RB338 2.0

Took a look at my ClusterMap today, and boy howdy was I surprised...


The big dot covers my local area, more or less, and the hits up the northeast coastline are fairly regular. Florida is most likely Tom, and there are a couple of possibilities for the Michigan hits that I won't discuss in detail right now. The ones that get me are:

Central Flyover States - Wow. Who's out there in the cornfields reading my crap? Cool. Guess people in the Land of Checkerboard Road Layouts actually think some of what I have to say is good enough to read. Hawesome. Welcome aboard!

Nordic Fence Sitters - Now, I don't know if any of you can tell, but those dots (yes, there are two, one is underneath and slightly southwest of the other one, it makes the border look thicker than normal) seem to sit right smack on the Straight of Denmark/Western Baltic Sea area. Is that Sweden, Denmark, or both? Whoever it is, Hi! I used to have a pen pal in Sweden, went by the name of Martina. That'd be neat if it was her, but I think she'd at least break down and leave a comment.

Sri Lanka - Say that again? Who in Sri Lanka is visiting? My inner fanboy is slaivating like a Trekkie in line to meet Shatner at the thought of maybe, just maybe, Arthur C. Clarke (who resides on Sri Lanka) has come to read my blog for some wild reason. Doubtful, but a fun thought either way. Greetings are in order no matter who it is!

Once upon a time, I had a website read by people from all over the world. I got emails and comments from all over the place (especially The Netherlands, big hello to Sjord if you're still out there, my friend!), and it was a really neat feeling. I'd like to recapture that if I could.

No matter where you're from, I highly encourage you to leave comments. Let me know where you're from, what brought you here, what you think, anything at all. People who read my senseless drivel have to be an interesting bunch. That, or you have many, many grains of salt to spare, I don't know.

The whole reason I put my life and my stories on the Internet is to share them with the world at large, or whatever small portion of it deems my stuff read-worthy. It's been an honor to have been read by such a diverse cross-section of the human race. But in order to share, you need other people. So, stand and be counted, my friends and my enemies alike.

Life is a case study in people. The more you encounter, the more you learn about what it means to be human, and to live in this day and age. People are made up of little bits and pieces of all of the other folks they encounter. From some, we adopt mannerisms. From others, stupid little sayings (thanks, Justin). Still more give us beliefs, and some give us senses of style and taste. We take these things and assemble them to create who we are as individuals, while still maintaining a sense of belonging to the greater world around us. All without really realizing it.

Some of you get something from me when you read this blog. Those of you who read, and that I know personally, have each given me something as well. It's those of you out there, beyond the confines of this backwards little Blue State, that I'm interested in learning about...