I\u2019ll admit that sometimes, I do wonder why I keep this blog going. It made sense when it started. I was working on a cruise ship, which meant I was far from home and people were interested in my day-to-day activities. But I\u2019ve been home for nearly a decade. My routine is pretty routine, and anyone who wanted the details could just ask. Which is why I now post basically annually.<\/p>\n
2017 has made even this seem questionable. Life goes on, of course, but the ascendancy to high office of the internet\u2019s most infamous troll has made the idea of sharing one\u2019s frivolous life online seem small and possibly insulting. And of course, if the forces of darkness succeed in repealing net neutrality, I imagine this site and many like it will end up in the digital dustbin of history.<\/p>\n
Plus this site got hacked, and more than once dealing with tech support, I was very close to just scrapping it altogether. As I write this, the site is once again experiencing difficulties that I hope will be resolved.<\/p>\n
So why am I bothering? I like having a record of my life (in broad strokes) that I can look at. And now, it feels in a very small way like standing up to a bully. More important fights need to be fought, of course, but in the meantime, I\u2019m happy to overcome the Merchant of Despair in this small way. Plus, my life still matters to me, and I like writing about it. And maybe, just maybe, somebody\u2019s reading it. Long live the written word!<\/p>\n
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January<\/strong><\/p>\n It seems only appropriate, given that intro, that I should start my recounting of the year with a tweet I liked that barely anyone noticed:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s still sad, but how much could that family have really loved that dog if they named him Old Yeller?!?<\/p>\n \u2014 Dan Hershfield (@DanHershfield) January 5, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n