Changes Afoot

No, this is not about design; I'm actually pleased with the look, feel, and overall design of The OddBlog, and I have someone else to thank for that (whose name I forget, but is linked to somewhere on the template). This is about posting, frequency, and expectations.

I have lost control of my daily, personal life over the last several months. A lot of it is due to my health issues and the surgery I had back in January, but some of it is from being constantly overwhelmed, and I have got to find a way out from under it, so I've decided to do something I'd intended to do a while back and simply haven't been able to get to until now (and am doing so now only by pulling an over-nighter -- I took about a one-hour nap between 7:30 and 8:30p last night and have been at it ever since): I am scheduling posts far in advance.

This should actually work fairly well here, given the subject matter and the relative infrequency of new paranormal activity. Of course, things do happen, and I will report on them as soon as possible. We also have a fair number of sponsors and advertisers whom I refuse to disappoint, so things should not only go well with this here, they should actually go better -- regular content is better than stop-and-start spates and for that, I apologize. Still, this is an entirely new system that I'm going to have to develop, work-out the kinks in, and become accustomed to, so expect a few hiccups along the way.

That is all.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Agenda

It's going to be a busy day, guys. I had to take yesterday off to handle some IRL things, including a little recharge of my internal batteries, and these things are far from done -- I still have laundry, dishes, have a prescription to pick-up, and it looks like I'm going to have company this weekend, so I have got to get this house cleaned-up... I know that's all boring, and I apologize, but it is what it is.

However, I have a lot to get to you, so it's going to be a flood. I may also be working over the weekend, but I do not know for certain. We are looking at thunderstorms this afternoon, as well, so bear with me.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Weekend Posting Temporary

I know we've gone back and forth over this issue for years now, but just as in many of the cases where I've had to suspend the usual schedule in the past, this is a temporary thing due to personal issues and so forth.  Basically, you should expect some weekend posting throughout the next several months -- it's probably best to say throughout the summer -- but not necessarily every weekend. I still need some time off here and there!

In short, nothing's really changed; once everything is cleared-up and I get back to my normal schedule in my own life, we will be going back to weekday-only posting here and on the other blogs.  I'll also quit posting these, fairly obvious, alerts. But because the next few months will be... weird, with some weekend posting and probably several weekdays missed, I figured I'd give you the heads-up.

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MOAR OddBlog Oddities
- FAKE NEWS: Watch Sandy Hook "Father" Get Into Character
- Integrated Systems Improvement Services (ISIS) out of Texas
- FAKE NEWS: CNN's Chris Cuomo Threatens Viewers, Lies about WikiLeaks
- FAKE NEWS: Nayirah's False Testimony Leading to 9/11
- The Real Chupacabra Photo

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Agenda

Sorry for the spottiness lately, but I have a big project with a pretty tight deadline and I've had to focus my attentions there right this moment. I am still collecting stories and will post them as soon as I'm finished with this (which will hopefully be tomorrow!). I also have to do my taxes at some point, but I'm hoping to knock those out over a weekend.

In the meantime, enjoy the archives!

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I know it's late, but things are hectic.

I want to remind you that I'll be away all next week, and possibly longer. I'm having surgery which will hopefully alleviate my pain issues, if not solve them entirely. I may even feel well enough to post next week, but I'm not counting on it and I won't even if I do because I don't want to push it. If I have to be out longer, I'll try to drop-by and give you an ETA for my return, but just to be safe, I'm going to schedule a handful of posts to drop next week. Sadly, it won't be many, but it should keep you in paranormal reading until I return.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Late-Night Posting

Hi guys. I'm just dropping-in to tell you to expect late-night posts for the next couple days or so (at least). I'm still collecting stories as I come across them and will post on them when I can, but I've got to focus on the website itself right this minute, due to the big Halloween roll-out.

I apologize for upsetting the status quo, and promise things will get back to normal eventually, but right this second, the site takes precedent. My plan is to get it under control, then use a day or two to schedule posts so you get new material even if I am unable to be here.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Agenda

We'll get back to our examination of the Leeds Devil folktale and its relationship to the Jersey Devil footprints today, but those posts take a long time, so I want to give you something to read while I work on them. Plus, weird news is always enjoyable to share!

