Visitor #9000

The 9000th visitor to The Ancient One stopped by about 11:15 p.m. PDT last night. Not positive who it was but the hit came from the Denver, CO area and was the result of a Google search on the name of a good friend of ours whose son lives in that vicinity.

If that was you David, thanks for being #9000.

2 Years and 400 posts

I just realized that I flew past 2 milestones over the past 2 weeks. February 26 was the 2nd blogiversary for The Ancient One and the 400 post mark has been achieved. In a way it is all very surprising. While my writing pace has slowed down, the cantankerous old curmudgeon is still here although not quite as curmudgeonly as he expected to be.

Thank you to all who have passed this way, especially those who return on a regular basis.

Visitor #8000

The Ancient One received his 8000th hit today. The visitor logged on from 20th Century Fox here in L.A. and found the site through a google search using "culver city public theatre" directors as the search term.


That reminds me that I have said almost nothing about CCPT (the theatre company) since the season ended last summer. I thank this visitor for reminding me and I'll write soon about the new officers and the early stages of planning for summer 2009.


Thank you #8000 for jogging my memory.

Visitor #7000

Visitor #7000 stopped by this afternoon, according to StatCounter. (SiteMeter had only recorded #6905 at the time.)

It appears that Ms. Fairway a relative new comer to the world of blogging over at Beyond the Fairway was the one who got that milestone to appear on the counter. Her first post was on October 2 and her visit here was soon thereafter. She also has left a few comments along the way. That is always appreciated.

Thank you Ms. Fairway for becoming a regular visitor. I am delighted that for once I recognized a milestone address.

Celebrating Good Health - An Anniversary

Today marks the 4^th anniversary of The Ancient One's emergency triple coronary artery bypass surgery. I remember the early part of August 30, 2004 very well. I remember when an angioplasty didn't get the artery open and being rushed into the operating room. I remember little else of that day. I seemed to heal well and went home 5 days later. Recovery was slow and I finally felt "good" again after about 3 months.

The Ancient One's open heart surgery was one week to the day before Bill Clinton's. Following his surgery I watched too much TV news and learned more than I wanted to know about the procedure and the use of heart/lung machines. I just wanted to get well.

Today, I am still heavier than I should be although 40+ pounds less than at the time of the surgery. I am obsessive about exercise; 3 days a week at the cardiac rehab center (my health club staffed by cardiac nurses) and walking every other day of the week. Strength training with 8 pounds weight is added in, usually twice a week (on walking, not rehab days).

I am a lot healthier now than I was 4 years ago. This is a happy anniversary. While it came about because of a medical threat to my life, that surgery added many years to my existence on this earth. I have now enjoyed 4 of those additional years and plan to be around for many more. I retired from my "job" and now do consulting and acting on my schedule, not someone else's.

Life is good! Sometimes it takes something like open heart surgery to appreciate all we have and how good life can be when it is lived in the now and the future. And The Ancient One is planning on being around for a lot of "future."

Amen!

Visitor #6000

Visitor #6000 stopped by to look at The Ancient One about 30 minutes ago as I write this. As always seems to be the case, I have no idea who was provided that significant number. . .other than. . .


#6000's ISP is in the Central District of Hong Kong and clicked on this site at 12:40 a.m. tomorrow morning after a Google search of the name "James Spader." I wrote about him and working as a background actor on Boston Legal in my most recent post.


Thank you for helping me achieve this new milestone, even if you do not appear to have actually stayed around long enough to read the post.


Now on to #7000!

#5000 Stopped By

According to my sitemeter, The Ancient One received hit #5000 on Friday, May 2 at 7:13 p.m. It appeared to have come from a Salisbury, NC domain. But based on time at the visitor's location, I suspect it originated here in the Los Angeles area. That conclusion also comes from the Google search that led #5000 to sites related to "ccpt 2008 season." [Note: a later post today will display the flyer for the upcoming CCPT auditions.]


While I feel pretty good about reaching this milestone, I also have come to the conclusion that Sitemeter does not catch all visits to the site. Unless I am mistaken, it misses most of those that bring people who have clicked on a BlogRush widget. And I have noticed several times that people have left comments on posts at times when Sitemeter does not record visits.


Yet questioning the accuracy of the meter is a bit like picking nits. I simply appreciate visits from all who stop by and appreciate the comments that you leave. And now back to more meaningful, less self-serving posts.

One Year Old and Going Strong. . .

I started this blog one year ago today. My initial purpose was to write vignettes from my life and my family's history. I wanted to make sure my children and grandchildren would have some knowledge of what I like to refer to as the Cohanim, i.e. this particular Cohen family. But the blog seems to have taken on a life of its own and the 230 posts prior to today also contain a lot of reflection on daily happenings, especially as they relate to my relatively recent (13 years) love affair with acting. And I talked about things that struck my fancy "along the way" whether it be the beautiful peafowl in our neighborhood, colorful banners (or flags) neighbors hang in front of their homes, some of the spectacular or unusual views I would come upon on my daily walks, the books I've read, movies and plays I've seen, and even new fangled things like waterless urinals.

