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Dialogue with my muse |
| I have been carrying on a dialogue for almost a year. During this time we have discussed the progress of my writing, editing, and publishing efforts. Join in to listen to our conversation about my daily writing life and add your comments if you think of anything Calliope and I miss. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Fine. Yesterday was busy with errands but I did get some time to work on Dreamweaver and my website. CALLIOPE: How's it coming? JOE: Not bad. I'm no expert yet, but my competence grows by the day as I learn more about the programming. CALLIOPE: So you think you will have your site ready by the end of the month? JOE: That's my plan. CALLIOPE: Then what? JOE: Back to my writing. I haven't had much time to work on it lately with all the effort I'm putting into web development. CALLIOPE: Do you need any help? JOE: Not yet. I have had some kind offers from fellow denizens of my various web communities. So far I am holding my own, but at least have some ideas about where to find help if I get stuck. CALLIOPE: Always good to know. JOE: It is. I'm never comfortable feeling like I am on a desert island with no passing ships in sight. CALLIOPE: One advantage of being a muse is not being limited by geography. JOE: Sounds nice. I'll continue on as a mere mortal for now. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Ready for a new week? JOE: Indeed. CALLIOPE: What's afoot? JOE: I spent all day Saturday poring over my Dreamweaver manual. CALLIOPE: To any avail? JOE: Fortunately yes. I was then able to begin reconstructing my website in Dreamweaver. CALLIOPE: Effortlessly? JOE: No such luck. In the beginning I struggled with every step. By the time I arrived at my third page I was much better and my development started to hum along. CALLIOPE: Any other findings? JOE: More a realization. I had difficulty with some of the automated tasks but found I could do them manually with the help of my understanding of html. CALLIOPE: Where did that come from? JOE: Once I thought it would be a challenge to write my own website from scratch and delved into html. CALLIOPE: And? JOE: The task was beyond me but gained a rudimentary understanding and facility with html workings. Everything I learn seems to come in handy eventually. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Reflective. CALLIOPE: About what? JOE: I received news that an old mentor died yesterday. CALLIOPE: Were you close to him? JOE: His name is Thomas Berry. I haven't talked with him in many years since I left the monastery. I tried contacting him but he was in ill health although I did communicate with his sister. CALLIOPE: How did he help you? JOE: After being in the seminary and monastery for nine years I was ready to leave but had no idea how to go about it or what to do next. CALLIOPE: And? JOE: Father Thomas helped me to decide what was important to me and to plan some initial steps after leaving. CALLIOPE: So you left with some sense of direction? JOE: I did and have always been grateful for his guidance. I have tried to help others as he helped me. CALLIOPE: A fond memory. JOE: Indeed, as well as an inspiration. Talk with you on Monday. |
| The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious- Marcus Aurelius JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Making progress. Dreamweaver looked quite daunting at first but I think there is hope. CALLIOPE: Tell me about it. JOE: I struggled to get it to do anything. Then my book arrived, bringing hope with it. CALLIOPE: What book? JOE: A lifesaver (or websaver) called Dreamweaver CS4: The Missing Manual by David McFarland. CALLIOPE: How has it helped. JOE: It explains in detail just what needs to be done at each step. CALLIOPE: That's it? JOE: No. It also provides a tutorial to walk the unenlightened one (Grasshopper if you will) through the steps of creating a fictitious site using the skills just discussed. CALLIOPE: Sounds like a good approach. JOE: It works for me. I still have quite a bit to learn but, having produced visible results, I now think I will make it. CALLIOPE: Keep after those geese. JOE: I will but they have a mind of their own. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy-Meryl Streep JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What an interesting title. JOE: I thought it might catch your attention. CALLIOPE: I assume there is a story behind it. JOE: I read a complaint about Judge Sotomayor having too much empathy to be a supreme court judge and thought the topic deserved some discussion. CALLIOPE: It does sound interesting. How did you approach it? JOE: I cited my own experience as a psychologist and hearing Buffalo Judge Robert Russell talk about specialized courts. CALLIOPE: And? JOE: I realized that without empathy we deal with issues only rather than with people. CALLIOPE: I'll have to visit your website Saturday to read the column. What about the quote above? JOE: Twitter has been in the news. I have been debating about whether it is something worthwhile or just a wast of time. CALLIOPE: So? JOE: I decided to use my account to post quotes related to our discussions and will try it for a while. CALLIOPE: With a link back here? JOE: That's the plan. