new neuroses

it seems that lots of people whom i know both in real life and in the blogosphere, have either stopped blogging or have started entirely new, anonymous (as much as is possible with blogger beta), blogs.

I admit, i am in the latter category. however, my reasons for starting a new beta blog (with a new user name, new google account, new everything, with nothing connected - as far as i can tell - to my real identity) really aren't because my blogging has entangled me emotionally with real-world friends who read my blog... i'm not saying the above is the reason others have changed their blogging habits, but i can see how it might be necessary to shake things up a bit when too many people know where your blog exists.

the main real reason i have started a blog in beta is because i am developing a new neurosis/obsession/complex/compulsion based on a cnbc documentary (i won't go into detais but you can "google" it yourself and find out what it's about, it's called big brother, big business). let me list some of my symptoms:

• checking the cookies that are picked up by firefox


• playing around with my browser's cookie options


• searching the firefox site for extensions that enhance privacy


• finally ending possibilities of all cookies for good (by disabling firefox's cookie-allowing


• getting upset at blogger beta because i MUST allow my browser to accept cookies from google if i want to use beta


• finding an extension that puts a little box in the status bar that lets me decide whether to accept cookies on a page-by-page basis (am very happy with this)


• general mistrust of all things google and all things related to google


• wariness with firefox because mozilla has a CEO (CEO sounds very close to republican, as both terms have taken a hit these last few years in their respectability and trustworthiness categories)(that was not a hit at republicans, just at the term)


• fiercely guarding my privacy from now on


• downloading an extension that makes up fake email addresses for me (have yet to use)


• fear that something bad is going to turn up on my pre-employment background check


• mistrust of blogger - i hope they will always value free speech above business

my other real reason for starting a blog in beta is for experimentation purposes. they say you can do so much more with beta but i'm not entirely convinced yet. they also say that eventually everyone will have to go beta, so i'm getting a head start. i'd like to find some good hacks and test them with my experiment blog. i'm pretty satisfied with what i've got here, and i want to make sure i can carry those elements over to beta.

the new blog really does not have anything to do with interpersonal relationships. i believe i am too vain to really write about other people. period. well, i write about people i don't know. i have, on occasion, written about friends of mine who may or may not read this blog, and have only taken one post down - one in which if the mentioned person were to read it, he or she would have taken great offense and would be heartbroken (ok, i flatter myself, but it would really have hurt this person's feelings. AND DON'T WORRY, IT WASN'T ABOUT ANYONE WHO CURRENTLY READS THIS BLOG. and it was in 2004.) but most of the time i mention someone from my real world, it's just because i'm telling a story and he or she was there.

en fin.

the author would like to make it clear that this blog is still in existence and will still be updated with the normal regularity as to which the reader has become accustomed. the author also kindly asks that the reader please not remove this blog from his bookmarks/blogroll/links/whatever, as this blog will continue to be a blog.