I just renewed my domain name. My blog has 15 centimetres of dust on it. I haven't had a good blog writing idea in months. 😞

@bradfonseca What would you say is your current, right-at-the-top-of-your-head enthusiasm?

I find it hard to be very enthusiastic about much this time of year and RL has been swamping me (including dealing with issues with an aging parent) so I'm not not sure.

@bradfonseca It's a perfectly cromulant answer ... it's the truth, and I can relate to it.

@bradfonseca I can appreciate that. Do you actually want to write something? Or do you want to leave it for a bit? There are things you know that other people don't, and that you can write briefly about in 5 to 15 minutes.

I want to write something. I want to create. I just can't come up with anything that I want to expand on. Honestly, it's very unlikely that I know *anything* that other people wouldn't already know or could do a better job of expressing than me.

@bradfonseca There are always people who know more than you, and for everything you know, someone will know more about it, and someone will be able to write better. That's not the point, because they are not your (eventual) audience.

How has the migration of your blog been? It looks like you moved 9 months ago ... what went badly? What went well? What surprised you?

@bradfonseca It doesn't have to be long, but you can pick one frustration, or one minor miracle, and just write a paragraph or two. It doesn't need to be perfect, let it simply be in your voice, and relate your experience.

BTW ... what do you do IRL?

I might try to do that. Thank you.

IRL, I work in healthcare IT for a network of hospitals based in the same city.

@bradfonseca That can be both rewarding and soul-destroying, depending on the day, your colleagues, and management. You probably would need to be careful writing about your experiences there.

However, writing about the blog migration would be a start.

Agreed. I generally shy away from writing about my professional or personal life.

I'm going to try to bang out a few bullet points in emacs and see if anything gels.

BTW, did you just follow my blog?

@bradfonseca Yes I did, so I can see when you do write something, and then possibly to prompt you to write more.

@bradfonseca I am a freelance torturer of adults and confuser of children:


I give between 150 and 200 talks, presentations, workshops, and tutorials each year, on a range of topics. Mostly maths, but some physics, some general science.

Very impressive! Teaching and public speaking are very challenging.

@bradfonseca The kind of stuff I do, I'm very fortunate ... I can mostly just stand up and talk about stuff I know. Sometimes the audience is way cleverer than I am, so I just have to remember that I know stuff they don't, and share it with them.

Teaching is hard ... fortunately I don't have to do any marking, and don't have exams to prepare for.

@bradfonseca Just checking in ... have you had a chance to "bullet point" (verbing weirds language) some thoughts for a blog post?

I know you work in healthcare IT ... what's your background? How did you get there?

I have jotted down some ideas for a post but I have had much more time to work on it.

I was working in direct patient care for a large portion of my career. I went back to university part-time and earned a Bachelor degree in Computer Science, specializing in software engineering. Then, I switched jobs a few times before landing where I am now.

@bradfonseca A list of things is a start ... the challenge is to take 15 minutes and knock out a rough, then come back to it the next day, re-write, and post it. Doesn't have to be long, or perfect. Just finished.

On a day-to-day basis, what does your job entail? Are you part of a team?

@bradfonseca Having actually worked in patient care for a time must give you a great perspective on the work you do now.

BTW ... do you want me to stop mythering you about the blog post?

I'll leave you alone for a bit ...

No, it's quite fine. RL is just using up my free time (that laundry won't do itself...).

My earlier practical experience has served me well in my IT career.

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