3rd Blog Anniversary

It has been three years since I made the decision to start blogging again. At the time it was a means to keep my mind busy while working the night shift and, honestly, I didn’t expect it to last too long especially after I started working during the day again. Over the years there have been many moments when I have fallen behind, when I have questioned whether or not I wanted to keep posting, and if this was all worth the time and effort. Those doubts have surfaced more times than anyone realizes.

However, what was once a means to keep my mind active and prevent creative constipation is now much more than those basic founding reasons for keeping this blog going day after day. I have spoken on the importance of keeping a daily record of my life, no matter how mundane it may be, but there is also the simple fact that this has given me, for the most part, a routine amidst the sporadic chaos, a means to think through certain topics and situations, and, occasionally, a venue where I can vent both and share the good and the bad. While there have been moments that I have bit my tongue before writing (despite one of the main ‘rules’ that I set for myself in the beginning), this has been largely a free flow of topics and ideas.

Over the life of this blog, things have also evolved. What was once a free form venue with few rules, has morphed into a loose structure where there are certain topic for different days. This schedule has reinforced the original purpose of the blog in that not only am I forcing myself to write every day but I am pushing myself to consider specific topics every week. As has been evident, some weeks there is more fodder for a certain topic than others but, in general, it has pushed me to learn different things about topics which I am already interested in as well as give more thought to some of the routine events in my life. As a bonus, it has also given readers more guidance as there are some people who avoid certain days while other that only read about a topic or two that I cover.

At this point, I don’t see much changing in the coming year on this blog. While I am not in a position to guarantee anything, I plan on maintaining the daily pace, sticking to the 400 word minimum per post, and continuing to write about the weekly topics that many of you have come to expect. Beyond that everything is still up in the air. So, at this point I will finish this post with a simple thank you to all that have stopped by, those who read regularly, the people who leave comments (here, on social media, through email, and in person), and the people in my life who both inspire me to keep writing and tolerate the commitment that I continue to make to my writing.

Some Letters

Today was one of those days, like too many others, when I wish I had a transporter like the one in Star Trek (or an improved version of the one in Spaceballs). While I was able to get out of the office a little earlier than my usual departure time, I was still rushing to get through the evening. After all, I had to take a detour to the lodge to make sure the mail was up to date for our stated meeting later in the week.

As we have so much going on and so many different things that are in the works for the remaining months this year, I have had to pay particular attention to the communications situation. Not only are we in the midst of the annual dues influx but there are also the usual monthly invoices, charity requests, and notes of thanks. Adding to all of this are the letters from brethren stating that they would like to hold an elected office next year. Needless to say, the post office box was quite full and required some effort to remove the mail jammed into the confined space.

When I got home, and after my wife and son went to bed, I finally sat down and sorted through the pile of paper that I had retrieved earlier in the evening. There were a couple of checks, a couple of bills, and a nice group of letters mixed in with the junk. I enjoyed reading the letters as a couple of them were thanking the lodge for some generous gifts and support and the others were those from the brethren asking to have their name on the ballot. It is indeed a pleasure reading the kind words of others and it is reassuring to see so many brothers wanting to hold a leadership position in the coming year.

These letters are really what give me hope about the future of the lodge and reassure me that, while we may have had a few issues here and there over the past year, we have the masons and motivation to really make our lodge the best in the district if not the entire commonwealth. And these letters are not just from ambitious young members but also from those who have held elected offices for years as well as those wanting to do so for the first time. It has been a great mix and I am excited to see what comes about in December. Next year should be a great!

You Have Been Wheatoned!

There have been some moments from time to time when I have considered submitting a blog post or two to other publications for consideration. The impetus for these thoughts has always been quite simple… exposure. Because I keep this blog as a hobby and simply enjoy writing the posts, sharing my thoughts, and generally keeping track of life that is all I have really been looking for in the placements. This has always been my motivation with regard to all of my creative endeavors regardless of the genre or medium in which I seek dissemination.

This has always been my choice and when the tables have been turned, the few times that I have been asked for permission to reprint, I have gladly given that permission under a couple of standard contingencies… I retain the copyright and future reprint rights and that the article/blog post is properly cited to reflect the correct name in the byline or, as had been the case recently, the link back to this blog. Nothing groundbreaking or unreasonable. Would it be nice to get paid? Of course it would but, again, this is my hobby not the means by which I support myself and my family.

That is my mentality regarding the writing that I have produced and published in one form or another over the last decade and a half. No surprise, this is not a view that is shared by everyone which what drew me in to reading a blog post by Wil Wheaton, yes that Wil Wheaton, that was shared in my Facebook feed. In the post he writes about a recent encounter with a Huffington Post editor. The basic back and forth can be summarized simply in that Wheaton was contacted by the editor to request permission to republish a recent blog post for no pay but a lot of exposure. As Wheaton points out, it would be one thing if he submitted the article but they reached out to him in this case. Needless to say, he doesn’t need the exposure and declined their offer.

