Facebook just announced that they’re going to be opening up a new can of worms in a couple of days, allowing each person to claim a username. It’s kind of a big deal, a potential game-changer for Facebook, as they’ve always resisted the username trend to ground their user base in actual identities, in real names. I’m quite interested to see how else they choose to use these usernames down the road.

It got me thinking, though … starting nine years ago, when I first registered http://webel.net, I’ve tried to keep things simple by going with the username “webel” on various services (i.e. Twitter, Flickr, etc). Short and sweet, you know? But now I’m starting to wonder if that’s really the best strategy.

If I changed my username to “lancewebel” on all of these services, for example, it would do a couple of things … first, it’d allow me to have a standard name that’s always available (so I wouldn’t have to fight with my own relatives). Second, it’d be much more search-friendly … anyone entering my first and last name would be more likely to find me if both of those were in my URL/information.

But it wouldn’t be all short-and-sweet anymore.

Hmm. I guess I have a couple of days to decide how to handle this from here on out, ’cause once I choose a Facebook username, it’s permanent. What do you think … should I go with “webel” or “lancewebel”?

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I guess I could attribute that to a number of things … first, my life has been quite interesting and busy. When that happens, one of the first things to go is my website. Second, I’ve been seeking out creativity and excellence in my real life, so publishing things virtually has become pretty stagnant (except for, maybe, on Facebook). And finally, I’ve honestly just been lazy about it lately.

Judging from the stats, it looks like most of my regular visitors have either given up on visiting or decided to take a break … I’m only getting about 30 unique hits per day, half of them from random web searches. I’d expect that to pick up again once my content warrants it … but that’ll probably take a while.

Regardless … I’m back. Nice to [kinda] see you again.

I’ve received several emails lately from people claiming that they want to advertise on this blog. One was about casinos, another from a company called Reach Networks … and then there’s this dandy:

Hi,

I’m a representative from a dating site and would be glad to advertise in http://www.webel.net/archives/category/love. Kindly email me back if you’re interested so we could discuss pricing and other details. Thank you for your time.

Dulce

I’m not sure that I want to deal with it. But the simple fact that his name is “Dulce” is pretty convincing …

it’s getting really hard to stay quiet, cause i don’t have much else to say.

Here are some of the interesting Internet searches that have led people to webeldotnet recently:

the birth date of sadam husien
how pronounce Orual
“you want tibet”
daisy zhou
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Amy Eldridge, Love Without Boundaries
Walden University Integrative Essay
Quotes from A bone from a dry sea
what is the truth but a set of lies agreed upon
camping minivan transformation
不到长城
dating headers
rachel bordelon
webeldotnet
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Janice Tsai Jezek
Chinese hair cuts
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cambodian genocide quotes
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Kevin Smith lockland Computer Teacher
quotes on faith grahm
how to make a good bobble tea
Did you spot the Gorilla video
MSI koh matthew
don’t try to carpet the world.. wear slippers
matt and emily wicker
Saburido blog
“heartquake chengdu”
china worldteach blog
chinese haircuts
crazy queries
i don’t want no pickle
is gmail or yahoo mail better

And my top five favorites …

what happened to hypercolor
students “kick each other in the groin”
Bill Cosby and God saw what he created and it was good
what clouds do or Silently Flowers resembles beauty less than our breathing
is robbie knievel a democrat

Well, that was fun. Thirty days, thirty “real” blog posts. It was harder than I thought … not only to come up with significant things to say, but also to simply write so consistently. I kinda cheated a little more lately, mostly because I was so busy living life that I didn’t want to stop and blog. But in the end, I think it was good … forcing us all to think a little more. I’ve still got some lingering issues that I’m sure will come up here or there … so don’t expect this website to become all sugary and fluffy anytime soon.

I’ve also come to the end of yet another school year. I’m absolutely exhausted this time … readjusting to our crazy culture and lifestyle was really difficult, and I simply ran out of steam a few weeks ago. I’ve been hanging on for dear life, trying to maintain as much focus in the classroom as possible why trying to keep my sanity in the background. I think I just fell across the finish line. And now it’s time to sleep … for a month.

