The Bleg from the Core I

Thanks to your prayers, my financial situation has been very much improved over the past 18 months: I have a steady day job, I'm doing a little writing on the side (yes, I know, it's been a while since you've seen anything, but I have just finished one article and I have a couple more in the works), and I was able to refinance my mortgage a few months ago, which cut my monthly expenses by $150. If I hadn't been able to do that, I would have had to put my house on the market.

But I still have to cut expenses further. Please consider helping me to foot the bill for my websites and Internet access. In a way, it's not a whole lot. The Blog from the Core and ELCore.Net cost me $32/month, and my cable-modem Internet connection costs me $40/month. On the other hand, $72/month is more than I can afford for very much longer. (That much, if freed up, would cover my electric bill and phone bill. Believe me, I do not live extravagantly.)

I think it's worthwhile to keep The Blog from the Core going. It's been six months since I last published any stats. Here are the stats from the middle of last week (as of 23-Nov-2004 12:26 PM EST); I haven't bothered to update the figures since then, partly because when I checked earlier today the figures hadn't been updated on the server for the weekend yet.

And here are the stats from the past three Octobers (October 2004 being the last month for which I have complete stats):

Note, from 2002 to 2003, the stats didn't quite double; from 2003 to 2004, though, they pretty much tripled.

Here are a couple of graphics showing considerable growth over the past few months.

And here are some stats from the Ecosystem at The Truth Laid Bear; I haven't bothered updating the graphic since the middle of last week because the TTLB site keeps saying "Database being updated — check back again later for full details":

As a reminder, Faithful Reader, The Blog from the Core exists primarily to share articles and poetry, especially, that I think are interesting or important. In that respect, it's a wider continuation of informal e-mail lists I used years ago to share things with friends and relatives. It's also an outlet for my thoughts and feelings, too, which some people (to my continuing amazement) actually want to know about.

Though I naturally try to keep up with current events, I also like to blog items of more enduring interest. Thus, the archives are truly a trove of reading material. I usually keep a week's worth of blogs on the main page: take a look at what's on the main page on any given day, and that will likely give you a pretty good idea of the kind of material one can find in the archives.

Please consider helping to support my efforts when you can. I have no desire to make money from The Blog from the Core or ELCore.Net, but I really can't afford to continue to lose money on them. If a handful of folks can throw a handful of dollars in donations my way every month or two, it will make all the difference in the world. I plan to post a reminder bleg towards the end of each month — when the bills come due.

Thanks.

P.S. Links to articles of interest are always most welcome.

[Follow-up: Re: The Bleg from the Core I.]

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 11/29/04 09:34:31 PM
Categorized as Blog Stuff.