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The Baboon Alley Tally

151 Comments

Yesterday marked post number 600 on Trail Baboon.

That seems like a big number, but it is just one of a mountain of behind-the-scenes statistics related to this site. We’re closing in on the 2 year anniversary (June 3) and this blog has been in business long enough to begin to have some numbers worth crunching.

At the moment the number of comments that follow all the assembled posts comes to a whopping total of 44,642! That’s a lot of chatter.

As I’ve often said, Trail Baboon is interesting for the daily post and also for the conversation that follows the post. In fact, there are officially more registered followers for the comments than there are for the blog itself.

The back-and-forth between baboons ebbs and flows. Our average number of comments-per-post is 74.4, but our gabbiest day happened around the entry “A Few Lines For the Graduates” with 179 opinions and/or observations offered. Clearly we are a community of people who are aching to be invited to be a graduation commencement speaker somewhere, anywhere.

Our quietest day may have been yesterday. As at any dinner party, the volume and the tone of the talk depends on who is at the table, what is on the plate and how everybody is feeling. Weather may be a factor as well.

It probably won’t surprise you to know that WordPress tracks the number of comments from individual sources. This is how we know that tim is the most talkative baboon, contributing 126 of the last 1000 overall comments. Of course we also can deduce this from reading any recent post. A day without tim is like a trip through the wide open west – glorious scenery but there’s a lot of space between the attractions.

In case you’re curious, I have a list of the top 7 recent commenters. After tim, the list reads:

Clyde
PlainJane
Steve in St. Paul
Barbara in Robbinsdale
Renee
Lisa in Minneapolis

Now that I’ve revealed the recent ranking, let me emphasize that there is no prize here for blogular verbosity. Those who speak up and those who sit down are valued equally. It’s just that the presence of quiet ones is harder to gauge.

Still, way to go, tim.

Personally, I’m grateful for all the baboons and their many clever on-topic and off-topic thoughts. Our crew is funny, literate, unpretentious and kind. The one concern I share with several regulars is that the level of familiarity and the pace and wit of the conversation can be intimidating to newcomers. I’ve felt that very thing – a wallflower instinct – at parties where sharp people are gathered at the bar. If you have “lurked”, know that you are welcome to continue to do so here at Trail Baboon. And you are equally welcome to stick your oar in.

Everybody’s nice, really.

At a place where I once worked, I heard complaints from managers about the audience for certain blogs – how the same people camped there and dominated the conversation. I don’t know what the site administrators expected, but it sometimes happens that media organizations obsess over the audience they imagine having and wind up neglecting the audience they’ve already got. Not naming names here, but it is not an unheard of malady.

My intention for post #601 is simply to salute the uncontrolled collaboration that is Trail Baboon. If you are reading this, you are a member of our tribe.

And if you’re not reading this, please raise your hand so I can see you. After all, if you know I’m talking about you without visiting the site, then surely I can watch you without being able to look. Fair is fair.

What moves you to speak up? What leads you to sit quietly?

151 thoughts on “The Baboon Alley Tally”

  1. Morning all. I’m still stuck on yesterday’s blog, which got a little busier after sundown.

    Clyde – I lit a cyber candle this morning for your daughter on gratefulness.org. Sending all my positive energy.

    Linda – the tulips look spectacular. Thanks for the encouragement last fall.

    Edith, PJ & Co. I’ll do some short updates on straw bale gardening as we go along (last night Mother Nature did my first step for me…. got the bales nice and wet).

    On to our annivesary. I lurked for quite a while on that other TBB. I know that I first stepped out to talk about singing “Susie Little Susie” as a kindergartner. For the life of me, I can’t remember why . that day seemed different. Up until that day I would not have believed that I would want to “blog” or that it would end up being a big leap into a new world. It’s going to seem smarmy to say that TBB changed my life, but it did! Because of TBB I’ve tried new things (CSA, tulips, Rock Bend), met some fabulous folks (not naming everybody because I’ll surely leave someone out), learned how to make cheese (thanks, BiB), laughed out loud and found a new book club (there can never be too many book clubs). So thanks to you Dale for founding this spectacular meeting place and congrats on #600!

