Bootstrapping
The first computer science teacher I had was called Mr Nicholls. He died young, as far as I remember - a few years after I left school. My memories of him are starting to fade. He played in a band, had a neatly trimmed ginger beard, and must have had the patience of a saint.
In a fairly early lesson, he told us about "bootstrapping" - the trick performed by a computer when you switch the power on. If you've never thought about it, he described it very well - imagine a pair of boots with loops on the heel. Those are bootstraps. Now imagine lifting yourself into the air by pulling on your own bootstraps - that's exactly what a computer does when you switch it on - it pulls itself into the air, and begins running before it hits the ground.
I'm bootstrapping this blog - or rather, I'm bootstrapping my participation in this blog.
I've been "mailing it in" for far too long - posting words to anybody that might read them with little regard for who they might be, or the stories they might be telling. It's time for me to stop, and start returning a little of the goodwill I have received. Paying back, as well as forward.
I wasn't always this way. In the sands of time - before children, work and chores took over my life I made some wonderful friends around the world. Back in the early days of "blogging" when we all had guestbooks, blogrolls, and such like, I forged unforgettable friendships. Some of those people are still out there. I think I might be the last that is still writing a regular journal for all to read. Some are gone. Some are dead.
It would be a tremendous shame not to embrace the unlikely friendships of those that cross my path, rather than glance at a statistic, or the bump on a graph.
I suppose this is really me saying "I'm coming back". Returning to the fold. Making time to read, comment, like, follow, subscribe, and so on.
Is this a reaction to the "social internet" with its infinitely shallow pool of interest? Perhaps. Is it a recognition of those that continue to share their life in this most transient on mediums? Definitely.