One Keurig At A Time

Lately there have been a lot of things that we have looked to move around at the lodge. Some are simply plans that we hope to follow through on in the future while other projects are well underway and will hopefully be completed by the end of the year. Of course, one space where a lot of moving around needs to be done is in the office… this is something that falls under both the former and, time permitting, will soon be a part of the latter. Frankly, I am not concerned with the space itself, although there have been talks regarding the moving of the office itself, it is more of a matter of all the stuff that has accumulated in that half of the basement.

Know in the middle of my own packing and sifting at home, I am really not looking forward to the monumental undertaking that will be required at the lodge. It really isn’t about how much stuff that needs to be moved as the room isn’t all that big. It all comes down to the fact that we have to go through each and every item, ever sheet of paper, and basically get approval to dispose of all the items that are unnecessary. At least at home I can, for the most part, take care of this pretty quickly as I know almost immediately what stays and what goes… the lodge is another story altogether.

I guess a bonus for my own move is the fact that there are a number of things that we have either replaced, plan to replace, or simply don’t need any more at the new house. While many of these things have been donated over the last couple of months (primarily shoes and clothes) there are a few other items that I am happy to donate to the lodge and some of the brethren. I always enjoy this part because it is a means for me to bring a little comfort to the lodge for all of us that use the space. While computers are completely practical and do a lot to accomplish this, having a Keurig in the new kitchen should be that little extra for some of us that makes it that much more comfortable.

I am sure that there are other things that would be beneficial to the lodge (there are definitely more important and pressing needs) but sometimes it is nice to satisfy that need for creature comforts. After all, we want the brethren to feel comfortable in the space. We want our families to feel comfortable in the space. And we want all of our guests to feel welcomed in our space. The lodge consists of the men who are members of the community with a common meeting place, the building is not just a home for those brethren but also a part of the community as a whole. By providing a welcoming lodge, we support a welcoming community.

Things Have Changed In Two Years

It is that time again. It has now been two years since I began this blog. While the daily routine has basically remained intact, there have been a few small and big changes that have occurred over the last 24 months. I honestly don’t know where to begin so I am just going to ramble a bit (nothing new).

When I originally launched this blog it was simply a means to keep myself writing, record the events in my life, and give me something to do while sitting at the front desk of the apartment building all night. It was a time when there were a lot of questions swirling around and we really didn’t know what direction life was going to take us. This is why I originally stated that there were “No guidelines or promises. No list of topics I plan to cover.”

Times change and so has this blog. Actually, I have pretty much gone against that entire statement. I have my own goals and guidelines for this blog (400+ words every day despite my idea to cut that back at this point last year) and there are a variety of topics that I cover on a regular basis. Many of those topics are assigned to particular days of the week (i.e. TMI Tuesday, Lodge (mostly) on Wednesday, Firearms Friday, and Sunday Search). While I have skipped a few of these days (today is Tuesday), they have become a pretty regular part of the blogging schedule.

However, given the steady growth over the past year (19,000 views during the first year and 29,000 views during the second year), many of you seem to enjoy knowing what topics are expected to be covered. Of course, I still have to keep things interesting (well, as interesting as I can) so the rest of the days are pretty much a crap shoot regarding topics. It has been interesting watching the blog grow and hopefully I am keeping up my end of the deal (for the most part) and providing many of you with some entertainment.

So, since I have already put a stop to the no planning thing, what is on the horizon for the coming year? Well, there are always countless plans in the works but little time to see them come to fruition. I will continue to write on the various topics that have become a part of this blog and there are a few trips planned for this summer (to places not yet covered). I have reached out to syndicate the posts and that is always a possibility (even though it might be an improbability) and I am looking for additional ways to raise funds so that I can bring you some more interesting content (products, more travel, books, genealogy research, etc.).

I am always looking for new ways to incorporate the writing into my routine (which has been a little off lately) and sometimes I get behind on the posts. So far I have been able to get things back up to speed but, moving forward, I am going to look at easing this work load a bit by inviting more guest contributors as well as writing recap post which will serve as occasional reference points for some of the common topics covered in this blog. As always, time seem to be governing my activity and this is, so far, the best solution I have for keeping things going.

So, I will end this post by first asking you if there are any topics that you would like me to write about or anything that you wish to contribute as a guest blogger. Secondly, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read, commented, and shared these posts. While this blog has served a more selfish purpose allowing me to keeping writing, researching, and recording there is great satisfaction knowing that others are interested in the topics that I have written about and some even share my views on certain topics. Here is to another year!

Not The Same

Last night I did something that I haven’t done in a long time… I stayed up to watch David Letterman. This being his last show, I wanted to see what kind of sendoff he would be given... especially the last Top 10 list. I guess you could say that curiosity got the best of me as I kept on thinking back to the night when I watched Johnny Carson sign off one last time before heading into retirement.

The evening was definitely not the same as the one I watched back in 1993. Not just in my perception and perspective but the final night had a completely different feel then that which happened 22 years ago. And that pretty much sums it up, the Carson departure was a happening while Letterman’s last night was something that happened. There were, of course, memorable moments (including an overdue (for many reasons) standing ovation for his wife and son) but it was not the same sad farewell that I remember so many years ago. However, I do prefer Foo Fighters over Bette Midler. 