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    1. Thanks VS. My daughter posted about an hour ago (they let her have her phone to listen to music in the prep room): My actual recipient’s name is Shannon and Glenna’s actual donor’s name is Barb. Shannon’s husband, Darren and Barb’s sister (whom we have not met) are the other donor and recipient pair. What an exciting meeting we had already this morning. Please pray for all 6 of us!

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      3. Becca just called: a recipient got ill so they cancelled. But as Becca was putting on her clothes to go, they told her it is back on. They do make it dramatic.

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        2. Not to mention nerve-racking for everyone. Seems odd that they wouldn’t know that the one recipient is too ill to ever receive a transplant if that person was deemed a good candidate yesterday. But what do I know?

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        4. Her sister was a donor and with my daughter. I am not sure how the decision was suddenly made, but the implication seems to be that she will never have it. I think I have explained that it all fell apart in early December before they got to Mayo.
          My daughter was in the pre-op room and a surgeon came in and tried to mark her shoulder for surgery

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        6. Oh, that must be a real let-down. It’s so good of your daughter and everyone involved to go through this!

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  3. you mean not posting is an option? it never occurred to me. the group has been so much fun and the conversations so inspired that i have been able to just jump in and enjoy. i remember when i first did it, was going to be going to the friday state fair broadcast and the fates of the world changed and i was unable to make it. i felt like i mised christmas dinner. now that was the old trial balloon but it all becomes a blur for me. the group has become my cyber coffee group and the old guys at the corner table in the country kitchen hold a special place in my heart these days. conversations that you overhear are interesting in a new way. the art of conversation and the comment made with the sole purpose of leading the other participants into the exchange is valued as an art form of new magnatude. im sure the guys at that old radio station would be speaking about me specifically when asking that the lead baboon be someone who has something to say rather than something to tye but you get what you get. i am apt to ambel on without the needle pointing at the pole until inspiration strikes and then… i am not too sure its worth noticing. it hadn’t occurred to me that i would measure up to be the 125 out of 1000 guy. feels a bit verbose. maybe i’ll back it down a notch, certainly during my franklins week of silence in his 13 week program. i think it was last week so that will tell you how well it has taken. next week i will be on pacific time all week and that raises hell with my getting on here at a meaningful time. getting up at 8 or 9 after winning all the chips in the canino at the big convenrtion can leave the blog brain in a bit of a time warp but that has kind of become familiar too. i miss the music from the old balloon but the blog really officially ended at 901 sharp. a few comments persisted but only a few. here on the trail it does go all day and all night. ben and clyde linda and pj are all night owls as well as early risers. we of the sleep deprivation league and blog junkies. happy anniversary all. its been great. thanks dale for keeping us smiling and discussing. sorry about the lack of input for sampson and deliliah yesterday until late. it didn’t call out to me until i remembered victor mature about 4 in the afternoon. lurkers are a thing that never occur to me. now maybe they will. clyde, ball is rolling now, hope the operation is smooth and safe and life changing for all the lucky recipiants. bless your daughter and the people on this planet who do nice things just because. and bless this blog. it has been a very nice addition to life. i kinda like baboons.

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      1. ben franklin has a 13 week rotating plan where you work on one ditty a week and by the end of the yer you have tweaked each 4 times if you do it right. week 2 or 3 in the rotation is silence. insted of talking every time a thought enters your mind. give it a moment. i have a hard time being around my son in public sometimes because he thinks everyone caresa bout every thought and every detail that comes into his mind but he doesnt return the kindness. we talk about it and i realize on a 1-10 i am only a 6 or 7 he is an 11. so believe it or not i do hold back a bit in my own way.

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    4. tim, you are a marvel, Not only are your numbers impressive but the posts themselves are wonders. Figuring out what you meant to say by a misspelled word provides a cud to chew for a while. What is “something to tye?”, I thought. Then realized that there was just a :”p” missing.

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  4. Rise and Shine X 600 Baboons!

