This Promises To Be A Very Strange Experiment – A New Trick For An Old Dog
November 22, 2014 by admin · Leave a Comment
Self-examination can be dangerous! Especially when one changes the usual schedule of life and learns too many new and challenging things…..all at once!
I have deliberately stopped traveling for awhile for several temporarily good reasons: A long visit with my family; time for a dog-damaged left hand to heal; study time to learn some new skills, such as how to improve, massage and finally put to use my photography and also how to discover ways to bring my websites and blogs into the 21st Century. After all, this one was established in 2008 and the other in 2010. Eons ago, as far as website development is concerned.
The old adage about “The More You Know/The Less You Know”…. proves true in my case, all right! As I read my new books about how to create really good, attractive, navigable, Killer Websites, which will attract many readers, add something to the general learning curve of humanity, as well as bring in some traveling money for the resident blogger; I become embarrassed by my own website, which is very confusing and out-of-date on most of its pages. My apologies to all! I’ve been treating it like a journal…. and that part, I’ll keep on doing, because after all, it’s a report of a solo intrepid traveler of a certain age, whose unpredictability is part of the charm. But, this present state is now to be looked upon as a “Before.”
I’m going to take you along on my own painful journey of self-improvement as I struggle to reconstruct my website all by myself…..as these books say that I can. Don’t worry! I have a web designer in the background if I need to call for help. But the “rawther flakey” idea of a technophobic, late-in-life, blogger following do-it-yourself web instructions out of a self-help book, should be an interesting phenomenon…..just as interesting as the foreign countries I have been crashing around in.
So, Heads Up Everybody! Familiarize yourself with all the flaws presently showing here, because very soon, they shall disappear and a model website and maximized blog will take its place! And, if by any chance, you have always told yourself that you would really like to become a blogger but you’re too old to learn or you wouldn’t know how to begin….well now, take heart! Because, if I can do it, so can you!
Heck, these books even swear that I can design a whole new, practically free, website right from scratch, using WordPress…..in TWO hours time! And I plan to prove them right. I might make a whole bevy of them and link them together to increase my SEO (Search Engine Optimization), as I do plan to link my two, long-term but entirely different, existing websites. Hey Boomers with my metaphysical one, www.insecretdiffusion.com.
By the time I resume my travels and start swanning around in beachside cafes again; we’ll either have beauty and usability (and did I mention profit from all my ad sales?) on this site….or a defeated and disappointed wanna-be techie launching herself back into the comforting unfamiliarity of a new country.
Just in case you want to start building your own website, these are the well-thumbed books currently on my nightstand:
“How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul” by Ruth Soukup
“How to Make Money Blogging/How I Replaced My Day Job With Blogging” by Bob Lotich
“How to Start A Blog That People Will Read” by Mike Omar
“Photoshop Elements 12” by Nick Vandome
Taking A Vacation From My Vacation
November 19, 2014 by admin · Leave a Comment
This blogsite is a report on the life of a Senior Citizen, adrift in the world; free to range through the continents, sampling good weather, expat-friendly locations and living well on Social Security. I like to prove that the world is user-friendly and much more affordable than my home turf. Plus, I like to take unusual pictures of colorful life across the border.
But, I do love my family and they live in Golden, Colorado, a suburb of Denver; so, once a year, I arrive for an extended visit….this time, five weeks. I spend a leisurely at-home time with my daughter, son-in-law, and teen-aged grandchildren, Riley and Molly. There are many advantages, with a natural balance of disadvantages
Plus – I can finally unpack my suitcases.
Minus – My possessions suddenly multiply, requiring more suitcases….now that I’m in two-season weather & my stored winter clothing has surfaced.
Plus – By staying still, I can focus on difficult learning curves, such as photoshopping, blog maximization, ebook publishing, while surrounded by computer-savvy family members to answer questions.
Minus – Those subjects are hard to learn and I often go down blind alleys.
Plus – I have a quiet house to concentrate in without the need to scrounge about for life’s necessities.
Minus – The dog believes that he must entertain me by suggesting multiple walks.
Plus – Big Projects accumulate: two more books are now written and need publishing. Photostock websites await my best efforts. Many journals await typing to the hard drive. How-to books need reading and implementing. Even bigger ideas bug me to be born! Because, when I stay still and indulge my To-Do List, I do come up with results.
Minus – That leads to more staying still to give those projects time to mature.
Hence, my upcoming plan to remain in Santa Fe, New Mexico over the next four months; rent an apartment and continue my diligent Learning Curve. Maybe, after that I can “retire” again for full-time travel?
Because, my next BIG IDEA is called “Crunching Eighty” about Aggressive Octogenariansim, whereby I will use my own regenerative body to demonstrate the utter feasibility of pushing age beyond the limits and will initiate a worldwide search for others doing the same thing. Whether this is a Plus or a Minus result of my long rest at home, I will leave up to you and to the future.
