Blogger and WordPress

 I have used Blogger software since 2005.  I am quite satisfied with its performance over the years.  It is free, expandable, reliable, and easy to use.  

Today, I signed up with Bluehost's server hosting of a WordPress site.  I paid $104 for a one year subscription.  It is at   https://www.michaelpgarofalo.website  

I know nothing about using WordPress so it will take a few months to get rolling.  If I can't do much more with WordPress than Blogger, or my many existing websites already can, then I won't renew WordPress.  We all have spent a lot of money over the decades on software.  Some software we love, and some is a waste of our money.  Right now, I favor Blogger over WordPress.  

 A Repost from the Cloud Hands Blog from 2016:

Cloud Hands Blog Name??

Why call this blog "Cloud Hands"?  What does "Cloud Hands" mean?

The title phrase "Cloud Hands" comes from Tai Chi Chuan practices.  One movement sequence in Tai Chi Chuan is called "Cloud Hands."  Variations of the name include "Waving Hands Like Clouds" or "Moving Hands Like Clouds."  

The movement sequence is from left to right, done two to four times, with both legs and arms moving fluidly, slowly, gracefully, and expressively.  

The ability to use the hands creatively, gracefully, beautifully, skillfully, and artistically is essential to nearly all arts.  The whole subject of Hands is hightly interesting to me.  

Clouds can form dramatic and changing sights in the sky.  They can be calm and beautiful, or awesome, or frightening.  The cloud cover changes throught the seasons are provides endless variety.  

Rolling clouds and rolling hands.  Flowing clouds, rivers of air and water, out of reach, out of hand; but mimicked, imitatated, pretended, played ... playing hands like clouds.  


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



The Cloud Hands Blog has now served up over 700,000 page views of my daily blog posts to readers around the world 

In October of 2015, this blog had page views of 600,000.  In February of 2015, this blog had 500,000 page views.  

I have made over 2,411 posts to this Cloud Hands Blog.  My first post to the Cloud Hands Blog was made on October 26, 2005.

There were 20,450 page views of posts to the Cloud Hands Blog in the month of May, 2016.  There are 90 persons who follow my blog posts by automatic 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.  Ninth, Blogger is a free application provided by Google.  

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 the content of all my 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 detailed alphabetical 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 33 million webpages were served to people all around the world from the Spirit of Gardening website from 1999-2016.  I use BlueHost for hosting my webpages. 

I have been creating webpages at Green Way Research since 2001.  Each year over 1.3 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 4,000 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 2016, I completed adding over 25 English language translations for each Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations, 2 German and 1 French translation for each of the 81 chapters of the Daodejing, and indexing by English, Wade-Giles, and Spanish language terms for all the Chapters.  Each Friday, I submit a post on the Daodejing to the Cloud Hands Blog.

I always respond to comments to one of my webpages.  However, readers seldom make comments.  

In 2016-2017, my reading, research, and writing will be focused on on Epicureanism, Hedonism, Utilitarianism, 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.  My views on developing a philosophy of life might not appeal to some - so be it.

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:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

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