Personal log, Stardate 200789.6

"You really ought to keep a personal log. Why bore others needlessly?" – EMH Mark I, to EMH Mark II

I have decided to put my Spheremusic ‘blog’ on hold and concentrate on journaling on my computer. If I come up with something I just have to share I may post it, and I will probably play with the layout and graphics some. In the meantime I have found a program that makes it easy and enjoyable enough for me to keep a journal on my Mac, and I am actually using it.

The program is called Journer (http://www.journler.com), and it is shareware developed by Philip Dow. It was recommended in the latest edition of MacWorld. You just click ‘New Entry’ and a blank page comes up already dated and ready for a title, category, and tags for searching. You can add links to the web and to files and other media on your computer. I especially like the ‘smart folders’ you can set up for a category or tag. It works like iTunes and other Mac apps in that sense, and the interface is similar.

I am using Journler for quick and frequent entries, like you are supposed to for blogging. But since it is not for public consumption I don’t feel constrained to polish my work or avoid big words, and it matters not whether I sound like an idiot.  I am using it for GTD as well.

GTD, in case you are wondering, is ‘Getting Things Done’– nowhere in the documentation was this explained and I had to look it up in Wikipedia. This means I can keep my ‘to do’ list and other lists in one place where I can find them, instead of on scraps of paper or in other programs on my Mac, I can never remember where.

Spheremusic has been around now for five years or so, and I am still struggling with the format. This is probably because it was really a matter of function following form. I was fascinated by blogging technology and learning html/css, so I wanted a ‘place’ to experiment. I had started out with music education content and various subjects in plain web pages and switched to pMachine (which has been replaced by ExpressionEngine).

I have worked on other sites, for MGAP (Master Gardeners of the Piedmont), my Toastmasters club, the Spartanburg Community Band and a few individuals who have small businesses, as well as a website for my extended family. Those have a specific purpose and the content is well-defined.

I never really got into blogging myself. I tended to write longer entries that required some thought and research – I felt I owed it to anyone who might be reading the stuff. I usually had other things I wanted to do and it was not a priority, so the plans for once a week (once a month?) went by the wayside. I also did not want to take the time to develop a readership or respond to comments. Thus the decision to archive what is here with maybe an occasional new entry.

The weekly lectionary readings feature and the quotes will remain and I may update the look of the site from time to time.

I have debated whether to turn the home page over to Theophilus for the ‘Ask Theophilus’ column he wants to write, but he is going to have to demonstrate that the interest is out there first.

I really do enjoy writing, and my mother always said I was good at it (but then mothers are supposed to say that . . . ). In my distant past I wrote some poetry, and I have tried to keep a journal off and on for many years. This time it looks like it just might work.