New Nightmares - Speed Awareness Course

New Nightmares

What is this all about?

Being about to be squashed inside a clamshell which was going to just get more and more closed.

Then today, finding myself on a narrow road beside a high brick wall as a bus came along, which did stop thankfully with inches to spare. I was about to knock and ask the driver to wait while I walked across the road to the pavement, but woke up.

I wish nightmares came with a little tag explaining exactly what the problem is and what to do about it.

Speed Awareness Course

I might meet some poetry people today, or introduce someone to learning arabic! Or meet an old friend? Having lived here since 1994 there's a high probability of the last one.

I have been advised to agree with everything by the many people who have had to do this already.

ModPo - I am wondering how it will change

The class finishes on 18th November. I wonder how the discussions will continue on the forums. Will we continue to focus on each poet and be able to add new threads to widen those discussions?

Last year the built up volume of discussion was deleted the day before this year's ModPo started, so I assume the same thing might happen again.

I have read that the videos and sound links will stay live right until ModPo starts again next year too. If I go to Breakfast 2.2, the second timers' conversation, I might find out a bit more.

By the way, to anyone reading this, do consider joining the course while it's still possible to do so, then you'll have free access to the syllabus and discussion forums for a good few months of study in your own time. How good is that?

ModPo2013

Disclaimer

I have been adding new blogs a lot recently, but then I often find the blogger writes or does something so contrary to my views that I remove them again. Do I need to be less fussy? Do I have to disinfect everything which appears on my side bar? Does it matter that views I am alarmed by float past on my own blog?

This falls into my category of good problems to have.

....

Re-reading this is uncomfortable, but rather than delete this post, I think it is important for me to recognise that other people write and discuss all sorts of issues. Chewing them over in real time, in text, with others is what the internet is all about. This difficult process is the basis for understanding of oneself and of others. Understanding does not mean agreeing, why should it? I disagree profoundly with myself and really don't like actions I have taken in the past. I'm not all that thrilled with how I am living my life right now either.

At Quaker discussions views or comments are put forward in turn without the expectation of a direct response. That allows each listener to listen without feeling that their silence means agreement as such. I think I shall try to read with a similar attitude of mind.

So I shall add blogs to my side bar more freely and live and let live a little more. I feel better now.

No Kvetching Sabbath

On Twitter a contributor has a hashtag to encourage people to stop complaining for 24 hours a week. I tried it, combined with no Internet. Guess which one I couldn't do? It is so, so easy to just not use the Internet, but so impossible to stop moaning and complaining.

I will try again this Friday. Being silent may be the only way to do it....

Oh My God!

I just heard that expression, with an American accent, from something T is watching on his laptop on the other side of the kitchen table. I instantly thought of that YouTube video of the man with Gaddafi's hat. Am I the only one with this reaction?

Here is the genius-like music video. And here is the wonderful original, watch it to the end.

Names

It has just hit me that we are in a new world now where it is absolutely standard practice to pick new names for ourselves online.

I choose different ones for each website, but some people seem to keep to one identity everywhere.

The names on Mumsnet are an artform in themselves.

It's a surprise for me, that moment when I need to register for a forum and need to decide on a name before I have seen what the norm appears to be for the others on there.

Passwords are another issue, another level of sudden decision making. It would be so much easier if I didn't feel the need to keep my passwords private! I have a system though, so on every website I sit there trying my various versions of password.

No one talks much about their systems though, so that is another of those modern day mysteries.

I'd like to set up an automatic one where I'd just put in tomorrow's date and yesterday's day of the week, eg: 25sat.