c. 1989-1992: Computer Time In The Library

Posting Location: University Village.

Note: This post is my contribution to the Earliest Memories of Computing blog project. I would've just submitted the full thing to that blog, but I kind of rant off-topic a bit here. As usual.

My earliest memory of computer use is sometime in --- first grade? Second? I can't even remember how old I was at the time. Shoot, might even be kindergarten. At any rate, it's just a simple memory of using a computer program in the school library with a bunch of fellow students, getting excited at using something as "high tech" as a computer, that sort of thing. The program was essentially the digital equivelant of playing with Colorforms (though not, oddly enough, the Colorforms computer game), but that didn't matter --- it was on the computer, and that made it instantly so much cooler. The biggest part of that memory is actually where another kid tells me I have to go back to the classroom because I was being too loud and the teacher heard me from all the way down the hall --- which, looking back, was probably a lie on his part so he could get some computer time, but whatever.

My earliest memory of solo computer use is a tie between two "edutainment" programs, Super Muncher and The Oregon Trail game, sometime in the early- to mid-90's. My dad had been able to get an old Apple Macintosh Performa 600 when his workplace updated their computers (is it odd that I can remember the exact model but not my earliest use of it?). Ahhh, Super Muncher. How I wowed everyone by being able to succeed at the "6th Grade Biology" setting despite only being in 4th grade. Heh. That game made use of the computer's internal clock, too, so when December 24th rolled by all the little "extra life" munchers at the bottom of the screen were wearing santa hats. I remember I was like, "wow, the computer knows what day it is! That's so cool!" At the risk of sounding corny and cliche all at once, it really was a magic moment for me.

Ironically, nowadays I can't get my computer to keep knowing what day it is, as for some reason it resets it's internal clock to the day it was activated every time I restart the dern thing. Something to do with memory space (or lack thereof). My, how times change.

Anyways, Oregon Trail entered my life at around the same time, which is why it's such a tough call on which came first for me. I'm almost positive I played the "newer" version for the Macintosh before they introduced us to the earlier Apple IIe version in school. Honestly, I think one would be hard pressed to find someone who grew up in and used computers during the early- to mid-90's who wasn't at least vaguely familiar with Oregon Trail.

And that pretty much set the tone for my computer use for the next half-decade or so; edutainment software, simulation games, "CD playhouses," and the occasional use of QuarkXPress (with lots of help from my dad!) for school projects. Looking back, I feel like I was spoiled in my learning experience compared to earlier generations. I started off opening things from the desktop, and never even thought of probing into the various folders of the hard drive until years later. I still have difficulty with command prompts, and I've been regularly using computers for something around 15 years. I can't imagine how people like me make people who had to learn using punch-cards feel.

Come to think of it, I think I must've also been spoiled in terms of graphics programs, even for my generation. My dad was a graphic artist at the time, so instead of mucking around on, say, MicrosoftWord and MSPaint, I got to cut my teeth on QuarkXPress and Adobe Photoshop 4.0. But that's another rant, really.

So there you have it. My first computer uses. Man, thinking about these really makes me nostalgiac for the old days. I wonder how typical they are of my generation.




...ah, hell. Where'd I put that Oregon Trail CD...

Not-So-Absolutely Ridiculous

Posting Location: Bus stop at Stillman Hall.
Revised At: University Village

I swear, I'll stop this kind of thing soon. Maybe. Chalk it up to general hyperness due to the quarter almost being over. It's been a somewhat tough one, first quarter I've taken more than three courses since Fall Quarter my freshman year. Okay, so the one class is a 100-level course and the other one is about blogging. It's still included my first 500-level courses, so I think I'm entitled to at least a teeny slice of the pity pie.

I am, however, seriously concerned over what I mentioned in my audiopost right before my vicous attack. Are you not allowed to admit women can be feminine if you're a feminist? If a woman cries, does it make her any less "strong?" Does the same hold true for men? I know that in my adult life I've never seriously considered crying as a sign of weakness; are female characters that cry automatically chauvinistic portrayals?

