Looking for good journalism is like...

I was perusing the Bing news site today and came across the articles about 50K residents having to evacuate the German city of Hanover so that officials could safely diffuse or remove five unexploded World War II bombs.  They included links for the story for both article and video and this is what it looked like for video:

One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong...

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

OPINIONS are like...

...noses, everybody has one.

Opinions are a great place for starting conversations.

What would you do...?  What do you think about...?  What color would you choose for...?  If you had to do...?  What would you say if...?  How would you arrange...?  Would you invite...?

These are the kinds of questions that get asked daily between friends, families, neighbors, co-workers, and total strangers.  We both ask them and we are asked them.

And what do we do with the answers?  Depends; they are, after all, only opinions.  How do you value an opinion?  Some come freely asked for or not.   Some are given without a thought and some are only given grudgingly as if an opinion is too precious to share.  Sometimes when you get your two cents worth, that is exactly what it is worth, with or without inflation.

And after all, the value of an opinion is only as valid as the source of that opinion and the level of expertise, knowledge, and trustworthiness of the person providing the opinion.  It is up do us to decide whether to act on an opinion or not.

And why do we seek opinions in the first place.  Is it to expand our list of options and possibilities, or discover insights for solving a problem?  Are we looking for a fresh perspective with a new set of eyes or are we really looking for supporting confirmation for a decision already made?

When we seek answers, do we look for advice, direction and guidance or are we really just looking for opinions?  Can we tell the difference?

When you kneel before the Lord in prayer, do you ask for his guidance?  Do you value his answers as such, or do you treat his word as an opinion?  Your actions and the results you will see will tell the story.  It is just a matter of what you want when you are truthful with yourself.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Crazy numbers

I was just looking at some stats for my little blog.  It is interesting but not always enlightening.  recently the average entry view count has gone up dramatically, from just breaking into the double digits to triple digits practically overnight.  I am not sure why.  I haven't noticed any new comments or mentions.  I think maybe it is a fluke of search-bots that started to take notice.  I guess that is okay.  Any attention is flattering.

The numbers indicate that it started a couple of months ago and goes backward to around September 2015 then the numbers drop off to to the first of 2015 when I start seeing numbers more in line with what I have been experiencing for the majority of this little experience.

As I was browsing this list I also happened on a little entry that was a favorite of mine on the special nature of the simple yet profound cookie, an entry made almost 7 years ago.  It had a view count of one.  Still it was one and I am grateful for that viewer.  If you happen to go there and have a read leave a comment of your favorite cookie.

There are several other entries that appear to have topped out at one view.  It happens.  On the other hand the most popular page remains the one I made about the experience I had taking the ACSC course back in September 2008.  If I was into niche marketing this would surely be an opportunity knocking but the subject was one that did not inspire me to invest any more energy with it.  I am guessing that the many page views came from others that were going through the course at the time and they were looking for any insights that would make their experience more manageable.  It is also probably why I have received views from Russia.

So here is entry #194.  According to the stats Farrwestview has had a total of 17,751 page views to date.  All are welcome and I hope that all will find something that will entertain, educate, inform, and enlighten.  After all, this is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.