5,000 Visits…

Thanks to YOU!!

I have to admit, I’m surprised, stunned, pleased, bewildered and elated. All at the same time.

In addition, both hit counters are over the 10,000 page hit count; I really never dared to dream I’d have so many visitors. So many folks who stop by, read my musings and share their thoughts with me. I really don’t have words to express how much I look forward to those comments!

It was May 14th when I added the first ‘counter’, and I’ve learned a few things along the way.

• How often you post (update) your blog, or website for that matter, has a lot to do with where you show up in the search pages.
• The stranger the search, the deeper into the results folks will go to find what they’re looking for.
• There aren’t many folks out there searching for ‘FoxPro’ information as despite mentioning at every possible opportunity, I’ve yet to have anyone land here as the result of a search for it.
• There are however quite a few folks looking for Jaro-Winkler information (the core piece in my POL utility), more than I would have imagined.

I think though, that one of the most important things I’ve learned out here in “bloggerspace” is that everyone has something they can share. That each of our life experiences, good and bad, can serve to guide others on what to do, not to do, or simply amuse them.

I’ve learned that life is truly for the living, that my life is not mundane (or any more mundane than most others). That we all have our own unique dreams, goals and aspirations. Some of us plunge headfirst into them; others take a more cautious path.

That regardless of the path we take, we all gain a little something with each step we take.

I’ve also discovered that despite how anonymous it can feel, this place is far from anonymous. While I certainly wasn’t seeking a place to hide (I mean, after all I did use my real name), I never anticipated the numbers of folks who would come by here

This blog has been a place where I’ve explored a lot of things. I posted some poetry, got encouragement from y’all to submit some of my thoughts to a publisher (and got published!). I’ve written up my thoughts on all sorts of things and received some incredibly warm feedback in response.

I initially started this place as a venue to rant about some of the down sides of contract programming. However, the gig I landed at about the same time has turned out to be one of the best I’ve ever had, and, as a result there really hasn’t been much to complain about.

So, instead I’ve written about all sorts of things from my life. Things I’m pondering, people I’ve known, places I’ve gone, things I’ve done… and through it all, you folks have been here, and incredibly supportive.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.