Rant #1,797: 25,000 Miles From Home

This blog passed a significant milestone yesterday, and I wanted to acknowledge it in today's Rant.

We passed 25,000 hits, and for a blog like this, that is significant.

Since I was forced to begin this blog about two years ago due to the destruction of my then first Ranting and Raving Blog by hackers, people have come to this newer blog 25,000 times.

If you add in how many times visitors came to the original blog--I am scared to go onto it, and please, don't you go onto it, as who knows what viruses may or may not be attached to it--using the formula of every two years, there were at least 25,000 hits, then since that blog lasted about five years, I have to estimate that we are up to at least 85,000 hits on the two blogs combined.

And since the original blog was more widely viewed, I will bet that the total for the two blogs is probably closer to 90,000 hits, but again, I have no way of ascertaining that.

As it stands, this blog is not widely promoted. I am not hooked up to any major corporation, and my one way of promoting the blog is through Facebook.

You can only get so many people to visit here through Facebook, but we have had visitors from across the United States and around the world in the seven years since this blog has been in business, in both of its forms.

I primarily write this five-days-a-week column to keep up my writing skills, and write about what I want to write about.

Look, my regular line of work--which as you know, is probably coming to an end during the next several months--is writing about military stores, and it is suffocating, to say the least.

I desired a new outlet, beyond Facebook, to vent my feelings on a number of subjects, and seven years ago I decided to do it through the blog format.

And I repeat, I don't make one thin dime from this blog. I do it for the love of writing, and the love of talking about what I want to talk about.

No one has to agree with anything that I say, and that is fine. It promotes discussion, and that is what I am really looking for.

And conversely, I don't have to agree with you, either. That is my right as much as it is your right to not agree with me.

Overall, the blog has been a lot of fun. I don't mind waking up early to do it, because I am a light sleeper anyway. Why not use the time constructively?

Anyway, we have reached the magic 25,000 hits level, and look, I know that major blogs get that in a day, but I am happy at where this blog is.

Next week, barring anything unforeseen, this blog will hit another milestone, with its 1,800th official post. We have actually already gone beyond that number in the two blogs combined, but officially, we will hit the 1,800th post on Tuesday of next week, so that is another milestone to contemplate.

Anyway, thanks for visiting the blog. I really appreciate it, even if we don't often agree on things.

And please, please, come again, and again, and again. I have no intention of scuttling the blog, as there appears to be always something to write about, whether on the personal level or on the greater national or international scene.

So to conclude this back-patting entry of this blog, I also have to pat you, the visitors and readers of this blog, on your own backs.

At least I know someone reads this blog, right?