TITLE: Interlude
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: July 09, 2008  1:57 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
[<STRONG>Update</STRONG>:  Added a linked to my interview
at Confessions of a Science Librarian.]

Some months, I go through stretches when I write a lot.
I started this month with a few substantive posts and
a few light posts in the span of a week.  Back in November
2007, I wrote twice as many posts as the typical month
and more than any month since my first few months blogging.
That month, I posted entries eleven days in a row, driven
by a burst of thoughts from time spent at a
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2007-12.html#e2007-12-18T16_40_07.htm">
   workshop on science and computer science</A>.
This month, I had the fortune to read some good articles
and the chance to skip real work, think, and write.
Sometimes, the mood to write takes hold.

I have had an idea for a long time to write an entry that
was motivated by reading George Orwell's essay
<A HREF="http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/e_wiw">
   Why I Write</A>,
but never seem to get to it.  I'm not getting to it today,
either.  But it came to mind again for two reasons.  First,
I spent the morning
<A HREF="http://jdupuis.blogspot.com/2008/07/interview-with-eugene-wallingford-of.html">
   giving a written interview</A>
to John Dupuis, who blogs at
<A HREF="http://jdupuis.blogspot.com/">
   Confessions of a Science Librarian</A>.
John is a reader of my blog and asked me to share some of
my ideas with his readers.  I was honored to be asked, and
so spent some time this morning reflecting on my blog, what
and why I write.  Second, today is the fourth anniversary of
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-07.html#e2004-07-09T12_37_46.htm">
   my first blog post</A>.

Responding to John's questions is more writing than I do
on most days.  I don't have enough energy left to write a
substantive post yet today, but I'm still in a reflective
frame of mind about why I write.

Do I really need to blog?  Someone has already said what
I want to say.  In that stretch of posts last November,
I cited Norvig, Minsky, and Laurel, among others, talking
about the same topics I was writing about.  Some reasons
I can think of are:
<UL>
<LI> My experiences are different, so maybe I have something
     to add, however small that might be.
<LI> My posts link to all that great work, and someone who
     reads my blog may find an article they didn't know
     about and read it.  Or they may remember it from the
     past, feel guilty at not having read it before, and
     finally go off to read it.
<LI> If nothing else, I write to learn, and to make myself
     happy.  Some days, that's more than enough reason for
     me.
</UL>

There are certainly other self-interested reasons to write.
There is noble self-interest:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
Share your knowledge.  It's a way to achieve immortality.  <BR/>
-- the 14th Dalai Lama
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

And there is the short-term self-interest.  I get to make
connections in my own mind.  Sometimes I am privileged to
see my influence on former students, when they respond to
something I've written.  And then there is the lazy blog,
where some reader knows or has something I don't and shares.
At times, these two advantages come together, as when
former student
<A HREF="http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~rsd/">
   Ryan Dixon</A>
brought me a
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2007-12.html#e2007-12-20T13_45_06.htm">
   surprise gift</A>
last winter.

Year Five begins today, even if still without comments.
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