I've quite gotten out of the habit of writing this blog, having last posted in July 2012. It's not as though I don't have a lot to say or that constant relevant issues aren't running through my mind continually, but getting them "on paper" (sort of a old-style way of referring to a word processing document) has been, of recent, difficult.
In part it's due to the approach I have to writing this blog. Heretofore, I would compose it on my computer, engage in extensive editing, then sit down at my desktop computer and transfer what I had written to Blogger. I tried a couple of times to simply cut-and-paste, but that was a disaster, as the formatting is messed up in a severe way when it is transferred. So, I would end up typing the whole document again, editing as I wrote, and then publishing it. I couldn't figure out a way to 'save' what I had written and return to it at a later time, before publishing it, so I ended up having to wait until I had a dedicated 'block of time' to do the whole blog, all at once, which always ended up being quite exhausting.
Today, I have decided, at least for this entry, to simply sit down and write it, fresh, without extensive previous composing and editing, which may result in syntax and grammar errors, but at least I'm 'getting my ideas down' rather than procrastinating for months on end and never writing anything!! So, this may not be as smooth, but it's 'pen to paper' after months of not writing.
I'm thinking about moving this blog to WordPress (since it has been recommended to me to change my website software to WordPress formatting, so that new future iterations of Apple OS can access it), but when I downloaded the WordPress package a couple of days ago, the instructions talked about a zip file I had to open, but I can't find the zip file in the WordPress folder. I'm a bit lost, therefore, in even beginning the process. My present website was constructed using iWeb, which is an Apple-based software which Apple, at this point, no longer supports. Hence, I need to transition it to something else, and though I've considered Droppel (is that it's correct spelling?), I don't have the skills to use that and don't have sufficient funds to pay someone else to construct the website with it. So, WordPress is my best choice for now (it's free and I've heard that it's a good choice, as well), but figuring out how to make use of the package is, presently, stopping me.
So, my blogs henceforth will probably not be the 'opus' postings I've tried for in the past, but more 'stream of consciousness' shorter ones. Just lowering the bar for how I construct them will allow me to write them more often, and communicate my thoughts to friends and colleagues.
So here are some things that have been on my mind of late, some related to my life personally and some related to men's emotional wellness in the larger context.
I was gratified by the verdict in the Jerry Sandusky trial in Pennsylvania. From the evidence that I've read, he was clearly quite a monster, and got his just due. A lot of young boys were severely traumatized by his sexual predator behavior, and the institution where he worked spent far more effort covering it's administrative backside than protecting those children. Thank god the state prosecutor had more care and diligence. The larger issue, of course, is that that is the 'tip of the iceberg', that most of the sexual child abuse occurs within families, not outside in the larger world, and those circumstances do not 'see the light of day' often enough. But every little step is helpful.
I am happy to see that President Obama was reelected (I spent a lot of time and effort working on his 2008 campaign and would have worked on this last campaign if the Obama folks had not written-off Missouri to Romney). I spent most of my political efforts, hence, working on Claire McCaskill's campaign and was happy to see that she was reelected. Now, we have to keep working with the Administration to get the kinds of issues addressed that are important to us. Being the Loyal Opposition is a role I've assumed for many years and feel at ease with.
I am happy to see that both the ban on gays and lesbians in the military and the ban on women in combat roles has been dropped. Serving one's country is difficult enough without that kind of overt discrimination. Dealing with all the sexual abuse within the ranks, though, is something the military has done a poor job at, though they seem to be aware of the problem and seem to be feeling major 'heat' to face up to it.
On a personal level, I've been dealing with the negative fallout of having a memory foam mattress, which I finally got Macy's to take back (which I hear from others was a major coup, in that getting an outright refund is rare). I spent 6 months getting quite ill from the off-gassing of the mattress. I only slept on it 5 times in those 6 months, because each time it would cause significant upper GI tract distress, profound headaches and serious respiratory congestion. I ended up 'airing it out' for 4 months on my sunporch and still the off-gassing made me ill. Thankfully that problem is gone! I have a new mattress now, which doesn't have any memory foam, and I'm hoping it will solve the problem. What a medical nightmare! It amazes me that anyone can tolerate that material.
Well, that's enough for right now. I'll write more (or at least hope to write more), more often, with this different approach to my blog. If any of my readers has suggestions on how to access the WordPress zip file, I'd be appreciative of the information. I need to change the software, at least of the website and possibly this blog [to keep it as a whole package] and soon.
