MIKE 的个人资料World Adventurers照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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World Adventurers11月17日 What People are ReadingI browsed my blog statistics and history to see what people have been reading on World Adventurers. The blog has had over 295,000 hits since its inception in December 2004. Although readership declined precipitously over the past couple of years after I neglected to update it frequently, the blog still received about 100 hits per week. Most were archive searches on entries posted about Korea. Readership has climbed a bit since I started posting again. I blogged very little while I was in Paraguay; I’m back to blogging in Zambia but am not focusing much (yet) on topics related to Zambia or Africa. Blogging here can be a hazardous endeavor. A couple foreigners living in Zambia were scrutinized this year for what some of their postings. It’s a shame but the reality here. I will post some thoughts and insights on Zambia and Africa soon…after I determine what I can blog about without raising the ire of the Luddites. 11月14日 Bible CollectionI have a collection of Bibles in different languages. It’s an odd collection, I know, but there ar two logical reasons for this collection. The first is that it’s a collection of the most widely published and translated work in the world. There is no other literary work available in so many languages. I am a foreign language buff, so the Bible is a logical book to choose when collecting works in other languages. The second purpose is that a Bible collection is a “living collection”; that is, I collect Bible translations when I find them and give a localized Bible to someone who can read it in that language and needs a copy. Last year a Paraguayan friend saw that I had a copy of the Bible in Guarani and marveled that I had one because they weren't readily available in Asuncion. So I gave it to him and bought another one. Whenever these books serve a greater purpose than collecting dust on a shelf I am happy to give them away. So far I’ve collected over 50 Bibles in different languages from around the world. Yesterday I found four more in a Lusaka bookstore translated into different African languages, including Bemba, an indigenous language widely spoken in Zambia. If I come across someone who needs one of them, it’s theirs to keep. I’ll get another. I also enjoy the challenge of finding Bibles in local languages wherever I travel. I’ve been able to collect indigenous Bibles in virtually every country I’ve visited. When I can’t find it locally, I buy one online. The only Bible I haven’t found to date is an Egyptian Coptic Bible. I didn’t have any luck finding one when I visited Egypt in 2001-02, and I couldn’t find it for purchase online. Here in Zambia, the challenge will be to find the Bible translated into the countries’ seven major indigenous languages. Yesterday I found Bibles in Bemba and Kaounde. Two down, five to go. Testing Windows Live WriterMicrosoft launched a free software program called “Windows Live Writer” to make blogging more seamless. So far, so good. I like it. Anything that will make blogging easier is welcome. Coming from me, that’s a compliment, because as my cousin will attest I frequently criticize Microsoft for getting things wrong or “almost” right. As long this program doesn’t lead me to post Twitter-size blog entries, then it will have accomplished its purpose. Hidden TreasureI started digging into old stories, ideas, and plotlines I developed over the years since I was a child. I uncovered a treasure trove of material that I had nearly forgotten. I revived some of it this weekend and posted some stories on my new web page, M.G. Edwards. I plan to update many of the stories and assemble them into a collection over the next year. Some stories and plotlines could make good books and series, even franchises. I plan to put them in writing over the next few years. I've been aware that I'd been sitting on a wealth of intellectual property for some time but never put it to good use. No longer. It's time to bring them to life and capitalize on them before someone else does. 11月13日 Penny TrickI dusted off some old short stories and poems and am compiling them into a book of short stories with the working title, "Musings and Wanderings." I wrote some of them over 25 years ago; many are from a self-published book of short stories I produced in 1997 called "Real Dreams." Here's a clever poem I wrote in 2002 -- it's one of my favorites.
