Category Blogging

What, exactly, was this unsolicited AI email I just received?

Ted Shideler 14 Comments
Read time: 7 min.

Now that we’re a couple of years in, I’m used to blogging in the AI era. Friends and family might send me a screenshot of their favorite chatbot citing one of my blog posts, or I’ll see a couple hundred random referrals from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot. Sunday, though, I got an unexpected email from what purported to be an AI agent. What?

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Four years of Hiding in Plain Sight

Ted Shideler 12 Comments
Read time: 4 min.

I can’t believe I missed it, but Saturday, September 5th, marked Hiding in Plain Sight’s fourth birthday. Here I was yammering on about an old playground when we should have been eating cupcakes together! Oh well. As the child of divorced parents, I’m used to celebrating special occasions a day or two after the fact. Better late than never!

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519 coffees

Ted Shideler 7 Comments
Read time: 3 min.

You and I must share some weird and wonderful interests if you’re reading this. Between old schoolhouses, historic courthouses, flowing wells, Revolutionary War Patriots, abandoned retail, and whatever else catches my attention, I rarely meet people in everyday life who get excited about the same obscure corners of history that we do! Your comments, messages, and shares have meant a lot, and your Ko-fi donations helped keep me going when money was scarce and life kept piling on. Thank you.

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Taking a break from blogging

Ted Shideler 14 Comments
Read time: 4 min.

You didn’t ask for it, but Hiding in Plain Sight is my gift to you and the internet at large. Publishing here is rewarding in its own right, but the real joy comes when we stumble onto something together and get to chat about it. Those shared discoveries, and the conversations that follow, are what make this blog come alive! Unfortunately, I need to step back for a while. Don’t worry, though- new posts will continue to go live every morning.

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Happy blogiversary! Hiding in Plain Sight turns three

Ted Shideler 12 Comments
Read time: 3 min.

Today marks three years since I hit the publish button on my very first blog post here. Some celebrations are in order! A lot of life has happened in that time: I adopted Zulu the cat. I took my first vacation in years. I stepped into a leadership role as editor of the Delaware County Historical Society’s quarterly newsletter and board. I earned a promotion at work.

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A mid-year tip jar update

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: 3 min.

We’ve officially made it past the halfway mark of 2025, and I’ve got some fun news to share: this blog has already outpaced last year’s views and readership by a wide margin. I’m stunned that so many of you have found my oddball fascinations worth a click! Still, in the spirit of a good, old-fashioned pledge drive, I figured it was time for a quick update on your generous support. We can address the tote bags later.

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Fifteen favorites

Ted Shideler 4 Comments
Read time: 5 min.

I’ve published about 950 daily posts since September 2022. It’s not always easy to dig through the archives with nearly a thousand entries, so I thought I’d take a second to shine a light on a few of my personal favorites- posts that meant something to me or that sparked a strong response. If you’re new here or just want to revisit something you’ve missed, this is a good place to start!

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