Saturday, January 26, 2008

Changes or "Just What the World Needed, Another Blog!"

For a while now I've been putting off dealing with a couple of competing issues. The first one is the fact that as this blog has progressed from "Sharon, ranting vaguely to empty space" to "Sharon, ranting vaguely to a bunch of people too kind to tell her to shut up," there has been more than little dissatisfaction voiced with my blog, particularly the title.

That is, when I speak, and people have to introduce me, they can't pronounce it. When they send links, they can't spell it. And perhaps the most common single email query I get is "who the hell is Casaubon?!" The next most common is "What the hell does George Eliot have to do with Peak Oil."

And it is hard to spell. It is hard to pronounce, and as much as, in my role as a former English teacher, I feel like I should tell everyone that they have read _Middlemarch_ it isn't my favorite novel either - if I'm going to bug people to go read novels, I'll pick one that's considerably more fun.

You see, Casaubon is the old man who Dorothea Brooke, heroine of Middlemarch, marries because she wants to do something important. Casaubon is writing a great book, a book that will reveal universal truths, that he calls "The Key to All Mythologies," and she imagines that she will be part of a work of genius. Unfortunately, Casaubon turns out to be a complete fool, and his project is a work of ego.

Now my old Professor, John Burt, used to say that his young female students want to be Dorothea Brooke, and his male ones want to be Stephen Daedalus. Frankly, I always thought Dorothea was a twit, and would much rather be Stephen Daedalus myself. But what I always worried about becoming was old Casaubon - allowing my ego, and what I want to be true, to alter my thinking a bit too much. Thus, the name "Casaubon's Book" was a reminder about my own tendency towards hubris. Essentially, I named it this so to remind myself not to be too big a fool.

If you've been paying attention, the name hasn't checked me that much - I still have a bit too much hubris, and I'm still working my way through a host of thoughts on how all the pieces of our societal crisis - ecological, psychological, economic, democratic - go together. But I like to think that maybe I'm a little less arrogant for the reminder.

Several people, with my new professional interests at heart, however, have gently suggested that a different title would be in order. And one person I pay a lot of attention to has suggested it not so gently "Sharon, that title sucks - change it" was about the size of it.

At the same time, a bunch of other changes have been occurring. One is that writing two books in 14 months and running a CSA is not something I can do - not and do all the other things I'd like to accomplish with it. Time is at a premium, and right at the moment, writing is taking up a lot of it - as are kids, food preservation, homeschooling, speaking engagements, and all the new agricultural projects we're taking up. Something had to give, and reluctantly, we're letting the CSA go. Instead, we're working on subsistence agriculture, more pasture farming, farmer's market sales, and hoping to turn the farm into a site for teaching subsistence gardening and other related skills. We have an enormous old house, and it has occurred to us that maybe what might make sense is to use some of that space to help others adapt.

Because of that, I'm also working on finding some other sources of income. Like all of us, I'm stuck in an economy growing unstable, a bit worried about the spousal job that provides most of our family's income and benefits, and I'm under some pressure to spend more time on remunerative activities, other than the purely fun stuff, like blogging. I am faced with a choice - cut back on the blog and spend the time doing things people pay me for, or make money on the blog.

But the thing is, I'm not thrilled with my choices. You see, one of the things I like about this blog is that it has been ad free, commercial free, technorati free - heck, I don't even have a hit counter, which frees me from worrying about my traffic. This blog, for me, has been about good conversations with interesting people. I want to keep that - and my reminder not to get too presumptuous. And since I am compromising with something I'm at best ambivalent about (most advertising), I want people who would rather read my stuff without ads to have the option.

So I've started another blog www.depletion-abundance.blogspot.com. This one will have almost all of the same content as Casaubon's book, along with more links, cool stuff, my speaking engagements, maybe even pictures (if I ever learn how to put them up) and perhaps even a hit counter (ibid). It will also have (fairly subtle) ads at the bottom, will accept direct sponsorship, and will have a store offering books and other useful things. It will also have a couple of posts a month that don't appear here (Casaubon's book will have at least one post appear here exclusively each month as well).

