Things I've Noticed

Things I've Noticed's Third Birthday, Who Would Have Thought?

I'm proud to say that this blog has been running for three years now.  I never expected to still be writing, but blogging has a special appeal to my creative and analytical sides as well as my Leo side that likes to get some attention.  I take joy in knowing that I can make an impact on the world by making people think.  I also like making people laugh, (or chuckle), and allowing others to get to know me better, but it does expose myself to people knowing too much about me, (like Facebook does, but in a different kind of way).  I've also had a few nasty comments from people who hide behind the veil of internet anonymity.

It's interesting how I come up in theTop 5 on Google search results for…

• anti-vegetarianism
• wearing the same clothes every day
• Deal or No Deal spreadsheet
• quirks of comedians
• Indian guy on American Idol
• selfish generation

This is my 371st post.  So far TIN has had 51,359 page views which amounts to around 47 per day. Google says that there are only 1,794,466 websites more popular than mine!  The average visitor spends a minute per visit and 85% just bounce in and out, perhaps not finding what they were looking for from searching on Google.  (Or perhaps they don't like my picture).  Repeat visitors make up 11% of the visits.  I even have human subcribers that are a subset of the number shown on the right of the page.  That number includes automated subscribers.  I have more readers and more random visitors than I ever would have imagined.

Lots of article ideas still in the hamper, so don't expect me to stop writing anytime soon, but I don't think I'll ever be consistent in how often I write or what types of things I write about.  I keep talking about redesigning my blog, and it just never happens.  Part of me says why mess with a good thing(?), while another part of me hasn't had time to do it perfectly.  I don't want a half-baked redesign.  (To start, if anybody can help me figure out how to make the center column wider on Typepad, I would be grateful).

Now that TIN is three, I expect it to start paying its way, so it has new advertising.  I make about $5 a month so it doesn't do much to defray the blog hosting fee I pay, but I don't care.  One expert told me that with the Google page rank of 3 that this site has, I could make $100 per month with the addition of some text link ads.  In the meantime, please click on an ad or two after you're done reading.  Think of it as a tip.

On a side note, I have one person in Tempe, Arizona who seems to be in the process of reading every blog post I've ever written.  I'm curious to know who you are since you are the first person who has ever done that.

I'm still waiting for Andy Rooney, (my inspiration), to visit this blog and comment.  It's too bad he can't access my site from his typewriter.  I also wouldn't mind getting his job when he retires, but he's still going strong at 90!  Thanks to all you readers for keeping me going!  Here's to another 3 years of blogging.

+ Atul

Join My Fan Group for "Things I've Noticed" on Facebook

Hello Readers,

I started a Group on Facebook called

Fans of the blog "Things I've Noticed"

I may not have the best blog in the world, but it's better than some other ones that have a lot more fans.  Feel free to join if you like.  It will help others "refresh their mind" on a regular basis.

+ Atul

I Turned 37 Today

Happy Birthday to me.  I'm only one day older than yesterday, but for some stupid reason, I'm labeled as one year older.  There's nothing so special about the 37th, but I'll try to have some fun tonight.  It's been a year of change for me.  It's scary to think that based on averages, my life is half over, (and I still occasionally get carded)!  I would like to live to be 100 years old though.  It would be interesting to see how the world changes, and I have faith in medical science advancing to make my elder years not so miserable.  We'll see.

Expect a real post tomorrow.  It's mostly written.

+ Atul

I'm Moving to Minneapolis!

Before you read about it in the newspaper, I'd like to announce that the home office, (and the writer), of "Things I've Noticed" are moving to somewhere in the Minneapolis metro area.  I know it's hard to believe that after almost 14 years of this car guy living in the Motor City, I'll actually be leaving.  Even though it will be nice to remain in the great Midwest, I'll also have to accept that I'll be moving further from my family in the Cleveland area.  It was a tough decision, but I felt as though it was time to make a move in my career.  I have to get more out of my University of Michigan MBA and all those years of experience that I've managed to string together.  I'll be doing product management work for a smaller company whose name I won't mention.  I'm excited to be going to a new town that's in better shape economically, but it's sad leaving the Detroit area which I have grown to love.  It's depressing how hard our local economy has been hit.  Let's all just buy cars from the Big Three and help turn this town around.  Anyway, I've heard that Minneapolis is a fun town with some beautiful areas (and lots of blonds which isn't a bad thing).  I don't mind snow, but the extreme cold will take a bit of getting used to.  I will be buying a nice warm coat as soon as I get there.  I heard there's no sales tax on clothes there.

