April 04, 2018

Blogging Like it's 2003

Do you remember the last time you blogged?

I can’t and I have been running this site since 2011. Sure, I’ve shared links and a smattering of half-cocked ideas, but even those longer reflections have been carefully measured to within an inch of their lives. It was cool to feign being professional and well polished, but I'm older, less patient and certainly less bothered by what others expect from me—which is a fun way of saying I am more confident in who I am and what I am doing 😋.

Obligatory quote out of context:

They're supposedly very intelligent… although I've never seen any evidence of it. — Steve Zissou

I thought it would be fun to try blogging—you know, like a vlog but without any video... go ask your parents—like in the “good ol’ days.” Perked up by Internet nostalgia,[1] Kottke hitting 20 years old and a general sense of longing throughout the last year, I’ve decided what I was missing was a truly personal outlet. I thought about maybe starting a podcast, or a Youtube channel, but neither felt like a good fit for where my head’s at these days. Plus, I have neither the expertise, for the former, nor do I want to wade into another person’s pool party[2] with the latter. So, why not just double down on what I have already? Lowercase-b-blogging it was.

I’m thinking that I’ll try my darnedest to post once a day, for at least the next month. Each post is likely to be less technical and more personal, as I doubt the world will miss having another faux-intellectual online. If I have something clever to post, great; otherwise, I’ll just do me. I would also like to open up the floor to include more images, doodles and video. Multimedia isn't something that was on my mind when I started up, poor hosting and trying to imitate John Gruber’s style set me off on the nearly-text-only path.

If you'd like to join me,[3] add me to a blogroll or include my thoughts in your RSS reader (remember those?) please do.

  1. See the Internet History Podcast, Waxy.org, Internet Archive, Dave Winer, John Gruber et al. ↩︎

  2. Alliteration for days! ↩︎

  3. I should work on setting up webmentions for this site. Perhaps, you have a suggestion that works for you? I'd appreciate that kindly. ↩︎

Small 'b' Blogging

I know what I want to still be doing when I grow up: I want to still have a blog.

Small b blogging is learning to write and think with the network. Small b blogging is writing content designed for small deliberate audiences and showing it to them. Small b blogging is deliberately chasing interesting ideas over pageviews and scale.

Being on the internet, nay, growing up through the internet, has given me some perspective about maintaining healthy forms of expression. I’ve kept this current site going since 2011, after destroying every other website I’ve ever created. Decades later, I wish I had any of that left to remind myself of who I was and the journey I’ve taken. The reason I took down all of those goofy sites and poorly written prose was because I didn’t think it mattered.

Which leads me to this next quote:

Too much content on the web is designed for scale, for sharing, for gloss and finish. It’s mass media, whether it’s made by a media company or an individual acting like one. So when people think of blogging their natural reference point is create something that looks like the mass media they’re consuming. Content designed for pageviews and scale.

This point hit home for me, just not on its face value, per se. Too much of my time living in the digital world was focussed externally. I wanted to share, not express. I looked to the sky and then considered the kind of telescope I needed to please the spheres.

Now, I don’t think about sharing, or the best platform fit for my ‘content’. I consider what I want to say and express myself. If that ultimately ends up in the open, then I’ll find a home for it (preferably here, on my digital homestead).

I hope I have the fortitude to hold on to this wisdom. Or, at least, the strength to crawl back when I’ve erred and strayed. A vast network of people and ideas is worth keeping alive, one tiny, lowercase ‘b’ blog at a time.

Internet Friends

Such a fun idea for a podcast. There are also quite a few gems in here, especially, as you might imagine, about finding personal connections in these challenging times.

One (roughly paraphrased) quote I’ve been pondering on:

The urge to be creative these days is actually the urge to share something creatively.

If you don’t have a trusted platform to share on, you have no means to express yourself 🤔

The Disconnect

It’s a digital magazine that is only viewable when you are disconnected from the Internet (e.g., in airplane mode). I’d dismissed to gimmickry, but for whatever reason I gave it a chance this morning. I’m glad I did.

Its first edition is clever, creative and well suited to someone who’s open to seeing the modern world in a different light.

Sardinian Homes for €1

I love Sardinia, it is a place that I remember fondly. I will spend the end of my days perched up by the Mediterranean, though I hadn’t though hard on how I’d get there. As a mildly disaffected member of the working class, perhaps this is my golden ticket.

