Happy Belated Blog Birthday!

Posted on May 29, 2026 | 3 comments

This past year has been so busy that I forgot to wish my blog a happy 21st birthday last month. I know that my writing has been inconsistent the last few years, but I’m still proud to say that my blog is one of the longest running personal blogs in the world.

Don’t believe me? Here’s how ThePhilFactor came to be: I first started writing for fantasy football websites in 2005. Then after three months I decided that I had things to say to the world, and on April 2nd 2005, The Phil Factor was born on the Blogger hosting service, where the first several years of it still exist.

My first complaint to the world was about American Idol, which was all the rage back then. I think it’s become a contest between my blog and American Idol to see who can last the longest.

After a few years I moved my blog to Posterous, which was the first blog posting website that would send your posts to all your socials. After a few years Posterous went out of business and that’s when I moved to WordPress for good.

Then in November of 2014 came the post that almost broke Reddit. Twitter People vs. Facebook People only got 15 comments on WordPress, but when it got shared to Reddit by a stranger, I got 17,000 views in one day. It had pages and pages of peoples comments on the social media war. It was the #1 post in the Reddit humor section for over 24 hours. I’ve written a lot since then, but have never had anything go viral since. Once I did get mentioned on a radio station in Birmingham, England. For you American’s reading this, Birmingham is the second largest city in England.

Blogging has also given me the pleasure of being able to interview some of my favorite authors and occasionally interviewing some great people from the entertainment industry that we’ve all seen on television or movies.

My favorite thing about blogging is the great friends I’ve made. How old is your blog? What do you enjoy most about blogging? What have you gotten back from blogging?

Thanks for reading! ~Phil

 

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I Hate The Mail

Posted on May 28, 2026 | 3 comments

That’s right. I hate the mail. To be very clear, I do not hate the people who process or deliver my mail. They all seem to be lovely people. I just hate the results of their job. It’s not their fault. It’s the fault of many people and companies who create the mail that comes to my house. I realized my dread about the mail today because today was the first day in  eleven months that I did not receive a single piece of mail.

Mail is still astoundingly impressive when you really think about it. You put a piece of paper in an envelope, seal it with your spit and then you put it in a metal box at your house or elsewhere and then it winds up on the other side of the Earth to exactly the one person out of 8.3 billion that you wanted it to go to. Talk about a miraculous dart throw!

So, in general, prior to the last eleven months, me and the mail got along just fine. Then my wife died, and for someone who is not in a position to be opening envelopes she sure has received a lot of mail. Mail that I have to open and do something about most of the time.

Not all of the mail was for her or me. Sometimes it was just “junk mail” as we say here in the States. But..sometimes I’ll be having a perfectly nice day, sun shining, just minding my own business and I open the mailbox and amongst the harmless junk mail is an envelope or two or three, addressed to her or maybe addressed to me regarding her. A piece of legal documentation, or a medical bill, or a magazine subscription that was auto-renewed and now wants to be paid for.

Then today came; the only mail day in almost a year when I didn’t get a single piece of mail. Exhale….

Thanks for reading! Phil

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Somebody’s knockin’ but nobody’s home

Posted on May 17, 2026 | Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a Phil Factor blog, I’m over at Phillivers Travels talking about going to Key West. Don’t worry, I’ll be back here soon with my usual nonsense.

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Surprise, Surprise! A Lesson Learned

Posted on May 16, 2026 | 6 comments

Surprise, surprise! Have you ever been completely overconfident about how something is going to turn out, and then the universe decides to teach you a lesson? I have to admit, that is me lately.

As some of you remember, my wife passed away eleven months ago. Of course, with me being the most unecessarily confident person you would ever meet, I assumed that the rules about mourning apply to everyone except me. One thing I was told and read about mourning is that after a loss like that you should just sit tight for a year and don’t make any major changes.

At first, I didn’t make any major changes. I kept the status quo for most things in my life for a few months before I thought “Pshaw” that year thing applies to other people. I’m Phil.”

Then I started letting myself make some changes here and there. Initially, I started with the house. You know how sometimes you and your spouse have different ideas about decorating in your house, and you let them have things their way because it seems more important to them? Now, it was my turn to decorate the house I live in any way I want, with no one to disagree. I didn’t make any major changes, but even little things felt like big changes. In some ways it felt like I was betraying her. I worried about what the kids would think. I knew it was silly to think that way, but taking those tiny steps of change seemed daunting.

