Some time in the next couple of days the 250,000th visitor will arrive at this blog, or more accurately the 250,000th visitor since I turned Site Meter on.
Statistically speaking the probability is that the 250,000th visitor will arrive here via a Google search, quite likely one that has nothing to do with sailing, such as "silly awards" or "what's a histogram". They will then realize their terrible mistake and quickly leave Proper Course, never to return.
However, in spite of the likelihood that Mr. or Ms. 250,000 will be a random passer-by, I do feel that this event should be commemorated in some way. I would like to give the lucky guy or gal a special gift. What would be appropriate? A free life-time subscription to Proper Course? A chance to pick any item from the tray of random pieces of junk at the bottom of my sailing toolkit? A free 15 minutes of consultation on how to write "biting wit and heavy sarcasm", as Joe Rouse refers to my material?
Suggestions please...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Seven Things That Would Make Joe Rouse's Blog Even Better
This contribution to our Lists group writing project is supposedly from the mysterious O Docker, a legendary leaver of comments all over the sailing blogosphere. But who is O Docker? Does he actually exist or is he really Edward Superblogger's sock puppet? Or perhaps he is Joe Rouse's PR man? Can anyone solve the riddle of O Docker's true identity?
Joe Rouse certainly produces one of the finest blogs in all of sailing blogdom. Like any other red-blooded American male, I enjoy looking at all the fine photos he posts of fish.
But this is America, darn it, and we should always be striving to improve. With just a little more effort, Joe could take it over the top and absolutely dominate the world of sailing blogs. Here are seven ways he could do it.
1) More fish videos. Sure, the surfing and wipeout videos are great, but when it comes to fish, all we get are still images. Fish move, too, Joe, in ways that some of us find hypnotic. Work a fishing pole in, if you can. I'd love to see some of your fish dancing with a pole.
2) More marine business analysis. Face it, Joe, what sailor isn't curious about quarterly earnings reports from the major marine manufacturers like Beneteau and Hunter? Spice that up with timely sidebars on market capitalization, and you've got a surefire winner.
3) More posts on knitting and macrame. OK, OK, surfing, wipeouts, extreme sailing, monster waves, and, of course, fish, are what most sailors want to see, but Joe you live where it's warm - you're on the water year round. Don't you realize some sailors are freezing their butts off all winter? A few posts on knocking out a comfy sweater, knit watchcap, or even a nice tea cozy would give your blog more universal appeal. Knit one, purl two.
4) More existential philosophy. All sailing and no ontology makes Joe a dull boy. Wake up, man! Many front line sailing blogs regularly consider fundamental questions posed by Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and other intellectual heavy hitters. Alright, admittedly this is a tough one to balance with pictures of fish. If you Kant, you Kant.
5) More Force Five coverage. Joe, baby, is the Force really with you? There's that technicolor logo, alright, but, like, that's it. Where's the coverage of the Force Five Nationals, The Force Five Brats and Beer Summer Wingding, the Force Five Round the Buoys Poker Run? See, I have no idea what Force Fives do. If we don't get this from you, Joe, who we gonna call? Some guy in Rhode Island claims the Force Five is a mythical boat that doesn't exist, like the Pequod or Bigfoot. Say it ain't so, Joe.
6) More posts about Britney Spears. Joe, blogging is all about numbers. A few posts about Britney every month and your hits would be off the charts! On Twitter, a gazillion people follow Obama's tweets, but two gazillion follow Britney. Nuff said. Photoshop her onto a Force Five and your traffic will be up there with Huffington.
7) And last, but not least, explain, once and for all, who is Bunty and where the heck is Gozo?
Joe Rouse certainly produces one of the finest blogs in all of sailing blogdom. Like any other red-blooded American male, I enjoy looking at all the fine photos he posts of fish.
But this is America, darn it, and we should always be striving to improve. With just a little more effort, Joe could take it over the top and absolutely dominate the world of sailing blogs. Here are seven ways he could do it.
