Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

Does This Count as Being Published?

A couple months ago, I sent a message to the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants asking if I could use content from the VSCPA website in a twice-monthly newsletter that I'm writing for the Davidson Group accounting firm.

Evidently the VSCPA staff was flattered by the question because they published it in the latest edition of the magazine Disclosures.  Scroll over to page 2 to see my name in print.

Time to Change the Look Again

OK, I'm already tired of the picnic table theme I put on this blog a little over a week ago.  But I don't think I'm going back to the camo either.

I have to admit, the change did have something to do with personal branding.  I'm promoting so many different things right now, and most of them don't really fit the camo theme.  At the same time, I don't ever want to change the blog so much that it ceases to be identified as a hunting and fishing blog.

So, I'll look through the  TypePad themes tonight, and see what I can come up with.  Check back tomorrow...

Random Notes

Rain in the forecast today; it was supposed to start after midnight, but it's 5:45, and I'm still waiting.  Not sure why, but I'm really looking forward to a rainy day.  Waiting on the rain on a day like today--now that it's almost spring, and it's starting to get a little warmer--reminds me of when I was in my blogging heyday.  I'd sit on the porch on rainy days with my laptop and my coffee.   I'd go do that now if it would just start raining...

Read an excellent article in the Washington Post the other day about the war and the tiny percentage of American families that are bearing its burden.  You do remember we're at war, right?  If not, or even if you do, please read this article...

Had a real interesting conversation about blogging with a young person who is trying to get a business blog going for her employer.  She made the mistake of asking me for advice, and I probably sounded like an Old Coot, telling her how she needs to get involved with a community of bloggers and how important it is to have original content.  What she didn't know was that the last and most important thing I told her, "be yourself," was the advice that I need to listen to more than anybody.

Blogging by the Light of the Moon

For a long time I looked at early morning as blogging time.  I'd get up at 5 a.m., drink some coffee, write my blog post, look at some other blogs and get the real work of the day started around 6:00.  It's looking like now may be a good time to re-think that.

As the "real" worked has increased in its urgency over the last couple years, I've increasingly felt uncomfortable devoting that valuable pre-dawn productivity to this blog.  Sadly, I've had even less time for other blogs.  Arthur's faithful comments on the few posts I do write and Rex's Facebook updates are some of the few remaining ties I have to the outdoor blogging community.

Meanwhile, interest in the Bright Idea Blog remains relatively strong despite my less frequent posts.  Of course, my page views are way down from the heyday of 2007 and '08, but people are still turning the blog up through all sorts of Google searches.  I just picked up a new advertiser, and I still need to get back to a guy who contacted me the other day about writing a guest post.

I'd really like to keep the Bright Idea Blog going and even to make some long-overdue improvements to it.  But to have a good blog, you've got to have frequent blog posts.  Spending some time reading and commenting on other blogs helps a lot too.

So I''m going to try blogging at night; staying up a litte later--even if it means sleeping a little later in the morning.  Hopefully that will get me back on track.  And if you have a blog, hopefully I'll stop by soon!

Comment Moderation Turned On

For the first time in the more than four year history of this blog, I've turned on comment moderation.  That means I'll have to read and approve your comment before it appears on the web page.

My decision to do this came after a recent spike in SPAM-type comments left on the blog.  Most didn't bother me much, but several written in a foreign language (and alphabet) concerned me because I didn't know what they said.

If you have any problem getting your legitimate comment published on this blog, please let me know by emailing outdoorblogger@verizon.net.  Maybe I'll even write a decent post for you to comment on soon.

A Pirate Looks at 39

It will be just over a year yet before I turn 40, but this song, performed by Jimmy Buffet at Nissan Pavilion in 2006, pretty much sums up how I feel. . .

 

A Post per Week

Here it is a week since my last post, and I haven't done much of what I'd planned.  I haven't written about Scott's Ghillie Suit business; I haven't done anything to get ready for turkey season; and I haven't taken my real estate licensing test yet.  Between studying for that, working six days a week at my full-time job and putting in as much time as possible on my own business, my time is pretty tight.

There has been a lot I've wanted to write about, including my thoughts on the local deer population; the onset of spring and with it daylight savings time and deer tick season; and how I made contact this week with a long lost friend from Mississippi.  No, it wasn't Rex; although I do consider him a friend, we've never actually met.  This was my old roommate from my freshman year at Ole Miss.  Corresponding with him reminded me of some funny stories from those days. 

Maybe I'll re-tell them here with the names changed to protect the guilty.  When I get some time that is. . .

Blog Update

Once again, I've found myself in a bit of a blogging slump.  It's not that I'm too busy or that I don't have anything to write about.  It's like I said; I'm just in a slump.

The weekend didn't go exactly as I planned; the snow came in early, and Jake and I were unable to make it out to the hunting grounds.  We did have a good time though; a little bit of sledding and a whole lot of shoveling.

I dreamed up a fictional story that I'd like to write before Christmas; maybe tonight while I'm watching the game. . .

First Week on the Job Comes to a Close

Wow; here I am at the end of the first week on my new job.  I think that's the case anyway; not sure if I'm supposed to work Saturday my first week or not.

Looks like we've got another rainy weekend ahead of us.  Of course, I'm hoping to get some hunting in, but I'd also like to spend some time in front of this computer if it's raining too hard to hunt.  If that's the case, I'll write an update on what I'm doing and what my new job actually is.  I'll also work on some new pages for this site that I've dreamed up this week.

Good luck to all who are hunting this weekend.  Stay safe and be patient; if the bucks aren't already on the move in your area, they will be soon.

Good luck also to anyone who will be engaged in a sport other than hunting.  My son's football team has its first playoff game tomorrow, and we're hoping the rain holds off for that.  He's still a young kid playing "C League," but, no matter what level you're at, have fun and play hard!

Happy Anniversary Honey

In a break from my usual policy of not disclosing important family dates online, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish my lovely wife a happy anniversary.  Tommorow marks 11 years since that beautiful day we tied the knot at Oatlands Plantation.

Since then we've had three kids, one dog, two houses, a handful of cars and trucks, a few jobs and even a couple gigs some people might call careers.  I became a hunter and blogger, and she became a photographer and started her own business.  We've had some sad days, some mad days, some hard days and a whole lot of great days.  I just hope that sometime, before we leave this world, we get a chance to experience a day as perfect as July 11, 1998.

Happy Anniversary Honey.  I love you and am looking forward to the next 11 years with you.