Another subject I am hoping to have the time to tackle soon is that of underwater "astronauts." USOs have always interested me and they've regained some of their popularity as late, but underwater astronauts (it just sounds so salacious, doesn't it?) are generally relegated to the outlandish pile by serious researchers. Of course, some of the more outlandish tales are what first drew me to this field, along with other phenomenalists, so whether or not there is any validity to them aside, I want to share a few of the stories I find intriguing.

I also want to delve into Von Däniken's theories at some point. I've always felt his well-presented hypotheses have been maligned, both by the mainstream as well as the phenomenal world, and that's sad; at the very least, he presents many points which deserve more discussion.

One thing at a time. First-up, a few odds and ends.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Labor Day Agenda

I will be working here over the weekend, largely to catch up. I will be working on the site over the Labor Day weekend but am looking for a major release on Halloween. Since we first started, The Weirding has always had major publications on Halloween and seeing as how we are so close, I want to keep the tradition.

Anyway, I have no ETA or anything; I plan on things being erratic for the next few weeks, just as they have been over the last few. But once everything comes together, it will all settle back down.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

I am still working on the site itself and will be for the immediate future. The cool thing about that is that once it is complete, there is no more work to be done; unlike here and the other blogs, I do not have to keep adding new content and updating/maintaining what is already here. Of course, I will add new content when I have it and will work to ensure everything continues going smoothly, etc., but I mean, once it's published, it's pretty much done.

So while things are necessarily slow right now, and will remain so for the foreseeable future, once the majority of the site is in place, it will be back to business as usual here and elsewhere. In fact, today is the first day I have taken the time to sort of "slow down" on the site just enough to try and keep up with the blogs. My plan is to see if I can't manage to keep y'all in posts throughout the day while still publishing at least one page on the site and updating any others that need it afterward.

A website is a very big and never-ending project that requires a substantial amount of work, but I'm up to the task. My problem is going in rushes and getting burned-out, then not wanting to work on it again for several weeks/months on-end. So I've put in a lot on it this weekend and now I'm going to force myself to cut-back so that does not happen again.

Anyway, plenty o' weirdness for you today, including that missing Bigfoot piece!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Sorry I have been gone so long, guys. Quite a few things came up, but I can say that I will be here tomorrow and probably throughout the weekend.

I am working on relaunching the site and in so doing, I came to the conclusion that I needed to use a different approach. This is going to make the site stronger and better, but will also take even more time to figure out and get used to. Then I will have to move everything and do all of that.

It's good I figured it out at this stage, but I really hoped to avoid this because it means even more setbacks. Of course, it is what I need to do, so what else can I do?

Anyway, I am hoping to really get back into gear toward the first of the month. In the meantime, things will continue to be scant and somewhat erratic.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Morning guys. I slept-in a bit this morning because I had a harried night. Once I got up, there were connectivity issues which I just got straightened-out after a few phonecalls and extended crawls behind the computer.

Anyway, I said I was going to work all weekend but I ended up getting the site hosting paid for (I hope) and messing with all that instead. Which is good news, because it means I will be here all day.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Just stopping-by to let you know what's up, what's going on, what's going down, and what's in the works:

Tomorrow I go back to the doctor's, when I hope he will make this huge uber-arm of mine somehow more manageable and renew my pain medicine. Failure of either may result in the continued dearth of activity we have seen as late.

I am honestly still working on the tags and other technical aspects. Just earlier, I installed a trackback system which will allow us to hopefully see some more action in the comments and so on. I often link to other blogs and articles, but Blogger does not support trackbacks (which inform the authors of the linked sites that I have credited them), so I don't always have the time to let them know I have done so. Hopefully, as more people become aware that I have included them in our discussion, they will drop-by and join us!

I also installed a new extension which helps locate supporting information and images while I type. I discuss it in a few days over to Weird Ink, but if you know what I am talking about and just can't wait, then I highly suggest installing it!

I am still working on several topics you will be seeing more and more of in coming weeks - specifically more straightforwardly paranormal stuff. We will always bring you the wild, the weird, the wacky, and the plain-old odd, but The OddBlog is - first and foremost - a paranormal blog and we've gotten away from that recently for a variety of reasons.

As I have said time and again, but it bears reiterating, there is a hell of a lot more to running a blog than just blogging and pretty much all of it takes a lot longer than writing the content. I have been knee-deep in these aspects across the site for weeks now and am nowhere near finished, so I hope you enjoy it enough to stick with us.