1) More fish videos. Sure, the surfing and wipeout videos are great, but when it comes to fish, all we get are still images. Fish move, too, Joe, in ways that some of us find hypnotic. Work a fishing pole in, if you can. I'd love to see some of your fish dancing with a pole.
2) More marine business analysis. Face it, Joe, what sailor isn't curious about quarterly earnings reports from the major marine manufacturers like Beneteau and Hunter? Spice that up with timely sidebars on market capitalization, and you've got a surefire winner.
3) More posts on knitting and macrame. OK, OK, surfing, wipeouts, extreme sailing, monster waves, and, of course, fish, are what most sailors want to see, but Joe you live where it's warm - you're on the water year round. Don't you realize some sailors are freezing their butts off all winter? A few posts on knocking out a comfy sweater, knit watchcap, or even a nice tea cozy would give your blog more universal appeal. Knit one, purl two.
4) More existential philosophy. All sailing and no ontology makes Joe a dull boy. Wake up, man! Many front line sailing blogs regularly consider fundamental questions posed by Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and other intellectual heavy hitters. Alright, admittedly this is a tough one to balance with pictures of fish. If you Kant, you Kant.
5) More Force Five coverage. Joe, baby, is the Force really with you? There's that technicolor logo, alright, but, like, that's it. Where's the coverage of the Force Five Nationals, The Force Five Brats and Beer Summer Wingding, the Force Five Round the Buoys Poker Run? See, I have no idea what Force Fives do. If we don't get this from you, Joe, who we gonna call? Some guy in Rhode Island claims the Force Five is a mythical boat that doesn't exist, like the Pequod or Bigfoot. Say it ain't so, Joe.
6) More posts about Britney Spears. Joe, blogging is all about numbers. A few posts about Britney every month and your hits would be off the charts! On Twitter, a gazillion people follow Obama's tweets, but two gazillion follow Britney. Nuff said. Photoshop her onto a Force Five and your traffic will be up there with Huffington.
7) And last, but not least, explain, once and for all, who is Bunty and where the heck is Gozo?
Saturday Speedlinks
Three blog posts that caught my eye this week...
Pierre Jasmine wrote a terrific account of sailing in the recent Laser Masters' North American Championship 2009 off the coast of Carolina. He absolutely captures the essence of what Laser Masters sailing is all about.
The Twittering of Moby Dick. I have no idea why anyone would want to read Moby Dick in 140 character bites but, in case you are interested, it took 12,849 tweets, or about 45 Twitter posts per day for nine-and-a-half months. Hilarious.
And finally, Tweezerman at Earwigoagin was mystified by a word used by a sailing pro but explains it to the rest of us in jocular fashion at Pro Speak... Duh!
Pierre Jasmine wrote a terrific account of sailing in the recent Laser Masters' North American Championship 2009 off the coast of Carolina. He absolutely captures the essence of what Laser Masters sailing is all about.
The Twittering of Moby Dick. I have no idea why anyone would want to read Moby Dick in 140 character bites but, in case you are interested, it took 12,849 tweets, or about 45 Twitter posts per day for nine-and-a-half months. Hilarious.
And finally, Tweezerman at Earwigoagin was mystified by a word used by a sailing pro but explains it to the rest of us in jocular fashion at Pro Speak... Duh!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tom Slingsby Sailing
This one is for Joe. If you watch the whole video you will see Tom demonstrate #3 on my list of Eleven Crazy Things You Can Do on a Laser.
Four More List Project Entries
Four more entries today in our group writing project of the month which is the very simple task of writing a list post about sailing.
From The Good Old Boat Redwing 10 (or maybe only 6) things in a code of conduct for keelboat guests.
Andrew from SadlerBootwerk has Six not quite good enough reasons to sell the Laser. Phew. Thank goodness they weren't quite good enough. You had me worried for a moment there Andrew.
Zen knows 10 Ways to make Sailing part of your Zen practice. Great stuff.
