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It seems a little impossible, but this is the fourth anniversary of starting this blog.  Wow.  That’s a quite a while.  The number refers to the total number of posts since its inception.  Again – wow.

There’s been a lot of social media changes for me over the last year.  Facebook and Twitter have asserted themselves as the places that I go for a quick update or a bit of snark.  Even Goodreads has become the place where I manage my books.  And I don’t think I have to tell any of you that SixApart really isn’t putting a lot of effort into Vox.  I’ve been backing things up in WordPress for that day when things go *poof*, or when the spamming just gets to be too much for me.  Frankly, if I wasn’t so busy (you know, with Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads), that day may have already come.

Big Four

Still, I think an anniversary like this is a good place for a little reflection.  Last month, Erin had a good post that followed a “get-to-know-you” meme for people that might be new to your blog.  I really liked it and I thought today would be a good time to do it:

Your first post

This was my first public post (as opposed to one that was neighborhood only).  It made me sad when Pluto lost its designation as a planet.  Also, I still might be working to come up with a more favorite post title.

A post you enjoyed writing the most

Wow – this is a tough one.  I’ll give a couple that I think best exemplify what I try to do on this blog from time to time.  One is to be personal – and this post about my first ever piano recital captured all the nerves I was suffering that Halloween night.  Another thing I like to write about is science.  There are so many misconceptions about science and scientists that I enjoy conveying (what I think are) interesting tidbits – this post, about how inefficient your genome is.   Another is just having fun and this analysis of peoples’ Thanksgiving Day preferences was really fun to write because so many people (you!) contributed to it.

A post which had a great discussion

There’s been so many posts that have had lively discussions that it’s hard to choose.  The first one might have been when I tossed out the first VIQ (Very Important Question), which concerned the acceptability of cereal for dinner.   This other one – on whether people should or should not put their seats back on airplanes had a lot of great discussion as well.

A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written

Geez.  There have been so many, but this post telling the story (with pictures) of their trying to figure out if their dog was “retarded” was really sweet-hearted.  It made me laugh and it got me choked up at the same time.

Your most helpful post

I’ve spend a lot of time working in endocrinology and metabolism research and while I don’t talk about work too much, I try to get across some of the more interesting and important things.  This post on American diets and portion-control might be my favorite.

A post with a title that you are proud of

Of course, being concerned about obesity and diabetes doesn’t mean that you can’t have a donut from time to time!

A post that you wish more people had read

It’s funny, with all the sturm and drang about Arizona’s immigration law, this post about a stand-off between day-workers and anti-illegal-immigration activists seems almost quaint.  And as an intersection of two things I love (science and music), this post might be my all-time favorite.

Well, it’s been fun sort of going back through memory lane today.  And maybe this exercise has reminded me of why having a blog still has a place amidst the facebooks and twitters and goodreads of the world – this is the space where I come to think, be thoughtful and express myself.

Definitely a Happy Anniversary!

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