Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
As I mentioned in the post below, we took a quick cruise out to Narragansett, RI on Memorial Day. We didn’t stay very long, but long enough for me to grab a few pictures.
I have been to Point Judith in the past…it’s the place you need to get on the ferry to go to Block Island. It’s a really cool “vacationy” area. The next time we go, I am going to dig for clams in the shallow water. I think there are crabs too, it my memory serves me correctly.
This time, we visited the Lighthouse at Point Judith. Now, the lighthouse was ok, but what I really like is the way people were just chillin’ out enjoying themselves. There were people sitting in their lawnchairs, reading. I am always envious of these people because they are able to do that. I can’t seem to sit still long enough to do anything. Oh well, I guess that makes me me.
Here are those photos I was talking about.
Now, I am aware that these photos arent of anything in particular. I thought people might get a kick out of them. If you are anything like me, you enjoy real life pictures of just the area.
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Friday, November 23rd, 2007
I am sure (oh yes), sure that you all remember one of my very first blog posts. It was about our colorful visit to Block Island, RI.
Well, if you couldn’t have guessed it, I have a video from that trip. This is with my new camera, so it is more clear than the last ones and it also had audio. I am not sure that’s good, but it’s much better than watching videos in silence.
This video is of us waiting on the ferry to head back to Rhode Island. It’s of the harbor…kind of doing a little panoramic.
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Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
I just read a great article stating that in March of 2005…at that point in time…there were 40,000 - 50,000 new blogs created PER DAY. Ok, that’s a lot of blogs. Granted, most of these blogs are set up, posted to a few times and then fall into the abyss. This whole revelation got me thinking about what we are supposed to be writing in these things.
As you may have noticed, I like to write. I really enjoy the fact that I can have an experience, share that experience and maybe, just maybe, someone out there will get a kick out of something I wrote. People look at blogs for so many reasons, but I think I like it most when I bring back a memory of something someone experienced along the way. My Block Island post is a good example. With as much fun as I am having, there is still that nagging feeling like I am doing something wrong. I think that someone is going to read my posts and see that I am not following the “Proper” format or, I don’t know, screwing something up. I’m not the most experienced blogger out there. Some blogs I have read have archives back to 2000. I spoke with Paul the other day about this and he said that what I am doing is fine and that I should just write what comes to mind. I seem to remember, though, him mentioning a while ago, something about “Blog Etiquette,” which is something like “Netiquette.” (Who makes up these words?) I trusted him, but verified through a search. He was right and here is what I found:
“It seems like every human on the planet now has a blog. As with any other public display, there is an etiquette to having a blog that is appreciated.
The first thing to remember is that this is going to be public knowledge - not just today, but for the rest of your life. There are enough scanners and archivers and printers out there that even if you take down words after one day, those words can be part of your permanent record. Things that you feel are really nifty to say at age 16 can be incredibly damaging to your professional career when you’re 22 and looking for a job.
This isn’t a matter of censorship - it’s a matter of giving mature thought to each thing you publish. You are publishing to a world audience. The world will, in fact, judge you, and not always fairly. It’s a fact of life that we all have to accept. Be prepared for the consequences - and accept the responsibility - for each thing you choose to publish.
This leads into a second point. Always be accurate. Lies have a way of always being discovered. A blog’s reputation - and indeed a person’s reputation - is built on how well it can be trusted. If one lie is found in past blogs, it can destroy all the work you’ve put into blogs since then. We can find numerous examples of this happening in other media situations.
Use a spell checker on your content. Yes, the web is casual - but if people have trouble reading your content, they won’t come back even if it’s interesting. The easier you can make your content for people to read, the more readers you will have. Every person has a different tolerance for spelling problems. You might not mind certain errors, but laugh out loud when you see others. You need to consider that some might consider your own errors in the same manner.
Finally, be yourself. Speak with your own voice. Write about how you feel about the issues. There are plenty of “straight news sites” out there. There is only one you, coming from your own background and history. Share your insight and feelings on the topics you love. That will draw in people who appreciate that view and who want to hear more.”