With that said, I still recall many nights watching Letterman over the years. Once Carson retired, there wasn’t much of a choice for me as I was never a big fan of Leno and some of the newer hosts just didn’t catch my attention. Nothing compared to the classic Tonight Show but Letterman seemed to be the closest (albeit a tremendous departure itself) to that feel. At least that was the case years ago… since then things have most certainly changed and I have pretty much foregone  the late night shows altogether. 

Over the past 20 years Letterman and late night have changed. The politicizing dialogues / monologues that he and others have employed in recent years haven’t made me want to watch these shows. This is what truly differentiates Letterman from Carson. The Tonight Show was not a place for politics (decides a few light jabs during the opening) as Carson knew that his job was not to form public opinion or influence public policy (or the supply of toilet paper). This is why politicians were seldom seen on the set. Letterman has made his views very clear both in his monologues and in his banter with guests.

Carson was a mainstay in the media and on the television. We watched him to wind down and forget about the day. All the BS that happened during the daylight hours were put behind us as we were entertained for an hour each evening. There were other places to turn to get riled up and/or discuss politics. While he once embraced that basic concept, Letterman veered to the far left as time went on and that evening respite slowly evaporated.

The new crop of hosts seem to be turning back to that formula and reaping the benefits. This is why there are many that will continue to miss those evenings with Johnny and why Letterman’s departure seemed to be more of an inevitability rather than a surprise. Hopefully, with the last of his generation stepping down, we can continue our progression back to the way late night was supposed to be. I guess, like many things, only time will tell.

Considering A Few Changes

I have been thinking about making a few changes to the blog over the next month or two. The main problem is finding the time to roll those things out so that they might be sustainable. Additionally, there are certain instances where I have to educate myself as to what the heck I am doing and how certain things can be done.

The first change that I am slowly starting to line up is the presence of guest bloggers. In addition to providing a different perspective and expertise (both of which are lacking to this point) it will also, in theory, free up some of my time so that I can pursue some of the logistical aspects of other ideas and put greater thought into the posts that I would like to focus on. While I am not going to take anything and everything that is submitted, I welcome submissions for consideration.

Something else that I am considering is starting a Patreon campaign to, potentially, cover some of the costs of the existing themes (i.e. travel, research time, admission fees, etc.) but also grant me the flexibility to pursue some other ideas (product reviews, range days, videos, etc.). You may not realize it, but this endeavor is a costly one at times. While I don’t expect to ever make anything blogging, it would be nice to break even now and again.

For those unfamiliar with the site, Patreon is a way for people (patrons) to support the blog on an ongoing basis based on the amount of content that is posted. Basically, you can make the commitment to give one dollar per post (you can also set monthly limits such as ten or twenty dollars). Essentially, I would only earn support by maintaining production.

Patreon would also allow me to provide more content (exclusive to partons) which would largely consist of additional photographs from trips, maybe a few videos, live chats, and additional content from other projects I am working on. This seems to be the easiest way for me to leverage the excess of content that never makes it onto the blog. Of course, I would also try to include a few giveaways now and again to make things a little more interesting. So, with all that information, do you think that this is something that is worth pursuing? Would that be enough to make you interested in becoming a patron?  

Lastly, and I have to figure out the logistics of this one, I am thinking about implementing permanent ads. While AdSense provides such promotions I actually have limited control over what is posted. I would much rather invest the time supporting companies and organizations that I agree with. I consider this the no surprises ad approach… you know what you are going to see every time you go onto my blog. Of course this also brings about the challenge of transferring the content to an actual URL without the blogspot portion of the address (with redirect from the old URL as well). Definitely something that can be done (and rather easily by those who know what they are doing) but it is a task that I am ill equipped to handle. I would greatly appreciate someone willing to donate their time to this task!

So, that is the list of things that I am considering at this moment. However, I would like your feedback as to what you think of those potential changes to the blog. Is it too much? Am I missing anything? Let me know your thoughts. After all, you are the ones visiting and reading these daily posts.

Another Milestone

Last month I wrote about reaching a major milestone with this blog in that I finally accomplished the main goal that I set at the beginning of this experiment by posting a blog every day for an entire year. Well, as you have been reading, I have not stopped writing and posting. In fact, I have yet to dip under 400 words per post which, at times, is painfully obvious. I know that many of you are aware to these moments because over the weekend this blog surpassed 20,000 views.

Certainly, a lot of you read multiple blogs so I am uncertain as to how many actual readers are out there but it is a nice little milestone nevertheless. And it is one of those things that I really have no control over as all I can do it write, post, and do a little bit of dissemination through my social media accounts. The rest is up to all of you. So, really, this is your accomplishment.

It also got me thinking about how many times this blog is read and all of the views that I have gotten that are not tracked by the aforementioned stat. I know that I have a few people who receive my posts via email which doesn’t register in the total above. I am curious to know what the total really is but also what posts people enjoy reading versus those that they either delete or don’t bother finishing.

While this blog really is serving more as a journal or public diary if you will, I am not going to ignore those that read the contents on a regular basis. Obviously there is something that is interesting of else I wouldn’t have had so many views to date but what is it that you want to read about? You have taken the time to read about my views, time and again, but what are some of your opinions?

While I am happy with the progress that has been made on this blog, there is still something that is lacking… your voice. There are opinions on a variety of topics in the pages of this blog, some popular while others not so much but it should not be solely my opinion that is expressed. While I am sure that what I say represents some people it, by no means, represents everyone. So I open up the discussion to you. You can comment, email me, or write up a guest blog (even if it is of a completely opposite viewpoint). I want to make sure that there are more voices heard rather than just the sounds coming from my mind and mouth.