writer by e-mailing all of your friends around the world and asking them to stop by and visit for a few moments.
I toyed with the idea of the Bush days in office countdown widget, but decided against anything that might be offensive to some. I don't want for anybody to feel unwelcome. After all, I did vote for the guy...once!
I'll continue to visit other sites with my usual blog envy and dream of the day when I can be as cool as David Stone, John Carr and all of my other blogging heroes!
John
I toyed with the idea of the Bush days in office countdown widget, but decided against anything that might be offensive to some. I don't want for anybody to feel unwelcome. After all, I did vote for the guy...once!
I'll continue to visit other sites with my usual blog envy and dream of the day when I can be as cool as David Stone, John Carr and all of my other blogging heroes!
John
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
New Stuff
You may have noticed a couple of subtle additions to this page. In the right column there is now a link to my new web page. It's still being worked on. For now, it looks a lot like this page. But that's only because I've been using this as a substitute web page as well as a place to rant. Check it out and feel free to comment.
I've also added a place for you to leave your name as a reader. Please sign in and say, "Hi."
Under "Blogs I Frequent" I've added My friend Rich. Rich is our slightly strange, fun loving Worship Leader at Hopedale Baptist. His blog is generally entertaining, sometimes thought provoking and always fun. You won't have to read very far to understand the "slightly strange" description.
I do hope that you have taken the time to check out my favorite blogs. Some of them may become your favorites as well. If it turns out that you like any of them and book mark a site for yourself, let me know. I read The Main Bang and Numeric Life daily. The others listed post about as often as I do.
Although I haven't worked on the "Links" part of my web page yet, I think that I'm going to include a link to a young magician's site that I met a couple of years ago in St. Louis. His name is Todd Duff and he has been earning a name for himself in his area. I'm sure that you will enjoy his page and the videos of his performances. I wish that I could make it to his newest project debut in Paducah on the 17th. The best I can do for him is to wish him all the best!
Enjoy,
John
I've also added a place for you to leave your name as a reader. Please sign in and say, "Hi."
Under "Blogs I Frequent" I've added My friend Rich. Rich is our slightly strange, fun loving Worship Leader at Hopedale Baptist. His blog is generally entertaining, sometimes thought provoking and always fun. You won't have to read very far to understand the "slightly strange" description.
I do hope that you have taken the time to check out my favorite blogs. Some of them may become your favorites as well. If it turns out that you like any of them and book mark a site for yourself, let me know. I read The Main Bang and Numeric Life daily. The others listed post about as often as I do.
Although I haven't worked on the "Links" part of my web page yet, I think that I'm going to include a link to a young magician's site that I met a couple of years ago in St. Louis. His name is Todd Duff and he has been earning a name for himself in his area. I'm sure that you will enjoy his page and the videos of his performances. I wish that I could make it to his newest project debut in Paducah on the 17th. The best I can do for him is to wish him all the best!
Enjoy,
John
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Still Growing and Learning
I've made a few more changes to the right side of the page. I separated the links for websites and blogs that I like to read. I added a couple of links to each of them.
I added my church to the website list. I'm not sure which of the computer geeks serves as web-master or keeps things updated, but check us out on the website or in person. If you're planning a visit, drop me an e-note and I'll be sure to meet you.
I also added Wess Adam's site. Wess is a music evangelist that visited us at Hopedale a little while back. Check his schedule to see if he'll be in your area or have your church inquire about having Wess come to your place. I'm certain that you'll be blessed.
I've posted links to two new blogs. The first, By Default, is by Dale Campbell. Dale is a young minister serving God down under. I'm excited for him and his bride and looking forward to reading more of his posts. The second, A Waste of Good Cyberspace, is by a fellow mage. I can't tell you a lot about him other than I think that we would get along well. We seem to have similar philosophies on magic and are probably about the same age. We have our differences, to be sure, but I doubt that we would let them keep us from being friends. Perhaps someday we'll meet at a magic convention. Until then, a cyber friendship will have to do. If you are a magician, check out his blog. You'll also enjoy Magic Utopia. They are both good reads with some good links.
Soon you'll be able to subscribe to an e-mail link an receive posts via e-mail as I post them. I just have to figure out how to make it all happen. Too bad that I'm such techno-moron. I'll have to enlist my teenage son to help me out. All that is for another day.
John
I added my church to the website list. I'm not sure which of the computer geeks serves as web-master or keeps things updated, but check us out on the website or in person. If you're planning a visit, drop me an e-note and I'll be sure to meet you.
I also added Wess Adam's site. Wess is a music evangelist that visited us at Hopedale a little while back. Check his schedule to see if he'll be in your area or have your church inquire about having Wess come to your place. I'm certain that you'll be blessed.
I've posted links to two new blogs. The first, By Default, is by Dale Campbell. Dale is a young minister serving God down under. I'm excited for him and his bride and looking forward to reading more of his posts. The second, A Waste of Good Cyberspace, is by a fellow mage. I can't tell you a lot about him other than I think that we would get along well. We seem to have similar philosophies on magic and are probably about the same age. We have our differences, to be sure, but I doubt that we would let them keep us from being friends. Perhaps someday we'll meet at a magic convention. Until then, a cyber friendship will have to do. If you are a magician, check out his blog. You'll also enjoy Magic Utopia. They are both good reads with some good links.
Soon you'll be able to subscribe to an e-mail link an receive posts via e-mail as I post them. I just have to figure out how to make it all happen. Too bad that I'm such techno-moron. I'll have to enlist my teenage son to help me out. All that is for another day.
