One year, two weeks, two days. 100,000 visits

We started this blog on November 4th, 2005... late in the evening PST. Sometime in the next 12 hours we will have received our 100,000th visit.

We do watch our stats. That's a function of trying to ensure that what is being posted is of interest to readers. Beyond that... it's all a matter of having something of a purpose... OK, OK, it's an ego thing.

It started with me, having written feature columns for community newspapers, recognizing that blogs were, in fact, a new form of media. They were personal. They could be shaped based on the author or authors. They were, and are, the 21st Century version of the product of pamphleteers.

Originally, it was just going to be me pushing the qwerty keys. Then the very intelligent, diligent and sexy Cheryl entered with her own unique style.

Later on, as a result of some of the comments to posts and some links to other blogs, we asked others to use The Galloping Beaver as a forum for their ideas and views. That brought Dana, Boris and Laura onto the page with their own point of view and a broader look at the world.

The deal here is simple. We post when we can, what we want. Each of us has a full life involving work, friends and family and those aspects always take precedence over a few words on an electronic page. For that reason, there will always be occasional gaps - but we'll always be back and we're probably going to piss in someone's cornflakes.

This is an invigorating pastime. You could even call it a hobby, although that would be less than accurate. There is something of an avocation about it. For that reason then, we will always avoid advertising bars and we will never ask for donations. I understand why the big full-time blogs do it and accept that they put much more time into this activity than we ever will. And, for that reason we will never be a "scoop" blog and we will quite happily remain in the large herd of small blogs.

We don't break stories or news. We comment on it and often point out the items you may not notice in your daily reading.

The best part, however, is the sense of community which has come from blogging. The blog roll to the right are people we have never met, in most cases, but have come to know through communications and sharing of information. They all produce incredible stuff and will entertain, excite and, sometimes, anger. They're all worth the read. Actually, it would be nice to have them all over for a barbeque:

Glazed, apple stuffed, smoked pork tenderloin;
Slow roast baby potatoes with a parmesan sauce;
Seared grilled and herbed summer vegetables;
Freshly completed T1 tax return completed by the incredible and delectible Cheryl.

But I digress...

We're having fun with this. We hope you enjoy reading it. And, we thank all of our readers for giving The Galloping Beaver a challenging and discriminating audience.

Update (and clarification) from Cheryl:

There will be NO tax returns done without first plying me with copious amounts of alcohol (preferably white wine). And Dave forgot dessert...fresh fruits and berries, soaked in white wine and cinnamon (until they're the size of footballs), served over French vanilla ice cream, with an almond biscotti on the side.

Update: At 8:49 PM PST visit number 100,000 pushed the turnstyle from their keyboard in Edmonton, Alberta.

And, as we approached that number it is only appropriate to point out that our longest reaching visitor was from Australia, just a few numbers away from the grand prize. (There is a prize... right?)