Honestly, I don’t know how people work 12-month jobs. The intensity level must not be anywhere near what I experience … or they must have to find some incredible coping mechanisms. Personally, I’ll take seasons … life, death, and regrowth. I’ll take margin in my life, a time to just relax and recover. I’ll take days of sabbath-time.

And I’ll definitely take June, July, and August!

I think that blogging often brings out the worst in me.

Sometimes people who read my blog tell me that I have strong opinions. Other times they say that I have strong arguments. I tend to disagree with both statements.

I’ll start with the arguments, that one’s simple. Just look at the last few posts and you’ll see that my arguments are anything but strong … they’re usually full of holes, contradicting other people’s experiences and leaving out key factors and variables. I’m not a mathematician or a scientist, and rarely do I really want to “prove” these arguments beyond a shadow of a doubt. My intentions are almost always otherwise (but I’ll leave them to your imagination).

And my opinions? In person, it’s probably easier to tell that I don’t feel nearly as strongly about things as it might seem from my blog posts. I’m very willing to listen to other ideas, and I usually, over time, morph my own opinions to reflect the ideas and experiences that I am exposed to. In fact, the opposite is often true … people sometimes get perturbed because I’m too casual, accepting, or laissez-faire. I simply “don’t care” about some of the things that they really think are important.

So if it’s not strong opinions or arguments, then what’s up? A strong writing style? Arrogance? Not knowing when to say when? Or just plain lunacy? I’m not sure … in fact, I don’t think I have an opinion on that argument.

When I look back at what I’ve posted here recently, it’s pretty entertaining … funny stories, interesting photos and videos, and controversial issues. But there seems to be a lack of substance … a turning away from the good stuff.

So enough of that. For the month of May, I’m going to try something new. Every day I’m going to attempt to post something real, something meaningful or genuine. I’m not sure what that’ll look like … maybe personal revelations, hard questions, disturbing stories, hunches from my spirit, or lessons I’ve learned. I’m not going to try to defend or explain them too much … so take them as you will.

And as a reminder, webeldotnet is not me. I know that it’s natural to judge a person by what he says, but there’s always more to what you read here. If you have a question or problem with what I write, just call me … I’m often wrong, and I really appreciate feedback and smackdowns from my friends. It’s good for me … and for our friendship too!

Here are some of the interesting Internet searches that have led people to webeldotnet recently:

why aren’t americans allowed to travel to cuba?
“jumbo jenga”
Wal-Mart in China
“opportunity to be courageous” evan all mighty quote
pick a candidate least important
educ 6625 week 4 application
Kick ass cover letters
“Texas Tea” Cars Pixar
video clip idea mark 4:21-25
everywhere like such as
history is a set of lies agreed upon
geri samuels dunk tank
The More Things Change the More Things Stay Insane
kelli faust
inconvenient lies
women’s water-resistant warm-ups
LianGong Machine
pandas breeding
Ikea USA
twelve items or less
redsquare game
appledotcom
nyhuus cold lake
sadam hoosane
galangba,china
chris rice and muppets play
first time marathon stories
babies born with a vsd
changsha SWI
don’t swallow your gum
bodies the exhibit cincinnati
pictures of babies with tetralogy of fallot
Cincinnati, Snow & Ice, February 11th & 12th
Lance Webel mom
“Rick and Mary Claire”
grace reifenberg
how to pronounce Lechatelier
yes we can builder obama
webelrino
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what is the law of how many kids you can have in china
don´t swallow your bubble gum
cctv9
homeschooling in Germany

And my top five favorites …

Define Nappy Hair
hollow books for bookshelves
roethlisberger belly button
creepy mccreepster
how to build my own sidecar hearse

