Category: Weblogging

Paperwork Blues

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date April 13, 2003

Enough with my bad self. If I keep writing posts in the heat of the night, folks will think this weblog is about me or something. However, I do have somewhat of an excuse for a po’me posting – I’m buried in paperwork for various reasons, and that’s enough to dim any sane person’s lust for life. In fact, the need to retrieve yet more paper to add to the process is one of the main reasons I have to head to San Francisco next week.

I’m finding that paperwork for taxes and other financial transactions is not a normal human activity. It’s similar to sitting on the floor and putting your feet behind your head – you can manage it after long practice, but it hurts like hell to start, and it’s not natural.

As welcome respite, I am glad to see that one of my attempts at rusty humor found its mark – Jonathon noticed my use use of ‘less flammable’ in regards to his recent writing:

As for those ‘less flammable issues,’ I can only assume that Burningbird is having a sly dig at my post about hunting and eating whales (if she’s not, I can’t begin to imagine what she’d classify as a truly flammable issue).

Loren liked my Dark Time post, though he wants a bear photo, instead. Dorothea, on the other hand, asked for pictures of cute little burnished gold goslings. No difficulty guessing who will get their preferred pic, here.

Weblogging

Dear Trolls

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date April 9, 2003

Ducks say hi.

Weblogging

‘ware strangers

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date April 8, 2003

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

One of the most upbeat, nicest guys in weblogging is Joey deVilla, otherwise known in blogging and P2P circles as AccordionGuy.

Joey’s too nice a person to have this kind of problem. Glad am I that he escaped intact, but sorry am I at his disappointment.

I’m also thankful for Joey posting his story. As we put more and more of ourselves online, we should keep in mind that strangers as well as friends read what we write.

And not all strangers mean us well.

Weblogging

Habitual blogging

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date April 7, 2003

See what I did? I got back into the discussion of women in technology and women in technical conferences, and I didn’t want to. Not again. But I saw a few trigger words and bammo, there I was, back into the fray.

Bad self. Bad, bad self.

Too few women in technology and speaking at conferences is an important topic and conversation, yes; but it’s one I’ve been involved in too many times in the last several years – in this weblog and elsewhere. It seems it always comes back to us. The women. Why don’t we just submit more proposals? Why don’t we attend more conferences. Why don’t more of us just enter the field? Why don’t more of us make a difference in the field?

What is our problem?

Obviously, I don’t have the answers. I never will. Instead, I’ll leave it in the capable and motivated hands of people like Liz to continue the battle.

And I’ll write about something I have more of a chance to influence. Like the US policy in Iraq.

Political Weblogging

Long haul

Post author By Shelley Powers
Post date April 2, 2003

Sheila Lennon sent a note and posted that she’s dropping out of the war:

War plus anti-war does not equal peace.

Pro-war and anti-war blogs are two sides of the same coin. War and anti-war fight each other with hearts and minds and furious typing.

On the streets, anger fuels protest, and is met with anger.

The potential for tearing our country apart again is already shaping up: “Support the war, support the troops” vs. “Support the troops – Bring them home.”

…

I’m dropping out of the war. I don’t want war in my living room any more. I don’t want to give it my attention. I can’t stop it, can’t change it, won’t fight it. All I can do is live as peacefully as I can, without sucking in its virtual fumes.

I can understand where Sheila’s coming from, except that none of us can drop out of the war. Especially the Iraqis. Especially the soldiers. But Sheila isn’t talking about dropping out of the war – she’s talking about not feeding the frenzy of pro- and anti-war rhetoric.

How does it support the troops to accuse others of being traitors, to make fun of people who disagree, to feed a constant anger? What’s peaceful about a peace movement populated by people screaming “I hate you!” and throwing rocks?

I agree with Sheila, I want no part of the war she describes. However, dropping out of the rhetoric war and not writing about the real one are two different things. Our writing, or not writing, about the war isn’t going to make it go any faster or prevent any people from being killed. However, writing about the war can help us resolve our anger, frustrations, and fears. It can also help us understand how we got here – to come to terms with the war and our own involvement and responsibilities. With a little respect and patience, it can also help us understand others’ viewpoint as well.