    Congratulations on your determined Baboon herding Dear Leader! The mysterious process of “what happens next” in life after an ending, has played out here on the blog. Like VS, I never even imagined being motivated to participate in a blog. I still miss TLGMS terribly, especially at State Fair time. But this blog has been a wonderful opportunity to write and read and banter, make new friends, and learn about goats, all of which has filled part of the hole left by TLGMS. (I will be sure to purchase the CD mentioned yesterday!) And now I get to answer questionairres about “Use of Media by Baby Boomers” as “blogger.” Hah, take that youngsters!

    So to answer the questions:

    What makes me speak up?: Injustice, interesting entertainment, whimsy, beauty.

    What leads me to sit quietly?: Exhaustion.

    Thanks Dale for doing this blog and giving all of us this opportunity to explore the Trail’s playground.

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    1. I’ve also realized that I have taken on the habit of checking the Trail in the evening for Holly’s choice of a posted song. In the evening before bedtime, I often make my lunch for the next day, set up the coffee pot for 6 a.m., and listen to Holly’s post while I go about this bedtime routine. This is a great use of the portable iPad which makes my little chore more bearable. Last night TIna Turner’s “Proud Mary” was 9 minutes long so gave me lots of time and rhythmic energy to do my thing. And this is something TLGMS never could have accomplished.

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      1. ooo ooo somebody noticed! I can’t quite be smart enough before school, but after school and after any evening activities I can usually come up with something…. got choir practice at church tonight.

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  5. I worry about my status as the fourth most garrulous baboon in the tribe. It often seems to me that I have used up all my stories and observations except for those too risque for a polite blog site. I’ve already told you guys more than you wanted to know about my life and my ill-considered opinions.

    I’m lucky to have a civil (if slightly contentious) relationship with Word Press. It amuses and infuriates me that WordPress has censored one of my posts, refusing to print it because it was “intemperate.” Boy, that burns my toast. I am too proud to ask WordPress to show me the offensive post. WordPress can be a priggish old auntie, failing to get the point of a joke.

    BTW, I invited Catherine to post here again yesterday, but she wasn’t able to because (in her words) “WordPress still hates me.”

    What a strange trip this has been. I won’t list my favorite baboon bloggers because the list would be about as long as the total membership list, but I continue to be astonished by the stuff coming from tim and Clyde. And the longer I share this trail with you folks, the more regard I have for our Dear Leader. Dale, you are wonderful.

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    1. You have been censored? That makes you a much more exciting blogger! Injustice to those speaking truth is an archetypical dilemma!

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        1. Steve, this is the first I’ve heard of the “intemperate” incident. I took a look behind the scenes and didn’t find a comment from you held back or squirreled away anywhere.
          How can anything online be “intemperate”? Isn’t that a one-word definition of the Internet?

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    2. Steve, Thanks for the info on Catherine. I’ve been thinking about her too and sent a note but didn’t hear back. Tell her to send us her comments and we’ll post for her!

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      1. Is everybody having the same experience of getting booted to another screen and asked for a password occasionally? Or is it just BBC folks? I get it at least once a day. Sometimes WordPress remembers what I typed into the Comment box and sometimes it doesn’t.

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        1. i had a problem but i ticked the little w atht ebottom by the facebook and twitter things and told it to remember and that amy have been a help. im back in good graces (what are they thinking)

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        3. It seems pretty erratic. Sometimes I have to sign in several times a day, other times not. There’s no discernible pattern that I can tell. Also, when I sign in it changes PlainJane to my last name, so I have to remember to change it before I post.

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        9. do all the people who are having problems have multiple word press identities? i didnt have any problem until i added mitthenazihunter mit hasnt checked in and neither has the word press boogie man.

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    4. I miss Catherine too. I wish she could get back with us. Hi, mig, if you’re lurking!!! I’ve wondered about the WP “account” and the Gravatar “account.” Sometimes I get a pop-up asking me to log in with either/or account. I didn’t even know I had them!

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  6. Good morning to all. I came to this blog from being a long time fan of The Morning Show. I was a participant in Trail Ballon which at first I though of as a way to support Radio Hartland. As time went on participation in Trial Ballon became an important daily activity for me and I enjoyed interacting with the other people who participated as well as commenting on Dale’s entries.

    Somehow I learned about Trail Baboon soon after it started and made the transition from Trial Ballon to Trail Baboon. Of course, I very much appreciate your blog entries,Dale, for their humor and for the great starting point they give for the commenting and replying. I also very much appreciate the great group of regulars on the blog and I hope no one feels that this is an exclusive group that doesn’t welcome others to add their comments.

