What did we do before clickbait came into our wheelhouses?
I once had this site set up to make you click on individual stories. In a previous site layout, only incomplete teaser headlines were viewable (until you clicked on the teaser).
Never did I have a desire to make subscribers and everyday readers do anything, so I quickly abandoned making you click just because I could.
There really is no pressure whatsoever here. Even during its heyday, the traffic really never amounted to much in the way of strain on its tech infrastructure.
The site has just been a labor of love for me–even when stories prompted some not so nice comments. I always figured if you put something out be prepared for someone being offended.
Free subscriptions have always been a way to attract more readers to the site; if someone liked a story well enough, they can still find my tip jar on the main page under “Buy us a beverage.” And I need to emphasize this is entirely optional, just like coming to the site in the first place. You can just move on if content here doesn’t float your boat. We do feel there is practically something for everyone if they just search the archives (which we make available free at the expense of some speed of use (which we feel is worth it as useful content, even if it’s just for a laugh is worth waiting for)).
Excuses, excuses
It’s been a busy summer so far and that is mainly why I have not posted anything since July 11th. Please forgive me as I always try to do better in all aspects of the blog, particularly when it comes to posting regularly.
Speaking of excuses, I’ve taken to the new digital writing assistant I’m using. It’s a concession to age at the least in that it catches spelling errors pretty quickly and unobtrusively. This is what happens when old fingers meet tired, old eyes. I’m still kicking, though, and that’s the main thing.
Should I ever look to sell the blog I will let you know. I don’t know that there would really be any takers if I did, however. And, that’s okay because it’s been just like a good friend to me in the sense that you can promise to see them more often, but even if the frequency of talking and/or meeting up is long between visits, you know you can always say you feel good to have interacted with them (whatever length of time between conversation intervals).
Pilates anyone?
The Pilates experiment has been, and continues to be, a rousing success. It’s like physical therapy to me and a lot of people who do it. It’s been a perfect complement to traditional strength and cardio training. For me and my muscle memory, it’s also a test of cognitive function while being somewhat like a salve to aching joints and muscles, if that makes any sense.
Breathing in a specific way for the exercises seems to benefit cognitive function. I never seem to go through an entire workout without getting my breathing wrong and holding my breath. I have to more consistently “remember” to take air in and exhale at the right time. It’s a work in progress so I continue to focus on it as I can.
The community of people I’ve met have been nothing short of wonderful. The instructors are so encouraging and patient, it’s tough to have a bad experience as they can modify some moves to make it a better class.
Guitar playing
I did break out the guitar and tried playing and singing. I need to more regularly get practice in as I felt pretty good after a 20-30 minutes playing session. So there’s that and I feel pleased about it.
We’ve reached the time to say so long for now, and I will leave you with this: Enjoy the day and try doing something new or revisit something old. Life is good, especially when you can avoid clickbait.