Archives for April 13, 2006

This blog is a year old tomorrow, the 14th April.

Interestingly there are comments at that first post from Walter Starck, Tim Lambert and Michael Duffy.

I have learnt a lot over the last year, especially about people and how they view different issues, and the knowledge and prejudices they often bring to a discussion.

I have been amazed at the web traffic this blog has generated. My Alexa rating is now 91,696. If this is any reflection of comparative traffic, my blog is now one of the most popular political blogs in Australia according to analyses in January by Tim Blair and Tim Lambert, click here. In fact, while my Alexa rating has improved dramatically over the last few months moving from 482,108 to 91,696, the other blogs mentioned at that post have not moved much with Tim Blair now on 42,756 (was 50,087), Catallaxy now on 238,196 (was 225,665) and Gravatt.org on 482,108 (was 488,606).

I would like to thank National Forum for hosting this site and advertising the blog at The Domain.

I am going to start using the subscribe facility at this website to send out a monthly email. I will perhaps include links to a few of the best blog posts for that month and information about what’s happening and where I might be speaking. So please log on, and register your email address by clicking here.

The blog costs me time and money and I am considering placing some advertisements at the site or asking for sponsorship.

The blog and website might be useful for advertising upcoming conferences in environment and related areas – doesn’t anybody know anybody who organises lots of conferences who might be interested?

The blog Larvatus Prodeo has a paypay for donations, maybe I could also add something like that?

There have been some comments, particularly at the global warming threads, suggesting I am pushing a particular perspective in my posts while others claim that I am too negative and always questioning rather than providing answers.

In response:

1. I repeat my offer to post essays at this blog from those with a very different perspective. I have posted different perspectives on whaling (including from Greenpeace and Libby Eyre) and I am more than happy to do the same on global warming.

2. According to Wikipedia: The Socratic method is a negative method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those which lead to contradictions. It was designed to force one to examine his own beliefs and the validity of such beliefs. In fact, Socrates once said, “I know you won’t believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.”

Anyway, thanks for sharing your prejudices, evidence, insights, and stories with me over the last year – and may the reef be as beautiful, and autumn as warm, in April next year.

I leave tomorrow for a few days of camping on the New South Wales mid-north coast. But I will be back.

Best wishes for Easter, from the beach, East Coast of Australia.