The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Blazing The Trail Again

by Leave a Comment

Can’t tell you what set me off or when but the switch was flipped and so I am pulled out the armor and sword long enough for a quick check to confirm they will work as they are supposed to.

All looks good and even if I am a bit older and less agile than I once was there is no doubt about capabilities because even now I can still do all that is required.

Sometimes wisdom and experience are superior to the strength and energy of youth.

They enable you to be more strategic and cunning in your approach so that you don’t need to rely upon the same shock and awe of the past.

So we look at There Are No Coincidences and the second time it ran Warning: There Are No Coincidences and recognize the truth of what was said or should we say written.

It is time to unshackle ourselves from convention and standard expectations and run with the moon until we can’t run any more for the answers to our big questions are about to be resolved.

Summon the druid council and tell them to meet us at Stonehenge or wherever it is that the Northern Lights end.

Valhalla, Eden or wherever, the time is now.

The ‘Gifts’ Of Aging

by 2 Comments

Don’t have it in me to try and translate this song for you because it requires more than just providing lyrics in English.

It would be similar to asking me to tell you about Springsteen’s Born To Run, Marlowe’s Passionate Shepherd poem and what they mean to me.

We’re not talking about a report for an English class but the kind of intimate explanation you provide to someone you want to understand you on a deeper level.

And I am tired, physically and mentally.

Been carrying a load that I hadn’t realized was extra heavy and it has caught up with me. The funny thing about it is in so many ways life is really good now.

The work I have put in to make it go a certain way has paid off and I am 90 percent of the way or something close to it.

That is a good thing and I am grateful but now I have to take it off of my shoulders, this load and catch my breath because the last part of the journey is going to require even more.

Don’t doubt that I will make it but this pause is how I take a moment so that I can recharge my battery because it is going to take some grit to go the distance.

Probably part of why I have seen so many docs lately, I subconsciously knew this was coming and began to prepare for it.

The ‘Gifts’ Of Aging

One of my daughters best friends is walking the streets of Jerusalem now in a program far different than the one she is in here in the states.

She hears stories via Whatsapp and various methods that make the world a smaller place but she doesn’t know the world her friend is in the way I do.

Nor does she have the benefit of life experience to have similar expectations to mine and that is ok, she doesn’t need to.

I haven’t volunteered much and intend to stay silent because it is not my place to prognosticate about 18 year-olds and their dream.

Nor will I tell her about the people I know who went down similar paths and years later are divorced and far less religious than they were.

Not my world or my place, my focus is on other things.

Got a girl who scored higher than most of the class on her Chemistry test but is frustrated that she didn’t meet her own expectations.

Been talking to her about grit and remembering that she has been in college for all of five weeks. Her old man had a very different experience during the first five weeks but he was never as driven as she is in some areas.

Though I can say I was and am as driven in some areas as she has ever been. Her drive didn’t just materialize from nothing.


What The Docs Have Said

Overall the docs have said I am doing well and offered counsel for ways to do better. Still need to get back to my PCP to get that broader view of things but have refused to go in.

Why?

Because I want to be in better shape when I go and have been seeing progress. Overall I feel good but could feel far better.

I attribute some of that to frustration with particular areas of life. Once I get those fixed or at least adjusted I think I’ll stop carrying some of this weight and that will have a positive impact.

For now I am just working through it because I can’t wait for things to happen. Can’t say it is all contingent upon one thing or another.

So I am rollng with what I have got and doing what I can.

As I said above, things are pretty good overall so I am keeping my fingers corssed that I can maintain the momentum even as I deal with some of the brain damage life throws at us.

Maybe that is one of the gifts of aging, the knowledge tomorrow isn’t promised so we act upon it all today, whatever ‘all’ is.

 

It’s Not About Reusable Content

by 4 Comments

The digital resume rolled out across my screen accompanied by a droning noise someone said was supposed to be color commentary about what I was seeing.

Instead of generating interest, it worked as an alternative to Ambien and I began to wish for another 198 ounces of coffee or a baseball bat to the head.

Had I done a better job of maintaining a poker face I would have fooled the people with me into thinking I was paying attention and not fighting to stay awake.

But I didn’t and I was fighting to find toothpicks for the eyelids.

Eventually, they asked me what was bothering me and I gave a blunter answer than I intended about being bored to death.

“Skills are nice but you have to do something with them otherwise they just look pretty.”

We bounced a few more comments back and forth and they asked me what made me an expert.

“I am not saying I am an expert but there was a time when people paid me to produce content and to provide a marketing plan. Those skills get rusty but they don’t disappear.”


It’s Not About Reusable Content

The conversation made me realize that a few things have changed in the decades since I graduated from college.

Talked with my own progeny about their college experience and pushed the importance of producing good content that demonstrates an understanding of the topic and application as needed.

“It is not about reusable content, it is about showing you know what you are talking about. Do that first and then you can look at how and if to reuse the material.”

The folks at the office got the same sort of advice/comment as the kids did. It isn’t and wasn’t me trying to B.S. anyone into this particular idea because it is bedrock to me.

If you want to tie it into blogging it fits in as the need to make sure you are not boring yourself with whatever you write.

Because if you are bored there is a pretty damn good chance the reader will be bored too.

