Don't follow me, I'm lost 5 (Now look what you made me do...)

...and...

...I don't even have Angry Orchard to blame (yet) today.

When I grow up I want to be a curmudgeon in the Robert A Heinlein mode.

All day long I've been fighting the urge to write something because I should have been working on some other stuff. When I finally gave in and started this I forgot everything I had to say. Oh yeah, some of it is trickling back now...

I'd like to get some specific feedback from you. (Editor's note: WTF, you told everyone you're not good at following advice and now you're asking for some? Editor's reply: Don't get your panties in a knot, give me a second to make it make sense, or not.)

So I created my Steemit account using my real name. When you have a last name like mine it means the user ID is almost always available.

Some people do the same thing and others use a username or ID that doesn't parse as easily into your physical world identity.

The original title of this episode of the blog was "(A rose by any other name...)" and I thought I would ask for opinions about changing my Steemit ID. But that concept ended up on the cutting room floor, replaced by questions about the risks and rewards of using your real identity as an online identity.

Before I scrapped the changing identity concept the leading candidates were "snoozern" and "dontfollowmeimlost".

"snoozern" dates back a while to a time perhaps better forgotten than recalled, where I spent time on a stock message board in the course of losing over $40K on a $24K investment in a subprime mortgage REIT. If you don't find that funny, for certain pathetic values of funny, get a tune up on your sense of humor. No sympathy please, I survived and it was just tuition in the school of hard knocks.

"dontfollowmeimlost" is just terrifically clunky and proves I have very little imagination or cleverness. Feel free to disagree.

I've mixed feelings about blogging. A kind chap replied to one of my earlier blog episodes with some very constructive advice including "Write a good post to tell us who you are, what you like to do and what you are good at." which conjures up a variety of responses internally that keep me from following the advice. So it goes.

But here I am...

Robert Feynman's "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" surfaced in response to my maunderings about why I can't seem to follow good advice. I prefer to find my own way through new things. Or I'm too damn contrary. Pick one. (Hmm, found the curmudgeon thread again.) If you have not read Feynman's "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" and the companion predecessor "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" you should.

I've got more to say but I've got to eat and I haven't found a way to save a draft in Steemit, so we'll see if I can find my way back to the threads I've not yet plucked.

Thanks for reading this.

Regards,
Rick

Another part of the advice from the kind chap was "Your posts could do with a lot more structure." I agree! Needs much more work. That's an intention, not a commitment, and not likely, but I agree!

Unclear on the concept...

While signing out to get something to eat, a blog title caught my eye and I read the post. It was painful to read, really bad writing. I was tempted to reply and torn between wanting to help and wanting to criticize the execrable writing. Then I noticed that the author has (-3) following their ID and I thought "Wow, you have to be trying to have a rating that low."

Then I noticed the followers, posts, following count, and join date info on the ID with the (-3) who shall deliberately and deservedly remain unidentified, and it all became just too funny and screamed to be shared. Doonesbury's "Still A Few Bugs In The System" comes to mind. Doonesbury was the greatest comic strip in the world, IMHO. Leave your politics at the door and enjoy the wit.