One good thing about growing old, is that the bands I listened to years ago – supposing they weren’t one-hit wonders – are putting out Greatest Hit CD’s. Instead of having to buy 5 or 6 CDs to get the music I wanted, I can just plunk down the money for one or two CDs. A few weeks ago, I bought a CD of The Who’s Greatest Hits. Yesterday, I bought one for No Doubt! Come on, really. I didn’t think they had been around long enough for a Greatest Hit CD, but apparently they have (ten years).

Some small updates. I added a nifty Blender button to the sidebar. I made it myself using KIconEdit

Also, I pared down the list of blogs I have listed. When I put the list up, I had a heavy dose of local blogs. Most of the ones I got rid of hadn’t been updated for a few months, which I should have noticed before I listed, but didn’t. A few of the others were sites that are duller than mine

I also changed the name of the wp-trackback.php file, so now trackbacks aren’t possible at all (as far as I can tell). I have been getting a new version of comment spam that uses trackbacks, so I hope this will eliminate the scourge.

I was just reading Inkjet Blues Journal when I noticed he had a link to a story in INtake (an Indy newsweekly) about his blog. Kudos to Ken for the recognition. I never knew he was an aspiring comedy writer, but I did know he often posts funny stuff on his blog.

The story is one of several in this issue which covers blogging, both in general and at the local level. Another one profiles Mikal Belicove and Belicove.com, which is another one of the blogs I semi-frequent. It also talks about his “Four for Friday” feature, which is where he takes four random questions and invites the readers to answer them. Check it out.

This article talks more about what blogging is, and how to get going at it. I think the “Common problems in blogging” section at the bottom of the article are some important points for bloggers, noobs, and wannabes.

No time to update – This is a tough one, no doubt about it. Sometimes there isn’t anything interesting going on in life worth posting about. Sometimes there is so much going on, there isn’t time to write about it.

Securing readers – This is also a tough one. Since the beginning of the year, I have changed my blogging habits. One, was to list my site one several blog directories. Two, was to look at those same directories for other blogs in my area or with similar interests. Three, was to post comments on other peoples blogs (as opposed to just lurking). This helped bring others to my humble spot on the web.

Little feedback – I found that by visiting other peoples blogs, if I include a link to my site, they will come and visit. Sometimes they will even comment I think the best way to get commenst is to pose questions to your readers, such as Belicove’s “Four for Friday” or Immortal Beloved’s puzzles.

Lack of locals – There doesn’t seem to be too many local bloggers, though this is sort of an abstract idea. According to the article, BlogIndiana has 73 bloggers listed for the state (which probably includes a few that are defunct). However, this is the Internet. Location probably isn’t a big a deal as concepts. Granted, if you are talking about local issues, then location is important, but if you are talking about more general concepts like technology, games, PERL, blogs etc, then the issue of location is less important. Also, the quality of blogs is more important than the quantty of blogs.

Indiana is basketball crazy. I knew it even before moving here. The movie Hoosiers is about basketball, and Larry Bird is from Indiana, therefore Indiana is basketball crazy. However, just read a story that redefines the Hoosier basketball experience for me.

Hoosiers is loosely based on the 1954 Milan Basketball team and their capturing the state championship. The story at the Indianapolis Star online brings a different perspective, telling the story of the 1955 Crispus Attucks basketball team – the first all black high school in the nation to win an open sports championship. Read the story. I found it informative and inspiring.