The picture above was created by a friend of me and my late wife, She and her husband have this amazing little shop in a small upstate New York town. In addition to creating art and recreating pieces of furniture or cabinets, she also has courses to teach others to learn what she does. When I stopped into her shop late last summer, I saw this and knew immediately where I would hang it. It’s been there ever since and it makes me smile every day. That little, but important step was my beginning of finding out who I am now in this different part of my life.

I’ve made some other changes since and I feel comfortable in my house, but sometimes when I least expect it, an invisible fist punches me in the stomach and takes the wind out of me emotionally. It usually happens when I’m home alone.

Sunset Pier, Key West

In the past, there was no “home alone”.  Now it happens more than I’d like, but it’s gradually happening less.  My recent coping mechanism of running away to other countries or vacation spots is a great distraction, but it doesn’t seem to help after I’ve returned. Unfortunately, I’ve used up my travel budget for a bit, so it looks like I’ll have to fight the boogeyman one on one for awhile. It’s a complete surprise.

I was a mental health therapist for a number of years and when my life changed last year I thought, “I’ve got this.” To my overconfident surprise, I’ll have to admit I may have been a little wrong about this. Lesson learned.

Thanks for reading… Phil

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Quest for The Worlds Best Key Lime in Key West

Posted on April 28, 2026 | Leave a comment

I’m traveling again. I just impulsively decided to go to Key West tomorrow with the goal of deciding where YOU can get the best piece of Key Lime pie in the world. Yes, I’m doing the dirty work so you don’t have to. 9 pieces of Key Lime in three days! Head over to PhilliversTravels to hear more about this madness!

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Me, You, Phillivers Travels and Tuscany?

Posted on April 27, 2026 | 2 comments

To be clear, I am not dating this woman. I’m just referencing this current movie to perhaps to let it ride the coattails of my new blog post about the Tuscany area of Italy, which I visited a few weeks ago. A lot of movies have been made about Tuscany, but my blog post on Phillivers Travels is the only true information you’ll find anywhere on the interwebs. Just click the link in the last sentence to travel to my blog post!

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Just Because…

Posted on April 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

The pic at the top is oddly from Popular Mechanics, and it was used for an article titled How to Live Forever or Die Trying. This blog post is already taking a left turn from where I thought I was going. Today I read a blog post by my friend Kristen at Jots For Sanity. She touched on a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and she got me to thinking, and maybe even feeling. You should go read her post and then come back here to chime in on my thoughts.

The point of Kristen’s blog post was that as we get older, certain moments in life that we cherish, disappear. For me, today, I decided that I should write, because it’s possible that someday I might not be able to do that. Like I said, it’s possible, but I’m betting against it. Then I came across the Popular Mechanics article.

Pic from Popular Mechanics

For me, the question that they are raising, is how long can humans live now that we have new information, medical expertise, and vaccines that didn’t exist for our parents and grandparents.  I’ve always said that I want to live as long as I possibly can, but many people don’t feel that way. In the comments at the end of this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this regardless of how you look at it. In having conversation with friends, I’ve gotten more comments against the idea of living over 100.

Pic from Guiness Word Records.

French woman Jeanne Calment lived from 1875 to 1997. Since then, several people have claimed to be older than 122, but none had the documentation to prove it. Jeanne’s birth certificate was preserved and she was listed in fourteen census records. Her husband died at 73 due to cherry poisioning. Cherry poisoning? How is that possible? I think he choked on a cherry pit.

Jeanne said that her longevity was due to olive oil, which in addition to eating, she rubbed it into her skin daily. She had a killer Tik-Tok account dedicated to this habit. Reportedly, after dinner each day she ate dessert, drank a glass of wine and smoked a cigarette. She only stopped smoking at age 117 because her eyesight was failing and she was having trouble lighting her cigarrettes. She also exercised regularly by riding her bike until she was 100 years old. She did not move into an old age home until she was 110.

Now in the age of A.I., I asked A.I. “what was the trait, behavior, or habit that “super-agers” have in common.” I found the synopsis of a 25 year study of the super-agers and the answer was simple; People. No, not the magazine! (Although some super agers did subscribe.) The simple answer is this; eat healthy, execise, and have people in your life. Socializing seemed to be the one thing in common amongst the most super agers.

Granted, all of the studies identify several genetic and biological things that impede our ability to live long, our generation does have the advantage of better and more medical interventions. So, that being said, if you could live to 90, or 100 or more, would you? What would keep you going? If you don’t want to live that long, why not?

Pic from Freepik

If lots of people in your life is the key to longevity, I would be remiss if I didn’t again thank my blogging friend Kristen for her post that inspired these 626 words. As I said earlier, I would sincerely love to hear your thoughts in the comments on this topic. You are my people, and who knows, one more comment might help me and you to live longer. We need our people.