To celebrate this 1^st anniversary, a new banner graces the top of the screen. Although I took the picture on one of my walks, the banner itself resulted from an offer from blogging friend Eric Valentine and his wife Elizabeth. They are responsible for the actual design. Thank you Eric and Elizabeth for adding a touch of class to my ramblings. [Eric shares his own life experiences and writing at Scattered Chatter where he recently added his own new banner which, I suspect, has Elizabeth's mark on it.]

Those who may have stopped by for the first time in recent months might wonder about the title and subtitle of my online journal. I explained The Ancient One, Blessed Be He in the initial post on February 23 of last year and then added and posted about the source of Ruminations of a Cantankerous Old Curmudgeon in a March 15 post. One comes from my children; the other I borrowed from my father about 40 years after his death. In their origins, these phrases help keep me grounded as I move into the early stages of my 8^th decade on this planet.

As Year 2 begins, I thank all of you who have been part of the nearly 4,200 "hits" to the blog in the 1^st year. I hope you keep coming back and that some of your readers will stop by too!

Hit #4000 - All in the Family?

This site received its 4,000th hit at 5:26:33 p.m. PST this afternoon. It came from a Mindspring/Earthlink address in Brooklyn, NY at 8:26:33 p.m. EST (the sender's local time).


I do believe that this milestone stayed within the Cohanim; I am fairly certain it came from the original blogger in the family that many know better as either Oxypoet or BillyBlog.


If that was you Bill, thank you for being #4,000 in 17 days short of The Ancient One's 1st blogiversary. (OK, I shouldn't invent words, but I sort of like that one.)


And, as I was writing this, hit #4001 arrived. That one appears to have come from my friend Eric Valentine, aka Scattered Chatter from an ISP out of Guelph, Ontario.


I am sure if I am wrong about the sources of these hits, Bill and/or Eric will let me know.


Anyway, thanks to all who have stopped by and contributed to so many hits in less than a year!

Milestones – SAG and Post #200

This being my 200^th post since starting the blog on February 23 of this year, I thought it fitting that I add a 2^nd milestone to the day. I have just returned home from the offices of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). I turned in my membership forms and paid my initiation fee. Just over 13 years after I first got up on stage at the age of 56, I am now a member of two of the three major actors unions. My AFTRA membership was effective December 13, 2006 and the 1^st anniversary of that event was a partial contributor to my finally qualifying for SAG.

Obviously, I am grinning broadly today. As a rather late blooming actor, I feel that I have paid my dues (figuratively as well as literally) and earned my membership in the guilds. Like most other actors, I do not make a living performing but I know that the varied experience gained since I first set foot on stage has brought great joy and a sense of fulfillment to my life.

Hit #3000

This site received its 3000th hit at 5:30 a.m. yesterday. The visitor had an IP Address from Cox Communications in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Another small milestone.

Thank you to all who have visited and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

#2500

The 2500th visit to The Ancient One was recorded at 5:24 p.m. PDT this afternoon. The visitor clicked in from http://del.icio.us/oxypoet at 8:24 p.m. EDT. I'm not sure how del.icio operates but Oxypoet to whom that site appears to belong is none other than my oldest son Bill who has often been referred to in my comments as BillyBlog.


If that was you Bill, you have the honor (?) of being the one who gave me the final click to reach just another little milestone.

I must admit I did not think I would have this many visitors in the 1st 8 months of my blogging "career." Thank you.


Now to move on.

Visitor #2000

Visitor #2000 arrived on the site at 8:07:05 PDT tonight. I don't know who it is although I do know the IP Address is 75.22.84 and that the visitor is here in the Pacific time zone and stops by regularly for very short visits.

Thank you, whoever you are.

And Yet Another Little Milestone

On July 9, I reported the 1000th hit on this site just 1 month to the day after hit #500. And now just 24 days later I have recorded hit #1500. I have no idea who it came from although it was local to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and had a Cox Communications IP Address. And whoever it was found me through a google search which contained the name of our synagogue.

If that person revisits this site, perhaps he/she will leave me a comment. The exact time was 4:07:14 pm PDT.

I'm just a curious kind of guy.

Another Little Milestone

One month ago today, this blog of The Ancient One received its 500^th hit since tracking began. This afternoon at 4:46 p.m. PDT hit #1000 was recorded. It came from a Delta Entertainment IP Address, apparently in Los Angeles. And, based on the Google search that ID'd the site and the length of time the visitor actually viewed it, I suspect it was no accidental hit. Thank you #1000. And, if you are willing, let me know who you are.

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Additional note posted on July 10: After posting this yesterday, I discovered last night at the Much Ado About Nothing rehearsal that #1000 was Eric Billitzer, a fellow CCPT member and cast member in Much Ado. Thank you Eric!

A Minor Milestone. . .for this Blog

Ah yes, this blog has just received its 500^th visit since tracking has begun. It's just a minor milestone but somehow it feels significant. For those who are new to the site and wonder about the name, here are links to earlier posts explaining the origins of both The Ancient One, Blessed Be He and ruminations of a cantankerous old curmudgeon. Please do leave comments on any posts you find worthy.