Penny Trick
Eyes view one penny's note,
Drawn out from magic's coat, Believe me that all I see, Be not one but penny three. Surely to me the penny pays, Three not one makes me daze, Want I three not penny one, Left I am with what I shun. 11月12日 How did pioneers and explorers manage without the Internet?We spent 2.5 months offline at home awaiting Internet access. The situation was manageable because we had workarounds such as Internet access at work and Internet cafes. Still, we were quite inconvenienced juggling our to-do list at home and accessing the Internet at alternative locations. I began wondering how my predecessors who lived in places like Africa and South America managed their personal lives without the Internet. Certainly the early explorers would have no need for the Internet because their lives were, well, simpler. They didn't have health and auto insurance, bank accounts, 401(k)'s and investment accounts and nonsuch to worry about. But those who lived and worked overseas as recently as the mid-1990's experienced virtually the same reality we do now. A relative of mne who worked overseas decades ago once told me that she used the JCPenney's catalog to order items in lieu of Amazon.com, and she taped her voice and sent the cassettes home to her family so that they could hear her voice. She at least had the convenience of telephony, but the cost was prohibitively expensive, and sending tapes was a more affordable option.
When I think about the technology my predecessors had at their disposal, I consider myself grateful to have Internet access at home now so that I can check our accounts, order products online to be shipped to us overseas, and post a blog entry on an odd evening. Thank God for DARPA, Tim Berners-Lee, and other visionaries that had the vision to develop what many of us now take for granted. I don't. Zambia's Internet penetration rate is currently less than one percent (32 percent have cell phones). I am one of the lucky few in this country with my own Internet connection. Of course, I paid a small fortune to have it installed -- which should make those who live in developed countries like the United States thankful. Within two days you can have cheaper Internet access for far less than $100 per month. Not so here. For over $1,000 you can have a wireless connection that runs not much faster than 512Kbps. Checking web sites, yes. Downloading full-length movies? No. 11月11日 Institute of Children's LiteratureI'm thinking about signing up for an Institute of Children's Literature writing course to hone my writing skills and help me develop a publishable manuscript. I've received their offers in the mail periodically over the years. I wondered whether it was a scam, but after researching their web site and online testimonies from satisfied students (paid? who knows) I decided that they're legitimate and make give them a try. The Institute is not very forthcoming on their course fee schedule, but I figured out that their basic course costs about $600.00. In this age of high college tuition costs, that isn't too expensive. The fee buys you personal guidance from published authors, which is valuable in and of itself.
At present I'm mulling it over. If you have any thoughts one whether I should enroll in this course, please let me know right away. 11月9日 Creative destructionLike the fall of the Berlin Wall, I blew away our former WorldAdventurers.com web site. Like a home constantly being added to and remodeled, it desperately needed a makeover. I archived the old site and am starting over from scratch. You're welcome to take a tour here:
There's not much to look at yet. Like this blog, it will take time to fill up again with photos, stories and updates. However, I've fundamentally changed my philosophy on this blog and the World Adventurers web site -- doing it is best done in moderation. If I do a bit little by little, I'm more apt to continue it than if I sit down to do an epic amount of work. Check back frequently for updates. 11月8日 Apple and Google - Gifts that Keep GivingA year after I bought shares of Apple and Google, I am happy to announce that I still own them and that they've been paying dividends. Well, not true dividends -- neither company offers dividends to shareholders. However, Apple's stock gained over 115 percent since last October, and Google over 60 percent. My only lamentation is that I wish I had bought shares of Amazon.com, which is also up substantially. Thankful, the contrarian strategy of buying equity in concentration rather than diversifying worked well during the economic rebound.
What's next? Real estate. We're moving cash out of equities in anticipation of buying a property in the next year. If you have any extra cash, you might consider the same strategy. The best time to buy is when things look most bearish. Google Alerts - ZambiaI'm curious whether Google Alerts will pick up on this blog entry through RSS feed if I include the word "Zambia" in this test post. You never know when or where some overly sensitive Luddite will take exception to an innocuous statement and politicize it for a nefarious reason. Thanks for visiting. Please leave a personal message. Spam will be deleted.
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..Anyway...Keep up the good work..
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