Day: September 27, 2008

Things (or People) To Avoid When Writing

I’m writing  an article and this is not supposed to be it. I drafted my first choice and set it aside for later retrieval and continuation as I can’t concentrate on how to properly compose it. I have made a lengthy piece but the words and phrases seem to be similar to that of a drunken line of ants. No go.

It left me no choice but to press CTRL+N–or in layman’s term, make a new post instead. As a release mechanism, what I’m doing now is share some of the distractions that need to be avoided or eliminated when writing. By the way, this is in no particular order. I repeat: In. No. Particular. Order.

  1. Clouded mind. It’s one thing I avoid when writing or even replying to emails. Blogging is like driving and a clouded thinking doesn’t give good judgment and direction. So avoid it if you can. Anger, frustrations, and depression are just some factors that will result to clouded thinking. To solve it, listen to your favorite music over the headset before and during a blog composition.
  2. TV. Boob tube. Turn it off unless your topic of choice is what you’re currently watching.
  3. Videoke. No point explaining this one. Pray for rain instead, it helps disperse your neighbor’s drunken party.
  4. Empty stomach. Write satiated if your topic is not about how it feels like to be hungry. Then lastly…
  1. The wife. Yes, that’s right. Wife. As lovely as she seems to be and might even contribute blog ideas, she on the other hand could be sneaky, unpredictable and a potent factor of ruining a good blog. If her mood isn’t right, she may even be the cause of unexplained deleted post or worse a deleted blog. To neutralize or tame this threat, I make sure that she’s fully asleep. But I still always remain cautious because a snore isn’t an indication of a deep sleep. I’m always prepared of any sudden or unsuspecting pillow movement as that may prove that she’s sneaking behind watching for that telltale sign that of a naughty blog.

Although, this isn’t the complete list, these distractions are often the reason my fingers freeze, mind stops running and usually makes me end up sleeping beside my lovely, sneaky wifey. Not bad after all. Ti abi.

 

Posting From Microsoft Office Word 2007

I love Bill Gates. I love Microsoft. No, this isn’t obsession but just a recent appreciation of how MS Word 2007 makes life more convenient for bloggers. I was hesitant at first to use this feature as I’m one paranoid especially when a pop-up asks me about my personal info including my password. Previous training (and common sense) tell me that passwords should never be shared. Only the paranoid survive. Yes?

MS login
I dread options like this more than not having a helmet while on a motorcycle.

Come to think of it though at some point of our lives, and if some are still not aware of it, we just have to give our trusts to other people especially now that information technology is unavoidable. Gone are the days when browsing through files in the filing cabinet is cumbersome. And nowadays it’s not only those nerdy (pardon the word, but some people appreciate it when they called nerdy) IT people that holds your life’s info in their hands. Does Big Brother ring a bell? And so you’ll wonder who these people are anyhow? Let me name a few and their respective potentials.

  1. Network admins – they have the privilege to access your emails, blogs and any other IT-related matters. I consider them the highest threat in the exchange of information. That’s why most of them are among the highest paid positions other than nurses.
  2. Credit card companies – they know how you spend, know what you buy (and your compulsion), what’s your salary and any other financial info you’ve submitted to them when you applied for that unarmed robber inside your wallet.
  3. Your friendly doctor or physician – they know your body more than you do unless you’ve personally probed your behind to look for lumps (ouch!).
  4. NBI (or FBI in the US) – they know your fingers better and has the capability to exchange it with someone else’s. So be extra careful with your fingerprints among soooo many other things that could be taken against you.
  5. Morgue personnel – morbid as it may seem, they are the least of your worries for unavoidable embarrassment. You know what I’m talking about. At least, your next of kin will be the one who will entrust you to them.

(That’s funny, but when I typed the title I never knew that I’ll somehow end up relating it to the last bullet. It must be a result of another bloody CSI episode this week.) 

Anyway, getting back to the topic, since it’s imminent that I’ll be spending quite some time blogging in the days to come, I finally have to give in (again) to entrusting my secret alphanumeric code–a.k.a passwords to those behind this MS Word 2007 feature of publishing a blog directly without having to open an internet. It’s a compromise, I give my trust to them and they give me the publish menu in my MS Word in return. That’s just the way it works.

word 2007
Wordstar was simpler.

And today, while the Jetman is probably still fast asleep after setting the first English channel crossing by using his wing invention, I on the other hand is celebrating in my own petty way for having my first blog published thru MS Office Word 2007. To each his own.

Posting Word

Not Guinness book-worthy, but a record nevertheless.