Construction: Done!

After goodness knows how many years of 0ddness having the same template, and how many years of being bored with it and going to change it, but chickening out at the last minute, I have finally done it.

It has to be said, it wasn't a hard thing to do - all the new Blogger templates and oojamiflips* that you can fiddle with now made it mostly easy and virtually painless, and aside from a few issues here and there, I can safely say it is finished.

I like it.  That is saying something to be honest, as quite often I change it, decide I hate it, then either revert it to the original one, or sulk about it and change it over and over. I used to love one that had a brilliant bit of artwork on it, but that was old original blogger and became thoroughly incompatible with the changes they did, but I moved on.

And, incidentally, that bit of Artwork is now my background on my other computer.

Anyways - there is currently no banner-title-thing on her because I've begged asked nicely to have a new one made so that's a work in progress, so bare with that for the time being. The mobile version of 0ddness should also be pretty and nice to look at too, so fingers crossed when you access it on your mobile, it'll be nice there too.

You'll notice I've also ditched the tagboard. It was getting spammed, none of my friends used it very often, and it just made me sad that the only time it got messages was someone telling me they weren't a spammer - only to find their blog was a spammy blog.  Ugh.

I'm not sure how many people actually read 0ddness via the site itself any more either... I've never been one for counting traffic for the sake of it - I like looking at the numbers just so I know A) that people ARE reading, and B) the interesting ways people trip face-first into the blog. I suspect most people read via an RSS Reader, Facebook or some other way.

If you're a reader, feel free to say hi in the comments section - even if you've never commented before, post in the comments section, say Howdy and let me know you're here.  I had one reader that kept to herself add me on Facebook a while back (I'm calling you out, Sue!) which was a nice surprise, so if you're too shy to comment on here, then prod me on Facebook! Alternatively, you can find me and add me on Twitter.  Facebook, Twitter, either way - there are links on the right to both - cunningly marked as "Facebook" and "Twitter"

Feedback on the new layout/design is appreciated, even if you don't like it... Kellie is going to have a pokey prod around with it in a bit too and give me her two pence worth, and once it is done, there will be a new banner up. Hopefully this layout will keep me happy for a while now!



*Oojamiflips (OO-JA-MA-FLIPS): Part of the systems of thingamajigs (THING-A-MA-JIGS), wotsitcalleds (WOTS-IT-CALLEDS) and doohikeythingies (DOO-HIKEY-THINGIES)

De-Lurk Ya Bastards!

Yes, the Hooded Claw. Dark, hidden, mysterious. And the very embodiment of my blogs biggest reader base - the mysterious lurker.

So here it is. Say Hi. De-Lurk. Post a "howdy" comment, let me know who you are, even if you want to use a fake name to protect your identity. Don't use "Me" as I seem to have about a berjillion of "Me" reading. Let me know where you're from. How long have you been reading? Did you follow a link or trip over my infamy some other way?

Even you bastards reading on an RSS Feed that don't come visit, click that link and come visit.

I don't mind if you just found me today. I don't mind if you've been reading for a few days, weeks, months or - for the rare reader - years. Say hello.

Don't make me threaten the kitten. Because I will if I have to.


Think of the kitten.

Edit: Three days to go on my Delurkers week, and HURRAH! Thanks to everyone delurking, now for the rest of you to do it too! Go on, you know you want to ;)

I Made It

I Made It?

A few years ago, a friend of mine started blogging. Her blog was a general day-to-day journal of stuff; thoughts, rants, humour, news stories - whatever sparked her interest, she'd blog it. I started reading it and a couple of her friends blogs, and thought "I can do that!"

So, using some other platform, I started blogging. I can't actually remember what my blog was called, but I do remember wrestling to hell and back with the layout code. I chatted and ranted, and had a couple of readers.

And then I forgot about it.

Fast forward a while longer, and I decided I actually DID enjoy it, and even though I couldn't remember anything about my other blog, I set up a new one on BlogSpot.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings me back to the point of this post.

This is post number 1000.

I've hit four-digit post numbers. Now, granted, some of my posts have been nothing more than a few lines or a picture or whatever, but never did I think "This will bump my post count" or "I'll post it for the sake of posting". And I can honestly say - even with the long hiatus I took after losing Bethany, this blog has been a lifeline to me. I don't know what I'd have done instead of blogging, but what if's and maybes - I tend to ignore them.

And in 1000 posts in almost four years, I've covered plenty, from the emotions of a newborn and losing Bethy, ranting about people or the weather, or about people moaning about the weather, the kids escapades, stupidity, bravery, injuries (personal and otherwise)... I think I've covered a lot. Even my writing style as changed - looking at the first posts from December 2003, I was writing in all lower-case.

