recently | Andy Arthur.org

After 12 Years Have I Abandoned My Blog?

Andy | August 20, 2012

Recently, I have been posting a whole lot less to my blog. Fewer essays, and I even broke the pratice of posting new content and/or reruns in recent weeks. I keep posting new photos as I go on trips, but I have been doing fewer and few maps. And due to issues with the blog software, some maps just keep disappearing.

I have been doing more reading, less writing. Twitter has filled in the gap, because most of the things I have to say, are best said conservations are really quite short. Often it’s best to just leave things up to the experts, and point to their words more, and mine less.

I continue to work on the next version of the blog software. I swore it would be ready in May or June, yet I still don’t have a functional version. It’s my fault, because the weather has been so nice, I’ve not really wanted to spend much time blogging or writing code. It will probably have to wait for winter now.

But also, I’ve just run out of good ideas for blog posts. I am tired of making up stuff, and the reality is some of my best ideas and posts have already been written, so why rewrite? I also don’t want to duplicate posts that are already done. Why waste my time or internet bandwidth, repeating what is already done.

At any rate, the blog is kind of in low-gear for now. Better stuff will come eventually though, or so I hope. I really hope to have things really back up to speed by Winter 2013.

Excuses for Not Regularly Updating My Blog

Andy | May 15, 2012

1) Slowly, but surely been working on the next-generation of the blog, which seems to be more on paper then actually coded into a workable product. It’s a dream of a lot of neat things that haven’t made it to the reality stage.

2) I am too much of an alcoholic, and it’s difficult to compose a good blog post after you’ve been drinking. But evenings are a whole lot less stressful after 3 or 4 beers, especially if you not drive anywheres.

3) It’s still only the start of spring, so my list of adventures is fairly limited, and therefore, there are relatively few things to blog about.

4) It’s spring time, and I like going down to the park and reading in the evening, rather then blogging. Staying inside sucks on nice days.

5) I’ve kind of run out of good things to blog about. Most of the really cool and interesting posts are long done, and now all I can do is run them in re-runs, that everybody is sick and tired of, much like microwaved left overs.

6) I’ve been sick a lot. This past winter and spring, it’s been one non-stop sinus infection or upper-respitatory infection of some sort. Blame it on the mold in my apartment, smoke floating in my neighbor dragging on a cigerette next door, or maybe just stress.

A Place I’ve Overlooked

Andy | July 8, 2011

Over the years I have spent a lot of time camping in the Catskills and Adirondacks. I sometimes go out to Finger Lakes or Central NY, or drive down to Pennsylvania to the Tioga State Forest or Allegheny National Forest. Yet, except for one trip in 2004 and in 2008, I have not spent much time at all in Green Mountains.

I have my reasons for not going to the Green Mountains National Forest. For one, the drive from Albany to Bennington Vermont, is a punishing and awful drive, especially prior to the construction of the Bennington bypass. Hoosic Street in Troy is an awful during most hours of the day, and there is few alternatives for one wanting to get from Albany to Bennington. NY 7 is always congested and loaded with poky speed traps.

Yet, besides the driving difficulties, there is a lot in Green Mountains. They are not the Adirondacks, but you get back off of Kelley Stand Road, get to some of the many ponds and waterways, mountains, and other wild lands, one must wonder why one hasn’t spent more time here. It’s only 50 miles from Albany to the entrance way of Green Mountain Forest, and there are many wonderful free campsites. It’s pretty wild back here, but still that drive is awful.

I don’t know. I should use my cartography skills and try to find alternative routes to Green Mountains. Maybe take the Northway North and cut over, well North of Troy. Or go through a more southernly route. Yet, at any rate, as an alternative to Adirondacks or Catskills, and is out of State, the Green Mountains National Forest seems like a great place to visit.