In addition to leaving the aspects of the Detroit area that I like, (such as areas like Birmingham, Royal Oak, Ferndale, Ann Arbor, great ethnic food in the suburbs, being in the heart of the auto industry), I'll also be leaving friends, coworkers, and soccer and volleyball teammates that I've played with for years.  It's all starting to sink in.  I don't really know anybody in Minneapolis, but some of my friends have already introduced me to people there.  It will be time to get used to new roads, new grocery stores, local culture, drivers, news broadcasts, and new friends.  It seems like a big deal to me because I haven't moved much in my lifetime, but to others, it's no big deal.  Anyway, if any of my subscribers are from Minneapolis, drop me a line.

Now it's time to get to looking for apartments on line.  Prime candidates for apartment locations are St. Louis Park, and Hopkins.

+ Atul

Things I've Noticed Two Years On

You would never know it, but I used to hate to write.  (I blame it on English teachers who didn’t appreciate my writing style).  As you can tell, I now really like to write, (thanks to English teachers who taught me how to write better and who appreciated my writing style).  And as I get older, I feel the need to express my opinion more often.  I think I’m becoming more opinionated with age.  Thank God for blogs.  I have actually been able to share my ideas with people other than the individuals I know.  Some of them I believe are important as I think they can help change people’s attitudes about things from my small-time virtual pulpet.  People often don’t get why I blog.  Part of it is to write for fun, but part of it is to make a difference by conveying what I want to tell the world on the web.  If I come up high in search results, then I can be more influential than the next girl or guy.  And I get to entertain people with some hardly useful thoughts I come up with.  I find that satisfying too.  But blogs aren’t just about me.  I came to the blogging world very late compared to others.

An important point that my friend and long time reader of TIN, Dave, brought up: blogging is a great media equalizer.  It’s like democracy for news.  We don’t have to rely on corporate-tainted media telling us “the facts”.  Now, any one of us with internet access and a few bucks can spout off.  And that’s great.  Plus it gives a search user easy access to the pulse of the world.  It does create a new predicament though.  No credentials or credibility, (besides a basic command of language), are needed to do this.  Dumb people of the world can spread their misinformation and hatred. 

My next objective is to actually make some money off of this blog.  You may have noticed the Google AdSense advertising at the top.  I would love to make a living off of blogging, so if any of you would like to advertise on here, drop me a line.  According to this website, an ad on my site should cost $9 per month.  I do get close to 50 visitors a day, have had more than 27,000 visitors in the two years since “Things I’ve Noticed” launched. I don’t foresee myself shutting down anytime soon.  That’s because I don’t stop thinking and I can’t stop noticing things.

+ Atul

Regarding the Ad on The Right: Official Debate

My friend, "The Boss", (but much younger than Bruce Springstein), has created a new site which I find quite interesting.  It's called OfficialDebate.com.  It's just starting up, but it has lots of neat topics that are at times controversial.  Every good debate needs lots of debaters so click on the link and register if you like to argue with people on topics that you know you're right about.  I did.  Please argue respectfully and soon the site will add other interesting features including debates in which the users get to vote to determine the winner.

Oh and tell "The Boss" I sent you there.

+ Atul

Back to The Land of Reliable Fast Internet Connections Soon

Sorry for the lack of posts.  The supposed high speed wireless modem I bought here didn't work for a week due to a backlog of people signing on and then it was unreliable and not fast at all. Posting or uploading pictures would have been a pain.  All is well here in hot Mumbai at a friend's place with better connectivity.  Highlights of my trip included St. Peter's Cathedral, some temples in India with great architecture, spending time with extended family, and seeing a real Asiatic lion in the wild.