And Carol Anne has Top Ten Lame or Not-So-Lame Excuses Not To Get to the Lake, all used by her friend Zorro apparently. But she still loves him.
I think that makes 22 entries so far. Thanks to everyone who has contributed but where are some of our regular participants? Joe? O Docker? Edward? Adam? There is still plenty of time for them and YOU to participate in this project, perhaps the easiest one of all the projects we have run here. Just write a list post about sailing and let me know about it before this Sunday, May 24. You don't even have to have your own blog to join the party. Full details at Lists.
Update: Oops. I missed one. The Skipper of the Starboard Racing Vessel has 5 ways to improve the chances your wife will want to sail with you.
From The Good Old Boat Redwing 10 (or maybe only 6) things in a code of conduct for keelboat guests.
Andrew from SadlerBootwerk has Six not quite good enough reasons to sell the Laser. Phew. Thank goodness they weren't quite good enough. You had me worried for a moment there Andrew.
Zen knows 10 Ways to make Sailing part of your Zen practice. Great stuff.
And Carol Anne has Top Ten Lame or Not-So-Lame Excuses Not To Get to the Lake, all used by her friend Zorro apparently. But she still loves him.
I think that makes 22 entries so far. Thanks to everyone who has contributed but where are some of our regular participants? Joe? O Docker? Edward? Adam? There is still plenty of time for them and YOU to participate in this project, perhaps the easiest one of all the projects we have run here. Just write a list post about sailing and let me know about it before this Sunday, May 24. You don't even have to have your own blog to join the party. Full details at Lists.
Update: Oops. I missed one. The Skipper of the Starboard Racing Vessel has 5 ways to improve the chances your wife will want to sail with you.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Even More Sailing Lists
Three more entries today in our group writing project of the month which is the very simple task of writing a list post about sailing.
Pat from Desert Sea - New Mexico Sailing knows 28 checks for trailer sailors before launching a boat from a trailer. I wonder if anyone will come up with a longer list?
The 3 least understood Racing Rules of Sailing from Jos of Look to Windward was a bit of a surprise to me. He clearly thinks that most of us casual racers don't know the rules very well so, instead of choosing some of the more obscure rules, he has picked what I always think of as three of the most fundamental rules: DYT, DBASL, and DHA.
Finally today we have a list from one of the vast unwashed horde of blogging Laser sailors Eleven Crazy Things You Can Do on a Laser. This guy is nuts.
There is still plenty of time for YOU to participate in this project, perhaps the easiest one of all the projects we have run here. Just write a list post about sailing and let me know about it before this Sunday, May 24. You don't even have to have your own blog to join the party. Full details at Lists.
Pat from Desert Sea - New Mexico Sailing knows 28 checks for trailer sailors before launching a boat from a trailer. I wonder if anyone will come up with a longer list?
The 3 least understood Racing Rules of Sailing from Jos of Look to Windward was a bit of a surprise to me. He clearly thinks that most of us casual racers don't know the rules very well so, instead of choosing some of the more obscure rules, he has picked what I always think of as three of the most fundamental rules: DYT, DBASL, and DHA.
Finally today we have a list from one of the vast unwashed horde of blogging Laser sailors Eleven Crazy Things You Can Do on a Laser. This guy is nuts.
There is still plenty of time for YOU to participate in this project, perhaps the easiest one of all the projects we have run here. Just write a list post about sailing and let me know about it before this Sunday, May 24. You don't even have to have your own blog to join the party. Full details at Lists.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sailing Anarchy Spam
Hello
My name is miss Victoria i saw your profile today on(forums.sailinganarchy.com)and became interested in you,i will also like to know more about you,and i want you to send a mail to my email address so that i can give you my picture for you to know whom l am. i believe we can move from here.I am waiting for your mail to my email address above.Remember the distance or colour does not matter but love matters allot in life. Please reply me with my email address here (goodluck.victorai@yahoo.co.uk)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN
YOURS VICTORIA.