Personally, I've always felt feminism was more about equalizing both genders than it was denying or disowning traits traditionally associated with one gender in favor of the another. I'm just unclear on how women embracing masculine traits to the detriment of feminine ones breaks the stereotype of masculine traits being superior.

Revised Preview

Posting Location: 343 Denney Hall (English 574C: History and Theories of Writing).

A revised look at what I'm (ideally) planning to happen in the blog in the next month:

0.) Blog Essay: Campus After Midnight (For Non-Drinkers). (complete)

1.) More frequent and/or more regular posting.

2.) Improved archive menues (going to try and do away with the whole "hover mouse for titles" dealie; it serves it's purpose now, but I'm not sure I can get away with that forever).

3.) Scrolling sidebar (I know, they can be annoying, but I think it's gotten large enough for it now; I'll try not to let it look like ass).

4.) Prettied-up visuals (aiming for less of the "Blogger page with some images thrown in" look and more of the "Blogger page with custom design" look).

5.) More monkeys Larger variety of topics. And more monkeys

6.) Topic Series: Thoughts On Transhumanism.

Yeah, I looked into the whole scrolling sidebar thing and...it's not happening anytime soon. The sad fact is I'm not familiar enough with HTML coding to attempt it at the moment. Ditto the visuals, although new images will be forthcoming.

I will freely admit that this is a filler post, too --- I'll try to have a more substantial post on my Thanksgiving later today.

Campus After Midnight (For Non-Drinkers): Getting Places

-Alexander Cueto, OSU student and long-time Columbus resident

Back to Part 2.

Campus After Midnight (For Non-Drinkers): Late Meals Near Campus

In my previous entry I mentioned the large number of food businesses open in the campus area. What may be surprising is the number of such establishments still open after midnight. Somewhat less common are the businesses still open after 2:00 AM, but even here there are options.

To start with, there are the four dining options present on campus itself. Mirror Lake Café, Burritos Noches Café, the P.A.D, and the Street Sweets coffee counter all have the advantage of being closer to many of the dorms. A long walk in the middle of the night can be an annoyance to consider in warmer months, a deal breaker in the colder ones. Additionally, they are the only two locations open after midnight where one can use the OSU meal plan (if they have one), allowing one to save their money while they're at it. Of course, for some dorms High Street is just as close as either of these. Street Sweets is good for coffee, but not for full meals, and even those with meal plans may feel like broadening their options beyond the sub-and-pizza fare of Mirror Lake or the P.A.D. or the Chipotle-esque menu of Burritos Noches.

There are many other locations near campus that remain open after midnight. Catfish Biff's is virtually on campus, and thus shares the same convenience of proximity as the official campus locations. It should be noted, however, that the service is carry-out only. Flying Pizza is a good choice despite it's small menu, with decently-sized slices and relatively quick serving times. This is probably what everyone else was thinking, as the place was literally packed during the survey; it is unknown how much of this was Michigan weekend and how much of this was regular occurance. Pochi Bubble Tea adds variety not only to late-night but High Street dining in general, with fare not found elsewhere near campus; however, it is perhaps better suited to serving as a snack station than as a location for a full meal. The Taco Bell just past the Gateway represents the limits of how far from campus the author was willing to walk for this survey at 2:00 AM. Nevertheless, this is good choice for those watching their wallets, as $5.00 is usually more than enough for a filling meal. Other locations open after midnight include Apollo's (Greek), Moe's (Mexican), and Raising Cane's (chicken fingers), out of which the author is generally unfamiliar with the first and does not recommend the latter two.

