Since I called by recently to address the lack of images on some posts, pending my fixing them of course, I figure I may as well update anyone interested in what I've been up to.
That forgotten project? Still forgotten.
That Sculpey I received? Still unused.
I've been through a lot in my personal life and it interferes. I'm always going through a lot. Being a person doesn't come easy to me; when I feel like I've got a handle on the whole thing, someone else throws a spanner into the works.
It's easy for the motivational posts on Facebook to insist that we are the architects of our own lives, but life feels more like a group project and as social animals we rely on other people. And quite frankly, we're not very reliable animals for the most part.
I have goals and targets. I have things I want to achieve in my lifetime. It's not a very concise bucket list. It's flexible and that can be a problem I guess. Why would that be a problem? Well, I'm not a creature of habit. I'm struggle to get into a flow when it comes to personal projects. I find my self jumping into things on a whim and slowly but surely drift away, sometimes as a result of outside interference. I'm very easily distracted. Other times, I just find myself drifting on to the next personal project without finishing whatever I was previously doing.
It's all very frustrating. I rarely get anything finished.
What currently has my attention? It's a difficult question to answer. If I put it down into words then when I inevitably come back after failing to see it to completion, I'm left with another stain on my character for all to see. I'm aware of my shortcoming, so I don't need another reminder. If I vaguely confess to being enrolled on several (many many) online courses that should lead to... something, I guess that's... something? Right? Tackle my goals in smaller steps. Gain some useful skill and work on my commitment to my aspirations. Seems easy enough.
Maybe I'll be back soon celebrating a small victory?
Or maybe I'll be back in a few years to eat these words after forgetting this blog even exists yet again?
Thursday 11 January 2018
Wednesday 10 January 2018
Image issues
It's probably strange that I'm even addressing this. I clearly don't keep this place up to date or in good order. The content is sparse and inconsistent. I rarely post at all. In fact the last time I made a post here was literally years ago.
But anyone dredging up the past or lurking through the dusty parts of the internet are going to come across missing images here. Not missing because they're gone or deleted. They missing because Photobucket, an image hosting service that had been the home to many of my images online for many years, has changed it's business model. I don't blame them, I really don't, because I have no idea how they made money before this.
For many people online that frequented message boards with awkward image hosting through attachments or bloggers with limited storage or for any number of other users using the service, Photobucket was a brilliant host for images that not only allowed external linking but seemingly encouraged it. Upon uploading an image to your account you were greeted with copy and paste code for various platforms for you to show off your image. So we did.
Recently, I called in on a message board that I used to frequent. It was previously a very active community with hundreds of posts daily. The main page still boasts that the most number of users online at one time was a whopping 5,865. It's still there and it still gets some attention from some of the more dedicated users, but it's certainly seen better days. As the members grew older, many have moved on with their lives by starting families, others have progressed in their careers to a point that they don't really have the time, the rising popularity of other social media services popping up seems to have damaged message board communities somewhat too, and then there are members that have sadly literally passed on. As I type this and look over to that message board there is only one other member currently there. I don't recognise the name.
I've gone on a tangent.
Recently, I called in on a message board that I used to frequent to see if anyone was still sharing artworks they had created. One of my favourite places was always the sketchbook section, and although activity has drastically slowed down on this old message board all of the old threads are still there. So I decided to check out some of my favourites. And that's when I first noticed it, Photobucket had withdrawn it's external hosting in favour of a premium model. Like I've already said, I think it's fair for them to charge. I guess. But the old threads are left full of holes. I went to google for an answer. Everywhere was hit, hit hard and seemingly out of the blue. Many active blogs and websites found themselves with a lot of work to do if they didn't want to start paying Photobucket. Members can still log in and access their images, they can be downloaded and moved if you don't want to pay. But that can mean a lot of work.
I've felt it myself. I was late to discover what had happened but my sketchbook thread was in ruins and since checking back here I've discovered that some of my posts contain images hosted at Photobucket.
I'm mostly making this post to address the situation and let anyone lurking around this old neglected blog know that I'm aware of it. I'm aware that there are missing images. And I may one day get to fixing it. But that day isn't today.
I currently have goals and targets and cleaning up my old intermittent blog feels like it would be procrastinating more than anything.
Especially since I don't actually think anyone ever comes here.
But anyone dredging up the past or lurking through the dusty parts of the internet are going to come across missing images here. Not missing because they're gone or deleted. They missing because Photobucket, an image hosting service that had been the home to many of my images online for many years, has changed it's business model. I don't blame them, I really don't, because I have no idea how they made money before this.
For many people online that frequented message boards with awkward image hosting through attachments or bloggers with limited storage or for any number of other users using the service, Photobucket was a brilliant host for images that not only allowed external linking but seemingly encouraged it. Upon uploading an image to your account you were greeted with copy and paste code for various platforms for you to show off your image. So we did.
Recently, I called in on a message board that I used to frequent. It was previously a very active community with hundreds of posts daily. The main page still boasts that the most number of users online at one time was a whopping 5,865. It's still there and it still gets some attention from some of the more dedicated users, but it's certainly seen better days. As the members grew older, many have moved on with their lives by starting families, others have progressed in their careers to a point that they don't really have the time, the rising popularity of other social media services popping up seems to have damaged message board communities somewhat too, and then there are members that have sadly literally passed on. As I type this and look over to that message board there is only one other member currently there. I don't recognise the name.
I've gone on a tangent.
Recently, I called in on a message board that I used to frequent to see if anyone was still sharing artworks they had created. One of my favourite places was always the sketchbook section, and although activity has drastically slowed down on this old message board all of the old threads are still there. So I decided to check out some of my favourites. And that's when I first noticed it, Photobucket had withdrawn it's external hosting in favour of a premium model. Like I've already said, I think it's fair for them to charge. I guess. But the old threads are left full of holes. I went to google for an answer. Everywhere was hit, hit hard and seemingly out of the blue. Many active blogs and websites found themselves with a lot of work to do if they didn't want to start paying Photobucket. Members can still log in and access their images, they can be downloaded and moved if you don't want to pay. But that can mean a lot of work.
I've felt it myself. I was late to discover what had happened but my sketchbook thread was in ruins and since checking back here I've discovered that some of my posts contain images hosted at Photobucket.
I'm mostly making this post to address the situation and let anyone lurking around this old neglected blog know that I'm aware of it. I'm aware that there are missing images. And I may one day get to fixing it. But that day isn't today.
I currently have goals and targets and cleaning up my old intermittent blog feels like it would be procrastinating more than anything.
Especially since I don't actually think anyone ever comes here.
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