Although I recently retired from computer programming, I didn’t intend to end my blogging. In fact, I hope to write more often than I have over the past couple of years. But I needed different software than my self-coded setup to do this with.
As a result, I’ve returned to WordPress. I recognize that it has its flaws. I am suspicious of the newer themes’ tendency to be more about becoming a ‘site builder’ than a blog platform. I’m irritated by the block editor and its interface, which seem to be more confusing than writing my own code was. I have no idea why the default post editor page seems to delight in concealing options, as though I am blogging on a phone, when my desktop screen has plenty of room to display everything on.
But nevertheless, it is still the best-established platform of its kind, with the most support. I’ve thought for some time that when it comes to software, there is safety in numbers. As long as the organization behind something is not completely onerous, it’s better to follow a mainstream solution than a relatively obscure one that may not be secure or up-to-date on the back-end.
This is my third attempt at running a blog. The first one, some years back, was also on WordPress. The second one was self-coded and lasted until just a few days ago. This is my third try, and we will see if it turns out to be ‘the charm’.
As before, here are some (but not all) of the subjects I may discuss in blog posts:
- Logic: I naturally process statements in a logical fashion (some might say too much so) and I’ve enjoyed reading good examples of logical fallacies.
- Theology: When it comes to spiritual matters, it can’t be said that I’m mature. But if my perspective isn’t instructive, it may prompt discussion.
- Computing: I grew up using classic Macintoshes, and have since acquired an amount of experience with a variety of systems. This has been conducive to monologues in the past, and it seems expedient to continue it here.
- Design: I’ve acquired ideals in software and in interface design, and it’s likely I will talk about them here.
- Fan interests: I’ve written analyses of things like Adventures in Odyssey before, and this seems to be a good place to offload those when I need to.
I expect to roll out ‘classic’ posts, from the original and second gPress blogs, over the next weeks as opportunity allows.
If you’re interested in this site, get in touch with me. Journalism is a conversation, and I hope this discourse can help illuminate all of our lives.
Hey James, it’s me, Verd. I know it’s been a while since we last spoke on the importance of names, but I wonder if it might not be a good topic for you to make a post about.
Otherwise, what do you hope to be the main theme of this blog? Is there an overarching message you’d want to get across? Do you hope to inspire others, or galvanize yourself back into action? I find myself oft in need of galvanizing, but I understand you are not fundamentally lazy. Still, I hope my questions help to give you an object to ply your philosophy against (Heh, your views on philosophy as a study might be appreciated.
Or perhaps, you’d want to discuss what God’s doing in your life? I find my spiritual life faltering often (ironic, isn’t it, given my circumstances) and I’m sure it’d be an encouragement to glory in what God is doing in your own life.
God be with ye 😉
“I know it’s been a while since we last spoke on the importance of names, but I wonder if it might not be a good topic for you to make a post about.”
About three and a half years, and change, ago, I guess.
The tricky thing is that it’s a ‘dead’ debate. I would have an easier time pulling up the archive and tweaking my old material than writing something fresh, even though I still feel it is important. Responding to a prompt is a little different from responding to a challenge. 😉
For a short summary, though, for any bystanders: My view, which I feel is also in line with Scripture, is that names reflect something about the person or thing, as well as shape it. Anne of Green Gables says that she doesn’t believe a rose *would* smell as sweet if it were called a thistle or a skunk cabbage. What’s more, our experimentation has shown that people do have different feelings about an experience based on the brand, even if the substance itself is unchanged. If this is true for something like culinary tastes, it seems to defy belief that someone’s life would not be affected by having a different name.
On the other hand, we also see, practically speaking, that a person or experience can shape a name, for good or for bad. The name ‘Caleb’, which is often said to be related to ‘dog’, may not have been viewed in a positive sense until after its best-known bearer made it something great. On the other side, the name Adolf definitely does not have the same connotations today that it did when the great chess master, Adolf Anderssen, bore it back in the mid-1800s. Benedict was probably a very nice name once, but now, in the United States, the connotation is that you are either a Catholic pope or a traitor.
