Archive what?

 As I'm know many others have gotten the same, I received that email about Google Album Archive being shuttered. I was like, "ok, so what?" I don't recall ever using it. But just in case, I took a look just to make sure. You know what was there? Every photo posted to this blog! And only the photo's I've used in it!

That's right, every single one of them looking me square in the eye! So I took a look at the blog and found that going back to my oldest posts that the pictures don't load! Now there could be a number of reasons. But it's a bit alarming. Does this mean that when that service gets shuttered next month that all of the pics in the blog will go away too? I don't believe in coincidence. 

On the bright side, it's not the only place I have them. Those are just copies. Have you looked to see what's in yours?

They almost had me

Sitting down to write, I'm in a dilemma. I've had a personal, and other blogs running on Blogger since January 2013. Prior to that I was utilizing Opera, which unfortunately shut down. Now, don't get me wrong, Blogger has been a good tool. However, I've noticed that views have dropped dramatically since Google+ was shuttered. And has continued to decline ever since. I'm also realize that people are turning to things like YouTube and Rumble more and more.

Now, when you try to research online, everything is saying that blogging is still relevant. I find myself questioning this though. Could it be Blogger and of course the algorithm that chases the almighty dollar. Another possibility. If so, then another reason to stop using the google owned platform.

Then there's the comfort factor. It's been my writing outlet for over a decade! So, if blogging is relevant, and the platform is still a good one then the questions need to be changed. What happened that caused high viewership to drop? And how do I find new people that would be interested in what I write? A change is needed somewhere.

I do feel that the second question is the most important of the two either way. A lot of what you come across pushes hard on sharing on social media. Here's the reality of it though. Nobody there cares. They may be well meaning, but just like trying to run a business, let's be honest. People are there for memes and videos. Anything else is a waste of their time. The blogging and writer groups, and there is a plethora of them, have become a joke as well. Many just littered with clickbait. The rest all trying to sell something. The vast majority blanket anything of value, anything worth reading, so deep you can't find it. 

So I looked at WordPress. I have to admit that they offer quite a bit. However, after looking through it, I'm not overly impressed. It's well laid out, and in such a way that it makes their marketing so tempting to sign up with. However, most of what they offer paying customers isn't being used. No, don't lie, those of you who are there only use certain things every time and with few exceptions what is being paid for versus used is an over payment by a large margin. It actually reminds me of Planet Fitness. Sure, you pay a certain amount, it looks really good, but it's set in a way that makes you not want to bother with it. Just subscribe and forget is how it feels. 

Am I wrong? Should I give them a second go? 

A Second Blog!

    Let me start by saying, don't worry, this blog isn't going anywhere. However, in the interest of keeping topics separate I have started a new blog! My ministerial blog can be found at: Pastor Burton's Blog and the first post is up! Exciting times for me. Yay! Now of course, I also have the podcast: Healing Scars with Pastor Burton | RSS.com and it's updated weekly! So to start the blog content is different from the podcast post. Specifically what's there isn't recorded anywhere else, or in any other format. For now. I am thinking about also transcribing the podcast and posting it there as well. 

    Decisions, decisions. If I did do that, it would be bonus content of sorts. The messages I've already recorded, plus the blog posts that haven't been recorded. Hmm? Thoughts? Anyone? So much on my mind to reach out to the world. Anyways, short and sweet. 

Thanks, 

~B

Puppy Love

 Puppy Love

    Well, a few months ago our beloved Mary passed away. At the gentle age of 12, she lived a good dog's life. Man, I miss her. 

    Then a few weeks ago a friend contacted me with a dilemma, her girlfriend from nursing school had the place she'd been renting for years sold out from under her and the new owner was forcing her to leave! Insane right?! Well, fortunately she found a place for her and her kids to move into with one caveat. She could only have one dog. They had two. To make matters worse, they've had both since they were pups! What's a family to do? 

    Well, being a dogless house we were already fixing to adopt a new fur baby. So the timing was perfect! Thank the Lord! And I offered to take in their oldest. A 12-year-old, sweet dog named Rosie! You couldn't have asked for a more perfect connection! Everyone's in love with her! She loves to travel. And being an older dog, she's not a runner and doesn't need really long walks! Which is great since we live in a desert and it's heating up!  

    I didn't want to leave her original family in total heartbreak. My eyeballs almost started sweating when we had the turnover. It was rough, no pun intended. Okay, a little intended. So, my wife and I agreed that they could see Rosie at any time. And we send them pictures regularly. Our family has gotten a little bigger. And we're glad we can spoil this old pup for whatever time we have with her!

Blogging Return

 Blogging Return

    I've been debating a return to blogging. For a while it seemed like every time I'd start to write, something would pull me away! Look! Squirrel! 