Just as midnight serves as the closing time for a good number of food places on High Street, 2:00 AM serves as the same for many after-midnight locations. However, enough locations remain open that one still has a few options at that hour. The only major fast-food franchise near campus that does so, McDonalds is open 24 hours during the weekends (though last the author knew this was no longer the case for weekdays). Buckeye Donuts also remains open into the wee hours of the morning, and unlike McDonalds still accepts Buck ID. The location is a good substitute for StreetSweets after 2:00 AM. It was a pleasant surprise for the author to find that Donato's Pizza remained open at this hour, as the author is partial to this franchise (as a direct result, I find I am at a loss to provide a counterpoint to it's choice, which I hope the reader will excuse).

Of course, one cannot write on late-night dining options near campus without making special mention of Steak N' Shake. As a sit-down restaurant, open 24 hours, with a reasonably large menu, the location is a natural choice for those looking to eat out rather than simply go out for food. It also seems to be the most familiar choice to those on campus, as the place is full of people even past 2:00 AM. Yet suprisingly, even on Michigan weekend the wait for seating wasn't all that long, and service was not noticably hampered.

I will round out this essay in the next entry with a short audio interview on the nature of transportation on campus after midnight.

On to Part 3
Back to Part 1

Campus After Midnight (For Non-Drinkers): Entertainment (Or Lack Thereof)

-James Porch, OSU student.

Unfortunately, this claim that entertainment is lacking after nightfall seems to be more or less the truth as far as the immediate campus area is concerned. A survey of High Street, arguably the highest concentration of commercial establishments near campus, reveals a disproportionately large amount of dining options to anything else (so much so that they deserve and receive their own entry later on). A decent amount of drinking establishments also exist, but for the non-drinker options are considerably slimmer. Many of the stores and businesses that may have provided even the opportunity to browse casually are long closed by the time midnight rolls around.

What, then, is left within immediate walking distance of campus? Regrettably, not much. The only business open past midnight unrelated to dining or drinking was the Drexel Gateway located in the new South Campus Gateway. Even this counts on a technicality, as the last listed film showing when visited was 12:00 AM. This same area, however, showed some promise in that at this writing the area is still relatively new, and not all of the new businesses have officially opened. The Skye Bar in particular looks promising, although it's true worth still remains to be seen.

As of now, the best entertainment the area offers for the casual after-midnighter are, believe it or not, the parking garage elevators. They really did a nice job on these, glass walls facing the street with lights gently pulsing through the spectrum on the wall behind them. The parking garage itself is set back from the street, so you avoid even the negligable foot traffic at these hours. The elevators themselves go up to the garage's fifth and top floor, affording one a decent view of the city. It's a little unfortunate that the eye candy of this area's architecture serves it's only after-midnight draw, but the garage is open 24 hours.

If one has access to a car (or doesn't mind a rather long walk), two other options present themselves. The first lies south of campus, and takes the form of the many clubs located within the Short North and Columbus proper; if you're into clubbing, you're bound to find at least something to your liking. The other option lies to the north, in the appropriately-named North Campus Video. This establishment is open 24-hours, and one's experience with it actually improves past midnight. DVD's rented here are due by midnight of the following day; this means that while a DVD rented at 11:59 PM Friday will be due by 11:59 Saturday, the same DVD rented a minute later (now Saturday) won't be due until 11:59 Sunday. My companions and I have found their selection to be better than the Blockbuster across the street, membership is around $5.00 if memory serves, and individual rentals are $1.00 each, due upon return.

In general, the campus area is not kind to those insomniacs and night-owls seeking entertainment in the late-night/early morning hours, except those who find drinking enjoyable enough. I've found that, for the most part, one's best bet is to rely on one's own entertainment (personal DVD collections, gaming systems, etc.) and instead use the area primarily for that which it is infinitely better suited to provide: food.

On to Part 2.
Back to Preface.


Note: This entry was officially finished two days after the listed time due to continued editing.

Campus After Midnight (For Non-Drinkers): Preface

To Whom It May Concern,

As may be apparent by now to anyone who has been reading my blog, I tend to keep odd hours. I've found in recent years that it is almost impossible for me to fall asleep before midnight; on nights with nothing scheduled the following morning I have been known to push 5:00 AM before falling asleep. My peers also tend to keep similar hours (at least on weekends), and get-togethers can still be going strong at 2:00 AM or later.

