I’m still reeling following the gut-wrenching expression of grief I witnessed on Monday, so here’s a lite post about the task of blogging. How pathetic. I’m blogging about blogging.
Still liking Typepad. I switched to Typepad from Blogger last April. However, now that Blogger has upgraded and added some new features, I’m not sure that I would have switched. But nonetheless, I’m happy where I am and I don’t mind paying a small monthly fee for this blog.
I want a better design. Those of you who visit my blog (as opposed to reading it in a feed reader) you know I’ve changed the layout a few times (including a horrible greenish concoction that I accidentally published this week). I really don’t like any of the Typepad pre-designed layouts, but I’m probably not willing to pay someone to do a really cool layout for me . . .
Google Reader gadget on my personalized Google homepage. This little nugget rocks. It’s how I keep tabs on all 50 of my favorite blogs. I can read blog posts without opening a new window (they appear in a bubble without navigating away from the page), see new posts as they get published, and easily click over to the blog if I want to leave a comment. If you don’t have a Google account or Google Reader, check it out!
LZ in your inbox! A few of you read my blog from your inbox (info near bottom of left-side column). Many of you visit the site (check out the neato little map on the left for visitor locations!). Many more of you read it from your feedreader. However you read it, thanks!
The costs of blogging. I pay $8.95/month to blog here at typepad. I also pay (something) to keep www.lutheranzephyr.com, the domain name that simply sends you to typepad.lutheranzephyr.com. Of course, for a few more dollars I can get my whole blog – every single post – to appear at http://www.lutheranzephyr.com. And, for a few more dollars, I can get someone to make a really cool design for my blog. I like blogging – it has become a real meaningful activity for me, but it can also become an unhealthy obsession and expensive cost center. Perhaps I’ll wait until I hit the lottery before investing much more money into this hobby.
The Lutheran Zephyr 
Now the blog posts are coming up out of order.
Actually, that wasn’t a mistake. Typepad allows you to mark one post as “Featured,” leaving it in the top position even though it may not be the most recent blogpost. However, there is no notation on the blogpage itself, so it can look odd to visitors that an older post is listed first . . .