Category Archives: Blogging

Zombie Fishing in Lake Michigan

When I first saw the headline in the Huffington Post it did pique my curiosity. Oh no! Could this be another environmental disaster? There have been stories about zombie fish. Thank goodness they are not some horrible mutant caused by toxic pollution. The fish become zombies because they are shocked with an electric current so scientists can study their health status. The fish recover and are released back into the water. Although some people argue that being shocked with electricity is not a great experience for the fish.

Another zombie nature story that is not as benign. I was upset to read about zombie bees. There are so many accounts nowadays of the severe environmental stresses on honey bees. Now there is a parasitic fly that has been invading the bee colonies and using the bees as a host for its eggs. As a result of this parasite the infested bee’s behavior becomes very erratic and they demonstrate zombie night-time activity. Fortunately they die right after they begin to act this way.

So when I saw the headline that they were fishing zombies out of Lake Michigan I reluctantly clicked on it. I was relieved to find that it was not about any poor creature, neither human, animal, fish or insect becoming a zombie. Turns out a Halloween barge with a bunch of mannequins dressed as zombies sunk during windy weather. Now they are fishing them out of the lake.

I can see this as being the impetus for a good horror tale. ” Yup, we were out there fishing those zombie mannequins out of the lake when we noticed one of them looked like it had flesh rotting off of it. Then it’s eyes opened and it let out this high pitched inhuman scream……..” Or maybe a new reality TV show like ” Already Dead Catch.”

Huffington Post: Crews Have Been Pulling Zombies Out of Lake Michigan

|Nano Poblano| among other things.

Blogger Burnout

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I developed blogger burnout and did not know it.

Angry Kid

It has been difficult to balance writing my blog with the time it takes to make connections with other bloggers, looking at the blogs of those who have liked mine, reading their blogs and commenting and having time for the rest of my life.

I get drawn to checking for messages on my archive and who responded or liked me lately as well.

It’s not that I want to stop getting feedback. I would love more comments besides the likes so that I can have a discussion going and get other writer’s perspectives.

I have discussed this balance thing with other bloggers like Natso and aOpinionated Man .

We came to a consensus that one needs to find their balance.

Balance by Brent Moore

Whoever thought of this “like” idea in social media must have studied psychology. It is human nature to want to check out who likes you, don’t you think?

I appreciate another blogger who recently gave me a ping back on his blog Too Full to Write.

Spending so much time related to my blogging is taking up not only time but energy.
Us introverted types get easily worn out when there is a high demand to process a lot of input and have a lot of social interaction.

I’m so tired by Gwen Quinlan

We need down time to recharge and regroup. We need our space.

And I do have other things I need to do in my life or should be doing.
I am not good with the shoulds either. I have never been very good with the shoulds. Like I should be exercising, shopping for healthy meals, or cleaning the house.
I think I need to work out a schedule for myself and how much time I will spend reading other blogs, checking the archive and responding each day.
I wonder how other have managed to keep a balance with their blogging, connecting with other writers and the rest of their lives.

I would love to hear how you have dealt with this issue and if it is an issue for you or not.

Elmine in Enschede work/life balance

After starting this blog I saw a post by Michelle from WordPress Blogging 101 about the importance of avoiding blogging burnout by taking breaks from your blog.

Rest Area? by Peter Dutton

That’s how I found the title for this blog and a description of what I had been feeling.

The Courage to Write

Too Much Information

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“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.”–Gertrude Stein

This quote means that if you are getting a lot of input all day you can lose the ability to use your own judgment. I know if I am overloaded I can not think very well.

I am sure that the amount of information and pace at which it is presented has grown exponentially since this quote was made.

I am one who becomes easily overloaded. Just reading a page crammed with print and images is overwhelming to my visual processing. I feel uncomfortable and resistant to the demand made on my system to absorb it all.

If you want me to get your message, you need to present it in smaller segments. Otherwise, I may not be able to get through it all or, even if I do read it all, I will miss something as my eyes skip over parts of it.

Information overload is a type of assault for sensitive souls and introverted types. It is a draining experience to have a lot of sensory input coming at us all at once.

Information is a type of sensory stimulus and along with all the other sensory stimuli we are processing out in the world we can quickly reach a tipping point.

Then we need to withdraw from it all and go somewhere quiet for a while to recover. We need time to process.

All the information can be a kind of brainwashing. So much information coming at you, competing for your attention.

Information in print, visual images, and audio. Cell phones chirping to notify us we have an email or text message waiting.

There is a real danger that this constant distraction by random information keeps us from having time to think about anything meaningful or truly important for our lives.

All this information can cloud our awareness of life going on around us. It can keep us from living our lives.

Featured Image Information Overload or Filter Failure by Graham Steel

INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Guilty Pleasure

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When I am really into one of my blog topics, I can spend the whole day sitting in front of my computer. I am there happily researching articles and other sources I find on the internet that pertain to my topic. Jotting down a few notes, links, and then looking for images on Creative Commons that will be the visual components.

I have had some guilty feelings over my lack of exercise. My treadmill sits abandoned behind me as I write and looks at me reproachfully. I have even thought about how my sitting like this is not the best for my back. Well today I was absolved of my guilt by a very funny post I saw on Hyperallergic by Hallie Bateman entitled:

” The Art of Posture.”

Thank You Hallie for relieving my guilt and giving me a good laugh.

Robin Williams

Tying Notes On The Sagebrush

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I just wrote a blog about going through transitions. Making it sound like that once you go through one it is a done deal and you are finished. I am discovering that you can think you are done with it and surprise, surprise! here it comes again. I think I am starting into another transition. Is it because I did not work through the last one completely or is it because I am making a change?

Since I have started my blog I have found myself lying awake in the middle of the night thinking about my life and where it’s going. Maybe it is the change I am making by writing a blog. Change triggers the transition process according to William Bridges who has developed a theory of transitions.

Geez, do I need this? Not sleeping. Having my equilibrium disrupted. Have I opened a can of worms with this blogging?

I went on the Community Page to get feedback and everyone is so young looking. Can they appreciate my style and humor? Can anyone appreciate my style and humor? At least one blogger was kind and “liked” my blog. Some of my friends and family have been supportive.

All right, take a deep breath! I started off with a bang like my daughter said. I actually got a piece published on an online magazine, BetterAfter50. I was on a cloud. I was over the moon.

Then I decided I can write a blog. Why not? It is a dream of mine to be a writer. But it is hard to put yourself out there. A bit scary. Is anyone reading it or listening?

I was thinking about a film in which one of main characters is a woman living out in the middle of the frontier in the American West. Her husband goes off on some business and does not return. He had died when his horse stumbled and fell on top of him, trapping him. She is waiting for him, and in the meantime, trying to hold things together for her family. She is very lonely and writes notes about her feelings and ties them on the sagebrush. One day a cowboy finds the notes. (The film is “Conagher” with Katherine Ross and Sam Elliott based on a novel by Louis L’Amour.)

Writing a blog is like that. Tying notes on the sagebrush.