While most of this time is spent staying in, there are times in every get-together when hunger manifests, and it is at these times that we briefly venture out into the night. This is often the one point in our gatherings that time really has an impact on the night's proceedings, as our options are determined by the hour. Here, too, is where we find the only real indications of the lateness of the hour, as the distribution of people on campus changes radically from day to night.

These thoughts led to my decision to post an essay on what one faces in the Ohio State University (OSU) campus area after midnight: What one's options are for food, entertainment, and transportation, as well as a look into the general campus landscape. As drinking establishments traditionally recieve the most attention in overviews such as these, and as I myself am a non-drinker, such establishments have been omitted from this review; those who seek such information have other options available to them. Within the course of this essay I will be using audio posts for brief interviews with others; these will focus on their impressions of campus after the chime hour. At other times I will be engaging in point-counterpoint sessions where I weigh the merits of certain options available. Text of a light gray color will also be used to indicate the use of title tags; hover your cursor over the text to see these. The title tags will provide nonessential but convenient information, so as not to clutter the actual text. Hyperlinks will be used primarily to link the reader to mentioned businesses and services (where applicable); I shall try my best to ensure that following such links will not be essential to understanding the text.

Furthermore, I invite the reader to share any of their experiences with the area after midnight in the comment sections of the relevant topics. Just as welcomed are comments from those not from the OSU campus area, as such comments allow further comparison.

It should be noted that my research into this essay occured during the weekend of the OSU/UM football game and a few preceeding weeknights. The number of people out during the weekend was higher due to the game (as was the ratio of inebriated persons to sober ones), and my posts will reflect this.

On to Part 1.

EDIT 12/8/2005: There are also now a few addenda to this essay here and here, for those of you who enjoy karaoke.

A Preview Of What's To Come

Posting Location: 343 Denney Hall (English 574C: History and Theories of Writing).

A quick look at what I'm (ideally) planning to happen in the blog in the next month:

1.) Blog Essay: Campus After Midnight (For Non-Drinkers).

2.) More frequent and/or more regular posting.

3.) Improved archive menues (going to try and do away with the whole "hover mouse for titles" dealie; it serves it's purpose now, but I'm not sure I can get away with that forever).

4.) Scrolling sidebar (I know, they can be annoying, but I think it's gotten large enough for it now; I'll try not to let it look like ass).

5.) Prettied-up visuals (aiming for less of the "Blogger page with some images thrown in" look and more of the "Blogger page with custom design" look).

6.) More monkeys Larger variety of topics.

7.) Topic Series: Thoughts On Transhumanism.

Only time will tell how many I actually manage to get done.

Well, that first one probably will. Being an assignment and all.

Two Days, Two Nights, Four Lessons

Posting Location: Office for Disabilities Services computer lab.

So I had an odd experience yesterday. And the day before. Through a series of events and circumstances, I essentially ended up staying awake for roughly 33 hours. That's already taking into account the half-hour catnaps I took here and there throughout that period, but I don't really count those as sleep, per se; I don't really fall asleep fast enough for half an hour to make a difference. In a nutshell, I woke up at noon on Sunday and didn't really get to bed until around 1:00 AM last night.

Why would I do something that crazy, you ask? Well, part of it has to do with the fact that I'm lazy, and tend to put classwork off until the last minute. You may note how close together the posts of my two blog essays were chronologically; that's what happens when I wait until right before the deadline to gather all my thoughts and start writing already. Well, it happened again this weekend, with a response paper on, of all things, Zardoz. Maybe I'll talk on what an...interesting experience that turned out to be later on; suffice it to say I really dragged my feet on this one. Technically it had been due by noon Friday, but luck was on my side on that one. See, we have until the end of the following week after any discussion on the subject to turn the paper in to the instructor's office mailbox. Not having even started the thing by Thursday, I realize that Friday is Veteran's Day, which is a university-observed holiday and thus --- drumroll please --- all university offices are closed. I point this out to the proffessor when asking if I'd missed a change to a Thursday due date, at which point he pauses and goes "...shit, tomorrow is Veteran's Day, isn't it?" So the due date was pushed back to Monday. Which is of course fine by me, as it now gave me three extra days to work on my paper.