For people who don't want ads or book sales, you can read almost the same stuff right here, in perpetuity. If you aren't bothered, or want to buy books on sustainability, energy issue and other recommendations from me, or think that the new colors, the news feed and the links are worth putting up with it, check out my new site. I'll also be making some updates to this one, but since I'm the original techno-moron (think your elderly great-aunt who asks you to come program her remote control for her), be patient with me. You don't want to know how long it took, or how much help it required to get www.depletion-abundance.blogspot.com up and running - really.

Anyway, that's the news here. New blog. Same rants. New day.

Cheers,

Sharon

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sharon,

I came to your blog late but have been working hard to get caught up. And I've come to the conclusion that you can write faster than I can read!

If I may make a suggestion, have you considered accepting donations? Many Buddhist sites do this for the very reasons you mentioned. A donation page could be "discreetly" written and would not detract from your wonderful blog. It would give us a chance to show our appreciation for all your hard work and eminently worthwhile rants.

yooper said...

Hello Sharon! Yes, I like the idea of another site. Perhaps, I'll be more inclined to post there.

Thanks, yooper

Anonymous said...

Hi Sharon,
Delurking to say I enjoy your site and think that what you have to say is important enough that you should be reimbursed for it. You put far more thought and work into your writing than most bloggers.

I'd prefer not to track two blogs with mostly identical content, so could you be so kind as to give a link or a shout-out on your new blog when you put up "exclusive" content here at Casaubon's? I'll keep my eyeballs (and advert clicks) over there from now on, if it helps. Thanks muchly.

I also think your idea of teaching basic survival and farming skills for families would be awesome- you could have week long summer camp style sessions, I'd attend!
Cheers, Paks

Green Bean said...

I agree with Paks in that please note if you have a post up on this blog and not on the new one. I'll switch to the new one, I guess, but I actually really love this title and the byline. I'll kind of miss it because it is so esoteric. :)

Phil said...

Sharon, this is just a cunning ploy to get us to read all your posts twice, isn't it? :-p

Anonymous said...

Hm, I never had a problem with the name of your blog... but I also almost never have to type the name anyway (copy and paste is my friend). But, will add the new blog to my Google Reader list.

Heather G

Susan Och said...

Be careful of the siren song of wage labor. Our kids need us, even as they get old enough to claim that they don't. It's cheaper to put the time into raising 'em the right way now rather than paying for a therapist later.

I'll link to the new site. If you have specific questions about putting gadgets on the new site, email me.

Anonymous said...

For those of your readers who don't know, or have begotten how to Google, here is a site that has a brief descriptive essay to explain.
http://www.accampbell.uklinux.net/essays/skeptic/casaubon.html
And for those who don't wish to read the entire report here is a rather illuminating quote: "In honour of Mr Casaubon, I have given this tendency of the mind to search for all-inclusive answers the name Casaubon delusion. I believe we are all liable to fall into it in one way or another, probably because it is an exaggeration of an inbuilt function of our minds. Typically the supplying of such answers is the province of religion, although something similar can occur in science too."
The Hitchhiker's Guide is an old read for me. I watched the television serial version very late a night when I was much much younger then I am today. Surfing the web looking for the meaning of life (just kidding) ultimately led to George Eliot's lovely little book.
When I encountered Archdruid your blog came up and the name was an automatic for investigation. I've been a dedicated reader since. I am looking forward to your book

Cheers
Roy Jones
Legal, AB.ca

Anonymous said...

Sharon, your many advisors may have been right about wider marketing value with a more direct name...but this is the only peak oil blog I actually follow, I think because most of the "I am using big words to show I'm smarter than you" pissing contests don't seem to show up here.

So I'll follow your new blog (and buy your books or subscribe or whatever) but I hope your new, wider audience draws from diverse crowds and not just the PO folks.

Anonymous said...

Don't you ever stop writing unless it's an absolute necessity!!

I just want you to know that you are full of good ideas, thoughts and relflections for lots of us who read your writing.

thanks for all the great work you do here at the blog, er blogs!.

Sheri, an admirer

Ailsa Ek said...

