I officially hit 300 posts after blogging for just about 2 years. My sitemeter counter shows close to 24,000 hits, but my wordpress counter shows over 60,000 hits–which appears to be total page views rather than the number of individual viewers per day as sitemeter. Per GoogleReader I’ve got about 60 people reading my blog through there, so with bloglines and the rest maybe I’m getting close to 80-90? I suppose that’s enough people for me to know it’s not just my mom and my wife that read this. It’s weird to think that my blog gets hits from all over the globe.
I was feeling good about myself until I saw Mark Goodacre’s post about having his 4 millionth hit! But I will say this has been quite a useful experiment. I have met quite a few quality people that I never would have otherwise. Hopefully it has been helpful for a few people researching PhD programs in the UK and for those in North America moving here. I will definitely keep on, and will hopefully post more substantive scholarly things periodically.
Thanks to all who keep up with me here.
Thursday, 4 September 2008 at 4:42 pm
Greetings Ben,
I don’t comment on your site often but I do want to affirm you that it has been very helpful for me. I am a ThM student beginning the application process to PhD programs in the UK and as I have started this process, I have read and reread your advice and found it very helpful. Let’s hope that it proves also to be effective. Keep up the good work. Blessings.
Thursday, 4 September 2008 at 10:53 pm
Always glad to know it’s been helpful. Thanks for the encouragement.
Ben
Friday, 5 September 2008 at 4:15 am
Hello Ben: I live in the US and have been dating my boyfriend “globally” for three years. We were fortunate in the fact, that we got to see each other fairly often as his job often sent him to the states for conferences and to work in the US based facility. Originally, the plan was for him to relocate to the US. However, circumstanced beyong our control, he has had to assume custody of his two children (13 and 18 years) and now he feels it is in their best interest that he remain in the UK. We have decided to marry in 2009 and I will be moving to England. I need to sell my house and liquidate my belongings and quit a job where I have worked for 28 years. I’m scared but very exciting by this new chapter in my life. I am 46 and my fiance is 51 (hardly spring chickens). I appreciate your website and have found some useful information and tips. We plan to marry in the US. We are in the very beginning of gathering information on what we need to do and it seems difficult to find information. I found your website by chance. I just wanted to say hello and inquire if you are enjoying living in England or if you found yourself in culture shock. I’ll end now .. take care.
Friday, 5 September 2008 at 11:31 am
Ben,
Thanks for all your hard work – it certainly helped me! Hope to see you in Durham by October.
Kind regards
Frederik
Saturday, 6 September 2008 at 5:39 am
Thanks again. Monica, We’ve really enjoyed our time in England. I don’t think any of us really had much of a culture shock, though parts of the country are as different as New York and Arkansas. I do wish you all the best in this adventure.
Tuesday, 9 September 2008 at 12:48 am
Congratulations Ben, and please keep up the good work.
I’ve said it somewhere else on here, but your site has definitely been a help to me and my family as we’ve prepared for our move to Durham. Due partially to the advice we found on your site, and largely due to the blessings of God, my family is crossing the pond soon. Our visas were just approved, and I make my way to Durham at the end of the month, with my wife and kids coming in mid-November.
Your site has also been good inspiration for our own. Thanks again!