Keep Buggering On
Well, today is the last day of Writing Month, and this is my 20th blog post of 20, which is what I signed up for.
My last post was a lot more involved and time-consuming than I expected, so I wanted to end on a high note, with a fairly simple thought...
One of Winston Churchill's* famous quotes was "Keep Buggering On," or the more PG-rated (as we would say today) version, "Keep Plodding On."
*It's wise to point out that WC was a rather controversial figure in the history of the world. I am not qualified to hash out the pros and cons of his tenure, nor to be his judge, but I felt I must do my due diligence to point out that like many notable world leaders, his viewpoints and deeds are quite complex, and not entirely good.
I tried to write a post about thankfulness on Thursday (U.S. Thanksgiving), but I just couldn't muster it. I had a Big Sad that day: not any major life event or single item of bad news, but just the complex and somewhat sad realities of life for me that day.
I also read a young man's wonderful post describing the loss he experienced in the past few years. I didn't really have the spare emotional bandwidth to ponder it that day, but over the next couple days, I found myself reflecting fondly and feeling thankful for someone out there who so able to have positive reflections after suffering such a devastating loss.
So to all those wonderful people out there reading this: Keep Plodding On. Just keep going after it. Even if it feels like you're not making much real progress.
Nevertheless, it makes a big difference, both to your life, and to those around you.
Pax Christi,
~~R.L. Dane~~
Laptops: A Romance
As I wrote in yesterday's article, I have a soft spot in my heart for laptops. They exist in this incredibly sweet spot where convenience and agency/freedom converge in the very best way, possible. I bought my first laptop in 1995 with my very hard-earned money, but let's start …
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What We Lost Along the Way
As I was "delightscrolling" (the opposite of doomscrolling) around on the Fediverse yesterday, I came across this toot that perfectly describes how a lot of us are feeling these days:
I loved computers.
I loved what technology promised.
This wasn't that long ago!
Now it just makes me sad and …
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I Miss Palette Rotation
Background
In the halcyon days of 16-bit microcomputers, there was a computer graphics technique used by many demos and some games known as Palette Rotation, Palette Shifting, Palette Animation, or Color Cycling.
Computers weren't fast enough to change the entire contents of screen memory in graphics mode (even relatively low …
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My Odd Relationship with Minecraft
Unlike most young people, and not unlike many of my GenX peers, I haven't played much Minecraft.
I got into it a little bit with my cousin's kids when they were young around 2010, and I even played it a little bit on my own at the time, but the …
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My Every Day Carry, Part V: What's on My Phone?
In Part IV, I discussed wristwatches. In this article, I'm jumping back into my pocket, so to speak, with a look at what's on my phone itself.
This was a rather exhausting article to write, because I have a lot of apps on my phone. I have even been ridiculed …
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What is FOSS?
Note: This article was originally written last December, and was sidelined because I didn't feel it was finished. Reading through it this morning, I realized reason that I never "finished" it is because the next step would've been to write a 1280-word chapter, which is no small feat. But honestly …
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No More Excuses
Tonight was one of those nights were things fall into perspective.
I went to a family friend's birthday party, and it was my first time visiting them at their house in about 10 years, as well as my first time seeing both of his kids (both now grown) in nearly …
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The Joy of Bespoke Hashtags
In Part II, I described the protective function of hashtags. I will now delve into a more entertaining aspect of how they can be used.
Whenever I share a blog post I've just written on the fediverse, I always use the hashtag #rlDaneWriting. It's an easy way for me to …
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Hashtags, Part II: Global Search and the Right to Not Be Discovered
In Part I, I spoke humorously on the linguistic value of hashtags. I'd like to now go over why hashtags are useful for search on the Fediverse, and why global search is a bad idea.
Reply guys. That's it. End of blog p— Oh okay, okay!
I've noticed that there …
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