    I think some of us also enjoy the opportunity to write guest blogs and have them editied by you,
    Dale. I certainly have enjoyed doing this because it gives me a chance to improve my writing skills. I’m not a professional writer, but I do enjoy writing and this has been a great place for me to get more experience at writing.

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  7. Number 2, huh? I knew I was verbosely blogular, but well . . .
    I post on the basis of–all three about equally–topic, pain level, and mood.
    Number 2, huh, hmm . . .I know I do not really have that much to say.
    Must think about that. Right now wondering if I go ride or stay here to attend messages from the east.

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  8. Life is so funny and interesting, how could a person not have something to say? Like Jacque, being quiet is a symtom of exhaustion on my part. I encourage all lurkers to take the plunge and say something. Don’t be afraid to ask about what may appear to be inside jokes or messages in code. Unlike Freemasons, we have no secret handshakes and we love to explain ourselves. By the way, my supervisor really liked the departmental “updates” that I sent her when she was on her Titanic Memorial Cruise, and I know I wouldn’t have been able to write the way I did if I hadn’t been explosed to all the Baboon foolery and excellent writers on this blog.

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  9. I only post when one of the following occurs: I feel I can contribute something intelligent to the conversation; I have a strong opinion on the topic; I think of a smart-ass remark and go for a cheap laugh; I have the time to post (sometimes I self-censor because I could write pages and pages on a topic); I understand the topic and the question the blogger (usually Dale) has asked; I’m bored and have nothing else to do so I figure, “Why not? My two-bit opinion is just as valuable as some other schmoe’s two-bit opinion.” 😉

    Chris in Owatonna
    (definitely not in the top ten (twenty … hundred?) posters, but lurks everyday.

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    3. chitrader, i think i use basically the same criteria as you do but that never leaves an opening. i only discuss topics having to do with foods and non foods.

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      1. That’s the problem with intelligence: it’s in the eye of the beholder. 🙂 Some days I feel like a genius–then jump right in and disprove it with a comment here.

        Chris

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    1. I had more to say than that… but I’ve already lost this once.

      tim mentioned the cyber coffee club. Last week I stopped to see a man on business. This man hates his job and our normal conversations are work related. Last week he had two women in his office and they’re all giggling. He says they have coffee every morning. It was fun to see him laughing and enjoying himself that much.

      This group is like that; you make me giggle and it gets me through the day.

      I try not to post simply to hear myself talk. Although that’s never stopped me before.

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  11. It took me a while to find this blog after the demise of TLGMS, but I’m now a faithful reader of the Trail, Mon-Fri before going on the clock (I never seem to turn my computer on of a Saturday, I’m either too busy or too tired). I am, obviously, a fairly infrequent commentor. Rather like my namesake, I’m prone to distraction–I’ll plan to think about the question and come back to comment, then find myself sucked into the Underland of blogs, forums, websites and YouTube (upon occasion, I even get work assignments) and forget to come back. Since most of the activity seems to be in the morning, I also forget to check out the afternoon-evening discussions. I miss so much of what’s going on here! I should now make some sort of pun about a wandering Trail and wrap it up with Tolkien’s “not all who wander are lost,” but I haven’t finished my first coffee of the day so let’s pretend I did, please? Anyway, keep up the great work, Dale, and all the chatter, everyone else, it’s much appreciated.

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    1. so thats why we only get intelligent comments from you? if youd loosen up a bit youd be like the rest of us. i have looked and come back but i too get lost in the day and dont get to it so i have learned to write now and think about more for later. 125/1000 is the result. maybe id better leave you alone. who needs two of those?

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  12. I don’t have a lot of experience with other blogs to make comparisions to this blog. I know that it has been said many times that the people who comment on this blog are more repectful of each than is sometimes the case on other blogs. Also, if there are some comments that are a little “on the wild side” they are tolerated. I think you set a good tone for civilized discourse, Dale, and I think the people that follow this blog appreciate that and follow that lead. At the same time, I think we are free to say just about anything that comes to our minds and no one will be too offended.

