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It's been a long time since I had a first birthday, but today is the anniversary of my first step into the world of blogging.

If anyone had shown me 365 days ago, when I created Zoomies, or 371 days ago, when I created Vyoos, a road map of the consequent journey, I would have dismissed it as fantasy.

Twelve months ago blogging was a mystery to me. Today I maintain five healthy and growing Orble blogs, one rather undernourished one, and six company blogs as part of the prospering Salient Point corporate blogging business.

A year ago I was a blogging beginner, standing at the door of a strange new world. Today I write with authority (or possibly bravado) about AdSense and optimisation of search engine visibility, and field phone calls from chief executives demanding to know what the heck a corporate blog is and how can I justify the monthly fee in terms of return on investment.

It's been life-changing.
image: www.pepperspollywogs.com

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Blogging, Salient Point, Self-employment, Small business

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Holy cow, the world is saved

June 24th 2009 03:09

Global warming will be the death of us all, a slow and painful death caused by the terminal boredom evoked by politicians disagreeing on the fine print of carbon emissions trading.

Much more interesting news is that Canadian scientists are trying to breed a new type of cow that burps less.

As cows are responsible for nearly three-quarters of global methane emissions, and as bovine burps produce a gas about 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide greenhouse gas, this gives the planet hope.

The Canadians, led by Professor Stephen Moore, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, are examining the genes responsible for methane produced from the stomachs of a cow (all four of them) in order to breed more efficient, environmentally friendly animals.

Some tests, using traditional techniques to breed efficient cows, have already been completed with resulting cows producing 25 per cent less methane than less efficient animals. More work has to be done before any long-term impact and implications can be predicted.

Moore's study was published in early 2009 in the Journal of Animal Science.
news.com.au; image: www.digitalworldtokyo.com

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Environment

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How much should fans care?

June 19th 2009 04:28

Is it possible to be a fan without reacting personally sometimes to things our favourite singers or actors or writers do?

Joanna Trollope has been entrenched in my top five list of favourite writers for many years. Probably more years years than either of us care to remember. It just so happened this morning, however, that my usual sense of contentment that the English language was in such fine hands was jarred by a picture of Trollope on the inside cover of one of her novels.

It is a portrait, carefully staged and offering a professional rather than a personal look at the subject. The picture is used in several of her books, so Trollope obviously likes this particular image of her. I don't.

That is what jarred me from my usually unrestrained state of admiration for Joanna Trollope. The thought had been swimming in my subconscious for years, but this morning it finally surfaced in full-blown realisation: I don't like that picture.

Of course, I thought immediately, this is a ridiculous reaction, and an utterly subjective one. I know almost nothing about Trollope personally, so on what basis can I possibly justify having any opinion about a picture of her, especially one she apparently approves of?

And then I thought how odious it must be for well-known people to be confronted with irrational, unreasonable reactions such as this. Surely somebody who doesn't know you has no right to have a personal opinion of you.

Having delivered this lecture to myself, one half of me felt primly stern and smug and the other half felt suitably chastised.

And then a new thought arrived.

I am too reserved (or arrogant) by nature to be an unreserved fan of living beings, but I make a few exceptions and this is one. I feel strongly that the world would be a darker, poorer place without the contemporary novels of Joanna Trollope. There, I have finally admitted it in a public forum. I'm a fan.

Being a fan, it seems to me, is about engaging. Does not a fan, by definition, have a right to care? Does it not come with the territory? I may have no personal knowledge of the subject, and I may have no need or even inclination to gather any such first-hand knowledge, but that does not stop me as a fan from personally engaging. If I didn't, in fact, I wouldn't be a fan at all. I would be a critic or a mere observer.

So, Joanna, with all respect, I reverse my verdict that my reaction, no matter how subjective, is invalid. I do not like that picture.

If we ever meet, can I still have your autograph?

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Human nature, Philosophy, Writing

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Grimshaw and the pig

June 12th 2009 00:08

The celebrity spat of the year just got juicier with the news that Tracy Grimshaw has been asked to pose nude for an erotic magazine.

In case you are not up to speed with this story, which has chased swine flu off the front pages of the less credible newspapers around the country, here's a quick review: Gordon Ramsay, a grotesque parody of a celebrity chef, was interviewed by A Current Affair, a grotesque parody of a television current affairs show, hosted by Grimshaw

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Australia, Celebrity watch

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Air New Zealand — party airline

June 6th 2009 01:16

Hats off to Air New Zealand for some innovative marketing.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: New Zealand

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Blog writer wanted

June 3rd 2009 01:10

Candidates should be female, aged 29-39, and resident of Melbourne, Australia.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Australia, Blogging, Celebrity watch, Salient Point

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Songs of Australia

June 2nd 2009 20:53

Every time I hear the Australian national anthem, I cringe. I find it neither stirring nor uplifting. I think both the words and the music would have trouble standing out in a crowd of one.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Australia

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Goodbye email, hello Google Wave

May 28th 2009 18:23

Google is as we write unveiling in San Francisco what could be the Next Big Thing in "real-time, yet organised, Internet communication".

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Social media, Technology

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