So of course, guess what I don't do during those three day? -_-

I end up Sunday night hammering away at my computer, the paper sloooowly edging it's way to five pages. Intelligently, I decide to employ the use of a stick of Black Black to keep me up long enough to finish the thing. Unintelligently, I decide to employ the use of two. I'm rapidly learning very important lesson when it comes to caffienated candy: One is just fine, two is bad news. In this particular case I gain a second wind around 2:00 AM and manage to stretch the paper out to a finish over the next few hours. I'm not entirely certain, but I think I may have gotten a fever during that time as well (though I'm almost positive the gum was not responsible; I've been feeling under the weather in general as of late). In any case, I send the thing to my printer and glance at the time. That's when I really notice the time...and the fact that it's been some time since 2:00 at this point. It is now 5:00 AM, and my alarm is set to go off in two and a half hours.

So what do I do at this point? If you said go to sleep for two and a half hours, maybe three hours and just rush it getting ready for my 9:30 AM class, then you, for God only knows what reason, would be wrong. I can only blame the lack of sleep at this point for the decision to ride out the next seven or so hours until I'm done with all my classes and fall asleep upon coming through the door. To my credit, I did begin to rethink this strategy around 8:15, and tried to get in a little power nap before class. This is the part where my roommate raps on my door at 8:20 because I'm usually up and getting ready for class by now. -_- Another canned coffee (Pokka brand this time) brought me back up to speed for the morning's academics.

What brings up an even bigger question is why I didn't follow through with that plan and instead ended up staying awake until quite a ways past midnight. Again. I did get some sleep in there, but again, cat naps that barely count. I think I just lost track of time again, and didn't want to miss Common Ground (I think I've missed, what, one meeting in the four years I've been here?); who knows.

The important thing is, I got a full night's rest last night, and I don't seem any worse for wear today. So, the lessons here I guess are (A) Don't put off papers until the last minute, (B) Don't shrug off extensions, (C) Don't have more than two sticks of Black Black at the same time, and (D) Don't schedule yourself for 9:30 AM classes when you live off-campus. I mean, seriously. That's way too early. :P

Spontaneous Dinner Party Generation

So last night me and my roommate hosted some kind of spur-of-the-moment dinner party at the apartment. It's kind of odd how it happened, we'd just come back from getting groceries and she had decided to finally do something with the whole chicken we'd gotten last week (we still had plenty of "meal" food when we got groceries, but almost no "snack" or "goes with a meal" food). Earlier this week I'd made the kind of pasta salad I'm used to, and last night she also decided to make her version of pasta salad to go with the chicken. I don't believe I've mentioned before how my roommate considers cooking a hobby. Well, she does, and it shows at times like these.

Even so, this is all still just dinner at this point. The part where it becomes a dinner party is where I'm on the phone with one of the people from my RPG group. He had invited me to join him as he ran errands and went joyriding in general, and I was in the process of declining because dinner was really starting to sound like something I wanted to stick around for. It is at this point that my roommate tells me to invite my friend over for the dinner. I can't recall whether this was before or after she had called one of her friends and invited them over, but either way, a three-way conversation ensued that resulted in the formation of a dinner party, and the addition of cheesy mashed potatoes to the menu. This morphed after the conversation into cheesy mashed potatoes with Japanese bread crumbs on top, while the pasta salad gained chunks of bacon, two kinds of olives, and two kinds of cheese.

Even with a total of four people eating, there was still a ton of food by the time all the cooking was done...not that anyone was exactly complaining, and not that there was anything left afterwards. The potatoes are just gone, and the last of the pasta salad was passed off to someone else at the RPG session last night. What remains of the chicken is currently soaking in the 'fridge to make broth that will later be used as the basis for soup, a transformative process which really doesn't even seem like leftovers.