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  13. A couple of things I’ve been wondering about, Dale…does WordPress tally the number of “Likes” that appear below the daily question, and is there any particular advantage to a blog author to having folks “Like” his/her post? I haven’t clicked that button very often, but just because I don’t “Like” the post doesn’t mean I don’t like the post.

    And about the ads – is it a pay per click, pay per impression, or pay per action arrangement? Today is the first day I’ve seen an actual ad – up till now it’s just been the “Will the Right Ads Find You?” banner. I’ll cheerfully click away on the ads if there’s an incentive to do it.

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    2. Clearly I am not even remotely in the same class as Sherlock Holmes as far as observation goes. If you had asked me before today if there even WAS a “Like” button on the trail, I would have said “I don’t think so.” Sheesh.

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      2. the chinese guy who is from america and an aussie like it regularly. i hit it on occasion but not with regularity. i dont want to appear too in your face… so i type in 20 more entries instead.

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    3. Also, I was getting the post from Facebook for awhile. I “liked” Dale’s post there every day. I haven’t seen one on Facebook for awhile and I wonder if you stopped posting it there, Dale?

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      1. On the “like” button, I get an e-mail whenever someone presses it. That’s nice.
        Regarding Facebook, I once had it arranged so the blog would post automatically there. Something changed, however, and WordPress and Facebook are not talking to each other, just like some family members refuse to acknowledge that the other exists.

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  14. I haven’t been doing much replying to the comments of others recently because the old computer I am using does not interact very well with Word Press and will not let me reply to comments. I do plan to get a better computer soon. I think the way people respond to each other’s comments is one of the best aspects of this blog.

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  15. Unlike tim and some others, not only did I think of lurking as an option, but it was the only option—I never planned to participate in the conversations. I had stumbled onto the Trail Baboon and was enjoying the conversations, and had even gone back to read many of the archives. Then Anna wrote a guest post on June 6, 2011 and asked “What were your favorite books when you were a kid?”I love children’s literature (still read it) and just could not resist putting in my two cents worth…and was totally surprised when several people welcomed me to the Trail. Any previous comments I made in online conversations were always ignored, so I could hardly believe that people would actually read and respond to what I said. It’s still a pleasant surprise.

    What moves me to speak up? Any or all of: Having the time and energy to post, inspiration, and being in a good mood (relatively speaking).

    What leads me to sit quietly? Any or all of: Lack of time and energy to post, lack of inspiration, and being depressed—in that state, not only is it too hard to rouse myself to type anything worthwhile, but I am convinced that I have nothing worthwhile to say.

    But even if I don’t always participate in the conversation, I always enjoy reading the blog of the day and everybody’s comments. Dale, you’re right that “everybody’s nice, really.” That was one of the things that kept me coming back here: no name-calling, no vicious arguments, just lively discussions and kindness. Kindness is rare, and this is a rare blog community. People here seem to like and care for each other—in person as well as online. That sounds kind of sappy, but I’m not sure how else to word it. Thank you, Dale, for leading this group…as the Lead Baboon, you do not at all resemble a Lead Balloon. Quite the opposite.

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    3. I’ll bet for every lurker there is a topic on which they cannot resist posting. The way Dale is going, with an entirely different question every day, we will eventually hear from you all. 🙂

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  16. I too started as a lurker (back on Trail Baloon), and then got really hooked.

    What moves you to speak up? I surprised myself when, after I got going, I almost always had something to say. I used to be afraid that if I didn’t post daily, people would forget me. Uffda.

    What leads you to sit quietly? There are too-busy days when there isn’t time to think, or a reply doesn’t come easily.

    Dale, I was afraid that once you started a full time job again, this blog would take too much time to keep up. So far that doesn’t seem to be the case, from what we can see anyway. More power to you, but let us know if you ever need more help.

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    1. BiR – you just reminded me. Two summers ago, I had a horrible situation at work and pretty much dropped off the face of the planet, including TBB. I was amazed when Anna called me out of the blue one Sunday to see if I was OK because several baboons had noticed that I hadn’t commented for several weeks. I don’t even know how she got my phone number — but it was a nice feeling that I had been missed.

