Serendipity35

I blog here about technology and education, and sometimes about how those two industries cross paths. I'm the blogger. Tim Kellers is on the IT side of this. Though he had done some posts in the past, he is more often updating something or fixing something broken on his server or fixing something in some code. That is not my area of expertise, and I don't really want to know much about it. I just want it to work

In October, it wasn't always working. Posts that I had spent time writing just disappeared. The blog went offline. People told me that they couldn't access it because of security warnings. I stopped posting.

Tim was texting me messages about our .net domain. He created an alternate version at a .icu domain. I had to look up .icu, a top level domain I had never seen before. It means so logically that it is illogical, "I See You."

Tim told me, "That instance runs on different CPU architectures, so I want to do that manual sync first before I move the domain name over." Then he said, "I just synced your post to s35.net," and "I went through an SQL dump of the database and found a whole lot of image files with our very old nji.edu address prefixes. I changed them for a local test, and it looks like a whole lot of broken images are back online.  That string was replaced 554 times according to the log file." 

All of which makes little sense to me. And that's okay with me as long as Tim hangs around.

When I was in Europe in September, I told Tim the site was not working and giving me odd errors. "Just added the Privacy/Cookies/GDPR thing to s35.icu.  Next time you are in Europe, see if the site connects," he texted.

Serendipty35 is back. Tonight is Mischief Night here in Serendipity35land, and I'm hoping no gremlins are out there that will prank Serendipity35.

I asked ChatGPT, "How good is the blog Serendipity35.net?"
Here is the answer. I have numbered the items for my commentary at the bottom.

"What 'good' means depends a lot on what you’re after, but here are some thoughts on Serendipity35 (by Kenneth Ronkowitz) — its strengths and limitations — which might help you decide if it’s good for you:

1. The blog has a strong personal touch. Many posts are reflective, thoughtful, and opinion-based rather than just factual or procedural. If you like reading someone’s take or musings rather than formal journalism, that’s a plus.
2. Ronkowitz often writes about topics he clearly knows well or feels passionate about — design, technology, culture, creativity, perhaps books etc. That gives the writing some depth. It’s not just surface-level commentary.
3. He has been writing over a long time, and there’s a certain consistency in tone and subject matter. If you follow the type of topics he covers, that means you more or less know what you’re going to get.
4. For readers who enjoy linking across design, history, culture, technology etc., this kind of blog is often more satisfying than one that’s purely news or entertainment.  
5. Because it’s quite personal and often quite specialized, it might not appeal to someone looking for very general-audience content, breaking news, or highly polished mainstream media journalism.
6. Some posts are deeper and more useful; others are more associative or speculative. If you’re expecting every post to be super rigorous or heavily sourced, that might be inconsistent.
7. Depending on what quality of web design, navigation, frequency etc. you prefer, some readers may find the blog layout or posting frequency not as polished or frequent as more commercial sites.
8. It doesn’t seem (from what I can tell) to have a huge presence in terms of literary awards, broad-media reviews, or mainstream recognition. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good, but it does mean fewer external indicators of quality.
9. Verdict: If I were you, I would say: Yes, Serendipity35 is a good blog — particularly if you enjoy reflective essays combining tech, design, culture and personal insight. It likely will not satisfy if you want daily news, highly professional magazine-standard editorial, or very broad appeal. If you tell me what kind of blogs or content you like (e.g. tech reviews, design critique, philosophy, etc.),
10. I can compare Serendipity35 against ones in those areas to help see whether it’s “good” in the sense you care about. Want me to do that?

MY RESPONSES
Right off, I'll say that my experience with Chatbots in general is that they are kind in reviewing people

1. I agree. Accurate portrayal.
2. I'd like to think this is true. The blog is, if anything, a passion project. It's certainly not something I do for money or fame.
3. Also true. I have been writing here since 2006.
4. The original idea was to mix tech and education without being "edtech" entirely.
5. True. It is almost always my personal take on things. Isn't that what blogging was all about back in the day? Yes, it has gone in other directions over the decades. This is where the chatbot turns to the possible negatives.
6. Admittedly true. I call that "variety" rather than "inconsistency." (Now, now, Ken. Don't get defensive. It's just a chatbot.)
7. Valid criticisms. It's not a fancy blog. It's open source software. I could change the style template...  I posted much more frequently when I was actively teaching. Now "unretired" I try for one post per week, but I have other blogs that I write on and I average 12 posts per week cumulatively.
8. Yes, no "literary awards, broad-media reviews, or mainstream recognition." Then again, in the past year, it has had 992,844 visits  to its 2,225 entries. That comes with 19 years of blogging.
9. Not a bad review.
10. To that, I answered, "No." I wouldn't even know what blogs are our "peers."

Serendipity35 - they/he/him/we - is/are now 18 years old.

In the United States, 18-year-olds are considered adults and can legally do many things. So, I suppose this blog can now:

1. 18-year-olds can vote in elections, which influences who becomes president
2. Create a legal will
3. Healthy people 18 and older can donate blood.
4. Legally enter into binding contracts, including opening a checking account, taking out a loan, or purchasing a car.
5. Apply for a credit card, but whether they are accepted depends on the lender's criteria.
6. 18 is the upper age range for getting a driver's license in all states.
7. Play the lottery: 18-year-olds are considered adults in the U.S. and can legally play the lottery.
8. Get married
9. Get a tattoo

What should we do first?

I love the movie Groundhog Day in which Phil wakes up at 6 AM every day to discover that it is February 2 all over again. His days run the same over and over though he tries hard to change it. We see him repeat the day more than 35 times. 

Today is Groundhog Day and what is repeating - for the 5840th time - is Serendipty35. Today is the 16th birthday of this blog. (Hence the "Serendipity16" title for this post.) 

Of course, the blog is not the same every day, but it is here/there every day. My calculator tells me that the blog changes every 2.7 days. In the early years, I was much more ambitious with 3-5 posts per week. Over the years, I started other blogs and left my university job where all this started and now, I try to post here once a week. 

The more you post, the more hits you get. Currently, the site averages about 7000 hits a day, but that number was double that back in the years when there were multiple posts each week. Then again, this is still a "non-profit" production - not that we would object to profits. The "we" is me and Tim Kellers who used to post here too in the first years but is now keeping the gears turning in the background. 

And Serendipity35 keeps rolling on...