Cloud Hands Blog Usage Report

The Cloud Hands Blog has now served up over 600,000 page views of my regular blog posts to readers from around the world.  

By February of 2015, this blog had served up 500,000 posts.  By July of 2014, it had served up a total of 400,000 page views.

I have made over 2,230 posts to this Cloud Hands Blog.  My first post to the Cloud Hands Blog was made on October 26, 2005.

There were 14,179 page views of the Cloud Hands Blog in the last month, and over 530 page views yesterday.  There are now 101 persons that follow this blog by email. 

I have had some positive feedback and awards for the Cloud Hands Blog. 


Thank you very much to all those persons that have read the posts to this blog.  


Last year, I added a Translate button at the top of the right sidebar so that non-English readers can read the post in the language of their choice, albeit within the limitations of automatic machine translations.

I use Blogger for a number of reasons.  First, blogging provides a permanent record of one's written contributions with backup files.  Second, your posts can be indexed in a variety of ways.  Third, it provides a useful and flexible structure for linking to other related websites and blogs.  Fourth, people can subscribe to your posts via an email blog aggregator.  Fifth, your posts and content links are added automatically and immediately to the Google and Bing indexes.  Sixth, you can display photos, graphics, and UTube embeds in your blog.  Seventh, web publishers can use their blog to create a alternative front-end index to their other websites and webpages.  Eight, it serves as my readily available online notebook. 

The nice aspect of any Blogger blog is the fact that all posts are thoroughly indexed by topics shown in the lower right side bar.  The blog has a search box at the top left hand corner of the blog that provides full access to all past posts.  Also, there are links in the right sidebar to other blogs and webpages by others that are worth exploring and reading.

My Cloud Hands Blog is primarily a online vehicle for referring people to my hundreds of webpages with specific, extensive, and focused content on subjects of interest to me, and updating my readers on the webpages I am currently creating or improving.  Links in each post point to relevant material in my webpages on a particular subject. A partial index to my many webpages can be found at Green Way Research. 

I have been creating webpages at the Spirit of Gardening website since 1999.  Over 32 million webpages were served to people all around the world from the Spirit of Gardening website from 1999-2015.  I use BlueHost for hosting my webpages. 

I have been creating webpages at Green Way Research since 2001.  Each year over 1.5 million webpages are served up from the Cloud Hands website which includes Cloud Hands Taijiquan, Valley Spirit Qigong, Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices, A Philosopher's Notebooks, The Good Life, and One Old Druid's Final Journey. 
 

Over 4,400 persons have written to me since 2000 to tell me how these hundreds of webpages have provided them with enjoyment, inspiration, information, and insights; or, to ask me questions.  

My main webpage efforts in 2015 had been weekly work on the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  By June of 2015, I completed adding over 25 English language translations for each Chapter, 3 Spanish language translations for each of the 81 chapters of the Daodejing, and indexing by Spanish language terms for all the Chapters.  Each Friday, I submit a post on the Daodejing to the Cloud Hands Blog.

In 2016,, my reading, research, and writing will be focused on on Stoicism, Hellenistic philosophy, embodied cognition, pragmatism, metaphors, fitness practices, self-help, and the senses. I focus on a more limited set of topics on this blog, and seldom comment on current events.

My wife, Karen, and I are very active gardeners.  Therefore, I post on this subject quite often. 

Hopefully, posts to this blog will benefit my readers in some positive way, lead to discovering other mind-body fitness options they might explore, and providing a little insight on topics of mutual interest.

Yes, I do repeat previous blog posts.  Few busy people have the time to post original material each day unless the blog is a steady source of income for them. Since I am 70 years of age, semi-retired, and still work two part-time jobs for 30 hours total each week, actively garden, and exercise six days a week, my time available for original creative writing is somewhat limited. 