We'll never be "done," but there are a host of particulars and advertising that I want to install and stabilize and we really will be able to focus on the posting alone for some time thereafter. I really could use help here, so again, if you (or someone you know) run(s) a paranormal blog/site and would be willing to guestblog occasionally, please drop me a line and we'll work something out!

In the meantime, enjoy the eerily chocolatey bloggery as I can get it your way!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

The irony in the title has to do with the fact that I have no real agenda here for now.

Sorry I've been away. I had some medical appointments and found out I will be in surgery next Tuesday. I will obviously miss some days next week, but things should even-out in some time.

I have more straight paranormal stuff to get to you as I can, but don't hold your breath, because I have no idea how things are going to play-out. One of the things I really want to do here is get the technical aspects in-line so we can start attracting more readers.

Thanks to all of you who read and have visited, I just wish you had more to say. But keep reading and I'll keep writing! All this medical stuff has just been in the way lately. Hopefully, this stuff will be largely out of the way in the next few weeks and we'll get down to some real business here.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Well, I followed the developments in Colorado all weekend, though it was confusing. In fact, it was pretty hard to find decent coverage, but I did. A local website had a blogger on the scene, but since Colorado is a different timezone (several hours behind my own), it was quite confusing.

Anyway, I left it going all weekend and will bring you the story either today or this week. Honestly, there wasn't a whole lot to report; I think the real story is still to come, so I'll likely just give you the basic story at first and wait for the rest to fall into place.

Other than that, there is a new addition to my household: yesterday, I finally got some pussy! He's a few months old, gray, black, and white, and has the most striking eyes I think I've ever seen on a cat. They are a dull orange, much like a gourd or something - a definite ochre. They're pretty in their own right, but they are striking because I just haven't ever seen a cat with eyes that color.

Once I clean the house up some and get the 98 box up and running, I will get you some pictures of my beautiful kitten. In the meantime, my new kitty-cat needs a name!

I am thinking of naming him "Leopold Katzchen," but I don't really like that. I'd hoped for a female kitty, who I was to name "Maisey," but because this one is male, I am thinking of pulling out the Alfheim books and choosing an Aelfoen name for him.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Yes, I know I missed today. I had an appointment this morning at 9:50 that usually takes all of 10 minutes; I got home at exactly noon! I was so worn-out that I fell back to sleep and woke up at 2:30, only to remember that I was supposed to have paid my utility bill today!

So, barring their turning off my utilities tomorrow (pray for me!), we'll be back on track then.

I left for the evening and will be back home tomorrow afternoon, so things may not get started until after lunch, but I will be here. Have a good evening!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Hey there, spooky people!

I know I have been absent a lot lately, but I have medical issues which have kept me from my usual breakneck pace and there's simply nothing I can do about that. Luckily, I got some medicine which is supposed to help and then I go to a specialist the next couple weeks to see what the prognosis is and what comes next, so all things told, it's going to continue to be slow for the immediate future, but will pick back up shortly.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that The Weirding still needs to be upgraded and that is becoming more and more important with each passing day - particularly since I've had to sit so many out lately. That's going to get more attention in the coming weeks, which means less attention will be here.

You will notice some changes around here as well, though. I changed the blog templates several weeks back and then gave them some time to work-out the kinks. The OddBlog template performs beautifully and I love it! However, I have to be a bit more creative with the advertising, due to limitations with the layout, and I am not pleased with what I currently have, so I'll be moving things around and changing stuff.

I would really love to hear more from you guys! Honestly, I don't know who reads The OddBlog - what your ages are, what you do, what else you're interested in - I don't even know your gender! And that works against me on so many levels, but particularly with the advertising. Regardless of whether or not I make money, the ads I choose to feature are supposed to appeal to you - hopefully introduce/direct you to other products, services, and sites that you'll like. Not knowing much about you means I have to just guess. So I really wish y'all would get more involved.

The upswing to all of this is that I have had more time to read and research, which means more keystone paranormal posts are on the way, but there is no ETA. In the meanwhile, we'll have more odd news as usual, a little humor, a little weirdness, and all the usual.

Oh! And I am going to start focusing more on food. When you think about it, what we eat, how we prepare it, and everything else cuisine-related is so important on so many levels that I can't believe I didn't consider it before. It relates to history, society, psychology, occupation, religious/spiritual beliefs - it is so crucial to everything that something as simple as a regional recipe can form the foundation of research. We Southerners have black-eyed peas for New Year's in order to ensure good luck, while the Germans eat sauerkraut, and one's diet is the basis for much of Chinese medicine.