I fly out tonight so I will be back to the U.S. very soon and will write a post this weekend for sure.  Among other things, I miss my friends and family, good internet connections, Mexican food, my home, and driving my cars.

Take care,
+ Atul

Happy Thanksgiving from T.I.N.

I just wanted to wish all of you, including my loyal readers, a Happy Thanksgiving. I'll be saving a turkey by not eating one, but all the other food will be delicious. Speaking of turkeys, we also now have wild turkeys in our neighborhood, just like this Oregon town in the video I've linked to.  Our neighborhood team won our 18th Annual Turkey Bowl and I had a fumble recovery for a touchdown.  I'm now getting sensation back in my toes so it's good.  It will be a different and somewhat sad Thanksgiving without my dad, but we still have a lot to be thankful for.  Good friends, family, food, shelter, employment, and health should not be taken for granted.  Let's just hope the world comes around and becomes more peaceful. 

+ Atul

Passing on The Blogging Bug to Students

First of all, I apologize for the delay in posting.  I have no excuse other than just being busy.  But I'm getting back into the swing of things and I wanted to write about a great opportunity I had a couple of weeks ago.  Thanks to friend, volleyball captain, and frequent T.I.N.  visitor Dave P.'s current teaching job at a local university called Madonna University, he asked me to present to one of his classes about blogging.  I was temporarily considered a blogging expert.  So I put together a presentation to go through with his class and the students learned about blogging at a general level.  I called it, "Blogging:  What It's All About, Why You Might Want to Do It, and How To Do It Too."  My intent was to introduce them to the world of blogging and to get them interested in blogging to the point that some of them might even start one.  I don't know if I was successful, but one of the assignments Dave handed out, was for the students to comment on one of my blogposts.  (You might have noticed the sudden increase in comments).  I appreciated the insightful comments from the class members.  I want to thank Dave, his class for paying attention and being nice considering how late in the day it was.  Thanks also to them for the gift certificate to a local vegetarian restaurant which I will use soon. 

In addition to presenting, somebody else Dave works with, Dan, was nice enough to record my whole presentation as a podcast you can download here --> Download Atul_Blogging_Things_Ive_Noticed.mp3 .  This is great if you want to learn about blogging or if you want to hear what I sound like the night after staying up late to finish a presentation.  Thanks Dan.  Overall, presenting to students about blogging was a great experience and made me feel like becoming a professor.  It sure beats presenting to management.

+ Atul

Sidebars: Confusion-Creating Mini Articles

I like to read magazines and newspapers... a lot, even more than books.  Automotive ones, news ones, business ones, science ones…  They're all good in their own unique way, but the one thing that magazines all seem to have are sidebars.  These are those sectioned off or shaded areas containing short articles within long articles, ones that talk about a topic related to the one you already began reading.  They're usually interesting little tidbits.  But what confuses me is that I never know when I should read them.  If I read them after I finish the main article, I might forget.  If I interrupt my flow of reading the main article and read the sidebar, it might have the most relevance, but then I might not remember where I left off in the main article.  Then I'll waste time by rereading stuff I already read.  I know this sidebar stuff is not a huge deal, but it comes up often as I read lots of magazines and newspapers.  On a sidenote, what's interesting is that when I searched on the word "sidebar" for images, this is the only picture that I found that shows one, (and it's at the bottom).  Yet, these things are everywhere in newspaper and magazine articles.  I could always boycott sidebars, but I might miss some really good writing. 

I wonder who invented this idea.  I'm guessing some newspaper editor realized that they couldn't use all their space in a given issue and they gave an assignment to a junior writer to write a short article to fill in space with one requirement.  It had to have something to do with the main article.

Today I see that the whole sidebar phenomenon has migrated to the internet web page world.  In this context, it's not so bad.  Everything on the page is typically in sections anyway and are all meant to be read whenever in any order.  Chances are the sidebar is unrelated to anything else on the web page.

When do you read sidebar articles?  Do you like them or wish they would be banned?

+ Atul