h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, I have six blogs, which is, you might think, a little over the top.

1. The one. My h2g2 journal. The oldest. Mainly, this is about things I'm doing or have done. "I was away last weekend, and *this* happened." That sort of thing. Also occasional thoughts and whimsies.

There are also two journal convos which I keep going, adding new comments occasionally, namely F1749279?thread=3591664 "The ever-changing names of TRiG", where I keep track of my name changes on h2g2, and F1749279?thread=7220122 "I've been reading", where talk about books.

2. Timothy Talks. http://voice-of-timothy.blogspot.ie/. I created a Blogger blog so I could have pictures and videos in my posts. I never really did anything interesting with it. I'm not posting anything new to that blog now.

3. GreenTambourine. http://greentambourineboy.blogspot.ie/. This one was created under a different name ("The boy with the green tambourine", for some reason), and was used to come to terms with being gay back when that was still difficult for me. I now have no further need of that outlet.

4. PoliticalTambourine. http://politicaltambourineboy.blogspot.ie/. Ditto. Why I felt the need for two linked blogs is another question. This one never got much love (or much content).

5. Timothy Richard Green. http://timothy.green.name/blog/. Yes, I simply named my blog after myself. Clever, no? I created this when (a) I wanted to move away from Blogger, and (b) I felt no further need to separate the gay stuff into their own little section, away from the rest of my life. So I started this blog by sucking in the archives from my three Blogger blogs, and then closing them down for good. Since then, I've posted to it various stuff that felt like it wouldn't fit on h2g2. Perhaps some of it would fit, and I should move it.

6. TRiG's links. http://timothy.green.name/links/. This is where I link to interesting articles I've read elsewhere, and talk about them a bit. I try to actually say something, and not be just a set of links. Sometimes I fail. I really should link to h2g2 more often.

So, that's me. How about you?

TRiG.

Hmm, well, there's the one here, which you already know about, of course. But that's really about it on the bloggy line. I do have one on Wordpress, which is just for hiking and related things, but it only has a handful of postings on it. Since we're on the subject I've had a look at it - the last one was in April '12. Maybe I'll do an anniversary one.

here (of course)
I had a book blog but when I found Goodreads I abandoned it completely
and

I had a blog from when I was using public transport to get to work. Specifically to post pictures of seat covers. I really should get that one going again because I have some new photos even though I drive to work.

links when I can find them

Perhaps it's a generation thing, but, apart from my sporadic entries in my journal here, I don't have any other blogs.

My thoughts on the subject are:

a: What will happen to all that writing when I'm dead and gone? Will it leave a little footprint of me for the rest of the world? And would anyone read it?

b: As TRiG says, if you diversify, and have a blog for each theme in your life, some aspects will become neglected or fizzle out. this goes against my grain, as I like to keep something going once I've started.

c: There's the temptation to get carried away and give away too much intimate detail, which might, in the long run, backfire.

Az's "Casa Az" is the one blog I have occasionally looked at, and even posted to, and I was prepared to follow ReddyFreddy's when he moved to NZ. But I haven't looked at Az's for a while and RF stopped writing his. In fact, we haven't heard from him for ages - or does anyone have contact there? As far as I know, he could have got buried in one of those earthquakes.

It's nice if people read your blog, and in that case it's worth making the effort. Az's are very attractive to look at with lots of photos and coherent writing.

But are blogs mainly for the reader or the writer? Or has the internet overthrown all such concepts, because it seems that some do remain private journals and others become public forums, depending entirely upon the host's willingness and ability to make them welcoming places, and to advertise them.

Anyway, I spend enough time on h2g2 - wouldn't have time to write anywhere else.

RF is alive and kicking - I haven't read his blog for a while but I have seen pictures of him and the other RF and they seem to be having a great time.

One thing I've thought about in case something happens or for when I am worm food is to leave a list of the websites I frequent (with passwords) so that my nearest and dearest can let people know that I've gone to the Great Gig in the Sky.

There is talk of doing away with passwords. So if in time all websites are only accessible on voice/fingerprint/iris recognition - what will then happen when the user is deceased?

I read recently about what amounts to a 'dead man's swithch' for your websites. Basically you tell the site (I think it was for Google acct.s) what to do when you're gone and it triggers after a certain period of inactivity. You'll be sent email alerts as you approach the cut off and if still no activity it will archive or delete your stuff.


As to what blogs I have elsewhere, I only have one other blog, on Wordpress, that I started about a year or so ago. It quickly devolved into an insider's thoughts on depression. I'm sure I'll return to it someday.

Well, I do think TRiG's links is distinct enough that I want a different place for it. It's content that I wouldn't really want in my h2g2 journal, because it's mainly quotes and links to elsewhere. Also, I like, for link-heavy writing, to be able to link on words, not just on bare URLs.

And the other live blog, the one named after myself, also has a distinct reason for existing: namely that I have a few times used it to quote long passages from Stack Exchange. This is perfectly permissible under the terms of the CC BY-SA license that Stack Exchange uses, but it's *not* permissible to quote them here, because h2g2 demands that you post only your own stuff.

Some of the stuff there that's not quotes should probably be reposted here. I might look into that.

TRiG.

The main reason I set my Wordpress one up was really just to have the capability to insert images a lot more quickly and easily. And for customise-ibilty in general.

I started a blog on Wordpress in December 2008: http://recumbentman.wordpress.com/

I wrote fairly regularly for a while, then it dried up. I think I had said most of what I wanted to. My last post was in January.

I regard it as my autoblography

here's mine
http://commuter-tales.blogspot.de/

Ah, yes. I remember that one. Seat covers, mainly.

TRiG.

I have been on public transport in Turkey recently, and also the UK since my last blog post. When my exams are done I might resurrect it. I know Reddy Freddy was particularly keen...

KB sent me some pics too IIRC

I remember noticing that the trams in Istanbul were the same make as the ones in Dublin (and Nice, and, later on the same trip, Strasbourg). The trams in Vienna were the same as those in Belgrade.

I wasn't actually on the trams in Istanbul or Vienna (I was in Vienna only an hour, to change trains, and it was raining).

TRiG.

The trains in NI were all bought in from Spain (or at least the newest ones) - I expect the same manufacturer takes orders from most of Europe.

The trains down here come from Korea, which is a surprising distance. I believe the Enterprise is still using older rolling stock.

TRiG.

The Enterprise uses proper comfy trains.

Have you ever stood in the platform when it pulls in and brakes, though? It sounds like the simultaneous screaming of everyone who was ever painted by Hieronymous Bosch.

I've never actually been on the Enterprise, which is rather odd for someone who loves trains as much as I do. I've always taken the bus to Belfast. (It is cheaper.) I must do the train next time.

TRiG.

If you know when you're going and book your ticket online, you can get it for £10, which is pretty good. I usually get the bus too, though. Since there's one every hour day and night, there's usually one at a better time.

The trams in Düsseldorf and Sheffield are the same. I remember waiting for my tram in Düsseldorf just before the ones in Sheffield opened for business and was surprised to see a strange-coloured one whizzing past. I was possibly the first Sheffielder to actually see one in action.