Postcards from the Funny Farm

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Attention, Important Announcement 5/5/08: This site’s web address, or url, has been changed. Though the old links still work, they won’t change in the search engines unless they show up out there. If you can, please adjust your blogrolls, bookmarks and other backlinks here to: postcardsfromthefunnyfarm.com/ Thank you for your time.

Traffic
2517 / 3750 (67.12%)

In the words of T.S. Eliot, “April is the cruelest month.” I didn’t meet my traffic goals, not by a longshot. Still, I have to be thankful for every hit I got since my blog underwent so many changes. I see these changes as seed-corn for a much larger field in the future. For example, I changed my domain name from the boring and un-brandable: “postcardsfromthefunnyfarm.com/wordpress” to the memorable postcardsfromthefunnyfarm.com

Furthermore, I decided to pull way back from Entrecard. The reason for this is that I was getting a lot of hits from them, over 60% of all! These hits produced some new contacts and readers, but mostly the bounce rate of my visitors went to 100%. I want the hits to reflect real readers as much as possible. I talked about this in a post in more detail last month here.

Publishing
4 / 10 (40.00%)

I slacked off a bit here. Maybe my goals are too high? This is the primary reason I blog so I will be really paying more attention to this in May.

Money
121 / 100 (121.00%)

I met my goal amount for income in April. My sources were: 1) PayPerPost 2) PayU2Blog and 3) Private advertising.

Now for my May 2008 goals:

Traffic: 2650 total unique visits for the month and 100/day avg.

Publishing: 5 total publishings may include guest blog posts.

Money: 300 dollars through these sources - 1) PayPerPost 2) PayU2Blog and 3) Private advertising.

Thanks for reading Postcards from the Funny Farm. Watch to see how I do in May.

My friend Shelly wrote in a recent comment:

we don’t prepare for old age, because when we are young we think we are immortal.

This is so true. We see this in young men under 25 and the psychologists call it “young man’s syndrome.” It is near impossible for men in this age bracket to imagine their own death. So why does it come into clear focus later in life? What changes? Is there a certain quota of aches and pains that have to occur before we realize we are mortal? Maybe this syndrome is a survival mechanism. Maybe it once kept us at the top of the food chain before we became domesticated creatures. Whatever the reason for it, it shows a very important point:

Our brain has a lot to do with our notion of reality.

Phineas Gage, whose skull and brain injury is a pillar of brain study, emerged from his injury virtually unaffected. The thick metal rod shot directly through his cheek and up through his brain leaving fragments of of brain and bone on it yards away. Though everyone thought he would die, he lived another 15 years. His reason and inhibitions drastically changed in those 15 years, but he did indeed live.

I think we take for granted that our brain is like a knee or an elbow or any other external body part: It can get bruised, it can get scratched and upset. Birth defects are a given, but during our life, parts of our brain can be neglected, causing neuroses. It doesn’t have to be a metal rod through the skull to affect our brain chemistry. We tend to think that our brains are immortal. Just because they are there hidden and snug inside our skulls, we can trust they are feeding us a perception that is 100% “reality.” I challenge that common belief. I posit that for as many brains there are walking the Earth there are different notions of reality. We may share some of the basics, but after that brain chemistry differs and therefore so does perception.

So what does this mean to you? Do all you can to take care of your brain. The instrument is fine. The treasures you will find will be in your mind. If you are chronically upset, see a doctor. It could be a chemical problem. There are many out there untreated. Why suffer when drugs exist to bring you into balance? Short of drugs, make sure you eat right and get the vitamins you need. Sleep is also crucial to mental balance. The next time you think you are upset because of “real” things, remember that your imperfect and delicate brain interprets real. Until you’ve had the decent sleep, mediation, and diet, you should never assume that your brain is qualified to judge reality. Even then, it still can be wrong.

This blog is dedicated to addressing issues of inspiration and psychology in 2008. I hope you’ll be back as we explore more questions and issues in this niche.

Is your brain getting all it needs?

I wish I had the budget to buy you all MP3 players. may7be someday …

Thanks to the guest bloggers listed below who posted in my stead the past week:

A Question of Preparation by Marcia
Stop The Criticism, Inspire Your Children by Derek Semmler
Have You Been Inspired Lately? by Katelyn
You don’t have to… by Chelle
Home Sweet Home by Jessica the Rock Chick

It was a much need vacation from blogging and I thoroughly enjoyed the guest bloggers. Updates include a new spiffy domain name, postcardsfromthefunnyfarm.com, a theme haircut, and some exciting post and series ideas for the summer on inspiration and psychology. Thanks for reading. Are you ready for a crazy summer at the Funny Farm?