My roommate has gone on what one could characterize as "cooking binges" like this before, but this was the largest of them I've seen (and one of the tastier, incidentally). It really makes me wonder what her house is like come Thanksgiving.

Child's Play 2005

Well, it was mentioned on the main site over at Penny-Arcade, so I just figured I'd mention Child's Play, my favorite seasonal charity that I never have a credit card to donate to. Maybe this year I can convince someone to substitute a donation to this in place of a gift for myself. Anyways, just figured I'd throw that out there.

Speaking Of Animals

I'm not sure if mallard physiology is properly equipped to handle heaps of rice, and I'm pretty sure it's not equipped to handle sweet-and-sour chicken, but does that stop them from begging? Of course it doesn't.

I swear, I don't know if those sidelong looks remind me more of my dog or my iguana.

Read AFTER Your Coffee

So I tried canned Kona coffee this morning. It's been sitting in the fridge since I got it from Seafood Japan about a week ago, and this morning I was finally tired enough to try it. Well, okay, I'm always that tired at ^9:00 AM, but I'm running low on Black Black (and starting to tire a little of the taste). I'm not that much of a coffee guy (I preffer to feed my caffiene addiction through carbonated beverages), and I wasn't sure how it would taste cold, but it wasn't that bad. I'll tell you, though, I always feel it after I drink coffee. I don't know if this is what's supposed to happen or not, I don't really talk to people about coffee drinking, but I always feel, I don't know, saturated after a cup or can. Right now I'm feeling the coffee behind my eyeballs, if that makes sense. It's certainly keeping me awake, but I have to wonder, is this how regular coffee drinkers feel all the time?

While I was drinking this coffee, my roommate struck up a conversation about how Kona coffee was until recently thought to be the most expensive brand of coffee in the world (no, I don't know by whom; the secret Coffee Cabal, I guess). This title was trumped, however, by Kope Luwak, an Indonesian coffee. The process by which Kope Luwak is made --- and I'm not making this up --- is by collecting coffee beans that have passed through a palm civet's digestive system. Apparently the process de-husks the beans just right, and the civet just happens to preffer the best beans for coffee-making.

It figures that the most expensive coffee in the world requires some rigamarole in it's production, and that that rigamarole would contribute at best questionably to the quality of the final result.* Perhaps a more expensive coffee could be made that requires the beans to pass through the the U.S. Postal System from one end of the continent to the other and back again. Or maybe one where the grounds are pre-roasted in someone's cigarette.

...Oh, damn. Coffee cigarettes. You could, like, take over the world with something that addictive.

Hmmmm....

At any rate, my roommate was questioning whether it was really necessary for the beans to pass through a palm civet for them to be de-husked. What I want to know is, does it have to be a palm civet? Can I get that job? Because it seems like decently cushy employment. I mean, sure, it might be moderately painful at first, but, hell, the pay ought to be good enough: It's the most expensive coffee in the world. Even at something as low as eight bucks an hour, that's eight bucks an hour for eating coffee beans and sitting on the can. I'm almost positive that beats working retail.



*I originally wrote "end product," but this post was getting bad enough already.

Film Rant: Zeiram 2

*WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS*

It's actually been over a week since I watched this, but I still feel like ranting about it (and kind of feel weird about posting nothing but a blog review and a belated holiday greeting this week). It's just one of those films. Besides, when it comes to ranting on films I've seen recently, my only other two choices are currently the original Rollerball and Zardoz, which can be summed up as "roller disco gone wrong" and "Sean Connery's secret shame," respectively*.

