General

I got an email from a friend who asked, “Where are you in real space?”.   He was asking where I lived.   I’m 50. People of my generation and older often ask that question when corresponding, or they want to ask and hesitate to cross an invisible line.   They want to be [...]

Two and a half years ago I moved to Texas to begin the best part of my life so far.   One thing that makes it so is the fact that I felt at home the moment I crossed the state line.   Wild sunflowers were in bloom, it was hot and dry.   I [...]

A few weeks ago I became interested in the issue of Internet Neutrality and became concerned enough to spend some time surfing, reading and making up my own mind on the subject.   I wrote the following letter to my state representatives;
…..
Senator Kay Hutchison
Senator John Cornyn
Representative Mike Conaway
I have a sincere and strong interest in [...]

Really.   I don’t.   When I have the nerve to say this to people, their reaction resembles shock. The information doesn’t seem to register, leaving the listener’s face completely blank.   After reiteration and time to allow the victim to recover, I gently explain that it’s such a massive waste of time that [...]

Fear of writing is almost as common as the fear of public speaking.   Unlike the fear of speaking, which is ranked higher than the fear of death or disease, writing is a little further down the list.   There is some stress associated with writing.   When you strip away all the avoidance and [...]

Today someone made my day.   Someone read what I wrote and cared enough to leave a note.   Therein lies a gotcha.   Do you know how many websites I’ve visited in the last few years and been entertained, annoyed, pleased, taught, instructed and helped and never left a comment?   Uh, oh.
Time for [...]

Quite some time ago I had several problem dogs, one after the other.   Finally it sank in; it wasn’t the dogs, it was me.   I was insecure, overwhelmed by what seemed to be forces beyond my control.   There were problems with my significant other, circumstances were tenous at best, and my self [...]

[tags]newbie, learning curve, enthusiasm[/tags]
When we’re very young, we have a lot of energy.   Tons of energy to jump into the newest project that catches our fancy, fall in love, take the road less traveled, spit in the face of convention and go our own way.   Physical energy to try a new sport, dig [...]

[tags]generations, geriatric1927, YouTube[/tags]
I love the fact that the Internet is bringing together the generations as never before.   The hottest video blogger ever is featured on YouTube and he’s 80 years old.   His name is Peter.   He lives in England and his video blog is called “Telling It All”.   It’s just him, [...]

[tags]identity, privacy, secrecy, taboos[/tags]
There’s a lot of paranoia on the Internet, but there’s probably no more and possibly a lot less than in the pre-Internet era.   While researching the subject of privacy, I found page after page of references to the same concerns most of us have.   What if someone found out my [...]