I’m trying to think of reasons not to…

Why We Like Distractions

A post that is in essence an advertisement manages to cut pretty deep.

It is less painful to underachieve when not really trying. You can then blame it on externalities.

December 31, 2017

Put a Fork in 2017

2017 has been, by all accounts, a good year for me. In nearly all other domains, politically, socially, environmentally, etc., I could argue the other way, but for me as a people-thing, this year has definitely marked an inflection point.

In conversation, I like to use “invisible boundaries” as a metaphor to mark those mushy transitions from, say, from adolescence into adulthood, or from being hip to uncool: it's tough to know exactly where I passed the mark, but it definitely happened, I can feel it in my bones. This year was filled with a number of these tiny shifts.

For instance, I moved from feeling barely competent at my job to confident in my abilities. Thinking back on four years of what felt like chaos to where I am now is bananas. When I started, I joked that it was irresponsible to leave me with anything to do at all, but today, I feel like I am running out of challenges to face. I took a big step forward in confidence and ability. I’m proud of the concerted effort I put into making it this far, although I would be remiss not to mention some of the fortuitous shifts in my workplace and the wonderful team that’s supported me thus far.

In my marriage, my partner and I are hardly distinguishable from those two know-nothing-afraid-of-everything kids we were when we first met. She’s so incredible, it’s awesome. I mean, she has always been something special—her work ethic, dedication and organisation borders on terrifying, really—but this past year saw her continued refinement into an awe-inspiring, powerful woman. I could go on for days, though the real point of bringing Amber up, is that she has always raised the roof on possibility and this year, I have taken up the mantle behind her; she continues to inspire me and I want to be on her level. Someday, if I keep working hard, I may be.

Last year, I spoke at length about the friendships that I built up throughout the year. This year I let those same relationships slide. That is an uncomfortable fact. I have great friends, the best you could ask for, but I didn’t put in the effort, I didn’t make the time. Making relationships a priority, doesn’t seem to map well onto the landscape of the modern world, what with isolation and loneliness on the rise, yet that fact doesn’t make loneliness inevitable. I will make a deeper, consistent effort to cherish and keep those friendships this year.

In the areas of my life that matter most, I feel like I have grown-up to fill them. I wonder if the reason why I felt so daunted in years past wasn’t that the goal was too high, but my ego’s terra firma had sunk so low. Belief that I matter, that I can contribute, turns out to be a pretty powerful thing. Hopefully, as I ripen, I will remember that fact.

For the first time, I am headlong focused on taking now into the future. (For a peek at some of my not-so-important and definitely not urgent targets, look at this list of goofy projects I want to attempt in 2018.) I will continue to fight to maintain what I have accomplished so far, but what lies ahead is wide open. So, I picked to focus on my creative endeavours, to give back in subtle ways, to build up, rather than tear down. It'll be a Year of Contributing.

I'm guilty of making goals that would be nice-to-have, but lacked any care. I still haven't beaten those habits entirely, but I have started putting in the work to take me forward. This year I won't be making a series of resolutions, goals, or promises on New Year's Day. Instead, I started the hard work months ago. I had an vision of where I wanted to go, and thought, “Why leave my most important goals to wishful thinking?” The painful, boring process of becoming begins with taking the first step.

I wish you a bright, beautiful and fulfilling New Year.

December 27, 2017

2018 Creative Projects

2018 is upon us!

I’m looking forward to another creative year in 2018. Actually, I want more than that, I’m actively pushing myself for a more creative year. So, this won’t be a reflection post, I have one of those waiting in the wings, instead, I thought I’d put up a list of creative endeavours—in no particular order—that I want to sink my teeth into this year. I’ve been riding a creative high lately, so I’m feeling up to a challenge, this list could serve as a score card for my creative self.

Here’s the list, and I’ll tick off projects as I start/abandon/complete them:

  • Sculpt a statue
  • Release an open source project
  • Make a poster with blackletter calligraphy
  • Start a podcast
  • Draft a children’s story
  • Release a video
  • 3D print something
  • Build a project with Arduino or Raspberry Pi
  • Give a talk
  • Cobble together a month-long daily art project

I’ve pre-announced projects before, it’s been a bit embarrassing to admit they’ve sunk from view, but I figure, why let the spectre of the past dampen my future? It’s just a bit of fun on the Internet after all.

If you're interested in collaborating, want to show support, or tag me with a creative “to-do” list of your own, drop me a reply on twitter @TRST_Blog

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