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!

In broad terms, Middle Zone Musings can be described as mostly a collection of personal stories illustrating pithy observations, random thoughts, lessons learned from life, and – of course – musings about life, the universe, and pretty much everything.

You’re invited to come back every now and then; maybe even join the conversations from time to time. It’s “a comfortable place to stop and have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. We don’t ask for much; just a bit of your brain every now and then. Pull up a seat, take a load off, and relax…”

C’mon, put your feet up and let’s visit a while.

(NOTE: By the way, should you have questions or comments on anything you see here at the Middle Zone, please drop me a line, or use this handy contact form.)

The Way Things Are Around Here

Here at the Zone you’ll mostly find stories. However, every now and then you’ll find something else thrown in (mainly to help keep me from taking myself too seriously). Most articles are short enough that they can be read in about 5 to 10 minutes (although I must admit; I have been known to “wax eloquent” every now and then).

Things You Might Want to Know

Rating – For those of you concerned about these things, the Zone is rated G. I make no apologies for that; it’s just the way I am. You can rest assured that all posts, guest posts, comments and links will, to the best of my ability, always reflect this. (So far it’s only come up once, and that was a while back.)

Comments – The highly sophisticated and powerful machinery that operates the Zone is supposed to automatically require moderation of only your very first comment. Once you are recognized as a friend and not a foe (and unless Murphy intervenes, as he is wont to do from time to time), well, feel free to comment to your heart’s content. Of course, for the sake of the conversation, please try to stay on topic. So far I’ve only had to manually delete one non-spam but off-topic comment (and trust me on this; it was ‘way off!).

Guest Posts – I’ve had several folks guest here, and the floor is always open. If you’d like to contribute something that a) “fits” here at the Zone; b) can be told in story form (preferable, but not absolutely required), and c) contributes to the General Body of Knowledge (in other words, it has value), then contact me (see above) and let’s talk!

Monetization – Up to now, I’ve resisted the idea of monetizing the Middle Zone, so you won’t see ads on this site. I must admit, though, it’s mainly because I’m too lazy to pursue the nitpicking details required to actually make a non-trivial amount of revenue from it. (It’s certainly not because the Zone doesn’t have enough readers to justify it – and I’m shocked, simply shocked that you would make such an accusation! But I digress.) At this time, I have no plans to change. But hey, you never know…

Group Writing Projects – Usually kicking off the First Monday of every month, I host a group writing project called What I Learned From… (affectionately known as WILF). Each month is dedicated to a different topic, and the project is open to anyone and everyone (I prefer you to be, you know, human, but I’m open to alternatives.) We’ve completed quite a few successful projects to date; you can find the entries for all of them here on their own dedicated WILF page.

Random Stuff

Memes – In the past, I’ve participated in my share of memes (and even started one or two). While there are plenty of good meme ideas wandering around out there, I’m going to stick with my lessons learned from life theme. So unless the meme allows me to respond to it in story form then I probably won’t participate. (Besides, you can only answer the “10,000 Random Things” question a few times before it gets kinda old.)

Link Lists – Likewise, after initially participating with considerable enthusiasm in various link fests, over time I’ve come to realize it’s not worth doing only to improve my own rank. While it can affect rankings (at least temporarily), it’s artificial at best and really does little to add to the only statistic that really matters: Does it provide value? Better to publish links only if they provide some sort of value to those who follow them, I think.

FREE eBook – If you’d like a taste of what the Middle Zone has to offer, I’ve written a FREE eBook that contains six of my favorite early stories. Go here, download (it’s FREE) and read Poke It With A Sharp Stick. Over 1,000 copies have been downloaded already (did I mention it’s, um, FREE?), and it’s freely distributable to your friends and enemies alike. You can even print a copy; it’s suitable for sharing around a campfire, lining the bottoms of birdcages, or perhaps wrapping fish.

Well, there you have it, friends; everything you wanted to know about Middle Zone Musings and more. Take your time to peruse all there is to offer: check the archives, wander around, and hey, while you’re here, contribute a comment or three. Thanks a whole heap for dropping by!

And as always, a big tip o’ the hat to ya!