Recent Feedback and Kudos from my Readers:

"Michael Garofalo has a variety of superior online directories, and his catalogues of poems (including his own) and his writing are worth perusing.  Of special note are his webpages on Daoism and the Tao Te Ching."
-  Gerald A. Sharp, Chi Flow, 2015

"Mr. Michael P. Garofalo has done excellent research and comparisons of the various translations of each verse of the Tao Te Ching.   Thanks to him, we can easily see how various scholars translated the verses; for example, look at Verse 6."
-  Tao by Matsumoto

"I love your blog and look forward to the notification in my inbox that you've published another post. It is a centre of quiet and sanity in my stressful life and helps draw me back to my centre. It is better than any pill that my doctor prescribes. Many thanks, Anne.
-  Anne, Just an Old Fashioned Girl Blog, 9/20/2015

"Hi Mike, I really enjoyed your website!"
-  Shifu Elaine Waters, Colorado, 9/15/2015

"Dear friend, your site is a nice trove of information."
-  Shifu Careaga, Jiang Hu Wulin Group, 9/12/2015

"Hi Mike, thank you very much for the very useful information on swinging arms Qigong."
-  Brother Promise, Plum Village Org, France, 7/27/2015

"I found your web pages which are nearly perfect, totally helpful like an encyclopedia, and well thought out.  Congratulations, and thank you for giving us the opportunity of using them."
-  Selma Erdal, Istanbul, Turkey, 7/12/2015

"I started doing Tai Chi 2 years ago and discovered your website about a year ago.  Thank you so much for creating and/or organizing the information available there.  It has been invaluable as a resource in helping me advance my Tai Chi practice. I am especially grateful for the detail instructions on the 24 and 108 hand forms, the 32 sword form and the various fan forms."
-  Ingrid Chin, 6/23/2015 

"I have been reading your work for a while and think very highly of it. I am working upon Master Chen's request on a book on Tai Chi but my writing pales in comparison to yours."
-  Robert G. Downey, Madison, Florida, 2/25/2015

"I was looking for some materials concerning Taijiquan and Qigong, and quite naturally I found your websites, which seem to be the most elaborate (and even in some way "scientific") to be found on the internet.  There can be no doubt that I admire you for this large amount of work which you put in those subjects - which is, of course, an huge amount of life, too."
-  Hanjo Lehmann, M.D., Berlin, Germany, 2/19/2015

"Just a note of appreciation for all the time you spent on your website for the 32 step sword form.  I'm just starting to learn the form and know I will be referring to your work a lot.  Thank you so much for sharing your expertise."
-  Kristina Endo, 2/15/2015

"I recently began studying with Dr. Ming Wu (wuhealing.com) in West Hartford, CT. Being directionally challenged, I researched guides to the Traditional Yang Style Long Form and Short Form.  Your clarity of organization, together with the directions for each movement has been an essential learning tool.  I have been taking handwritten notes to adapt your form to his teaching, detailing the differences in direction and movement from class and from Dr. Wu's videos on his website. My next step is to review the descriptions in detail with Dr. Wu.  Your pairing of the visual image of the compass with the movements has been invaluable.  I adapted the wuhealing logo into a compass as a visual guide."
-  Lynn Mangini, 12/23/2014 

"I happened to stumble on to your webpage on the Taiji Jian Form, then continued to surf through the many links on it.  I immediately noticed a marked difference between your website pages, and that of others which I have chanced upon in the past. You took the trouble to reference every source that you quoted, and did so in a very systematic and user-friendly manner.  Plus, it was done in a proper manner.  In compliance with academic standards.  These details drove me to investigate further... and then, I suddenly noticed that your website was recently updated in September 2015, and yet, your earlier webpages dated way back a over decade ago. Your collective knowledge of academic referencing standards, plus website design best practices, plus in depth and obvious passion for Taiji, is just simply astounding!These skills are rarely seen in combination.  Don't worry 'm not a salesperson or anything. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your work.  Thank you for sharing your Taiji knowledge freely online, and in such a professional manner.  I am impressed."

-  Roz Hussin, October 7, 2015 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

Best wishes for good health, contentment, and peace,
Mike Garofalo