I used to follow a blog where the author ran out of things to say. Actually, I still follow it, but I realized yesterday that it must be at least six months, maybe a year, since the last post. (I just checked – more than a year.)
I suppose it is possible he died. At least one blogger I follow did indeed pass on without warning his readers.
More likely though in this case is that the guy just ran out of steam. His posting frequency had dropped pre-COVID, then was almost zero during the pandemic.
He wrote about having nothing to write about. Which I suppose you could do forever, though it would quickly get boring.
These thoughts come to mind as you may have noticed the occasional gap in this space, sometimes a day, sometimes more, and I was thinking about what to post today. I haven’t run out of things to say, that is for sure, but lifestyle changes have reduced my writing output.
For most bloggers this online sharing of ideas is a hobby. Hobbies aren’t supposed to be all-consuming, they are something you do for enjoyment in your spare time.
My spare time used to be when I took the bus to and from work daily. I would write a post on the bus, starting it on my morning commute and finishing on the trip home. On a good day I might write two. With that schedule is seemed easy to write 350 posts a year, sometimes more.
These days though, I’m just as likely to be working from home. And my commute when I do go into the office is no longer a one-bus trip but a bus/train combination that breaks my concentration. Posts don’t seem to flow as easily. (There are also days when I enjoy the time with a book instead.)
When I’m home, there always seems to be something higher priority. The dishes need to be done and there are no excuses. The same for the laundry.
All of which explains my hit and miss performance in this space recent weeks and months. Or partly explains it.
After more than two years of pandemic, it seems everyone I know is moving a little slower, suffering from COVID fatigue. Simple tasks seem to take longer and the energy level is flagging. It doesn’t seem to be age-related, young and old have complained of the same thing. Some call it COVID-brain or COVID-fog. You just don’t seem to be moving as swiftly mentally as you did pre-pandemic.
Sociologists are going to be studying the effects of the pandemic for years. Our society has probably changed in ways we don’t even realize. It will be the academics who figure it out.
Has COVID made us short-tempered, or just allowed us to see that we are? And what can be done about what seems to be a societal crankiness? I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed a reduced ability to suffer fools gladly. (With perhaps a corresponding inability to realize when I am the fool.)
Where are my thoughts going this morning? I’m not quite sure. Occasionally we do live up to the randomness of the title. Especially as my train stop is next.
random thoughts from lorne 
I think it’s pretty amazing that you are able to write blogs almost every day. I suppose that by next year I will have to write such for our Routledge published textbook to link the book’s contents to current events – as a service to teachers looking for things to interest their students. I seriously doubt I would do so more than once a week but luckily there are three of us as the authors.
I suppose one idea to help with burnout is to make your blog a co-op. Multiple authors could share the load.
All I ned is a few more hours in the day. But since I’m not going to get them I’m not going to worry about missing some days. And I have cut back on the politics recently – easy stuff to write, but depressing to read.