This is probably because I am running out of Ritalin. But I am starting to think about changing the way the blog looks.
WordPress has a bunch of templates, and I’ve noodled with a few of them before. And each of them offers something different–but I usually lose a few characteristics somewhere in the fog of doing so as well.
Nonetheless, the fits and turns, the shiftless malcontentment that befits a middle aged man in need of a Johnny-jump-up is driving me to fool around with the schematics.
Either way, my traffic is steady here. Thank you for playing along. And thank you all for your feedback. It is appreciated.
Master Of None 
You in a Johnny-jump-up is a bad word picture! I’d suggest toying with the layout of the blog instead.
In a sense, that is what I mean. I can move things around a bit–and by that I mean “put the instagram feed above the “recent comments feed” and BLAH blah blah . . . WordPress templates are just that–templates. In order to make any real drastic change, I either:
1) try a different template.
2) start writing code
I forgot the name of the coding tweak that one should understand in order to do that (not hymn, although I believe that is the categorical name under which this falls)
Either way, I’m too non-detail oriented to do it without some neuro-trauma.
As far as layout goes: what comes to mind? I’ll look into it.
We’re hanging on for the ride. It will be grand, for sure. Until the next inevitable change.
I like the layout the way it is, so I do not have any suggestions. I have never been all that good at visual creativity, which is one reason I write instead of draw, paint, sculpt, or anything else requiring some sort of artistic visualization.
Yeah. I arrived at this template because it seems to just have the cohesive look that keeps from putting off the reader.
The other issue is the fact that many of the people reading the blog are not seeing it in its template form–it is being recast in a “reader” or some other app that completely bastardizes the look–and never does convey what I’m trying to do. Also, the email subscribers seem to get a version in the email that never fully shows them the structural intent I want baked into my presentation.
And a few of those readers also neglect to show the pictures–so I’m sure a few unwieldy visits to the blog with visual goofs have lost me a few frequent fliers.
I had not thought of those issues, once again proving my lack of creative visual acuity. I mostly read your blog on my laptop for ease of seeing it. Smaller devices, such as an iPhone, do not work as well for my older eyes. I know my webmail has two views – one normal and one for mobile devices for easier reading. I’m not sure how they do that, but they offer it when I’m checking email from a phone. I’ve also seen websites offering the disclaimer that “This site is best viewed in …” I’m sure there is an answer to your dilemma somewhere as there are a gazillion mobile devices in the world, and many more people are getting their web experience from those rather than from a laptop. It might be interesting to poll your readers and see what sort of device they access your blog from. As far as the email version goes, it is a rather stripped down version of your site, though you can click on the link and go to the site itself from the email.