Weblogs, Dangerous and Desired

Recently there was news that two proprietors of weblogs had died, and a third had had a heart attack, and that prompted speculations as to whether maintaining weblogs has life-threatening aspects. The qualifications here were that these people were getting paid for their work and that their subject matter, mostly on technical subjects, was such that they were under the twin hammers of having to come up with something fresh nearly every day and they had strict deadlines that they absolutely had to meet.

The general concensus of the responses that I read agreed with my reaction, though my efforts are as far from that high-powered level as it is possible to get and still be in the same world. Those responses all went along the lines of, "Ho-hum. So what else is new?"

(I don't like and try never to use the word "blog." It's too close to two other unpleasant words, "blob" and "bog." But apparently pioneers in the computing world, while experts in technical matters, were born without an ounce of aesthetic appreciation for language, as shown by numerous other transgressions, of which using "mouse" to denote a perfectly handy, inanimate little peripheral that few people would be in the habit of gripping with their fingers is just one.)

Though well aware that I'm in the lowest bracket of weblog writers, I was still almost astounded by the fact that people actually get paid for an activity that for me is just a casual indulgence of sorts. It was crazy for me to be so surprised, when all the activities that have interested me the most have resulted in a pronounced modesty of money sliding my way, to say the least -- fiction writing, chess playing, picture taking, beekeeping, gardening, horseshoe pitching, picture painting, computer building, stained glass working, house building, firewood cutting, weblog writing -- you name it.

I was also surprised that anyone would want to see weblogging as being life-threatening in any way. I've always seen it as being just the opposite, a life-enhancing experience, in the same way that expressing one's self in any manner can be -- any manner except the psychotic ones, that is. For instance, I'm depending on my weblogging to go a long way toward holding Alzheimers at bay.

Yet I have wondered about one respect in which doing weblogs could be bad for one's health. It applies mainly to those with political content. This requires reading an abundance of articles and other sources of info that are consistently and definitely on the downside. Too much of that can't possibly be good for the stomach or the mind.

On a second but related note, another article says that some who would advise the defence establishment are recommending that bigtime webloggers be hired or recruited in secret, to help get across the message of those who want to fight wars and terrorists.

That's all I want to say about that, except I assume that no weblogs that regularly have posts featuring the likes of cats, personal photos, or chess games need apply