The Time Has Come, the Walrus said ...

... to talk of many things...
And I have a bunch of stuff to lay on y'all today!

The FABULOUS LaPhlegm entered her first haiku at Sparrow's. She graciously gave me permission to republish it here so those of you who didn't go to All Atwitter yesterday or today might have a chance to read it. As I said in my comments at Sparrow's house, I hope this is just the first we see of LaP's talents in this arena.

Life goes so swiftly.
Oh crap! Why didn't I screw
That whole rugby team?

I thought it was superb! Neither she nor I made the finals this week, however. My ego takes comfort in the statement Sparrow made about wishing she could have added two more entries to the list of 10 finalists. Sadly the voting "thingy" she uses only allows 10 choices. But it was a lovely thing for her to say for those of us who didn't make the cut, wasn't it?

I faced a dilemma when it came to the voting. There were several entries I liked. William the Coroner, in his dry [think desert] wit way, wrote about Egrets, when the topic was Regrets. I know I have several readers who adore puns and I can visualize y'all walking around with no tushies today because you just laughed them off. There were a lot of writers who most definitely got into the whole regreting part of the theme. Others were at the other end of the spectrum and refused to waste their time on regrets.

My personal favorites, and what made it difficult to choose, were the entry about the Hildebeast and the haiku dealing with the tribulations of cleaning up after a big dog.

If y'all still think haiku are some kind of stilted, boring, Japanese poetry to which you could never relate... just go back up, read PhlegmFatale's again, then click on the link for All Atwitter and find Lin's and Troll's entries in the comments on Wednesday. If you're not convinced after that... you must need a brain transplant.

OK, no more haiku harangue, for today.

I was lookin' at my Site Meter traffic last night. BTW, I no longer do that obsessively. When I first installed it, I'd check it 2, 3 times a DAY to see how many peeps had come by to read my scribblings. I was sick. Now, I get a weekly report and I see what my average daily hits are and I just file the reports away after a "look/see".

But it had been a while since I'd strolled through, and I was bored, so I went through my last 100 hits by location, referral, search terms, and outclicks. It's amazing the things you learn from your Site Meter.

For instance, I wrote, in January,2007 a blog entitled "I Hate Sears". I am still getting hits on that blog. Another post that gathers a number of hits, though not as many as the Sears haterz, is from history students or buffs who use the search words "Treaty of Velasco". They get directed to the San Jacinto Day post written by The Dearly Beloved in 2001 for The High Road.

Ambulance Driver, I still get more referrals from you than anybody else. Thanks a ton! Farm Girl, I noticed a bunch from you, including a recurring one from Canada...you know some Calgary Cowboy, Darlin'? And Peter, thanks for the referrals from your site, too. You are a true friend and gentleman. Thanks, also for your generosity in helping AD get back online. Phlegmmy, I get referrals from you, too sweetheart.

It's always nice to see where my reader's go when they leave my page. So when I posted the links to Rachel Lucas' blog, her dog Sunny's Presidential Campaign, and the blog containing the machinations of EVIL Kitteh, it was great to see how many of y'all went to check them out. GBro, I KNOW that you were one of them and now you are in Kitteh's thrall. I can only hope your work takes you abroad, soon and Kitteh's powers will not reach beyond the broad expanse of the Atlantic.

To my reader in Metropolis, IL : is your city named after Superman's Metropolis? That's such a cool name for a city!

Birmingham, Alabama : gee, everytime I see your city on the site meter I hear Jimmy Buffett singing, "...Birmingham, Alabama, my Home Town." And the way he emphasizes the words, you just know they are capitalized.

All you folks up in the Frozen North, thanks for visitin'! I know some of y'all came from AD. Dahm! that man had friends and reader all over the place. But where did the rest of y'all come from. Well, except for the one who came from FarmGirl.

Harrison, AR: CBL, what are you doing up at 2 am? Git back in bed and git some sleep, Woman!

Llano, how was deer season this year? I was raised in Killeen, you know. I love your part of the state.

My little Teasipper: when are you gonna come to your senses and transfer to College Station? I kid. UT is ok, I guess, if you couldn't get in anywhere else. ;D~ I don't know if you've read any of the blogs where I've talked about my BabyBro, the Rehab Coordinator at TAMU...but his undergrad and MS degrees are from TU. When he first got to A & M, he'd be taping up football players with a TU ring on one hand and a TU Cotton Bowl ring on the other hand. Then he got married, to an Aggie. So now he switches his right hand rings out, depending on his mood. AS a cruel twist of fate... The daughters of these two Aggies... one wants to go to Tech[hawk,spit] and the other wants to go to Austin [which please our Middle Bro, no end. But the rest of us are saddened by her unfortunate choice. She still has a couple of years to wise up, though] But, as long as you're at a Texas school, you're ahead of the rest of the Nation!

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I've been writing up a storm. Sold something I forgotten I'd written it had been so long ago since I'd submitted it! That was a nice little surprise. I've been polishing off some old pieces to post on other sites for pay-per-view, instead of pay-for-publish. It's not as much money, but something is better than nothing. If my posts fall off here, don't be alarmed, I'm just typing my little fingers to the bone, trying to earn enough to buy some more Fluevogs.

