I ended my 2017 roughly as I started it: On an ancient tractor, moving snow. But, at this end of the year, the tractor is mine, and I’ve worked on it enough that it’s running quite a bit better! And I can take pictures of it from above!
(Comments from Blogger)
2018-01-01 by Russell Graves
Sorry, Michael! I clicked the wrong button on your comment.
> But if you successfully implement the “Delete your Facebook” meme, how will I get notified of new blog posts? It’s most often that on my every-few-days jaunt through Facebook, that I see the new post on my feed.
> I suppose if Google hadn’t killed iGoogle, I could’ve added it as an RSS feed. Ah well, it’s not as if there’s other ways to handle those out there.
I don’t intend to totally delete my Facebook account. It’s still useful, and having an empty account where people could create a fake profile for me is worse than me having an infrequently used one.
However, what I can do is to eliminate Facebook’s ability to pester me constantly (which it will, if you don’t cancel those features). And I’ve done that. I check it on my terms, I can use it as a “publish platform” (though you’ll note I’ve been less than good at that recently), and I can still get notifications, but it’s not controlling my life like it wants to.
2018-01-12 by Ned Funnell
Having read “Fate of Empires” has significantly changed my thinking about modern politics. I am glad that you recommended it some time ago. I share you concern for reducing distraction, but as yet, not as much success. That’s a good goal for me for 2018!
2018-01-12 by Russell Graves
We don’t have a crystal ball to see the future, but knowing that politics and nations generally follow the same arcs, and having a good idea as to what’s happened in the past, certainly gives one some clues of what might be likely. History not repeating but rhyming, and all that.
I’ve successfully reduced distraction in my life to the point where the mental state of “bored” is back. It’s been a long while since that’s been true. But I’m reading a lot more, writing a lot more, and generally have much less mental clutter to deal with.
2018-03-05 by sastian
dude, you are teetering on becoming a new role model for me:)