My Official Statement

Disclaimers

Who is spoken for: Opinions expressed in postings and comments on this blog are those of nobody but their author, and given the frequent use of sarcasm, are often not even the authors' opinions.

Accuracy: I try to check some facts on this blog. But if I don't give you a reference, I probably didn't check it and am just spouting off. If I did check, I probably didn't go further than Wikipedia.

Tone: If what I'm saying would be crazy or offensive to you if I really meant it, it could be I'm using some of that sarcasm I mentioned earlier.

Claimers

Life Advice: I stand by some of the advice on this blog. In addition to things you'll find in the postings, I believe life is better when you:

• Join a brass band or choir: Both give you the transcendent experience of creating harmonic music in a group, and they both force you to control your breathing
• Swim: Take as many swimming lessons as you need so that you can do a comfortable stroke and then swim regularly. (If you can't swim because of a phobia or a skin condition, walk or bike, don't run, it messes you up and you know it does, you running junkies)
• Sign up for something outside your comfort zone that will be good for you at least once a year. Maybe it's salsa lessons, maybe it's volunteering at a soup kitchen, travelling in scary country. Doesn't matter, stretch yourself.
• You can draw: I'm grateful for the compliments I get on my sketches, but seriously, you can draw as well as me, probably better. It's just that you probably don't draw at all. Draw a picture with a black pen. It will look crappy. Then colour it in with colored pencils. You only need the basic set of 12 colours. It'll look great.

Privacy: This blog is not about embarrassing people. If I've written about you and you're uncomfortable with it, please let me know. Usually I use a pseudonym if I've not asked for your permission. If you'd be happy with your real name or you'd like a different pseudonym, let me know.

Tracking: Because this is a Google product, Google Analytics is apparently doing some tracking here. It's likely other apps on your machine are also doing some tracking of what you're looking at here. I can assure you that although Google will sometimes tell me something like "5 people visited your site last week", I don't do anything to see who comes here or what they're looking for.  

Magic is nonsense: It's true that I live a charmed life, but I don't have to believe in mystical forces to know that the universe is more complex than I'll ever understand, that the smallest thing can be astonishing, and that the ugliest person is more beautiful and amazing than any work of art in the world.

Why I still have a blog

Yes, I know that blogging is really 2006, but I like to have a place where I can put things up and they can be seen by anyone even if they don't have a Facebook or Mastodon account.

I still follow lots of blogs every day using Feedly whose free version works very well for me. 

Two things I especially like about using the RSS reader are:

1. I don't have to individually check every day on the websites I care about.
2. Every now and then, there's a fantastic post from someone who hasn't put something up in months or years. It's like finding a $20 bill in the pocket of a coat you haven't warn since the previous winter.

[Updated January 5, 2023]