Overloaded with Blogfodder

Dang, I ran my blog trot line this mornin' and I have TOO much blogfodder! Where do I start?
Well, alphabetically is the way I am gonna go with. [the bold does not indicate a link, the links are all over on the right.]
Ambulance Driver is in a bad mood. Follow the link to your right and go give him a cyber hug. He needs it. Babs RN is being added to my links. She is just a "peach" of a gal. I think y'all will enjoy readin' her stuff. Plus, she just added a ferret to her household, those are some kinda funny stories. Go give MattG, my SNSS, a hard time for not posting his part of the collaborative story now that the move is finished. You'll find him @ Better and Better. The Fabulous La P has a blog up about goin' shootin' with DB and me y'day. I'll be bloggin' about that later. I talked to Flo this mornin' and she assures me she's gonna blog soon about the UPS package she got y'day with her b'day presents I forgot to take up there on my recent trip. [*new link alert*]AD had linked to a ranter named JayG. I went over and gave him a read. Funny guy. Shooter could use some encouragement right now, so go give the guy a cyber- pat on the back, mkay? Turns out Tam has a girly weak spot...go check out Tamzilla vs Mothra, I was lmao. And if John's Wandering Thoughts should turn to tutoring the baby laser taggers, I think he could have found a way to pay for grad school.

Now, leaving those comments and reading those other blogs should keep y'all busy while I write about LaP and her range trip.

New Links

I've been meanin' to post a couple of new links for a couple of days now...

The day I left on vacation, Shooter, one of my frequent commenters, left a comment that b/c I had been over at his "place" so often and left several comments he was gonna link me. The guy has some great stories. Go find the one about his dog. That's what originally took me over there. But have some tissues ready when you read it, if you're a dog lover. And if you're in Houston and need a Probate Atty, find a way to locate his Daddy. After readin' how he dealt with an uppity congress critter, you'll want to support this guy. You can find Shooter here: parallaxadjustment.blogspot.com

The other link is for a talented new Blogger. LawDog linked her, so if you're one of his readers, you may have already discovered this Colorado Gem. FarmGirl is a pureDEElight. Her very first tale, about Sidesaddle Heifer Riding, should carry a Class I or maybe even a Class II beverage warning. Visit her at: http://tractortracks.blogspot.com . All she needs now is a Site Meter.

Go give 'em a read. i don't think you'll be disappointed.

New Links!

After I write this, I'll get into the customization editor and add some new links. I've been meanin' to do this for a while and I've just been forgettin' and procrastinatin'. After all, bein' a Goddess is hard and busy work, y'all.



The first goes out to a group in Australia. Great site, I've added them to my daily blog trot line. Crusader Rabbit is their name. crusader-rabbit.blogspot.com They have some excellent discussions about what going on Down Under.

Maybe they can answer a question that the SNSS and I were discussing the other night. We were talkin' about directions. He made reference to goin' to Austin and used the phrase "goin' up there". I interjected, "goin' down there" since Austin is South of us. It's always been my belief that when you are heading in a direction South of your current position you say "down" and when you are heading North you say "up". My reasoning for this is that when you look at a map, North is "up" from South/South is "down from North. SNSS countered, "Well, in Australia, they may beg to differ." So, how about it? Anybody who has lived there want to weigh in with their opinion?



A weekly read of mine is "Roswell, TX". This is a graphic novel that is certain to delight you sci-fi/fantasy/alternate history buffs. New installments are posted every Friday. But start at the beginning. It's a terrific read, honest. And I should probably post a Class I beverage warning along with it. www.bigheadpress.com/roswell?

I have some "linky-love" for LawDog's buddy Tole. While he's not as prolific as 'Dog, when he does crank one out, it's a goody. And when he dishes the dirt on his wild and hair-raisin' time with a young and crazy 'Dog, do NOT have any beverages or food in your mouth! All those posts should come with a Class III beverage warning. I wish him much success in Gradual School.

Check out the new links, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

New Links

A couple of days ago I told y'all about tcoverride and the blog he had done about the wounded soldiers at Walter Reed AMC.
I finally got around to clicking on a link Chuck has on his site. The link is for Soldiers Angels. I was just in awe of this organization. It started in 2003 when a soldier wrote his Mother. He was concerned because some of the guys in his unit weren't getting any mail from home. Being a kind lady, she started writing to the soldiers who weren't getting mail. It grew from there.
This organization now sends packages to wounded Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors so that when they are evacced to Germany or back to the States they will have the basic hygiene necessities, a change of undies and a blanket with a personal note of well wishes. Oh yeah and a phone card so they can call their fam. That is the single most appreciated item in the packs!
Please go to their site. Please send an email and tell everyone in your address book about their site. Even if you can't send the cost of a whole pack, or sew a blanket, or even afford the $10 for a phone card, you can take a few minutes to tell your friends about it. Maybe some of them can afford a donation.
I know that if my Dearly Beloved, or Son, or Brother was wounded, I would want him to have an Angel looking after his immediate needs. Wouldn't you?

The other new link is for a group that flys the families of wounded soldiers to whatever Military hospital the Soldier [generic term] is treating the Soldier. The group is called Veterans Airlift and that's how I listed the link. All the info pilots need to see if they qualify to volunteer their plane and time is listed on the website. The flights are no longer than 3 hours, and they only ask that a pilot commit to 2 flights in a 12 month period.
If you are a pilot, or know one, please let them know about this group. It seems like a worthy endeavor to me.

Now that I've written the blog, I have to go send an email to everyone in MY address book.