Category: Weblogging

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

The best thing about a road trip covering a lot of miles (4300 miles, round trip) is returning home, sleeping in one’s own bed, and waking up in the morning realizing that you don’t have to drive through the pouring rain. It looks like the storm that’s haunted my steps this entire trip has followed me home, but today I can ignore it. Neener, neener storm.

I want to thank Jonathon again for setting up setting up a fund raiser to help me get server space for this weblog and my other material such as the photo gallery. I had reconciled myself to losing my web sites at the end of April and thought I was adjusted to the situation. However, on the road, I kept experiencing things I wanted to write about and share, and I realized that the share part had become just as important as the writing. Not just the writing — I found that my interest in technology is actually starting to re-awaken and I want to finish my online C# book, re-join the RSS fandango, play around with RDF and a new Poetry Finder, create all new photo albums and… well, Thursday I arrived home wanting desperately to find some way to keep all of this alive. Only to see this:

This graphic or the fund link was repeated over and over again at other weblogs (Monica, Liz, AKMA, Allan, Tom, Steve, Chris, Gord, Dorothea, David, Norm, Karin, Jeneane, Karl, Gary, Hylton) many times associated with the kindest words from the nicest people. I feel like I’ve been living under a cloud for so long only to have the sun come out; and it blazes with a lovely, warm, caring fire.

I’m not one to ask for monetary help. I’ve always taken rather arrogant pride in paying for my own web server and in providing web space for others. What I’ve forgotten in my pride is that help from friends when it’s needed is about the best gift one can ever receive and give in return — it’s a true two-way gift. Virtual or ‘real’ friend, doesn’t matter — Jonathon’s the absolute best to start this drive, and you’re all the best to help.

Best of all: just think of all the trouble I can continue to cause.

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I arrived in St. Louis during rush hour tonight, pretty tired. As I was waiting for 1400+ emails to download (most junk, natch), I tripped out to my favorite weblogs. That’s when I discovered Jonathon’s Keep the Bird Burning campaign.

I am too tired tonight to do this justice, but Jonathon, and my other friends who have helped with this — I don’t think any act including winning a lottery would have made me feel as warm and cared for as this act of generosity. Not just the help with hosting, for which I am incredibly grateful. But the kind words, the offers of help, the posting of nice comments — I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to put into words how much this means to me.

This trip was an important time for me to get away and think without the distraction of the phone, the television, and especially the computer. At the end of it I discovered I didn’t lose my interest in technology (not gone, just dormant, wanting a nice vacation), my deep love and need of writing, and especially, writing to this weblog. It’s become an odyssey for me, and one I didn’t want to give up. This was something that’s occupied my mind considerably today, and now I won’t have to give it up, thanks to Jonathon and his lovely effort, and to those who contributed bucks and/or good wishes.

I’ll thank you all individually tomorrow, but wanted to get this note out before going to bed. And yes, I also have photos to post and adventures to detail. What else? As a tease, think blizzard, hail, torrential rains, flooded roads, strong winds, traveling sideways down a ramp, spinning out into a ditch, and you’ll see why this wonderful surprise made a perfect ending for a rather eventful week.

Thank you my friends. Thank you. And every post from this moment on is another thank you.

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I’m sitting in an Internet café overlooking the Bay trying to clean up an inordinate amount of email, most of it junk. Notice to friends, one an all — when did it become a regular thing to send emails out every time you post a new weblog posting? Believe me babes, if you write something good, we’ll post a link.

I’m also catching up on weblog reading. I can see Truth or Consequences is still a lively topic. Hopefully everyone’s playing nice together, like good little blogger boys and blogger girls.

Trip out was uneventful the first day, anything but the second. Long story and I’ll blog it when it doesn’t cost so much Photos too.

Just finished loading Golden Girl down as much as possible. Luckily I’m only driving the next few days because my back’s shot. Checked the weather this morning and looks like I’ll be going through snow on all the mountain passes for the next two days. Nothing more fun than Donner Pass in bad weather. Num!

(If I don’t make it, I hereby leave all my photos and weblog posts to the public domain. I’d attach a CC license but there isn’t a “If I kick the bucket” license.)

Thanks for all the kind comments in the last post, and the offers of hosting help. They are appreciated. Chris/Stavros from Emptybottle has found a new weblog home so he won’t be going dark at the end of the month. As for me, I might see if a friend’s offer of a host is still open. Bandwidth’s still an issue, though and it’s running late to make a change. Knock on wood.

I thought about passing the hat for donations — I’m not proud. However, I’ve found that unless you’re Doc Searls, passing the hat doesn’t usually work all that well — we’re either all broke, we’re tip jar’d out, or we’re cheap bastards.

Excuse me — that’s cheap but charming and interesting bastards.

‘Nuff, this is costing. Should be back online by end of week, at least for the rest of the month if nothing else.