Today is the ninth anniversary of normblog. Yup - July 28 2003, that's the day I started it. In blogging terms, it wasn't just long ago, it was a different era. The blogosphere, as we used to call it, has changed in so many ways.
I thought I'd mark the anniversary by linking to nine posts of mine spread across the years. As it's the weekend and everyone's in festive mood after the Olympic opening ceremony, I'm staying away from the heavy stuff and signalling lighter pieces, one for each year that this blog has been running. I've picked them pretty much at random, by just hopping about in my archives.
From December 2003, a list of my favourite musicals.
From November 2004, a poem I once wrote for my older daughter, Sophie.
From July 2005, a joke about a Jewish couple stranded on a desert island.
From December 2006, the final day of the Adelaide Test of the 2006-7 Ashes series.
From August 2007, an XI of writer-cricketers.
From August 2008, a post about life's chance influences.
From April 2009, my experience of a too invasive hotel shower.
From April 2010, a dissertation on cows standing up and lying down.
From September 2011, the question of whether one absolute wrong can be worse than another.
By the end of yesterday there had been more than 5.36 million visits to this blog - 1600-plus per day on average over the whole period. The number of posts stands at 14,200 and some.