Dear Victoria,
Thank you for the intriguing invitation but, apart from being happily married for 36 years, I could never fall for a woman who doesn't understand when to use upper case letters, full stops or spaces, and is prone to confuse "a lot" with "allot".
Tillerman
My name is miss Victoria i saw your profile today on(forums.sailinganarchy.com)and became interested in you,i will also like to know more about you,and i want you to send a mail to my email address so that i can give you my picture for you to know whom l am. i believe we can move from here.I am waiting for your mail to my email address above.Remember the distance or colour does not matter but love matters allot in life. Please reply me with my email address here (goodluck.victorai@yahoo.co.uk)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN
YOURS VICTORIA.
Dear Victoria,
Thank you for the intriguing invitation but, apart from being happily married for 36 years, I could never fall for a woman who doesn't understand when to use upper case letters, full stops or spaces, and is prone to confuse "a lot" with "allot".
Tillerman
Rules Question
Here's a question for all you Racing Rules of Sailing experts out there...
When do you have to sail your proper course?
When do you have to sail your proper course?
Sailing Gear Reviews: New Policy
Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions on how to deal with the Dilemma I posed last week of whether or not I should accept sailing gear from suppliers in exchange for writing reviews on Proper Course. There was quite a range of responses, reinforcing my suspicion that there is no black and white answer to the question. However, after weighing all your comments I have decided on what my policy for writing reviews will be...
To vendors: I am a sailing gear whore. Send me your products for free and I will write reviews of them on Proper Course. (I suggest that you check first whether I want your stuff. I'm a Laser sailor, so winch handles and bilge blowers are of no interest to me.) I don't guarantee that I will write a review straight away; sometimes it takes a while to test out a piece of clothing or equipment fully and sometimes I am just plain lazy. I don't guarantee that I will write only kind comments about your product just because you bribed me by giving it to me for free, but it's possible. I don't guarantee that I will give you a right of reply if I don't like something about your product, but if I know you personally I probably will.
To readers: I am a sailing gear whore. Suppliers send me stuff for free and I write reviews about that stuff here. If I like a product I keep it. I try not to let the free gift influence my ability to write an impartial review, but I am human. Some of you have been kind enough to say that you trust me to be unbiased; thank you for that trust though I suspect it's undeserved. Others of you say that I should not accept free gifts of gear in exchange for reviews; hey, you don't have to believe what I write if you don't want to. I will try and remember to disclose in each review whether the item was given to me or whether I bought it, and whether or not I know the supplier personally; but sometimes I forget important stuff like that.
I am a sailing gear whore. I am human. I am lazy. I am forgetful. You don't have to believe anything you read here. You have been warned.
To vendors: I am a sailing gear whore. Send me your products for free and I will write reviews of them on Proper Course. (I suggest that you check first whether I want your stuff. I'm a Laser sailor, so winch handles and bilge blowers are of no interest to me.) I don't guarantee that I will write a review straight away; sometimes it takes a while to test out a piece of clothing or equipment fully and sometimes I am just plain lazy. I don't guarantee that I will write only kind comments about your product just because you bribed me by giving it to me for free, but it's possible. I don't guarantee that I will give you a right of reply if I don't like something about your product, but if I know you personally I probably will.
To readers: I am a sailing gear whore. Suppliers send me stuff for free and I write reviews about that stuff here. If I like a product I keep it. I try not to let the free gift influence my ability to write an impartial review, but I am human. Some of you have been kind enough to say that you trust me to be unbiased; thank you for that trust though I suspect it's undeserved. Others of you say that I should not accept free gifts of gear in exchange for reviews; hey, you don't have to believe what I write if you don't want to. I will try and remember to disclose in each review whether the item was given to me or whether I bought it, and whether or not I know the supplier personally; but sometimes I forget important stuff like that.
I am a sailing gear whore. I am human. I am lazy. I am forgetful. You don't have to believe anything you read here. You have been warned.
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