70s clothes guy (1) Oct 4, 2006
There's this guy at work whose entire wardrobe consists of clothes he purchased in the 1970s.  I never claim to be the kind of person who has much fashion sense, so I'm not really in a position to cast judgement.  But this guy is ridiculous.  His clothes aren't just a few years old or even 10-20 years old.  I have a few shirts from about 10 years ago that still fit me (if I had anything from before then, I'd be wearing children's clothes).  His clothes are a good 30 years old.  The reason I can tell the clothes are from the 70s is because they're extremely tight-fitting (and they still fit; kudos to his incredible form) and they consist of colors and patterns that are impossible to find in any type of clothing these days.  It looks like he bought everything from a thrift store, except I can tell he's the person who supplies the thrift store, not the one who shops there.  His bell-bottom dress pants flare out nicely at the bottom and almost reach the tops of his shiny little leather shoes.  His shirts are always strange combinations of light blue, pink, and yellow, and his pants are always some sort of brown or blue.  I've shopped for clothes before.  I know what's out there.  And I know there's nothing like this out there.  This guy hasn't bought new clothes since Jimmy Carter was president.  He hasn't changed his style since the last episode of the Brady Bunch.  He hasn't ... ok that's enough.  My main point is this:  We work at the same place.  Judging from his age, I would say he makes about twice as much as I do.  If I'm able to afford some new clothes every now and then, I think he should be able to as well.  It's not that there's anything wrong with old clothes or being too poor to get new clothes.  Hand-me-downs, consignment shops, and thrift stores are all great things.  But this guy has no need to be wearing 30-year-old clothes.  It's just inexcusable. #lifestyle
Why blog? Oct 4, 2006
Zeldman wrote a little thing about how he's tired of writing/blogging and how he hardly has time to do it.  Some of the comments left by readers of his site echo his sentiments, especially, "My rate of blogging has slowed down massively, partly due to being ill and just really not having anything worthwhile blogging happening, which has left me struggling to do just one post a month."  This presents the obvious question:  "Why blog?" or "Why write?" (if you hate the word "blog"). 

One reason is that some people feel the need to keep a pattern going.  In the old days of plain text HTML editing, slow dial-up connections, and a lack of blogging tools, I would occasionally start up a website and update it a few times, only to let it fall into disuse and old information.  Every once in a while, I would feel bad about publishing a website and not updating it, so I would make a few changes and add some new stuff.  I continued to do this simply because it was something I started.  I have a habit of persevering being stubborn. 

Another reason some people blog is to keep a record of their actions.  This, in my opinion, is one of the worst things to write about, and it's definitely one of the worst to read as well.  Learning the minute details of a person's everyday life is incredibly boring.  There's a reason why they're called "minute details".  Sometimes it can be interesting if the writer does exciting things or if they have a unique take on a certain event.  But most times, it's about as exciting as listening to a play-by-play of a day in the life of average Joe.  "Today I went to class.  Then I went to the gym.  Later, I'm meeting up with some friends to watch Finding Nemo."  Ooh how fascinating.  Please tell me more. 

The third and most important reason people blog is because they have something to say.  Whether they tell stories, share thoughts and opinions, or comment on what they find interesting, people who have something to say will continue to write as long as they continue to have something to say.  The obvious argument against this is that people who really have something to say will actually say it.  Ya know, like to a person.  But for those of us who have insignificant things to say or not enough people to listen, writing on the internet can be quite liberating and enjoyable. 

So for a person to say they "struggle" to write a single post per month, they shouldn't be writing at all.  They obviously either don't have the desire to write or don't have anything to say (or don't have the desire to write it in a blog).  When has not having enough time had any impact on a person's ability to complete a task or accomplish a goal they truly desired to complete?  Never.  And if any of their posts start with, "It's been a while since I last updated this thing," they shouldn't be wasting their effort or their reader's time by writing minuscule little half-thoughts done out of necessity and obligation.  That's my two cents. #technology