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Back in high gear. CALLIOPE: Explain. JOE: Yesterday's mail brought my book, Dreamweaver CS4- The Missing Manual. CALLIOPE: How did that change things? JOE: I have been struggling to make sense of Dreamweaver from the tutorials online and fiddling with the program to try to understand it, mostly to no avail. Now that the book has arrived, so has hope of understanding and using Dreamweaver. CALLIOPE: So you were right about a book being more useful than online materials. JOE: I don't know if this is true for everyone, but it certainly is for me. CALLIOPE: I'm glad there is hope. Whats next? JOE: My first inclination is to jump right in and redesign my old website. CALLIOPE: But? JOE: But I decided to take some time to learn how to use Dreamweaver first and once I become familiar with it, use it to reformulate my site. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How is your learning of Dreamweaver coming along? JOE: Interesting you should ask. I am wading through video tutorials while I await the manual I ordered. CALLIOPE: Do you prefer one approach over the other? JOE: I thought I would like the tutorials and liked being talked to by a person. CALLIOPE: I sense a "but." JOE: Very perceptive of you. Although I like the multisensory presentations, I tend to find written materials more useful. CALLIOPE: How so? JOE: I feel more in control of the material. I have an index, table of contents and can focus in on the material as specifically as I need to rather than following along with parts of a presentation I might not need or don't understand. CALLIOPE: I see. So you think there is a future for books? JOE: As far as I am concerned, I certainly hope so. I would miss them if they disappeared. Perhaps I would adjust but it would be difficult. CALLIOPE: Some people think books are here to stay and others think they are on the way out. JOE: I've heard both opinions too. I guess I will adjust to whatever happens. I just happen to like working from books. CALLIOPE: Didn't your Latin friends have a maxim, "De gustibus non est disputandum?" JOE: Yes. There's no arguing about tastes. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. Ready for another week? JOE: Indeed. I started working yesterday learning the intricacies of Dreamweaver. CALLIOPE: Have you thought about simpler approaches? JOE: Several other writers mentioned the possibility of a hosted space under the umbrella of a general writers' site. CALLIOPE: Have you considered that approach? JOE: I think it would be a beginning if I knew nothing about websites and wanted a quick Internet presence. CALLIOPE: You are beyond that? JOE: Although my knowledge is rudimentary, I think I at least understand the basics and am prepared to continue with my own site. CALLIOPE: Where will you start? JOE: Reviewing the basics. I will reconsider the goals of my website, intended audience, what I would like my visitors to do. CALLIOPE: And then? JOE: I will design the structure, format and especially the content accordingly. CALLIOPE: Sounds like you have a plan. JOE: I do, at least the outline of one. Now it's time to fill in the details. Talk with you tomorrow. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Exhausted from my search. CALLIOPE: Search of what? JOE: The Internet and bookstores to decide what to do about my website. CALLIOPE: Why do you have to do something about it? JOE: My website host will no longer support Front Page, the program I used to develop and update my website aft the end of June. CALLIOPE: Have you come to a decision? JOE: Yes, Your Honor. CALLIOPE: How does the jury find? JOE: In favor of Dreamweaver. I considered paying someone to do what I needed (too expensive for my taste), using a free program (too limited), using a combination of program and hosting (I like my current service provider), Microsoft's Expression (unintelligible for me). CALLIOPE: So Dreamweaver is the least of the evils? JOE: That's one way to put it. It is also the gold standard of web development. I downloaded a trial and decided it was manageable with some practice. CALLIOPE: So you have a month to learn the program? JOE: I don't expect to become an expert in a month, but I'm ready for the journey. Talk with you on Monday. |
| JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Mulling a self revelation. CALLIOPE: Sounds like there might be a story to it. JOE: There is. Yesterday I spent the morning at a meeting with mental health staff and fellow board members. CALLIOPE: How did it go? JOE: Mixed. The first part was a pleasant exchange and presentation with the staff. The second part turned to some thorny issues. CALLIOPE: Where did you find the revelation? JOE: We were discussing staffing and the issue of AmeriCorps came up. Someone wished I was available for their project rather than already committed to the arts council. CALLIOPE: And your response? JOE: I realized only as I said it that there are many personal issues related to mental health involving my family which make it hard for me to be any more involved with the field than I am now. CALLIOPE: Is that what made you turn to writing instead of mental health? JOE: In retrospect, I think so. I have plenty of experiences to draw on but don't want to revisit them, at least the personal ones. CALLIOPE: Good realization. JOE: I thought so. Talk with you tomorrow. |
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Hope they like snow! 
I just tell them to go get a life...
It's a sunshiny 24 here at the moment; 19 in Buffalo.