Find the angle of interest and run with it. Can’t please everyone and don’t need to, but you have to capture some.

Some is enough.

Also in reference to blogging, there are moments where it is advantageous to reuse content. I have done it multiple times where.

Might do it again quite soon.

New readers come by and old ones who haven’t read certain posts might appreciate it.

There is a balance, not that I necessarily know where it is or use it, but I think about it…sometimes.

How Often Do We Need To Post?

by 2 Comments

I put the question mark at the end of the headline for the sole purpose of attracting attention as I think more people will come visit than if I don’t use it.

Been blogging for about 19 years now and if I am not mistaken been at this particular location since about 2010.

I imported most of what was written elsewhere so this serves as a pretty good collection of things I have written but it is still incomplete.

Don’t write here as often I as I used to but it is very important to me for multiple reasons and it is absolutely the first self-hosted blog I ever had.

Since I got into the game earlier than many and built up a decent reader base I don’t have to post every day to maintain traffic but there is no doubt it is nothing close to what it once was.

That is ok with me and I am not sure if I could get it back to that level even if I wanted to. It is not because of an inability to push multiple times a day or even daily because if I wanted to it would be easy.

But because there are 10 million other distractions now.

When I started there wasn’t any competition from Twitter, Facebook, Medium, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok or so many other content providers and news sources.

Comment sections were wildly active and if you put a little effort into engaging with others online you could build your own community.

It is much harder to do that now, though not impossible.

news typewritten on white paper
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

The Answer Is:

The answer for me is to post as often as it feels comfortable, reasonable and important.

I write here less than before because of time constraints and focus on other things and because some things get different coverage than they do elsewhere.

There is nothing I couldn’t cover in these other places because semi-anonymity means recognizing that some people know I am not Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent in real life.

Not all of them would recognize me on the street but they know me and plenty who know me in the important ways do too.

Writing is a profession, hobby and tool for my sanity. Sometimes it is nice to blow off steam and mull over thoughts and feelings in print in a place where I am less likely to be challenged and questioned.

Not afraid to be challenged or questioned on almost anything but if I am writing it down here chances are it is because I am working on something.

If I want or need someone to know my thoughts and feelings you can be assured I will find them and make sure they know it.

You can’t do what I do and be shy.

****

Anyhoo, the real purpose of this post is tied to the headline and that is to say you ought to post as often as it serves the purpose of your blog.

If you are interested in building a community, acting as a brand ambassador and or anything related you probably need to be consistent.

Or at least consistent enough that your target audience knows how often to visit to receive new content.

BTW that Golda Meir quote is a personal favorite and a reminder to myself that no matter how good I think I am not everyone will see me that way.

Blogging brought that to the forefront to me because I have seen some very popular blogs that I thought had awful content.

Used to make me crazy to see some of them do so much better when I knew my work was better. Might have some typos and errors in it but it wasn’t riddled with crap.

But I learned that sometimes there are other things and some had it where I didn’t. Just part of life.

 

When Civility Is No Longer Warranted

by 4 Comments

The man told me it is ok to agree to disagree and I said he was dead wrong.

Why?

Because he told me Sandy Hook was fake and spouted three other ridiculous conspiracy theories.

“There is a moment when civility is no longer warranted and it starts now. I will not let you push offensive knowledge that isn’t based upon fact or rational thought as if we are having a simple disagreement.

This is not you and I debating whether you can put ketchup on a hot dog or if chunky is better than creamy.

If you believe Sandy Hook is fake, that the earth is flat and that nothing happened on January 6th you are delusional and in need of help.”

They pushed back and said I had been taken in by propaganda.

I refused to listen and said it was convenient to say that anything you dislike is fake and anything you agree with is factual.

“Toddlers do that. I am ok with two and three-year-olds figuring out what is real. That doesn’t extend to adults who push the lies you are trying to.

It is not only offensive it is dangerous to let idiotic claptrap be pushed out as having some sort of science or peer-reviewed support when no such thing exists.

There are some things upon which there is no room for disagreement and this is one of them.”

The Joy Of Packing

by Leave a Comment

The joy of packing for a trip you don’t really want to go on but know is necessary is never the same as packing for the one you can’t wait for.

No surprises or shock is derived from this less than profound insight. Heck, you can label this as mild whining about something I could get out of but won’t.

This needs to be done and as I have taught my children so shall I act. Jumping on it sooner than later gets it out of the way so that I can focus my energy and attention on what I want to do.

Still, I’ll grant myself five minutes to complain about it.

I had the option of flying which in concept would reduce the amount of travel time by a significant amount but I decided not to roll the dice on that one.

Why?

Because during the Summer of 2022, at least the beginning part, the airlines are short-staffed and it is causing issues with flight delays and cancellations.

So I am putting in for windshield time knowing it will cause more wear and tear on me but I’ll better control of when I come and go.

Let’s hope the roads remain clear because that could blow this whole idea up.

If nothing else I’ll get plenty of time to listen to some of the books I downloaded from Audible and catch up on some of the interviews Howard Stern has conducted that I haven’t listened to yet.

And who knows, maybe I’ll find a bag of money or some buried treasure during my adventure and get to retire.