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      2. i remember that. we all wondered where you were but i didnt want to be intrusive. like what happened to the wyoming dog woman? she was here then gone. allanna was back briefly,. cmon back all we miss you

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  17. In grad school I learned to speak up more – most of my classes were discussion-oriented classes, not lecture based, and a significant portion of the grade was based on classroom discussion. Speaking up was encouraged, being wrong was okay, being unsure was dandy, throwing an idea out to see what happened was just fine. I find I have gotten mouthier since those years of open weekly discussion. I learned not to be afraid of my own voice, opinions and ideas, even if those ideas were only in the nascent stages of formation (or were totally whacked).

    Sometimes I have to ponder a bit to find an answer to the daily question, sometimes I just have to wait until I have a break in my morning or day – but I always think on it until I formulate some sort of response – part of that grad school training I guess. Silence here mostly only means I am too busy, but probably still lurking. This is such a fun community of smart, witty folk – it is like the corner cafe and its own neighborhood that defies physical geography.

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    1. Wow, grad school sounds like an amazing experience – “Speaking up was encouraged, being wrong was okay, being unsure was dandy, throwing an idea out to see what happened was just fine.” I think my life is too full of judgmental people (not the baboons, but others) because that sound so unusual.

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      1. It was a cook and unique program – I received a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with a core emphasis in Arts and Literature. So really, a degree program that would not have been the same in a lecture style setting. It was great fun learning that way.

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      2. Being on the trail is sort of that kind of “grad school”. 🙂 I would’ve never written this much, but the non-judgmental nature of the place encouages trying!

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        2. See, you don’t even have to spell “encourages” right, and someone knows what you mean.

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  18. I think someone once referred to being a parasitic poster – not contributing an actual answer to the QOTD or even writing at length about anything but just tossing in a comment.
    Guilty as charged (I’m amazed I’m anywhere on that chart!). I have to say SOMETHING so that I can click on “Notify me of follow-up comments via email” and watch the ping-pong match the rest of the day.
    I marvel at those who can see the question and quickly spit out a (mostly) coherent answer with relevant anecdotes from their lives. A thrill for me is to have a question that elicits a relevant anecdote.
    In live conversations (especially with more than one other person), I spend a lot of time examining what I might contribute to see if it’s worthy, interesting, factual,amusing, has followup possibilities, etc. By the time I’m done with that analyis, the topic has moved on. Even with time to contemplate a post here, I have some of the same feeling.
    Tim’s son I am not! (I have a son named Tim but that’s not the same thing)

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    1. I know what you mean about being left behind in conversations. I usually am ready to contribute something worthwhile long after the discussion is over – such as bedtime or the next day. It’s kinda nice that the conversation here can go on all day. Sometimes I wouldn’t mind if it went into a second day because it takes me that long to figure out what to say.

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  19. A longtime listener and enjoyer of TLGMS, I found this blog because one of my mentees “liked” Dale on Facebook. Each day a link was posted on FB and then it wasn’t. I had to do a little searching to get here. Lurked for a time before posting.

    I like that this is an organically grown blog community started out of a common interest, TLGMS, and led by Dale—we are the led baboons. Although, I must say that we are unleashed and unrestrained—the definition of “intemperate.”

    As Edith said, the kindness on here is appreciated. I enjoy Dale’s humor and observations and the conversations/contributions that follow. The tone reminds me of TLGMS as do the, sometimes brilliant, connections to music. loved those music theme days.

    What moves me to write? A response to a topic or something someone says.

    When I didn’t write, it was because I am cautious about joining any community. Also, it was interesting/funny and perfect without me. And introverts, in particular, have a hard time wading or waltzing into a room with people they don’t know.

    Now, when I don’t write it is because I am too busy or lazy to write coherently. I have nothing to add. Or the topic or something someone said leads to tangents in my brain that never make it into writing. Sometimes, it is enjoyable to visit without actively participating.

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  20. Nobody has ever mentioned this, but I assume all baboons do as I do. I generally keep the TB page open all day once I have opened it. If I have been away for a while, I scroll back up to the “XX Responses to Which Planet Is Cutest? Then I hit my Refresh button and see if the number changes, which is my way of knowing there are fresh posts.