First of all, I'd like to state that Zeiram 2 represented a rare occurence for me, that is, intentionally watching the sequel to a film I've never seen the original of. Usually I like to put off the sequels until I can watch the originals, just to get the full story (even if we are talking about Japanese mid-90's B-movies). But, North Campus Video doesn't carry the original, and I was nostagiac for this title, so I went ahead and rented it. See, while I've never seen the original, I did watch the 6-episode prequel anime series something like my first or second week back in freshman year.

This is another film where the special effects leave me in a sort of limbo opinion-wise. There are some moments where the film's SFX made me wonder what contemporary films are doing wrong. There are other moments where I'm wondering if they put any thought or effort into the SFX at all. When the effects were good, they were robot puppetry at it's finest; I'm not kidding when I say modern films could take a few lessons from the Zeiram puppet in this film. When the effects were bad, it was like watching an old episode of Power Rangers. Only, you know, with more blood.

What I really liked about the film was the way they portrayed the lead female character, Iria. Iria is an interplanetary bounty hunter, and is the only other character (other than the Zeiram) that I recognized from the prequel series. What I liked is the way they didn't make her character a stereotypical action-film female-lead, in several ways. First of all, they made her flawed without making her outright incompetant; there's at least one point in the film where she's in a situation it's impossible for her to get out of without help, but it isn't for lack of knowing what she's doing. Secondly, and more importantly I feel for a female bounty hunter, they made her competant without making her a femme fatale. I just never got that vibe off of her, not in the series and not in this film. It's hard to describe, but when she's in battle with someone/something, I feel like I'm watching "two people fighting," not "two people fighting, and one is a woman." They don't go out of their way to highlight her gender in fight scenes. This also plays into the third thing they did with Iria: They made her alluring without making her, for lack of a better term, a slut. There are times where she is indeed very attractive, and none of those scenes seemed contrived or cheesecake.

I'll close by saying that the music in this film was awesome as well. The opening/closing song in particular was fantastic, and I hope (in vain) to be able to find and aquire it sometime.


*I kid, of course; both were decent enough films, I just don't feel like commenting on them (although Zardoz may be what we call a "cult film").

Blog Review Essay, Part 3: Time Is Of The Essence

One of the more subtle elements that play into a blog's popularity is the issue of time. The word "timeliness" can take on several meanings when relating to blogs, and all of them contribute to a blog's success.

The more obvious way time plays a part is in regards to regular updates. Blogs that update infrequently or at odd times are less likely keep a regular audience than blogs that update frequently and consistently. A good blogger recognizes this:

This is supposed to be an illustrated journal, eh wot?
---commentor on Book of the Gear

*laugh* You can have daily updates, or you can have illustrated updates. The two are mutually exclusive.
---author of Book of the Gear, in response

Of course, one of the advantages the blog provides as a medium is the flexibility an author has in making updates in comparison to more traditional forms of media, so the practice of regular updates is a bit of a double-edged sword.

A little less clear are the opposing aspects of relevance and timelessness. Do blogs that refference current events and trends do better than blogs that are less apt to date themselves? That's really a tough question to answer, and largely depends on the type of blog in question. Political blogs, at the extreme end, are about nothing but current events, and most heavily rely on them regardless; yet they tend to draw enough of an audience. Blogs that refference pop culture also have their share of popularity, even though their subjects may manifest a high amount of turnover in terms of interest.

On the other hand, some fiction blogs may never mention anything contemporary, let alone current events. Yet as a result their archives rarely seem "outdated" when read through, and so invite a greater amount of readers to "start from the beginning." This, however, could be a deterrent to new readers in and of itself, as a large archive of backposts can be intimidating. In the end, it rests on the genre of the blog, and the author's intentions for it, to determine how the issue of time is dealt with.

Blog Review Essay, Part 2: Help From The Peanut Gallery

As I mentioned in the third installment of my genre analysis essay, one near-definitive aspect of the blog is the ability of others to leave their comments. It is logical to conclude from this that commenting plays a part in determining what makes a blog, a good blog.