    Oh, but I've been writing. That's the thing. Only about something different than what I'd put up here over the years. You see I've been writing sermons. Times have changed and so have I in a lot of ways. Growth is good though. Now, where can they be read? Well, nowhere and everywhere. You see I started a Podcast specifically for my ministry. If you're interested, feel free to check it out. It's called "Healing Scars with Pastor Burton" and is available to stream on a ton of platforms. Spotify, IHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Deezer, RSS.com, Amazon Music, Audible, and so many more. 

    The first episode was put out just before the new year. Here in a couple of weeks, it's actually going to be a solid 6 months running, with at least 1 new episode posted every Friday. Watching the analytics has been fun because I'm seeing more and more countries pop up as well. As of this writing, it's been listened to on every continent except Antartica. It would be sweet to see, however that may be a bit ambitious. Time will tell though. I've actually thought about taking those sermons, and creating a blog just to post them in. Not everyone listens to podcasts after all. It's interesting that that's the platform that's being used as I rarely listen to podcasts myself! Perhaps, I should turn on a camera when I'm recording and start posting to YouTube as well? Or Rumble even? 

    I logged in here and was surprised to see so many people keep checking in from time to time too. Blogging isn't dead! YAY! 

    Have you ever looked back on your own blog to see how you've changed over the years? I used to cuss a lot, drink, and smoke (tobacco), and that's all turned around. Well, let's be honest, I still cuss but not nearly as much, and rarely drink. When I do it's at home. Thanks for letting me ramble today. 

~B

Hindsight

     You know, hindsight likes to taunt you sometimes. I recently started a podcast. A believe me, a blog voice is easier to find than a vlog/podcast voice is. I already have material recorded and scheduled to post. Then it hit me...I should have kept my old ministry blog. DOH! There was so much material there! What was I thinking?! Oh well.

    A lot of things are like that in life, aren't they? One day you're good. You're thinking you're doing the right thing. And let's face it, at that time it really was for the information you had. But in the future, POW! I won't if this is the kind of thing hoarders are prepping for. The whole, "I might need this one day" event. 

    Now I know not to do it again. Maybe I should start a new ministry blog and convert my podcast notes into something readable. Hmm. There's a thought. 

    In the meantime, you can check out the new podcast at: Healing Scars with Pastor Burton | RSS.com and tell me what you think! It's also available on over a dozen other podcast services right now. And about to be submitted to Apple for approval on their services as well. 

Road to Becoming a Caffeine Dealer

 Road to Becoming a Caffeine Dealer

    So much to cover, I'm not even sure where to start. A little over 2 years ago I had something unique popup in my feed. A Veteran based coffee company called Scars & Stripes Coffee. Over and over this ad would show. So I finally looked into it, just to find out if it's legit or not. Plus, who doesn't love coffee? It's the second most consumed product on the planet after water right! Turns out it's a legit company. Here's a coffee company made for Veterans...take my money at least once! I ordered a bag, had it shipped out to me, and what do I find? A coffee that straight up lived up to it's hype about the product. Like many, the coffee itself is what I cared about at the start. I mean, if the coffee is garbage, bye-bye. 

    At this point I'm interested in the company. The coffee is solid, so what's the Veteran empowerment part all about? I aim my browser to their site and away we go! So it says, ONLY Veterans can sell their product. And they have a vetting process. Admittedly I was hesitant because they ask for a copy of your DD-214. Any that's ever held one will tell you there's a plethora of vital info there. Date of birth, social security number, full name, a summary of your service and awards. In the wrong hands some serious damage can be done! But I took a leap of faith and bam! I was a team member. I'd worked with MLM's in the past, so I kept my guard up. Turns out this wasn't an MLM at all. They didn't even require you to make a monthly quota, or spend anything right away to get started. Instead they sent me a ton of paperwork. Literally the foundation of how to start my own company with their backing. Sounds weird right? 

    The beginning. I fired up a facebook page dedicated to only my coffee. And in my posts I'd guide people to the company website. All they had to do was plug in my last name at checkout and I earned a commission. This worked even better than I thought! I even worked my way up the chain being promoted to Squad Leader! I was on a roll! Then COVID happened. Right when I was thinking about working events and getting out with it, the pandemic shut down everything. So ecommerce became my friend for a while. Then my state finally started to open back up. I made a small investment in myself. about $500. I told myself if this doesn't work, then I'm done. Within my first two outings, not only did I earn it back with interest, but I found myself selling out of certain products! I took my commission, and dumped it all back in to my venture. My next promise to myself was that I was going to earn that $500 initial investment back, and make sure that my SSC business was self sustaining. And it happened. 

    Now I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination. Nor will I be doing this. But I've found I have a lot of fun going out to events, connecting with people, and hearing their stories of service or the stories of their loved ones who served or are currently serving. It's helped me bring down more barriers that I put up in my own life and get back out into my community. Last year I even made it out to Oklahoma for the annual sales meeting and had a blast running a 5k mud run. There's nothing like the bond of fellow Veterans though. That's really the best part. 

2021 was a great year for coffee. 2022 is going to be even better!

PS: If you want to try it for yourself you can. Head over to www.ss.coffee/Rominger and give it a go.