Milestones

The mile is a fairly strange thing, but I grew up with it. Being a distance of 1760 yards, with a yard being 3 feet (each of 12 inches) the somewhat arbitrary nature of this imperial measure was obvious. But in their way, all milestones are arbitrary. On the literal road, the pace that takes you past a stone marker every 8 furlongs (each of 10 chains, each of 22 yards of course (and on course)) is little more significant than the pace that succeeds or precedes it.  However, we need to mark progress and a stone by the road is as good a way as any. So it is with metaphorical milestones too.

I expect to report on four metaphorical milestones over the next few days.

I can start with two of them today.

Over the weekend, the readers’ survey on this blog passed 500 respondents (and 600 today). The results already look interesting but there is plenty of time for you to take the five minutes that it will take to complete the survey. Results in the new year.

This morning I noticed that my Twitter following passed 18,000 followers overnight. No more significant than 17979 really, nor than 18,002, but a milestone.  Thank you to all who follow @markavery

A less obvious and welcome milestone on this site is that today, maybe tomorrow, we will pass the milestone of the spam filter sieving out over a million spam comments. These are the comments you don’t see, and I usually do not look at closely, but which flood all such websites. Sent out by technology based all over the world, these spam comments contain links to websites selling fake handbags, boots and perfume for the most part it seems.  It seems to me a somewhat sad comment on our times that the readers of this blog have made over 25,000 genuine comments here and the world of commerce has attempted to place a million (once that milestone is reached) advertising related comments here. It’s a funny old world.

The fourth approaching milestone is one that will give me quite some pleasure – when our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting reaches 20,000 signatures. If this happens in the next few days, then it will be a lovely Christmas present for me – and for some of you – and will feel like a real, solid, painted, well-numbered and notable milestone.  But it’s down the road a few paces yet, as we are on 19,940 signatures, but it is well within sight, getting closer all the time, and creates a spring in my step. Please sign here.

 

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