First, it should be noted that the very number of comments left on a blog can be used as an aid in determining whether a blog is popular or not. Naturally, if a large amount of people comment on a blog post, this not only shows a high level of response to what is said (for good or ill), but also confirms that at least that many people have read the blog. It is important to note, however, that a large amount of comments is not necessarily indicative of a large amount of individuals commenting, although the cited example could also be taken as a good sign.

Secondly, the comments left on a blog can actually aid the appeal of the blog's content overall. Take PeterDavid.net, for example. Posts on political topics regularly net comments in amounts approaching triple digits, most often due to debates that arise among the commentators themselves. This builds on the topic at hand and makes for a higher-quality read than may be possible with only a single person's opinions.

Both This Is Not My Life and Book of the Gear have their share of humor in their fiction (the former moreso than the latter), and both are enhanced in that respect through the comments left on them. Reading through the comments of any given update can at times be just as enjoyable as reading the actual post itself. In addition, the comments for Book of the Gear are used by fans of the blog to openly speculate on certain aspects of the storyline.

It is important to note here that the author of Book of the Gear neither confirms nor denies speculation on important plot elements, and on at least one occasion has deleted an outright spoiler. This brings up a final important point about comments in a successful blog: knowing which comments it is best to just delete, and when one should delete them. When done right, this shows an active concern over the quality of the blog, while simultaneously recognizing the value the comments feature adds to the blog as a whole.

On to Part 3.

Blog Review Essay, Part 1: Very Pretty, But Is It Interesting?

One important factor that must be considered when evaluating a blog's popularity is how the blog looks. One can't underestimate the value of visual appeal in the highly visual medium of the Internet. A website (any website, not just blogs) that looks bare holds less appeal for the casual web-surfer than one with a high amount of effort put into its appearance.* While blogs are certainly subject to this bias, they are also literary entities, and as they say, "you can't judge a book by it's cover."**

Out of the three blogs I've specified, PeterDavid.net is the most proffesional-looking. This not only applies to the site's general aesthetic, but also to the web address itself. By having its own domain name, the site presents itself as more than "just another [Blogspot, livejournal, Xanda] site." Beyond this the site is generally well organized, and relatively easy to navigate. David, however, is also able to back up this visual appeal with appealing content. One might expect a successful author to have a way with words, and this manifests in the blog.

Despite the initial advantage the visual aspect may give, it is not necessarily a requirement for a good blog. Both Book of the Gear and This Is Not My Life use livejournal, and as such the authors are limited in what they can do with their sites visually. This is made up for in the literary content of both sites, which serve to make these blogs stand out among others. In the case of the Book of the Gear, the author actually (very rarely) supplements her blog with associated artwork, and it was actually her initial intent for it to be a more fully illustrated blog. Even with this goal abandoned (or perhaps as a result of it), the literary content of the blog is engaging enough to let the blog stand without illustration.

On to Part 2.


* The content of these examples is not intended to reflect any bias among the author's interests.
** The author formally apologizes to his audience for the use of this cliché.

Blog Review Essay: Introduction

In attempting to answer the question "what makes for a good blog," I chose three blogs that at first glance appear to be very popular: The Book of the Gear, This Is Not My Life, and PeterDavid.net. All three of these blogs address different things and appeal to different people. PeterDavid.net is a personal blog that deals not only with the author's works and proffession, but also with American politics. This Is Not My Life also serves as a personal blog at times, but this is overshadowed by the author's use of the blog for film and book reviews, as well as written parodies of such. Finally, The Book of the Gear is used solely as a vector for a serial fiction storyline.

Despite this disparity in content, however, it is possible to identify a few common elements among them that make them popular or "good" blogs. It is also possible to determine what makes an unpopular blog, both through missteps of these three and through what they omit or avoid.

A final note: I conform to the convention on the Internet of reffering in text to other sites by how they reffer to themselves, regardless of percieved errors in syntax, grammar, etc. Thus, The Book of the Gear will be reffered to with the middle two prepositions in lower-case lettering, while This Is Not My Life will be reffered to with all words capitalized.

On to Part 1.