* * *
“Otherwise, what do you hope to be the main theme of this blog?”
I never had a specific theme or message in mind, past it being something of a grab bag, suitable to store whatever ideas came into my head at the time. But it’s hard for me to spontaneously write blog posts without bouncing them off of something. I also tend to have something of a one-track mind, so if I’m working on a project, blog posts typically fall by the wayside.
* * *
“Is there an overarching message you’d want to get across? Do you hope to inspire others, or galvanize yourself back into action? ”
A classic never goes out of style. 😉
I don’t know that I’d say there’s a single, explicit message I want to convey in every post, so much as that these kinds of posts are what gets produced when you have someone with a certain set of principles and interests.
* * *
“…but I understand you are not fundamentally lazy.”
I think the reality is nuanced. I oscillate between binary states.
At rest, I tend to follow the path of least resistance, and this is quite pervasive, down to things as basic as not getting around to putting on bed sheets.
But when I get down to business, I do my best to work like a machine, putting in all of my reserves of strength and energy until I run out or the job is done.
The trouble is that a machine is best focused on a specific, set task. ‘Convert the forum to SMF’ is one thing and can demand relentless energy until it is accomplished. ‘Maintain the house’ is vague and open-ended, and it is unlikely that I will accomplish much in those regards. If the house were already maintained and there was nobody but me to mess it up, I might be able to avoid ruining it further, but that would take a concerted effort.
The trouble is that I like organization, but don’t maintain the discipline to keep it organized. I like to-do lists but am inconsistent in following through with making and maintaining them.
* * *
“Still, I hope my questions help to give you an object to ply your philosophy against (Heh, your views on philosophy as a study might be appreciated.”
The term ‘philosophy’ means ‘love of wisdom’, which is Biblical. I certainly don’t disavow all philosophical works. I appreciate it inasmuch as it helps people to learn to think and ask questions. However, I think we need to be careful, in that there is a risk making things so abstract that they are disconnected from both reality and what used to be common sense. Some philosophers have used their processes to come up with ideas such as that there is no objective moral good; whereas if they took a moment to examine the real world, they would be informed by their own senses that there is a difference between King George VI and Adolf Hitler that is greater than a simple variation of personal opinions and preferences.
Someone with an obnoxious attitude, given this comparison, will then, instead of admitting the point, say ‘well what about’, and bring up some tangential subject, like British colonialism, to attempt to prove the king was really no better than the fuehrer – or else perhaps they might call up the culture and behaviour of some indigenous tribe that lives on an island that they never would have thought of if one of their friends hadn’t happened to introduce it to them to score points in a philosophical argument, so that they can imply that this proves human morals are solely the product of culture. All these discussions which willfully ignore the obvious never lead to objective truth, just many words and irritation with their sophistry.
* * *
“Or perhaps, you’d want to discuss what God’s doing in your life? I find my spiritual life faltering often (ironic, isn’t it, given my circumstances)”
Strangely enough, Bible colleges are said to be one of the most likely places to backslide. I recognize you’re not going to a Bible college per se, but I think the principle holds. (I think the pride, the need for 24/7 commitment, and the idea that you’re already giving ‘so much’ to ministry help this along. These wouldn’t be true in your case, since your school is still mostly general education with a few special options of interest to a Bible student.)
* * *
“…and I’m sure it’d be an encouragement to glory in what God is doing in your own life.”
I have to admit this is one thing I’ve always had a hard time doing, in a public way. That probably shows a fault of mine. Maybe the rationale is that if I do this, then I seem to be proclaiming myself to be a Christian, and I know that I’m frequently not – in the sense of being someone ‘like Christ’ – with the end result that I end up seeming, or being, a hypocrite.
* * *
All of these replies could probably be pieces of blog posts. So far, none of them are. How does that make you feel? 😉
Making these replies blog posts is Your job, not mine ;D