Here are some of the interesting Internet searches that have led people to webeldotnet recently:

what makes palms sweat
snowing in yangshuo
like such as the iraq
涟钢中学
childrens go for school camping photos
“communicating with tact” - lesson plan for middle school
pronounce le chatelier
nygirlofmydreams found her
legirons photo
imperialism artwork
Recognizes and plans for student diversity and achievement based on observations and knowledge
yule right in china artificial tree
the iraq everywhere
great wall marathon
what presidential candidate do I align wit?
capture cincinnati photo contest
glad to hear about you two dating
dolfen and jewish
2007 teacher dunk tank photos
Chinese haircuts
webel gun
” Lonnie Black” Cincinnati Ohio
game of moving blue rectangles
photos of dead fish in polluted water
Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC Global Warming
yule logs
Lance Wubbles
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appledotcom
incessant talking children
funny absence excuses
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how do i beat the game warbears bank robbery

And my top five favorites …

what happenned in 1978
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“killed him by sitting”
celebration kill me tomorrow fantastic magic

Ok, I’ll admit it. There’s no good reason why I haven’t been posting lately … I’ve got lots of interesting stuff going on, I’ve been online quite a bit, and I’ve been finding or thinking of dozens of new post-able things every day.

In a strange way, I think I’ve been subconsciously using this blog as a way to connect with people as I’ve lived a transient lifestyle (or, as my students would say, as I’ve been a hobo) for the past 11 years. But now that I actually have an address, a real place to call “home”, I think that I’m subconsciously hoping to connect with people on a more tangible level instead. I don’t know, that’s just a guess. Or a rationalization.

Regardless, here’s an update, bullet-style, of some new things going on in Webelworld:

• This past weekend my brother and his family came to visit … we got to swim in their hotel pool then hang out at my place while a huge snow storm blew in. I even won a rousing game of Monopoly (it’s becoming a favorite among my nephews and nieces).
• The house is really coming along … many of the little fix-it projects have been getting checked off of the list, and much of my spare time is still spent finding furniture and items to fill in the gaps and cozy this place on up. In the past week or so, I’ve added a door in the basement, a couch and loveseat, a dining room table and chairs, a basketball hoop, a window blind, some kitchenware, and a Christmas tree … all for free!
• The semester is almost over at school (only a day and a half left!). Classes have been alright, and in general the year has been flying. Most notable there is the tremendous blessing it’s been to connect with two other “special” teachers … for the first time in a while, it’s safe to say that I’m part of a “clique”. Yay for friends!
• I think that a piece of China got accidentally lodged in my heart … and now it’s growing. I just can’t get enough of those beautiful people and the fascinating place that they call home!
• I had a great visit from Austin, my closest cousin … we really haven’t connected much in the past few years so it was so good to watch some football, argue like Webels, go see Andrew Peterson, set up my living room, and go to church together.
• I’ve been keeping my house at 55 degrees. It’s more of a “why not” thing than a “why” thing.
• Morning carpool duty still sucks [the life out of me].
• In the five days since I’ve put a “For Rent” sign in front of my house, I’ve received about a dozen emails and phone calls. It scared my current tenants into turning in their new rental applications … and it’s been encouraging to know that I’m in a desirable location with some good curb appeal!
• I still haven’t gotten groceries since I moved here … not quite sure what I’ve been eating.
• It’s probably good that I just lost to my nephew, Nathaniel, in the quarterfinals of our family fantasy football league. Watching the NFL has been a fantastic release and a great way to get lots of things done on the weekends, but it’s undoubtedly turned me into quite a couch potato. Now I can focus all of that extra attention on the Browns and their playoff run!
• I finally thought of this post’s title. It makes me happy.

Goodnight!

An article about zombie cochroaches just made it to the front page of Digg. Strangely, it features a link to my recent Jack Hanna post … and now I’m getting lots of random visitors.

So welcome, Diggers … I hope that you’re amused, bemused, and confused by this little collection of hypertext that I call webeldotnet.

When I meet people, they often seem to already have an opinion about me. It’s weird, man. And it makes me wonder how much of that is because of this website …