Since I started blogging, so much in my life has changed, from family, employment, sickness... And over that time, the blog in it's many incarnations has been viewed, as of this morning over 43,000 times. I didn't get my first comment until August of 2004 - I think back then I had a hardcore reader base of about three people.

So, to you, my readers - Old and New alike - I thank you. Thanks for your visit today, thanks for reading, and thanks for being out there letting me know I blog for a reason - to entertain you. If you weren't out there, I'd probably still blog, but not as often. And to all my fellow bloggers, keep up the good work.

As an aside, and as everyone loves comments (especially me!), post in the comments section, say Hi, let me know how long you've been reading, and if there's anything you'd like to see!

Once again, thank you for being there for me.

-Dan

Lurkers!

So, to all the lurkers that said Hi, Hullo, Howdy and, er, something else vaguely "H" Like, Hi to you too! I received 20 comments on the actual Lurker post down there, and about a dozen mails from people that didn't want to comment, didn't know how to, or would rather just email. To all of you, thanks, and feel free to stick around!

I didn't get any questions except two, which were "Why don't you put some advertising or a paypal account on there - you could make money doing this, get a new laptop" and "Why don't you write for a living as I think people would buy your books if they were published?".

For the first, this is a hobby. I hate adverts, banners, popups and everything else out there, and to make money off people that come here and read my ramblings just seems... I don't know... Wrong, I guess is the first word that pops into my head. The fact people take time out their day to see what I have to say is gratitude enough for me, but to have them pay me? Doesn't seem right. Same goes for people asking for Link Exchanges. The links on my page are places I go a lot, blogs I read daily, sites I visit for chuckles. I'm not going to link to a site or a blog that I'm not personally interested in. As much as I'd like to buy that extra-sparkly laptop, I'm not going to force you lot to deal with banners and pop-ups because I want something.

As for the second question, hehe you have NO idea how often people suggest "You should write" or "Why don't you do a book?". So why don't I? Well, truth be told, the thought scares the bejeezers out of me for one thing, sitting, writing, in order to make a living, earn some money. Knowing that what I am writing would mean the difference between us eating or not. The second thing - what would I write about? People say I should write about our time with Bethy, but that book wouldn't have a happy ending, and I'm not sure I'd be able to write such a book. I often potter around with various types of writing - short stories, mostly - but they either end up on a dusty shelf or tucked away on the hard drive somewhere.

I've always enjoyed writing - obviously, from the crap I churn out - from D&D Games to rambling to some sort of ickle story that blossoms when I go to town, but then, I used to enjoy tinkering with computers - when it became a part of my job, it got less fun. Articles, Reviews, Magazine Columns, I don't think I have what it takes to be honest, and I am just too self-critical.

But anyway, to all you lurkery-sorts out there, I hope that answered the couple of questions I received. Now you've said Hi, feel free to comment on posts or on the Cbox to the side more often :D

All in all, Hug a Lurker week worked very well!

An Idea: Hug A Lurker

So here's something I've been toying with over the last week or two. See, most mornings, I check my stats, see who is coming from where, who is hanging around, who is clicking through the blog and who is just reading, and it is apparent that each day I get something like 50-100 visitors, more if I post a lot. Some 20% of these are click throughs or bots or whatever, staying less than five seconds, but the vast majority are stopping to read a post or two. Of those, maybe 20 or so are regulars - on a daily, two day or three day basis, while others arrive from search engines, and others arrive through other links on other blogs, blog catelogs or whatever else brings people here.

But here's the thing, I'm actually interested on WHO these people are. Sure, I know where in the world they are coming from, but the WHO is what I am interested in. Who are you, where you from, what do you think of the blog? Don't think as you're new you won't get answers on your comments, that I won't respond to tags or emails, and that I won't link you. If you have a blog and read me quietly, let me know, and I will happily add you to my link bar to the side there. I know some of you are from email lists I spam comment on, I know some of you have come from my World of Warcraft profile/signature - heck, I even know some of you!!

So, on Saturday - and lasting for a week - I am going to open my arms to all the quiet readers that dwell in the shadows of my blog. If you're shy or quiet, just a quick hello would be nice, or even post a question on the TagBoard, and I will do my best to answer it. Maybe others of you that have blogs would like to do a similar thing, throw open your doors, and let them in! My comments are enabled to allow anonymous comments, user names or "other", so go for your life!

Come on Lurkers - what have you got to lose!

Edit: I am going to keep this at the top of the blog for the week - all new posts appear BELOW this post!