One, in blog years

Today marks the official first anniversary of Pole Hill Sanitarium. Sharp-eyed observers might notice that the archives contain a post from August, but that's just a Haloscan test post. People started commenting on it, so I left it up. I figured at that point I had no choice but to start a blog.

The first sentence I wrote was "I don't know what the hell I'm doing", and in some sense I feel that still applies. In the end, all I've done so far is start down the path and follow it wherever it leads, and it's led to some pretty interesting places so far. I've been pleasantly surprised by the responses to many of my posts, and somewhat amused by some posts that I thought were interesting but drew hardly any response at all.

Most surprising of all to me is that people actually read this stuff. I'm not an internets superstar and never will be. Yet I've built up a fair number of regular readers during the first year here, in addition to gaining access to blogs that generate a considerable amount of traffic. I look forward to moving Pole Hill in directions that you good people continue to find interesting.

One of the best things about blogging is the people you meet online. Through our blogs, each of us form a unique community, and all of us together epitomize what free speech is about. I appreciate that you folks take the time to come here and interact with me and each other, and I especially appreciate the kind words you have had for my wife and I as we continue to deal with her health problems.

Taking my cue from Christie (stealing other people's ideas is one thing I'm good at), I'd like to pay tribute to all of you who have left a comment during the first year of Pole Hill's existence. All of you are listed in the order in which you arrived - the good friends, the passers-by, the big-time bloggers, the complainers, the people who got bored and left early, the folks who stuck around - as long as you weren't trying to sell something, you're here:

Emphyrio
IrishWalsh
The farmer (Pole Hill's most prolific commenter the past year)
Jeremie Jordan
Sonia Sunshine (the first to blogroll Pole Hill)
Lambert Strether
Beth
Blue Girl, in her various incarnations
Mixter
Gina
Naomi
Christie Fermicat
Elsietee
Opit
Jurassicpork
Def
Strannix
Vast Left
McEwen
The Reverend Jerry Harris
Rhea
Deb
Brent Andrews
Dave
Gloria Shiraef
Wolfpack
Mike John
Manifesto Joe
Kathleen
Babaloo
Kelly
Badtux the Snarky Penguin
24 Crayons
Mr. T.
Benmerc
Corky
Penny
Lulu
Kurt
Jeni Hill Ertmer
Chris Wilcox
Cakesniffer
Magnetbabe
Posolxstvo
Holland's Comet
Kelley B.

My sincere thanks to each and every one of you. Let us raise a toast to another year of blogging.