John Ratcliff's Weblog

I realize that even though I made a couple of posts this weekend I didn't actually talk about the Drum Circle I attended. I didn't take my camera and I'm not sure it would have been appropriate anyway. Since I have joined my metaphysical discussion group I have met some extremely nice people. They told me about 'The Center for Spiritual Living' which is essentially a New Age church. This church has a very strong Native American theme going thoughout their services and decor. The building itself is quite lovely. It has a large wooden sanctuary that mimics a massive tee-pee. They have a great sound system and a massive grand piano. The entire room is extraordinarily warm and inviting. I am really looking forward to going there in the fall and winter. On Friday evening I took my wife, my son John, my daughter Lauren, and her friend Jamie to attend the drum circle ceremony. I have attended one drum circle before and I really enjoyed it. The last one I attended was years...

Hot mom? A few weeks ago I started getting a massive increase in the hits to this site. Almost all of this traffic was due to people looking at images that I host here. It tended to be the same dozen pictures over and over again, like the one above. I couldn't tell 'what' they typed into a search engine to find the picture and it was starting to drive me crazy. I figured it out today. In fact, it should have been pretty obvious in the first place. From time to time I write a little comment under the photographs I post. Sometimes my tounge in cheek comments happen to match *extremely* common search terms on the net. Case in point, this lovely photograph of our friend Dianne Brown eating at the annual 4th of July BBQ draws a great deal of traffic to this site. Why you might ask? Simply because I humorously referred to her as a 'hot mom'. Uh oh! The real key to drawing traffic based on image searches is to always upload *large* images. Nobody wants to look at little bi...

As I'm sure you know by now, the Internet is a squirmy beast. I kind of 'put myself out there' by posting so much stuff online. In return the creepy-crawly search engines build references and cross-references to every word I type and every picture I post. When a few weeks ago I made a post about the 'Limey Birds' and a few days later I was the number three hit on Google for that phrase I knew I was on to something. I have a piece of property in Lake of the Ozarks I would like to sell. I originally bought it with the idea that I would retire there and, if not, it would make a good investment. Well, I have been rethinking things quite a bit and my wife and I are now considering just retiring here in Lake Saint Louis on our little baby lake. That leaves the property as nothing more than an investment. I'm sure it is still a great investment but now with the emotional aspect of thinking about 'retiring there' gone, it doesn't seem nearly as appealing. Mo...

I received this really nice email from Right Worshipful Brother Russ Tinker today and I thought I would share it with my friends. Because I am a Freemason... ~... I believe that freedom of religion is an inalienable human right and tolerance an indispensable trait of human character; therefore, I will stand in my Lodge with Brothers of all faiths, and respect their beliefs as they respect mine, and I will demonstrate the spirit of Brotherhood in all aspects of my life. ~... I know that education and the rational use of the mind are the keys to facing the problems of humanity; therefore, I will bring my questions and my ideas to my Lodge, and strive to advance the growth of my mind alongside my Brothers. ~... I know that the rich tradition of Freemasonry and its framework of Ritual are important platforms for growth and learning; therefore, I vow to stand upon these platforms to improve my self as a human being, and I vow to help in the mission of the Craft to provide tools, atmosphere,...

I have a hit counter on this site that also logs 'track-backs'. A track-back simply records what URL someone was at before they came to your site. I have always found this quite interesting as I can usually get the exact search phrase someone used to get to this site. In the past I have found some pretty funny ones. Lately most of the searches have been variations on the phrase 'reasons to become a freemason' I am now the #1 hit on Google for that particular phrase and I am pretty high up on a number of variations. I still recall how bizarre I thought it was when I saw someone arrived at this site by typing the phrase 'freemason pink tutu'. First I was surprised this was a hit for my site at all and, second, I was freaked out by why someone would have searched on such a phrase. Since then I remain the #1 hit for that particular phrase. " Freemason Pink Tutu " that has gotta be right up there with " Snakes on a Plane ". However, for the past ...

My weekend isn't over yet, but I had an hour free to upload photographs from yesterday's activities. Last evening I attended the Saint Louis Aces tennis match and was pleasantly suprised to see that Billy Jean King was there as an honored guest. I am a tremendous fan of Billy Jean King and not just because of her astounding tennis legacy but mostly for what she has done for the sport of tennis. I believe World Team Tennis is a great addition which allows people all over the country the chance to see professional tennis, famous players, and exciting young talent. Last evening, while I was in the VIP tent, some young ladies were selling raffle tickets to raise money to support the lupus foundation . I bought ten dollars worth of raffle tickets. The third place prize was $100, the second place prize was a jersy signed by the entire team and Billy Jean King, and the first place prize was tickets to the US open. As you can see, I won the second place prize and was able to get my ph...