Thanks for reading and happy Thursday!

~Phil

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800 Words and How The Hell Does Amazon Know?

Posted on April 13, 2026 | Leave a comment

No, no, don’t worry. I’m not going to write 800 words. 800 words is a 2015 British tv series about a writer. I’m not sure about what kind of writer, but the title implies that he’s a column or blog writer. I’m only one episode in, so I don’t have all the details. The writers wife died and the writer, who is a dad to two kids plans on moving himself and the kids to a small New Zealand town. It seems that he may have, unlike me, been making a living from his writing. The town he’s moving to is a sleepy little beach town, which is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Not in New Zealand, but I’m not ruling it out yet.

Ok, I know most of you know this, but some might not know that my wife passed away about nine months ago and so far this year I’ve travelled to Mexico and Italy looking for a possible home. I’ve been home from Italy about a week and a half  and suddenly Amazon puts this show in front of me. I swear that our Alexa devices are doing more than passively waiting for us to ask about the weather.

In the first six minutes of 800 Words the main character is writing “The experts on this stuff reckon that some of the most stressful things in life revolve around death, buying and selling real estate, emigrating and international travel. Only an idiot would do all these things at the same time.” Apparently I’m am that idiot.

So have any of you seen this show? Should I continue to watch it? Have you ever had experiences with your Alexa device when they seem to know much more than you’d like them to? I’m fine with what my Alexa knows though. I’m not planning any heists or being a serial killer. There you go; done  in less than 400 words. Why won’t any website or newspaper publish my blog as a column and pay me for it? Maybe if I ask Alexa to sort that out she’ll find me an outlet looking to pay for content.

Thanks for listening to me ramble! Have a great Monday! ~Phil

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How to Do Rome in Two Days?

Posted on April 11, 2026 | Leave a comment

I’m over at PhilliversTravels.com today if you want to hear How to do Rome in Two Days! Just click that link

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Is Chuck Norris Really Dead?

Posted on March 20, 2026 | Leave a comment

I’m not trying to make light of the passing of Chuck Norris. I’m trying to celebrate all that Chuck brought to us over the years. Some of what follows is a re-run of my blog from 2014 when Chuck Norris was on fire on the internet.

Photo credit: my neighbors

See that picture? Can you tell me with absolute certainty that’s not Chuck Norris  on the right? I know my title says Jesus was the first Chuck Norris and I know that’s Joseph on the right, but you’ve got to think that the son grew up to look a little like his dad right?

knowledgeknight.wordpress.com knowledgeknight.wordpress.com

I’ve been doing a little investigating, like in a Dan Brown novel, and I’ve come to the conclusion that in one form or another humans have always worshipped a Jesus/Chuck Norris figure. The similarities between the two are startling. The beard, the followers: (Jesus had 12 disciples, Chuck Norris has Twitter), the incredible feats defeating evil. It’s all there throughout history. They’re the same person. Maybe when Jesus rose from the dead he didn’t go to heaven but instead continued to walk the Earth as Chuck Norris.

Let’s put this theory to the test.  I’m going to borrow several statements from the internet and history and plug both their names in and see if they’re interchangeable.

If you have 5 dollars and Chuck Norris has 5 dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you.

If you have 5 loaves and fishes and Jesus has 5 loaves and fishes, Jesus has more loaves and fishes than you.

Chuck Norris knows Victoria’s Secret.

Jesus knows your sins.

memegenerator.net memegenerator.net

Jesus was put to death, but didn’t really die and rose from the dead three days later.

Chuck Norris has never really died either, unless you count his movie career.

The bible, a book, is full of stories about Jesus.

The internet, a modern reading device, like a book, is full of Chuck Norris fact lists.

So, as you can see, the Jesus/Chuck Norris themes are similar throughout history. If they are the same guy wouldn’t that then mean that the bible is just a book of Chuck Norris jokes?

This post came about as a result of my neighbors nativity set that’s in the picture at the top. My son and their kids are friends and when we were dropping their son off following an afterschool activity a couple years ago I said, “Hey, Noah, why is there a statue of Chuck Norris on your lawn?”  They recently posted that picture of their Chuck Norris nativity set on Facebook and tagged me.

I would like to sincerely offer my condolences to Chuck’s family. He was a wonderful actor and from what I’ve read about him,  he was an even better person to everyone who knew him. As always, if you enjoy my blasphemy, please share by hitting the Facebook, Twitter or re-blog buttons below. Have a great weekend! ~Phil

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