Monday, May 30, 2016

25,000 Views


Last night, The Rocket N00b blog hit 25,000 page views.


I started this blog in August of 2014 - less than two years ago. I don't know if 25,000 is a lot of page views for a blog that's nearly two years old, because I have nothing to compare it to. But it feels like a lot, and it's certainly more than I ever expected!


Whether you're a n00b to rocketry, or a BAR (Born Again Rocketeer) returning to the hobby after a long hiatus, I hope you've found something useful or helpful on this blog. And if you're a more experienced rocketeer checking out these pages, I hope you at least enjoyed reading it and looking at rocket pictures.

I don't always get to post as often as I'd like. I might get busy, and not have much time to write anything worthwhile. On a good week, I'll write several new posts. Sometimes it will have been a couple of weeks since I last posted.

Sometimes, if it's been a while, I'm tempted to write something, anything, just so that there's a new post on the blog. But I don't want to do that. Sometimes I'll look at some of the posts I've got started and realize that they'll take a lot of fact checking, writing, and photographs before I'm satisfied with them.

Even though this isn't my job, and I don't make any money from the blog, I do feel a sense of responsibility to The Rocket N00b. Rocketry has added a lot to my life, and I'm fascinated by it, so I really enjoy passing along what I've learned to beginners. I don't want to publish something if it's badly written or lacking some key information, because I want a beginner to understand what I'm writing about, even if they have no background in whatever the topic is at hand - model building (tools, painting techniques, what CA glue is or that sandpaper comes in different grits, etc.), basic rocket science (Newton's laws of motion, center of pressure and center of gravity, etc.), or any other prerequisite knowledge. So I really try to spell things out, and hope that it doesn't get boring for people who already know what I'm talking about.

And I want to add enough photographs to make it visually interesting.


Thanks to Chris Michielssen, for all the tips and support. Thanks to the Rocketry Show guys for inviting me to be on the podcast - that was an unexpected, fun surprise. Thanks to Ted Macklin for the encouraging emails and comments, and for inventing the Guillotine Fin Jig. Thanks to Kenn Blade, president of CMASS, for being such a nice, welcoming guy. Thanks to Chad, for inadvertently getting me into this obsession, and thanks to my girlfriend for putting up with it.

Thanks for reading. I hope you've enjoyed it. It's made this a lot more fun for me.

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4 comments:

  1. Congrats on 25000 view and thanks to you too, Daniel. I've learned a lot over the past several months as I went from new BAR who didn't know how to fill spirals to getting my L1 last weekend at NSL. I continue to learn a lot from your blog. Keep up the great work!

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    1. Thanks, Jeff, and congrats on your L1! Hope to get mine soon!

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  2. Congrats. I've enjoyed a lot of your discussion, and you do a good job of motivating me to try new things.

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