Many happy returns

Well, it has been more than a few years since I posted anything on this blog. A baker's dozen. Life happens, and priorities change. I'm not even sure blogging is a 'thing' anymore since it is more popular to do vlogs. I suppose the purpose of this blog also changed. I was originally established to participate in the iheartfaces photo challenges. At the time, my wife was active on that website and used to post a lot of pictures from her photography business. I joined in since I was an amateur photographer who wanted to share some of the photos I had taken. We moved in 2012, and I no longer had the time to post photos and participate in the iheartfaces challenges. The world was changing around that time as well.

Since my last post in 2011, TikTok revolutionized how we interact online. Eventhough we had Facebook, YouTube, IG, and Twitter (X), TikTok gained notoriety in the average user's ability to create short video content and go viral. The early adopters have made millions through the platform and by growing their audience. It is much more difficult to sit down and participate in ancient form of communication known as writing, hoping that some day there will be a reader who will find your blog. If I used one of the many artificial intelligence widgets to write, it would be a piece of cake, but it wouldn't be my piece of cake. It would be a shelf-stable, automated product, that you can find on the shelf with a high sugar content and no personalization.

I guess this would be a good time to just reflect on the major changes in the world since my last post:

-We elected our first felon to the office of president. We are no longer a country of the people, but of deep pockets and oligarchs--but have we ever been of the people?
-Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the world as we know it. I wonder if it will make human beings obsolete.
-The Syrian civil war just ended. It had started in 2011--the year of my last post--and ended last month as rebel forces took Damascus after a period of dormancy.
-The war in Ukraine will enter its third year in 2025. The war revealed Russia's impotence as a military superpower and saw the first deployment of North Korean troops.
-Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 2023. Yes, I realize this is a touchy subject and Hamas gave them the excuse when they attacked Israel in Oct 2023.
-I retired from the military after 22 years of service. Since 2021, I have been the Executive Director of the San Angelo PAC. Not where I expected to be, but definitely where I needed to be.
-One of my kids just graduated high school and I have two more. Soon we'll be empty nesters.
-iheartfaces closed down in 2016 after helping boost the amateur to professional photographer scene through their challenges and by offering online courses and workshops to help people hone their skills.

These are just a few of the many things that transpired over the last 13 years.

Anyhow, I reckon that I'll be posting occasionally in this space. We'll see how it goes. I may even experiement with AI to create content.

Cheers!

Hope everyone had a great 2024 and I look forward to the years ahead.