John
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Out of My Hat
Welcome to Out of My Hat. While I know that titles have no copyrights, it's only fair to mention that I've taken this title from my friend and fellow mage, David Garrard. It seems like an appropriate title for the ramblings of a magician (or illusionist if you're one of those that balks at the word magician).
I wanted a place to share a few ideas with my friends and others and even receive some feedback. Lately I've felt more like writing than in the past and figured this is as good a forum as any to record the ramblings of a preacher/magician/dad/etc. I'm sure that some sermon notes will find their way to this posting from time to time. I hope that you will find them to be thought provoking and inspiring. For any magicians/entertainers, I will also post occasional thoughts on audiences and audience behavior.
I've also decided to write a book. I know that it will take some time (which is hard to come by) and hope that the desire to see it through to completion doesn't wane as time passes. The following is an introduction/forward that I've written for it. As research and writing progresses, perhaps I'll share more excerpts from the book.
John
JOY MANAGEMENT
FORWARD
The idea for a book on Joy Management came to me after encountering a co-worker that was reading a book on anger management. I explained to him that I had my own system of anger management that I believe works quite well. Since I have no background in any type of behavior management, and since I do have the occasional “anger issues,” he was interested to know what my personally developed system of anger management was.
I told him that I believed that “anger management” isn’t a matter of not getting angry, rather it is being able to direct your anger towards someone that can’t hurt you. For example: Let’s say that you’ve just had an incredibly bad day at work. You can’t really direct your anger at your boss; he has the authority to fire you. You can’t really direct your anger at your spouse; she has the power to—well we all know what kind of power she has. So what do you do to release the anger that is building up within you?
All I can say at this point is that I would hate to be the young girl at the drive up window that just messed up my order! She’ll never know what hit her. I might seem a little unreasonable to her because she has no idea that the rage before her has nothing to do with getting Coke instead of Diet Coke and everything to do with the fact that I’m angry and frustrated and she can’t do anything to me. Do I really think that she’s an incompetent idiot? On any other day I would probably write it off as a simple mistake. Today, however, she will go home crying because a total stranger has been rude, angry and condescending to her and then to her boss over a simple mistake. No matter. She can’t do anything about it. Now I can go home feeling better about myself and tomorrow I can go back to my job having let go of the frustration of working around incompetent people and knowing that I have put one of ‘them’ in their place.
Anger management: directing your anger at someone that may or may not deserve it and that can’t do anything about it.
While this was said in fun and we had a good time coming up with new targets where we could release our anger, it got me thinking that this could be a method for Joy Management as well. Spreading joy to people that aren’t expecting it and that aren’t expected to do anything in return. Hey! That IS a good idea. Now I can use my powers for good instead of evil.
In the following pages, I wish to share some reasons why we should be compelled to share joy and some methods for letting others know of the Joy that is within you and teaching them that they can have that Joy in their own heart and soul.
I wanted a place to share a few ideas with my friends and others and even receive some feedback. Lately I've felt more like writing than in the past and figured this is as good a forum as any to record the ramblings of a preacher/magician/dad/etc. I'm sure that some sermon notes will find their way to this posting from time to time. I hope that you will find them to be thought provoking and inspiring. For any magicians/entertainers, I will also post occasional thoughts on audiences and audience behavior.
I've also decided to write a book. I know that it will take some time (which is hard to come by) and hope that the desire to see it through to completion doesn't wane as time passes. The following is an introduction/forward that I've written for it. As research and writing progresses, perhaps I'll share more excerpts from the book.
John
JOY MANAGEMENT
FORWARD
The idea for a book on Joy Management came to me after encountering a co-worker that was reading a book on anger management. I explained to him that I had my own system of anger management that I believe works quite well. Since I have no background in any type of behavior management, and since I do have the occasional “anger issues,” he was interested to know what my personally developed system of anger management was.
I told him that I believed that “anger management” isn’t a matter of not getting angry, rather it is being able to direct your anger towards someone that can’t hurt you. For example: Let’s say that you’ve just had an incredibly bad day at work. You can’t really direct your anger at your boss; he has the authority to fire you. You can’t really direct your anger at your spouse; she has the power to—well we all know what kind of power she has. So what do you do to release the anger that is building up within you?
All I can say at this point is that I would hate to be the young girl at the drive up window that just messed up my order! She’ll never know what hit her. I might seem a little unreasonable to her because she has no idea that the rage before her has nothing to do with getting Coke instead of Diet Coke and everything to do with the fact that I’m angry and frustrated and she can’t do anything to me. Do I really think that she’s an incompetent idiot? On any other day I would probably write it off as a simple mistake. Today, however, she will go home crying because a total stranger has been rude, angry and condescending to her and then to her boss over a simple mistake. No matter. She can’t do anything about it. Now I can go home feeling better about myself and tomorrow I can go back to my job having let go of the frustration of working around incompetent people and knowing that I have put one of ‘them’ in their place.
Anger management: directing your anger at someone that may or may not deserve it and that can’t do anything about it.
While this was said in fun and we had a good time coming up with new targets where we could release our anger, it got me thinking that this could be a method for Joy Management as well. Spreading joy to people that aren’t expecting it and that aren’t expected to do anything in return. Hey! That IS a good idea. Now I can use my powers for good instead of evil.
In the following pages, I wish to share some reasons why we should be compelled to share joy and some methods for letting others know of the Joy that is within you and teaching them that they can have that Joy in their own heart and soul.
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