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    3. But then you might miss the responses to comments or have to read through to find them. That’s why I have WP send me emails with comments. However, WP screws up that simple task, too. Sometimes a comment never arrives or an email with response2 arrives before the email with response1. It truncates the original comment so sometimes it’s hard to follow.
      I guess using the email method doesn’t work very well, does it? I may have to shift to the SiSP method. I do love seeing the emails in my Baboons folder, though…

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      1. i just hit the refresh button as the day goes on but i have to go back to the top to see if there was other stuff because when the refresh button gets hit it takes you to exactly the same spot where you were before you left.

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  21. I rejoice that Word Press does not yet tally Cliff Klavens awards (or posts that are Cliff-like but gentle baboons let them go), or I would regrettably rise to the top. Like so many others contributing is a function of time available off the trail. Still some posts move me faster and if there is a run of puns I am almost always in the midst and waiting for Ben to point out that mine is a real groaner. On the other hand count me out on Haiku days.

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  22. I too discovered the Trail Baboon through a Facebook connection. I lurked for a while, a couple of weeks maybe, until a quote erroneously attributed to George Busch made me take the plunge. I hesitated to join in because several of the baboons are experienced writers, and I didn’t particularly want to embarrass myself in such a public forum. tim’s posts raised my comfort level; just love his freewheeling, let-it-all-hang-out comments that meander all over the place. One of tim’s comments from yesterday, the joke about needing the eggs, was precisely the response Dale’s post evoked in me; I almost posted that same joke earlier in the day, but censored myself. We think alike, tim. Nowadays I chime in when I have something to contribute or I want to respond to someone else’s comments. On days when I don’t have much to say, I just shut up and enjoy what others write, but obviously, ranking third in number of comments, that hasn’t happened too often! Thanks Dale for this daily source of joy and inspiration.

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  23. OT – Don’t know if this is of interest to anyone, but Tim Eriksen is performing Thursday evening at the Ginkgo. Tim is fantastic performer, not to be missed.

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        1. I sat next to his late wife at a demonstration shape-note singing session a number of years ago. She had a baby on her lap and I couldn’t imagine how that little one would retain any hearing, being so close to a voice that would have shaken the rafters had we not been outside.
          I saw Madame Butterfly last week and noticed that Cio-Cio San kept her hands over the child’s ears whenever she was belting it to the 3rd balcony.
          I might think of heading to the Ginkgo.

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        2. First encountered Tim and his late wife at a house party/concert many years ago. Their baby was an infant and slept in one of those baby carriers throughout the entire performance. Never said a peep.

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  24. I used to lurk back in the Trial Balloon days, but one morning when I was listening to Radio Heartland and I heard Dale say that MPR was planning to replace him with a computer, I broke down and cried. Right at my desk in the office. The only people I knew who would understand how I felt about it were here, so that’s when I started posting. I love that we can all find songs or musicians that we used to listen to on the LGMS and play them for each other here. It does have the same friendly, welcoming tone, and it really has helped me feel like I’m not so unusual after all.

    If I don’t post as often as I used to, it’s because I just run out of time. I like to read all the way through the blog before I post my two cents and sometimes I can’t find enough hours in the day. Sometimes I have to catch up for a couple of days worth and it takes me awhile. The only other reason that I don’t post is that I don’t have anything valuable to contribute. I can’t respond as quickly in the early morning (I’m barely coherent in the early morning) and, due to the demands of the day, it gets late before I’m able to post. By the time I get here, everybody has said a lot of the things I wanted to say and I feel silly repeating them. It’s always a great conversation, though. Sometimes I can’t resist commenting on someone else’s post. You are all wonderful people. I would encourage other lurkers to come on in!

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    1. Gee, Krista, having nothing worthwhile to say doesn’t stop me! Why should it bother you? And you often grace us with lyrical, observant posts. BTW, I hope you and your guitar are thinking of a return to the Old Stone Quarry cabin this summer.

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  25. Last Saturday I was eating lunch at the farm and retelling the post about the cows who died in the cabin (many people wouldn’t consider it lunch time appropriate but it was a dairy farm). There was a lot of booing after the rendering remark and then the quiet brother said to me, “You should post on the Model A club board. There lots of grumpy people and you could really improve the atmosphere.” Glad to be on the trail where the atmosphere needs no improving except for what could be gained by having more lurkers jump in and add to the fun.

