activerain: Who Would I Like To Meet, Live And In Person -- That One's Easy - 10/10/13 08:14 AM
Anybody who knows me, knows I have a close cyber friendship with Roger Mucci. Almost from the day he decided to get wet in the rain I found him and his touching stories about Mickey and the then, day-to-day trials and tribulations of going home and dealing with issues often beyond his control.  There was something appealing and disarming about him.  There was no artifice about Roger, no hidden meaning behind his words.
After the initial stage of commenting on each other's posts and getting to know each other better, we spoke on the phone a number of times, hours passing … (10 comments)

activerain: If Only I Had A Crystal Ball . . . Or Maybe Not - 05/14/11 04:35 PM
Much has been said in the past few days about ActiveRain and the direction in which it is headed.  Jorgen Hahn's controversial post cast a glaring light on a very shadowy corner of ActiveRain.  I think we all knew things they were a-changing as the old guard departed, two by one, by one but we chose to ignore the huge pink elephant standing in the middle of the room.  Easier to think they simply took their marbles and willingly left the game than to think of all the ramifications of the real change looming large on the horizon.
I, like so many … (8 comments)

activerain: 200,000 Members And Growing - Who'da Thought? - 01/17/11 09:57 AM

I saw it once and smiled, then, when I came to check on the latest activity here in the rain, there, emblazoned on the deepest banner I've ever seen on ActiveRain was the incredible number 200,000, made up of the faces that brought us all here.
I can't help but feel a little like a very proud, very old mother whose child has done something extraordinary.  Here, almost from the start, when the membership count was not even 10,000, it's astounding to think of the roads this place has traveled to get to these exalted heights.  We've all been taken … (6 comments)

activerain: Sometimes We Don't Know It's Raining Till We Get Wet - My Life at ActiveRain - 07/26/10 06:28 AM
When constructing an article for your blog, if you've ever felt like you're writing in a vacuum, take heart and think again.  Once you hit submit to publish your post, it's off on a trajectory all its own.  I think we get so attached to what we write sometimes that it's hard to let go, fearing our words will fall on deaf ears, or worse -- off the face of the earth within minutes.  We want someone to see it, to acknowledge our thoughts, our very existence. 
Time and time again, I'm amazed by the reach of ActiveRain and those of us who populate … (7 comments)

activerain: Do Not Pass Go -- Do Not Collect 2000 Points - 07/05/10 10:10 AM
Visions of iPads taking flight blurred my vision as my promised 2000 points segued indecently over to someone else's blog.  Bursts of light, screaming into the night sky celebrated our nation's birth and my despair.  Just moments before I sat smiling in front of my computer, happily putting the finishing touches to my review of Soci@l.  It was, if I say so myself, a compilation in perfect prose of my clear understanding of the intended message of the wonderfully written eBook I was challenged to read. 
If only, I started to think as I tried desperately to find the page full of words that leapt … (7 comments)

activerain: For ACTIVE Rainers, A Fever Runs Through It - 06/18/10 04:23 PM
Sometimes over the years that I've been playing in the rain, I've been in the thick of it, other times I've watched from the sidelines, ever entranced by the undulating currents that move this incredible mass of people.  The one thing that amazes me is the recurrent fever that passes like an epidemic through the crowd.  It affects neophyte and skilled rainer alike.  The symptoms are a flush of excitement at the rampant possibilities offered and realized here, a need to shout it from the rooftops, an absolute belief in and experience of the power of the rain and an amazement as … (5 comments)

activerain: ActiveRain And The Real World - 11/01/06 01:15 PM
Rich's blog tonight about "The Karma of Comments" made me think about my own evolution in this blogging business.  I'd made a rudimentary effort at it for awhile, but couldn't seem to treat it with the same sense of immediacy that the rest of my business so often demands.  It was only coming here to ActiveRain that made me a committed contributor, though certainly not on the same scale as some of you who seem to have an endless supply of material and creativity.  Admittedly, at my advanced age, I have to conserve what's left of my gray matter for the most explicitly demanding tasks at … (7 comments)

activerain: I Have A Question . . . - 09/02/06 04:00 AM
Just a few days ago I breathed life into a new personal blog http://blogginglongisland.wordpress.com/ and I mentioned it here.  A few minutes ago in an attempt to be consistent, I wandered over to that space to compose my article of the day.  Something new showed up on the dashboard that surprised me and led me on a journey.  There was suddenly a category called "Incoming Links," with a link from my former ActiveRain post.  Finding another hyperlink to "more," I followed that road and came upon Google Blog Search Beta http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&scoring=d&q=link%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fblogginglongisland.wordpress.com&partner=wordpress
I've never noticed this before and can't help wondering where it's … (4 comments)