He then took to Twitter and posted a few tweets in quick succession:

The two above were also followed by the following tweet: 

“This advice applies to designers, photographers, programmers, ANYONE who makes something. You. Deserve. Compensation. For. Your. Work.”

This is something that I personally agree with and don’t agree with at the same time. I believe there is a fine balance when your creations are the source of your livelihood. One should get paid for that which they create but there also needs to be a means of advertising your creativity. Sometimes it is well worth forfeiting the nominal pittance that would be offered by a publication such as the Huffington Post in order to showcase your creative skills and gain greater exposure. Of course, I would still push for retaining the copyright along with the contributor byline.

Keep in mind that this applies to a wide variety of publications, situations, formats, genres, and skills. I say all this not ever expecting to have a blog post picked up by the Huffington Post (many of my views and posts don’t play well with the ideologies that are regularly on display on the site) but if I were ever asked I would stick to my usual requirements. In the end, whether you support yourself with your creative endeavors or you pursue them as a hobby, exposure can be more valuable than the pennies that would end up in your pocket if you hold your financial ground.

Space, The Current Frontier…

Over the past month my wife and I have continued to stay busy with the growing list of things that we need to get done before the baby arrives and other things that need to be taken care of in the family. Lately there has seldom been a day that we could find the time just to breath and pull back from all of the chaos that is currently surrounding us. Of course, there have been other things and people that have continued to pull us into various situations which was not helping things either.

There comes a point, which we came to last week, when you simply have to pull back and look at the larger picture. We would like to do anything and everything that we can, help in any way we are able, and generally just check things off of our lists of task that we need to get done. However, some of those things are hurting everyone more than they are helping anyone. This past week we came to that conclusion, pulled back from certain things, and refocused on the positive changes in our lives.

The space that we gained, the calmness achieved, and the focus we now have is something that has been missing over the past month. We are finally able to breathe and recover from all that is happening around us. Don’t get me wrong, we cannot fully disengage from those people and situations around us but we can’t let them run our lives either.

We have grown to appreciate the need for space. Both from situations and people but also in the physical area around us. Life had become incredibly cramped and it was time to reset the boundaries, reorganize, and embrace the space that we have in our life. This is necessary not just to protect ourselves but our baby as well. Frankly, we don’t want our child to feel as though they are imprisoned but the situations and people around them.

The freedom that this decision has afforded us finally allowed us to have a weekend that feels as though it is more than a couple hours long. The days seemed to have slowed down and the tenseness has been removed from the simplest of things like driving, texting, and calling. While not a perfect plan by any means and something that we don’t expect to last, it is the best option that we have in front of us and, so far, making that space is just what we needed.

Dear Microsoft…

Ever since I started using the computer back in the late 90’s I have remained a Microsoft customer. Despite the countless times when I have experienced program errors, viruses, and general crappiness in the operating system, I have stuck around and kept using what has been comfortable and familiar. However, there are times like the past couple of weeks when I question the use of your operating system and wonder if life might be a little bit easier if I were to adopt Apple as my new primary source of computing.

Even the programs that have been relatively reliable in the past have now gone to pot leaving us with these strange paper weights on our desks that whirr, buzz, and hum as they hold down the corners of our note pads and flatten out curled post it notes. As we pull out our pens and check to make sure we still have ink in them, we dream about the simplicity of the green screen. But maybe that is part of the whole Microsoft operating system. By occasionally crashing, or just being a stubborn bugger, we revert to the old school way of doing things. We write notes, we make phone calls, we, gasp, go talk to people face to face. A Microsoft crash is an interpersonal reboot.

Of course, even that is becoming a thing of the past as when one computer goes down, another, almost immediately, takes its place. While I still find myself dialing numbers and stretching the cord as I lean back in my chair, I have seen countless coworkers revert to their iPhones during server or internet issues. While I am chatting with clients, reporters, and others with whom I have not spoken to in some time, these, mostly younger, colleagues sit hunched over their desk cradling their phone as if it were some priceless ring. On more than one occasion I have received odd looks when I send them the text, “My precious!”

It is interesting when you think about it. The underlying trend in this scenario seems to be that when Microsoft goes down, people are turning to Apple. And I can’t say that I blame them. I have utilized my iPhone plenty of times to check for emails and to facilitate communication across multiple streams. However, I have always used Microsoft Word and probably always will because it is what I know and I can get things done quickly using the platform and that will most likely continue unless they make “improvements” to Microsoft 8. So, unless Microsoft suddenly shuts its doors and office is unavailable, I will occasionally have the urge, which I have been fighting for the past few weeks, to kick Mr. PC in the microchips.