I’m going to be “on hiatus” perhaps a couple of weeks or more to catch up on my business, which needs some significant attention right now. Blogging, as most of you know, is a loss. Between my wife’s illness last fall, getting the surfacestations paper out this spring, and other time-sucking issues, I have a lot of catch-up to do. Blogging, while at times exciting and rewarding, doesn’t pay the bills. Ever since Amazon killed affiliate programs in California due to tax insanity, now blogging pays even less. Ad clicks and a few kind souls who drop into the tip jar are about it, yet I find myself spending 6 hours a day (or more) on some days. A good example was last Saturday, when I spent about 5 hours chasing Turtles down a rabbit hole in Australia.
This coming November, I will have been at this job for five years straight, with only a couple of short breaks. What started out as a interesting diversion for my local newspaper has turned into a global monster that needs daily feeding. So, time for a diet.
I’ll have one, maybe two, small posts on weekdays, maybe more on weekends, the rest can be filled in by regular contributors and those that use the “submit story” feature in the header. It may turn out that “less is more”.
About submitting stories, many of the “submit story” offerings these days are simply reposts of articles on newspaper or magazine websites, which I’ll generally reject due to copyright issues and other reasons. The best way to submit a story like that is to paraphrase and excerpt it.
See Tips and Notes for those that don’t want to submit a small story.
WUWT has a life of its own now, and I don’t need to be as attentive as I have been. Climate Audit goes days without posts, and Steve still manages to maintain a pretty good traffic rank because people are always looking for the next post. I know people will step in to fill the void here.
Once I get caught up, I’ll spend more time here again. In the meantime, carry on.
Thanks for your consideration.
Anthony
You enjoy your break Anthony, you deserve it.
A sabbatical is a very good thing and you have done an amazing job here. Have a great break and no sneaking back!
Good luck with that. I know we regular readers and commenters will all feel that you deserve a break, I am not convinced that you will be able to stay away for long. Running this sort of blog as a sideline, hobby, or anything other than paid-employment (meaning you are not contractually obliged to turn up and do your 8 hours for a pay-check), without substantial remuneration requires one thing above all else: A deep and burning passion for the subject. Where such passion does not exist, even the best will in the world could keep one at a blog like this for 5 years. Where passion like that does exist, it makes it almost impossible to step back and slow down.
The next scandal will undoubtedly get you pounding your keyboard again giving the alarmist side hell.
So I say with absolute gratitude and sincerity, enjoy whatever time off from this you can grab, you do deserve it and I look forward to you returning to ‘full-time’ blogging again soon.
Enjoy a well earned rest Anthony.
We see through your cunning ploy here! It’s to deflect attention away from the fortune Exxon-Mobil’s paying you to spread climate disinformation!
😉
We’ll do our best to maintain the standard you have set here. I know from personal experience how running a blog can ‘take over’ and lead to other aspects of life being neglected. You are doing the right thing, take all the time you need.
I’m dropping twenty bucks in the tip jar as a small thankyou for your dedication to open science. I hope EVERYONE here will do the same, to help lift your spirits and provide a little seed money for the revitalisation of your business in these difficult economic days. (scroll to the button on the right under the climate widget).
Come on EVERYBODY, rally round and help get Anthony off to a flying start with the business he needs to take care of. The time is now.
Enjoy your break.
I don’t know how Gavin Schmidt manages to find the time with such a busy job over at NASA…..
Anthony,
Your cool.
There is a fire here. It will keep burning. Take care of your family and don’t worry about us.
Tallbloke
Is the donation link the surfacestations donation link, or am I missing a link for donating at WUWT?
Thanks
Noz
[reply] Yes, it’s the surfacestations link. Thanks for your contribution. -Tallmod
Could only wish it really was a “break” for you, Anthony, and not just a mandatory surrender of time here to keep your life running. — your life, and the lives of your family and the lives of your employees.
You have already single-handedly begun to turn the stampeding mob; and present and future alike are in your debt. Sanity will return sooner because of you.
Have a nice break and I hope your bussiness will go well!
Anthony — Have a great holiday — You have many silent readers that are most grateful for your blog and your efforts. We look forward to your return.
To be honest this is good news for me Anthony. There is so much interesting stuff posted here it can take me hours to read on a Monday morning – and I’ve got to pay the bills too! Enjoy your well earned rest.
“has turned into a global monster that needs daily feeding”
A ravishing, fire-breathing dragon, I’d say.
Good work, and have a rest on your laurels.
As long as Romm et al don’t take your well deserved break as a sign of weakness.
Enjoy yourself. At almost 83 million (82,846,000) hits on your blog shows the success of your efforts!
I myself need to slack off somewhat from the ‘compulsive lurking’ that WUWT and others have inspired in me. My research has been done and my mind comfortably decided on the issues related to the CAGW issue. I need to tame my ‘lurking’ from 12 – 14 hours per day to say 5 – 6 hours (cold turkey?). I’m not sure that I can do it. A vast wealth of knowledge doesn’t pay the bills but it sure helps to set some others straight and keep my investments away from at least some of the hucksters!
Thanks again for bringing soooo much to the table!
Anthony,
The team you have created here is the best aspect of your accomplishment at WUWT.
Take care.
John
I only started visiting this site in the past 2 months and am amazed with the amount of info. each day. This site has fed me so much knowledge and I cant thank you enough. Enjoy your well deserved break.
To all of Anthony’s loyal readers:
Everytime I open WUWT I click on an ad. I usually pick one of the greenie or carbon trading ads because, as I understand it, with every ad click, a tiny amount of their money moves to WUWT. If everyone did that, Anthony might find his hard work is a little more profitable.
Click on ads!
I am amazed that you have managed to produce the volume that you have over the years. Extremely grateful as well.
Catch up on your business Anthony; we’ll be seeing you when you’re ready! WUWT is wonderful and a must-read for me, and I am so grateful for all the information I have gleaned through it. I think you’ve done a brilliant job. I also enjoy Willis’ articles very much.
You have my admiration and thanks. Have a good break.
Seems to me people are mixing up holiday and break with necessity.
That is unfair to Anthony.
Enjoy the break Anthony, even if you are knocking of to carry bricks so to speak.
Have a great break Andrew – you surely do deserve one!
But don’t forget us completely!!!!