So if I'm reading you via a feed rather than going straight to the site, I can just keep on reading here, right?

jewishfarmer said...

Buddhist Perspective, thanks for the suggestion. I'm not comfortable asking for donations - I'm not a charity. But I appreciate the idea.

Just FYI, this site will remain here with most of the same content as D/A, and I've put a link on the site to anything that is on D/A that isn't and isn't here, and vice-versa.

Thank you all for the kind words and support!

Sharon

jewishfarmer said...

Rosa, I don't have any plan to make either blog only PO focused, so no worries there.

Ailsa, I'm afraid I don't know how the feed works, so I don't know the answer to that. Technomoron, remember ;-)?

Phil, you've found out my clever plan!

Susan, I know what you mean - for me this is a way to keep doing the stuff I really care about - both writing and canning and tending kids and stuff, and try and optimize both. I admit, the books have meant I'm spending more time in front of the computer screen than I really like at the moment, but I'm looking forward to transitioning back - and spring!

Sharon

Anonymous said...

I thought you were referring to Isaac Casaubon.

Tom L

Anonymous said...

A片,A片,成人網站,成人漫畫,色情,情色網,情色,AV,AV女優,成人影城,成人,色情A片,日本AV,免費成人影片,成人影片,SEX,免費A片,A片下載,免費A片下載,做愛,情色A片,色情影片,H漫,A漫,18成人

a片,色情影片,情色電影,a片,色情,情色網,情色,av,av女優,成人影城,成人,色情a片,日本av,免費成人影片,成人影片,情色a片,sex,免費a片,a片下載,免費a片下載

情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣,情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣,情趣

A片,A片,A片下載,做愛,成人電影,.18成人,日本A片,情色小說,情色電影,成人影城,自拍,情色論壇,成人論壇,情色貼圖,情色,免費A片,成人,成人網站,成人圖片,AV女優,成人光碟,色情,色情影片,免費A片下載,SEX,AV,色情網站,本土自拍,性愛,成人影片,情色文學,成人文章,成人圖片區,成人貼圖

UT聊天室,視訊聊天室,辣妹視訊,視訊辣妹,情色視訊,視訊,080視訊聊天室,視訊交友90739,美女視訊,視訊美女,免費視訊聊天室,免費視訊聊天,免費視訊,視訊聊天室,視訊聊天,視訊交友網,視訊交友,情人視訊網,成人視訊,哈啦聊天室,UT聊天室,豆豆聊天室,
聊天室,聊天,色情聊天室,色情,尋夢園聊天室,聊天室尋夢園,080聊天室,080苗栗人聊天室,柔情聊天網,小高聊天室,上班族聊天室,080中部人聊天室,中部人聊天室,成人聊天室,成人,一夜情聊天室,一夜情,情色聊天室,情色,美女交友

Anonymous said...

禮服店 ,酒店小姐 ,酒店經紀 ,酒店兼差,酒店打工, 酒店上班,酒店經紀PRETTY GIRL 台北酒店經紀人 ,酒店經紀 酒店兼差PRETTY GIRL酒店公關 酒店小姐 彩色爆米花酒店兼職,酒店工作 彩色爆米花禮服店, 酒店上班,酒店工作 PRETTY GIRL酒店喝酒酒店上班 彩色爆米花台北酒店酒店小姐 PRETTY GIRL酒店上班酒店打工PRETTY GIRL酒店打工酒店經紀 彩色爆米花酒店兼差,酒店,酒店經紀,酒店經紀,經紀公司,經紀公司,經紀公司,經紀公司,經紀公司,經紀公司,童裝批發,童裝GAP

Anonymous said...

