Bloggery Pokery

Welcome to a dull South Manchester where it is raining slightly and, for summer, quite a chilly day. Hopefully normal service will be resumed for the weekend.

This post answers questions about blogging and just out of interest, I checked the number of posts that I have made. By lucky chance I spotted that this is post number 999 so my next one will be 1000. I have a couple of ideas for post 1000 and I don’t want to mention this milestone there – so I will do it now (since we are talking about blogging)

Some of the bloggers I have read are far more prolific than I am; I tend to post once a week on average. I am now retired so in theory I could improve that post rate and perhaps I will try in the coming months. 

Before we dive into the questions (from Sunday Stealing as usual), I thought I would give you a little history. 

I started blogging in March 2008, so this means my blog is 17 years old. That makes me feel old because I was a mere child of 45 years old when I first started posting this drivel into cyberspace and inflicting it onto poor people who just happened to stumble on it. 

It was Mrs PM who encouraged me to start blogging because I was very tentative at first. There have been times over the years when I thought about giving up but I plodded on and now I am quite happy to continue. If nothing else, The Plastic Mancunian gives me an excuse to just write this garbage for people to read. 

The bad news for regular readers is that I fully intend to continue to blog for the foreseeable future but before I go on I would genuinely like to thank everyone who has stumbled on these pages of rubbish  and commented on the bizarre claptrap that comes from my brain. I will also continue with Sunday Stealing posts (because it is fun) but I will also try to post about the weirdness that pops into my head from time to time. 

Poor readers!

I may just give the blog an overhaul though for my 1000th post to make it look more modern and fresh. 

Watch this space!

Let’s dive in, shall we?

1. When are you at your blogging best – a.m. or p.m.?

I prefer to write in the morning when my brain is at its most fresh. However, I actually write posts at all times of the day, depending on what I have been doing. I am writing this particular post at 11:30 am so it will probably drift into the afternoon. 

2. How many blogs do you have? Please include the links in your answer.

I started a photo blog called The Plastic Mancunian’s Eye with the aim of regularly posting a photograph but I stopped way back in 2012. It still exists and the link is on the right. 

In the end I gave up with the blog because I found that I was posting photographs on this blog and I didn’t see the point of having two blogs. 

I did consider starting a blog dedicated to the music I love and I may still do that. Perhaps I’ll call it The Plastic Mancunian’s Ear. 

3. Do you prefer silence when you compose your posts and write your comments?

No. I listen to music. 

This is the lucky song that is currently accompanying this post.

I love listening to music when blogging because it helps me to relax more and, perhaps paradoxically, helps the creativity a bit. In fact, some of my posts have been inspired by listening to music, whether it be just a song title or the meaning of the song.

4. What's the grossest thing you've ever spilled on your keyboard?

In my former job, I once spilled an entire cup of tea on my keyboard and had to have it replaced, which didn’t please the IT department. At home, I am fortunate enough never to have done anything so clumsy. 

5. Ever posted while intoxicated?

Some people probably think that ALL of my posts are written while I am intoxicated. 

The truth is that absolutely none of them have been written under the influence of alcohol. Almost all my posts contain drivel and nonsense and I can only imagine what they would be like if I were intoxicated. I would almost certainly regret them and remove them later.