Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.

I last posted on Almost Daily nearly three months ago. That’s almost a lifetime in blog years.

Recently, John Wilder added a comment, asking “Everything ok?”

He sounds worried.

Yes. Everything is fine. I'm still kicking.

The truth is, I’ve become weary of the internet. After a while it all starts to congeal into one big pile of steaming –and screaming– excrement. The anger, the propaganda, the Dunning-Kruger “I’m smarter than everyone but allow me to reveal how dumb I can be” screeds, the engagement farming, the bots, and the endless hot takes take their toll on an introverted optimist.

Out of irritation and a need to preserve my peace of mind, I drifted away from online engagement.

I’m in my mid-sixties now and my time is important to me. Becoming more selective about how –and with whom– I interact is only natural. My opinions are largely set, and generally more extreme than they were pre-Covid. I no longer feel a need to second-guess or share them.

The internet is an endlessly spinning hamster wheel, and I know the majority of those on the wheel trying to “influence” and “gain a following” are completely self-absorbed and don’t care a whit about me.

Hang ‘em, I say. Hang ‘em all.

In short, I’m doing some recalibration on how I relate to the digital world.

This recalibration also affects my blog. I’ve had many ideas for blog posts, but when it comes time to write, my attitude has increasingly become, “Why bother?”.

I believe deep down such a negative attitude is a mistake. Writing for me has always provided a sort of catharsis. Each clever turn of phrase, pop culture reference, or poop joke provides a slight endorphin boost, keeping my natural optimism percolating throughout the day.

But no puns. That is Wilder’s territory.

I get the same boost from painting, and most of my activities recently have been in that direction. The holiday portrait season extended well into March, and I’m only now finishing up with the last of my post-Christmas commissions.

Writing Almost Daily will resume, I have no doubt. But writing is a perishable skill, and I need to put regular writing time into my schedule in order to climb back on the horse.

That’s the gist of my absence from the scene.

I’m alive and doing well. And I suspect with the warming weather my optimism and writing will return.

NOTE: I used Grok for the main image on the post. It was an experiment and while it looks sharp and clean, I'm not sure I want to keep using… OH MY GOD! IS THAT A THIRD KNEE? And the foot on the left is small. Geez! You have much to learn, Grokhopper.