I’m just always so curious! So it makes it hard for me to resist trying out new gadgets, web widgets and the like.

First, there was this thing called Cafe Press. I saw Rick Mansfield had made some absurd t-shirt and was selling it on his blog. Well, of course! We must have a Lingamish Hippo t-shirt and coffee mug. I even designed the mug so that left-handers can see the picture. And crazy as it sounds, people keep buying these things. I think I’ve got $5 in commissions so far.

Then I stumbled on this thing at Amazon called Honor System. It’s designed for allowing people to make voluntary payments to your blog. So, I tried it. And already people have given me almost $100. Can you believe it?

I’ve also used an Amazon aStore to keep track of books and music that I mention on this blog. This has turned out to be a bit of a pain in the neck. But even so, I’ve received $7.95 in commissions for everything from Bibles to a gyroscope.

The funny thing is that I can’t ever get around to spending all this money. Our current shopping list has things on it like shampoo and flour. The shops in Vila Ulongwe have been empty for more than a week so there’s no danger of me going on a spending spree. And I tried to spend some Amazon cash based on recommendations from all of my nice readers but the Internet connection was so slow that I finally gave up. Maybe next time I’m in civilization I’ll really splash out on some gadgets and books.

Well, riches are available in blogging but it’s not the money. It’s a chance for creative writing and a chance for interacting with wild and wonderful people. Thanks to all of you for making blogging so rewarding. And thanks to all of you who have given me money. I promise to spend it as soon as I can get hooked up to a high speed connection.