I think that was very well written and verifies what Paul said. We all want original and insightful content for people to enjoy. There seems to be some limitations on what I can write about though. I have to admit, I don’t know if I like having to think so hard about everything I put here. What if I am in a bad mood on a certain day and my way of venting is to write hard and fast and what if I don’t necessarily want to cross my Ts and dot all my Is? Is that going to follow me around my whole life? Oh man, if it does, someone might actually find out that I am…HUMAN and not some blog writing robot. Boy, I wonder what my future employer will have to say when they find that out. But wait…what if someone actually judges me? What will happen then? Perhaps the very non-judgemental world we live in will spin out of orbit.
My advice: go ahead and write about what you want to write about and stop worrying about all the rules stiff people make up for us. Just be prepared to be called on it someday. Have a good comeback line. The most entertaining stuff out there is non-rehearsed and you know we all love a good scandal. I’m not sure Einstein cared too much about what his neighbor though of him.
Now that I have that out of the way, let me give you my opinion. I think this is the best blog out there. I think it should win awards and be praised on the evening news. After doing an extensive search, I have not found any others in the world that compare. With that said, I am now giving the opportunity for all you, YES all of you, to steal what I write about. You may have noticed some new buttons hanging out in the right column all about RSS and feeds and news and all that. Those are for you. Just click the one that relates best to you and go have a ball. You really have to like my golden nuggets of wisdom though, or else…well, that’s just silly.
I am sure this post had a point somewhere. I know I had one when I started. Oh well, I guess this is what happens when I am given too many toys to play with. Till next time…
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Monday, September 4th, 2006
If you have ever wanted to visit one of those real “No shoes” beach towns, you know the ones where people think of nothing more than eating ice cream and chilling out, then Block Island, RI is your place.
How is it that I have been living in NY for 32 of the 33 years I have been alive and never visited this little paradise that is only 3 hours away? Let’s just say, I am glad Laura pushed me into going. It was kind of difficult for me to pull away from my work, but I had my sister, Steph, handle things while I was gone.
There are a few ways to Block Island, either by small plane (hmmm…inspiration), the Block Island Ferry from New London, CT or Point Judith, RI. We decided that we would take the shorter and less expnsive ($15 round trip instead of the $30 round trip) ferry from Point Judith.
Now, you have to remember that this little vacation was only for a few days, but I haven’t been away for quite a few years, so I was very excited. The minute we reached Point Judith, I was just giddy. I hopped out of the car and called my mother asking her if we have ever been camping here, because the entrance to a campground we passed on the way in looked very familiar. She said yes, so that brought up a lot of memories of running around ankle deep in water looking for clams. We made it to the ferry and jumped on for our 55 minute trip. I really didn’t know what we would find.
The minute you see the port for Block Island, you just want to jump off the boat. You see people all over the place and really cool looking historic Bed & Breakfasts. People are riding bicycles and scooters up and down the roads. It really is a great vacation spot. I guess that’s why people like islands, because they are cut off from the rest of the world.
So we got off the ferry and walked up the road. Laura wanted to show me this great hotel she had discovered with her friend Jade on a previous trip here. On our way up the road, we passed an awesome farm and some great gardens that gave us lots of good ideas.
We finally made it to The Spring House Hotel. Now this was something. They had a large front porch were people were eating lunch and had a really interesting inside. We walked through and could sense the age by the uneven floors with carpeting over the original wood. I can only imagine how many families have had great vacations here. Their website says that important people have stayed here, such as Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain and Billy Joel. They have even hosted weddings for the Kennedys. This was my kind of place.
As we walked through, we came to the back patio, where there was a great view of the road heading south towards the cliffs.
I think maybe next summer we will stay at The Spring House. After a bunch of walking around taking tons of pictures, we had a great lunch/dinner at one of the hotels near the water. A nice ending to a perfect late July day.
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