Six people voted, including myself, and the results favor keeping the rating system at the end of each post. Additionally I noticed a number of people using the rating system on other posts. The use of the rating system reinforces my decision to keep the rating system. Over the next few days I will roll the rating system out to all the pages in my blog. Until then it will only be available on the main page. Look for a new poll tomorrow! - Sean

The past week or so I have concentrated quite a bit of space on SeanDareOnline.com to our new acquisitions, the new Wii and our new tent. I want to take a moment to discuss happiness and how those recent purchases figure into the bigger picture. Objects don't make you happy. Yes I am excited to have these new toys, the Wii in particular is a lot of fun, but it doesn't bring happiness. In a few years the Wii will be replaced by a better game system and the people reading my posts about the Wii will wonder what all the excitement was about. Chasing after the newest gadget is a quick route to frustration and depression. You will never catch the carrot that the marketing people dangle in front of you.

My friend Tom who writes the In Continuous Pursuit blog has started writing essays as well. Check out his first essay and make sure to leave a comment. ;-) I am glad to have Tom along on the road to writing well. The more people I share it with the more fun it will be! - Sean

I just moved the Poll from the old position between META and SKRIBIT to it's new home between the RSS feed and SYNDICATION. The new position will allow readers to see the Poll without having to scroll down the page, and will place the Poll next to the relevant post (most of the time). Look for the current Poll in the sidebar to the right titled "Should I Keep The Post Rating Feature?" and vote for your preference! - Sean

I have added a new feature which I am not sure I like. It is a rating system at the end of each post. I only added it to the main page of my blog for now. You can see the new rating feature by looking at the bottom of all the posts on the front page of my blog. You will notice five stars with the words (no ratings yet) if no one has voted for that article yet. You can use your mouse to choose the star rating you feel the post deserves and when you do, if others have rated it as well, you can see the results for that post. What I don't know is if this rating system goes with the overall theme of the blog. Do I really want post ratings for announcements like this one? Also, I would prefer to use it for essay posts only. I am not good enough with PHP to code that feature, so for now the ratings would be added to every post. Lastly, I already have a feature like that in the "Polls" that I post in the sidebar to the right. Do I really want to duplicate such a feature? So here is what I decided to do. I am going to use the "Poll" to seek my readers opinion. Tell me what you think, do you think I should keep the rating feature? Should I remove it? Or does it even matter to you? Vote on your answer to see the results so far, and check back to see how the voting comes out. I will keep the poll open until 4:30pm Thursday (CST). - Sean

I got some great feedback from my Essay post on Friday. I have held off on posting all weekend to allow more people to read it. So if you are reading this post and are wondering what post I am referring to, check out Magic in the Morning, which is posted just below this post. I heard two main criticisms concerning the Magic in the Morning post. One, the word "gray" was used a little too much. After hearing this, and then re-reading it, I agree. I wanted to make sure everyone got that it is incredibly gray in the woods after a rain, escpecially in the early morning. I guess I went a little overboard. Two, the bathroom sequence was distracting. I also agree, and I thought about that when I was writing it, but I didn't want the character not go to the bathroom and have some reader out there say, "hey, he didn't go to the bathroom!". The comment that stuck with me was that it seemed to distract the reader. That is a big No-No in writing. Your reader should loose themselves in the story. If something I write distracts them to the point they are no longer absorbed then I have made a mistake. But hey, that is what these exercises are for aren't they? A note on that last comment. I want to use SeanDareOnline.com as a sort of crucible. For those who don't know, a crucible is a container that is heated to extreemly high temperatures. Inside you place impure metal, usually ore containing gold or silver. Once the crucible has reached a certain temperature, and the ore inside has melted, the metal smith will pour off the material that has risen to the top which is called dross. The dross is the impurities of the metal ore. In effect the crucible purifies the metal ore. I want SeanDareOnline.com to purify my writing. So keep those comments coming! ;-) One last note. I don't really see ghosts when I am camping. I just feel connected to the past and to God when I am in the woods. I thought the ghosts would make a good illustration of that point. Special thanks to the commentors:

• My Aunt Jan
• My Uncle Pat
• My friend Tom, who has a blog by the way!

- Sean

I can hear fluttering, like someone is lashing a wooden board with a strip of velvet, it draws me slowly back to consciousness. Without opening my eyes I stretch out and feel a cool spot at my toes. I smile and listen to the fluttering. As I move steadily toward a more conscious state I hear more sounds; I hear...chirping. Light chirping sounds mixed in with the fluttering. I breath in deeply and then roll back and forth slightly, trying to work my way back into warm sleep. I try relaxing and letting myself fall back into my dream, but it is too late. I am awake. I lie there for a moment and listen to the birds outside my window. I roll over and slowly unzip the nylon panel that covers the screen window in my tent. I open the zipper no more than two inches and pull it open to spy on the birds. I search for them in the gray of early dawn. At first I don't see them, they are further away than I expected. I finally catch sight of them, a blur of gray amongst the darker gray of morning. The two birds flit and flutter around each other, taking jabs when the other one leaves an opening, bobbing and weaving away from each others beaks and talons. This early morning ritual has something to do with mating, I try to remember what, but I can't.

Jenn and I played the Wii for the first time last night.  We ended up playing Wii Play for two and a half hours!  Man what fun.  Jenn and I liked the cow racing and pool the best.  I liked the fishing as well.  Not sure I liked Ping Pong.  Can't wait to get off work so I can play some more tonight! - Sean

Check out this post about Camp Cooking on the Students of Success blog. I have learned these same lessons by making my own mistakes. I especially like the advice on how to prepare chicken. Those of you who are camping newbies take note. ;-) - Sean

Check the sidebar to the right for a new poll Titled "How Do You Camp?" ;-)

Also be sure to read my post about our new tent! - Sean