Howdy, Bubba! Hey, if you're new around these parts, I just want to say how much I appreciate you dropping by! Oh, and you may want to subscribe to my feed. Thanks, and a tip o' the hat to ya!

Well, today marks the 100th post to this blog (no gifts, please, just send a card – preferably with money in it). That may not seem like a big deal to you, but for me it’s quite an accomplishment. Having started this blog for no better reason than “just to see what blogging is all about”, I must say, I’m pleased to have made it this far. To tell you the truth, it’s been more fun than I would have thought it would be.I made the decision back at the beginning that I would try to post once a (working) day, and for the most part, except for that 2-week “vacation” (the move), have been fairly successful to keep up that pace. Frankly, it’s kinda weird, but now I get a bit antsy if I don’t post at least something each day. Who knew it would be so addicting?

A few statistics

I put up my first post on June 22, 2006. (Well, actually, my first post was on June 21, but it was so stupid I deleted it.) Since then (according to Site Meter) I’ve had 849 visitors to the Zone for an average of 8½ visits per day. (½? What exactly is half a visit? Can you experience the sound of 1 hand clapping?) But what’s really fun about blogging is the instant ability to reach clear around the world. Besides the USA, the Zone has had visitors from 11 different time zones, six of the seven continents (still pulling for that one from Antarctica) and at least 10 countries: Brazil, the UK, Portugal, Germany, Norway, India, Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, and some weird place called “unknown country”. (What’s with that, anyway? Do you not know where you are?)

Now this is interesting. It seems to be telling me most visits have been from locations more than 7,000 miles away (as the crow flies – and I’ll bet that’s one tired crow). Ah well, no one is welcome in his home country (or does that just apply to prophets?)By the way, for what it’s worth, as of this writing, Technorati had the Zone ranked at 298,775. How far we’ve come. Ah, it seems like only yesterday the ranking was 986,502. Hey, wait a minute – that was yesterday! And finally, as proof that we’re on the road to fame and fortune, that little “What’s My Blog Worth” thingy down in the lower right corner now displays the Zone’s value at $6,774.48, up from $1,693.62 ‘way back when a mere fledgling bloggett.

If you’ve made it this far without your forehead hitting the keyboard (sound of dull thud), I’ll apologize for boring you to death by sharing my favorite statistics joke: A statistician is someone who, when you put his head in an oven and his feet in a freezer, he can still say, “On average, I feel fine!”

And now for something completely different

Well, I don’t want to break my arm by patting myself on the back, so let’s move on, shall we? I thought it might be appropriate to see what else the number 100 might conjur up out of the blogosphere.

From the BBC News Magazine is a list of 100 things we didn’t know last year (this is from 2004). My favorites are #6: WD-40 dissolves cocaine (although how they found out is anyone’s guess); #11: One in 10 Europeans is conceived in an IKEA bed (aarrgh! too many jokes!); #39: Australians host barbeques on election days (if only we could have that tradition in America, Mates!); #61: You can bet on your own death (but I bet you don’t!); #78: One in 18 people has a third nipple (I’ve always wondered – where do they keep it? I guess it’s OK as long as they don’t develop a third breast - now that would be wierd!); and of course #92: Bill Gates does not have an Ipod (but then neither do I – hey, at least I have something in common with the world’s richest guy; it certainly isn’t “I have money”).

From Area 51 comes a strange list of 100 Fun things to do on a crowded lift. Not too many good ones here except #2: Shake the person’s hand when he/she enters (thank you; thank you very much); #10: Crack open your briefcase or purse and say, “Got enough air in there?” and #16: One word – Flatulence (but don’t forget – when there are only two people in the elevator, everyone knows who did it).

Then of course there’s the book, “100 Things to do Before You Die”, which includes “climbing Mount Everest” and “the Running of the Bulls” (things you should probably save until last because they just might be the last things you do).

There are also 100 things to do while ordering a pizza by phone, like #11: Tell them to put the crust on top this time, or #86: Order a one-inch pizza. (But only do these things if you never want to order from that place again).

From yet another book I’ll probably never read, “100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What you Can Do About Them”, we’re warned about the dangers of everyday life, such as the fact that each year, more people are killed by teddy bears than grizzly bears. Umm.. yeah.

Speaking of books, Time Magazine’s 2005 list of all time greatest (English-language) novels has some that I’ve actually read! Imaging that! Listed alphabetically, they are: Animal Farm, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Catch-22, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Invisible Man, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, The Lord of the Rings and 1984. By the way, guys, The Lord of the Rings isn’t a novel - it’s three novels! Ironically, I read every one of these before I was 20. I wonder if that means anything?

(NOTE: MZM’s vast unpaid research department has corrected me on one thing - apparently the Lord of the Rings was written as one novel, but with several parts. Who knew?)Peter Ansbach’s “The Top 100 Things I’d Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord” page has several thoughtful gems you might need to know should you ever become… well, you know. I especially like #7: When I’ve captured my adversary and he says, “Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?” I’ll say, “No.” and shoot him. No, on second thought I’ll shoot him, then say “No.”, and #34: I will not turn into a snake. It never helps. My favorite, though, is #85: I will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. “Align the 12 Stones of Power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse.” Instead it will be more along the lines of “Push the button.”By the way, Peter, if you are seriously considering a career move to Evil Overlord, you might want to check out one of my previous posts, How to Destroy the Earth. Really. (down toward the bottom there) which also touches on that very subject.

Onward and Upward!

Well, I could say that I couldn’t have done it without you, my readers – but the truth is I could have done it whether you dropped by or not. But, I’m glad you did! Seriously, I truly appreciate your visits, your time, and your occasional comments (if only there were more!) here at MZM. Keep that card and letter coming.So there you have it, folks, my salute to you, my faithful (and some not so faithful – you know who you are!) readers and the first 100 blog posts here at MZM. Here’s to many more to come!

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!