Very broad, interesting, in-depth subject that we will be delving into more and more. It will be useful too, since I'll be imparting all kinds of recipes along the way.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Sorry for the absence as of late. As I discussed over to The Rundown (as I've said before, if I'm not found here, you can usually find the reason over there - it's really the flagship blog of the site), I have been on Other People's Time basically since Friday, so I'm not in full control of my own life and how my time is spent at this point.

Even today, I have to run errands that I have been trying to get done since Monday - well, Friday really, but Monday specifically. But since I have to rely on someone else for a ride, I can't say when I'll be leaving, when I'll be returning, nor anything else; we'll just have to take it as it comes.

Unlike the past two days, I am not abstaining from doing the things that need to be done around here, simply because I don't know when she's going to show! I hate stopping right in the middle of something because, given my personality type, said things are rarely finished; I'm one of those "inspired" people who has to have some thrust to finish projects and when I stop them in media res, I rarely return to them right away... if ever (might as well be honest). I hate that about me and am working to improve it, but it is me, and I can't fight it too much.

Anyway, let's get into it...

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Coming Up

This is just a quick note to let y'all know what's coming up. I had some errands to run this afternoon that took far longer than they should have, so a lot of what I was working on is going to take until tonight/tomorrow and they're pretty in-depth. I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know what's coming up so you didn't think I was just goofing on you.

Following the St. Pio piece, I decided to do an article on stigmata. Then there's some news concerning gene therapy (following). After that, I am either going to do a piece on Big Cats (because I have been promising that piece for... um, you know - like two years). Then there are just some odds-and-ends - which is appropriate enough, given the title.

So, just checking-in, as I'd hoped to have the stigmata piece done by now and I still need to do dishes, cook dinner, and clean the house.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda

Plenty to get to, I just ran out of steam yesterday after doing a bunch of posts and then some technical stuff - not to mention that Blogger has been exceptionally difficult this week.

However, today is a busy one offline, as I have a doctor's appointment and then expect some company later in the afternoon. At any rate, I will definitely be around at some point, though I have no idea what to tell you to expect. I have an advance review I really need to do over to The Rundown; if I put it off any longer, it won't be an "advance" review...

Still, I have been collecting stories all week and there are several items to discuss, so we shouldn't be without.

ttys!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Agenda - Update

Okay, I have several more items to get out to you, but I'm going to divide them between today and tomorrow because this is the weekend and I don't want to run out of things or overwhelm you.

I know I haven't done many research pieces lately, but there are some being drafted. For new readers, there are many entries in our archives that go into great detail on specific subjects we cover, such as The History of EVP and The Beast of Exmoor, and it was always my intention to bring you more of these. The OddBlog's goal is to become a key resource for online research into the Unknown and the paranormal, and to those ends, I fully realize we need a lot more of these in-depth articles.

Unfortunately, we had some technical setbacks a few months ago (mainly with the feed) and then I redesigned. I am redesigning all of the blogs right now, actually - and the entire site, to boot. Of course, one man can only do so much and manage to keep-up with his personal life (and I have nothing even resembling a social or sex life, so that's not an issue - I'm just talking about cooking, cleaning, bathing, paying bills, etc.), and this is tax season. Needless to say, I only have so much time - and lately, I haven't had much of any.

Which brings me to my other point: I told you earlier that I had some technical stuff to worry with here today and I was going to wait until later tonight, but I got up early thanks to the construction going on in my neighborhood (they missed yesterday due to rain), so I don't know how long I'm gonna last. You are going to get some churn and may not be able to get to the site off and on, but once I'm done, you will definitely be able to tell I was here.

I have several projects going at-once, so this is going to be off and on for the rest of the evening; I wish I could say, "I'll be done by x:00" or "I'll be done in a few hours," but I can't. If you have any problems viewing content or your feed starts turning up old posts, then readjusts, then starts-up again, you know I'm working - just try again in a few minutes.

I apologize for the inconvenience. Once the redesign process is finished, I promise to keep the maintenance routine down to a minimum and try to make sure it is done during off-peak hours. Of course, the entire weekend is generally "off-peak hours" here, so you weekend warriors ought to subscribe!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008