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    1. We should have a lurker day where we encourage everyone to just join in with one word – maybe their favorite word – see what we get!

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    1. Krista, I do not. I see page views, which is not the same thing as “unique visitors”. Although I consider every person who visits the site to be unique. My understanding – if 10 visitors refresh the page 10 times, that’s 100 page views. On our busiest day (November 1, 2011), we had 2,731 views. Today, by contrast, we had 734.

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  27. Greetings! I miss being on the Trail everyday and being part of online interactions. But fulltime work, housework, karate, teenage boys, etc., eat up my time and energy. I was here the first day of Trial Balloon, desperate to be with others who shared my grief over the end of LGMS. Came right here again when Dale was let go by MPR, sharing my indignation with like-minded friends. I enjoy sharing my ideas and knowledge about my hot button issues and enjoy getting in on the banter occasionally.

    I usually try to at least scan the blog each day, but seldom think of anything to post or add to the discussion. But like Krista and others, it takes me a while to put together my thoughts. I don’t like to write long posts, as I feel as though I get boring. Brevity and getting to the point is more my style — I’m not poetic or clever — but I absolutely love those who are. Kudos to Dale and our bloggiest, blogging baboons!

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    1. I enjoy it whenever you post, Joanne – like all of us, I suppose, you have your own unique sphere of knowledge to contribute.

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    1. Holly, just perfect for the little (how little, we don’t know) baboon troop. Some sing lead, some sing harmony, some just clap along. The lead is tossed from one to another and the others respond. Dale is the bass or the drum-set that starts the melody each day and gives a foundation and keeps it a-movin’.

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  29. My last report on my daughter. This has consumed too much time on here. I thought it was going to be a brief sort of upper story:
    Mayo says they have never had it fall apart right at the end like this. Becca was on her way into surgery when they stopped it. They thought then they would do two pairs, but that would leave a recipient without a donor having followed through. Donor’s promise was not good enough.
    It seems by rumor that a recipient was having major neurological issues such as maybe a stroke.
    They think the remaining four can actually do it by themselves, but they need full blood tests. That should be a go in 2-3 weeks. Surgeons were very upset by it falling apart and very upset about the surgeon who tried to mark Becca for shoulder surgery. He also walked into her room when the sign said no one was to enter. He was not repentant to her or to the surgeons about any of it.
    I will not raise the subject again. Sorry about it all in this space.

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    4. Scary indeed, Clyde, that even in a facility such as Mayo, those kind of human errors can and do occur. After one month in a medical facility, I’m keenly aware of the humans errors that occur with some regularity.

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    5. What a roller coaster you’ve all been through with such an unexpected outcome. And what a relief that your daughter is well, and that in the end there was no harm done. Physically, anyway. Take care, keep writing, and riding.

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    7. Clyde – don’t apologize and don’t stop. This is exactly what we all love about this blog – being able to connect to our little baboon troope – to share what’s going on. Saturday some of us are going over to PJs to do her gardening since she is still not fully recovered from her accident. We wouldn’t have this kind of opportunity if we didn’t know it was needed. I hope you continue to update us!

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  30. Evening–
    Saw the Barn Swallow scout today. They’ll be here soon.

    Also got 37 baby chicks yesterday. Right; like I needed more chickens….

    No sign of ‘srooms yet.

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  31. What moves me to speak up? In a general sense out here in the world, anything that piques my curiosity, touches my heart, moves me to act somehow, some way. I say “yes” a lot when I could do with a few more judicious “no’s”. My life is a series of random detours, but I’ve met the most wonderful people along the way¸ often because I spoke up or followed a random impulse. Here on TB, I’m a newcomer and too distracted with work and family to post much of substance and am in the camp of people who usually think of something a day later when the subject has moved on, but no matter. This is a place where I’ve listened, laughed, and learned a lot, mostly behind the scenes, thanks to Dale and all of you. Dale, one might say you’ve planted the seeds and the garden seems to be growing beyond all expectation. 🙂

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