小吃餐車加盟連鎖「一條龍的創業模式」複製成功開店經驗
更新日期:2009/08/25 17:19

(中央社訊息服務20090825 16:19:17)大環境不景氣,工作難找,有不少人就想乾脆自己創業當老闆。為強化國內創業能量,五路財神開店總部於8月20日-9月20日舉辦「2009夢幻小餐車創業成果展」歡迎蒞臨參觀。針對國內一窩蜂創業加盟潮,餐車達人陳滌五總監提醒創業者,加盟不失為一條創業捷徑,但若選擇加盟,品牌知名度、產品獨特性及是否擁有差異化優勢就顯得格外重要。
近年來以成本低的小吃餐車最受創業者青睞。沒經驗的失業族 大部份都選擇餐車擺攤,最多人都想在創業市場闖出一片天。在台中成立的五路財神開店總部,小吃餐車用品牌方式來營運,總經理陳滌五用自己的經驗來現身說法。以國人創業首選的小吃餐車來說,如何在同質性高的市場中殺出重圍?雖然是路邊攤小餐車,營運上的重要撇步是關鍵;在企業經營戰略中,唯有領先核心競爭,保持差異化優勢才是生存之道。
陳總分享成功關鍵,「五路財神餐車與其他路邊攤最大的差異化,在於餐車外觀亮眼與眾不同的加分效果,及秉持結合好的小吃產品用品牌方式來經營的理念」。總部成立初期因觀察到傳統路邊攤想要爭得一席之地,大多考量商品創新的迷思,卻忽略創業者經營能否持久性的問題。所以五路財神餐車將傳統小吃商品,用創新工法為策略,顛覆傳統路邊攤的概念,長期下來在台灣建立起最多元品牌的餐車王國。
很多創業者最憂心沒經驗,業界首創從餐車打造、生財器具、原物料配方、技術教學、促銷廣告、開幕指導,「一條龍的創業輔導」模式,使得五路財神餐車品牌特色更為彰顯。陳總說,不景氣下小吃餐車經營是加倍艱辛,建議創業者不但要瞭解小吃經營的核心價值,凸顯產品獨特性及差異化之外還要定期和你商圈的客人互動,「好餐車、好商品、好客人」,三個好,如此才有可能成為「不敗的小吃攤」。
|加盟創業|滷味加盟|加盟|餐車|安親班|廚具||開店|新民管樂

janewangleilei said...

You can have a look at it. www.nike-airjordanshoes.com
jordan shoes
jordan ajf shoes
There are cheap shoes to choose
jordan 6
jordan 7
Good quality with low price.
air jordan 2010
Air Jordan 2009
If you like,you can contact us.
jordan 3
jordan 4
We offer different styles.
jordan 1
jordan 2
Thanks.
jordan 5
jumpman
puma outlet
north face
moncler

ak jackets
spyder jackets

Columbia Sportswear
quiksilver jackets

burton jacket
powder room jackets
Thanks.
karbon jacket
goldwin jackets
I can't believe it.
eider jackets
You can have a look at it.
sportalm jackets
Wonderful!
west scout

Aria said...

Don't you ever stop writing unless it's an absolute necessity!!
website design | web design | free website design | flyer design

Tüpbebek said...

I am happy to find this very useful for me, as it contains lot of information. I always prefer to read the quality content
ada..

bad credit said...

I appreciate your blog, its too good. Its really knowledgeable.

marven said...

It would give us a chance to show our appreciation for all your hard work and eminently worthwhile rants. company logo design . Post would be most important for all.

marven said...

It's always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained! I'm sure you had fun writing this article. Excellent entry!custom logo design

marven said...

Excellent building... I am in the construction industry and it has to be right up there with the shard... that is when its built. evdo wireless internet .

marven said...

It's always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained! I'm sure you had fun writing this article. Excellent entry. wireless internet .

Ethan jurk said...

Setup Canon Pixma MG2522 Printer Without CD. Get bit by bit guidance on the most proficient method to associate Canon Pixma mg2522 printer to PC and remote system.

David said...

I am glad to share this helpful information with us. I like your writing technique in this article. keep sharing more thoughts with us on this topic. Now it's time to get interior demolition for more information.

ownsmitjh said...

It is really a great and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this helpful information with us. I get inspired by the writing skills of the writer. I encourage you to publish more information so I can gain more knowledge on this topic. Now it's time to get https://phxcarsservice.com/ for more information. 

Alina said...

Really nice information about just what the world needed. I get inspired by the writer's writing skills. I encourage you to publish more information so I can gain more knowledge. Now it's time to get Best track suits for men for more information.