i’ve been going through pictures recently, attempting to organize them and store them online, and it occurred to me the other day that now that (nearly) all my photos are online somewhere, they’d be relatively easy to share.

here is one of the oldest pictures i have in digital form; scanned from a photo long-since lost.

DadandtheGang.JPG

i liked hats even back then….

this was taken, i believe, in the spring of 1998 at my grandparents’ 60th anniversary celebration, though i can’t recall if it was in st. louis or kansas city. i’m there on the left next to my step-mom, sister, brother, and my dad on the right.

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as i begin, yet again, to try and post regularly, i’ve been giving some thought to the kinds of things i’d could write about. in addition to personal matters and glimpses at my life, i think it might also be good to share my thoughts on current events, politicts, etc. i had originally set up a entirely separate blog for that purpose, but years later i’m not sure it’s valuable.

to that end, i’ll be closing down and migrating my other blog, peoplesdialectic.com, to this site, and forwarding the domain. maybe making it a sub-domain of this site, though i’ll need to do some research to ensure that’s the best choice.

in the meantime, i’m looking for good new agregators. though facebook is my default, a recent announcement to what it prioritizes in our newsfeeds, has sent me on a search to find an alternative. initial searches suggest flipboard may be the best option, based on how it functions and some of my own personal preferences.

still, i’m curious what sources others might use, or if, similarly aware of facebook’s announced chagnes, if anyone has found other interesting new aggregating alternatives.

as an aside, now that my flickr account is easily accessible via the blog, i’m hoping to share more photos, both recent and not-so-recent. so come back occasionally and take a look.

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so, in an attempt to breathe some life back into this site, as well as lay some foundation for sharing older and future pictures i’ve taken and get some more use out of my flickr account, i installed the photonic plugin. below is my first attempt at fiddling with the settings….

i’m not sure yet what i think. i’m not sure i want galleries embedded in my posts as opposed to having a link to the galleries, but i’m still debating.

let me know what you think, keeping in mind much of the customizable settings have been touched yet. oh, and enjoy a handful b&w photos i’ve taken over the years.

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it’s hard to say how many times i’ve “restarted” this blog; certainly more than once, which is arguably too many.

over the years, it’s gotten harder to sit down and create content on a regular basis and there are many reasons.

one, i’ve gotten busier and more involved in various things as i’ve gotten older. in my down time, i’m less inclined to pull up to the laptop and draft… anything. two, though there’s often any of number of things i could sit down and write about, it inevitably happens that when i try, my brain goes blank, or to topics arguably beaten to death. and then there are other topics which i’m not entirely comfortable sharing for public consumption. oh sure, over the years i’ve let slip a glimpse of my crazy, but as i’ve gotten better at coping i’ve also gotten better at hiding the crazy that still remains.

then, of course, i often wonder who the hell cares to actually read what i write….

so, with the recent relative upheaval of my semi-professional life, i’m left with a bit of a hole in my life. a greater-than-normal amount of free time and a frustration and disillusionment has me doing a bit of soul-searching; what better place to do soul-searching than on my blog!

as i attempt to restart the blog, i’m trying out some new blogging software, desk pm, which, in theory, will make posting a bit easier and quicker. i’m also working on some other projects; including restarting the video blogging and merging my long-dormant peoplesdialectic.com blog with this one.

more later.

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happy new year! it had been my intention to have all this finished and have a set of goals, and a plan for them, before the bell tolled midnight on december 31st. the holiday, not to mention a growing to do list for the coming week, kept me sufficiently distracted. so, here i am on january 3rd still struggling to prepare for the year ahead.

here we go with the last question….

~ thinking about the person i aspire to be, how do i imagine myself in 5 year? what does that person do, know? how does that person spend their time?

in my reading, these questions all seem closely related to one another, thus my lumping them together with one answer….

this is incredibly difficult for me to answer. the realist/pessimist in me is hesitant to predict my future; predictions so seldom rise to meet reality. still, for the sake of the exercise; i see myself as a lobbyist, activist, organizer. i’ll be working for a progressively-focused organization, non-profit, pushing forward on issues that affect working and middle-class people and their families.

i see myself with a masters degree of some kind: either in political science, public policy, or political management. getting accepted and figuring out how to pay for it all is part of a plan still in the development stage.

i see myself with more friends, maybe a “special someone,” and a more well-balanced life. for the last several years, my existence has revolved, almost entirely, around my career and gaining the experience and making the connections necessary to continue climbing to my goal. while i generally don’t have any problem with the choices i’ve made in this regard, it has become clear to me that i’ve neglected other parts of my life, leaving me somewhat socially isolated. i need a life away from the politics and volunteering. i have no doubt that this bit in particular will be instrumental to mental and emotional health.

after all this, i’m nearly set on my “yearly theme” and my “top goals.” in typical fashion, i’m a bit concerned that i’m being to ambitious; i don’t want to make the mistake of setting numerous lofty goals, only to fail at too many of them. so, even though the year is already a few days old, i’m going to ruminate for a few more days before settling on anything.

in the meantime, let me say “happy new year” to everyone. i hope you reach all your goals for the year.

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