The Backroad to Civilization

October 2nd, 2014

	It's been a slow morning so far, so I thought I'd spend a few 
minutes updating one of my few remaining online projects.  I've killed off 
the vast majority of my blogs and websites owing to lack of time and/or 
interest... Hell, I deactivated my Twitter account a couple of days ago.

	As time goes on, I find myself less and less interested in the 
more "consumable" aspects of the Internet.  Granted, my waning interest in 
the mainstream Internet are what drove me underground to Gopherspace in 
the first place, but I never quite imagined my interest would wane to this 
extent.

	I'd rekindled my interest in BBSes late last year, called 
(telnetted) a few regularily, but found most message areas devoid of 
activity.  These last few months have seen the number of BBSes I call 
dwindle to one (Digital Distortion), and even then it's only for a few 
seconds as I download my QWK packet for my subscribed echoes.  So far, 
my participation has been passive - I've been lurking - but that's mostly 
because I don't download my QWK packets often enough.  Hoping to be a bit 
more regular in that regard in the future.

	Usenet is another area I've been neglecting.  I was participating 
in a few discussions on comp.misc late last year/early this during a 
resurgence of activity (stemming from a boycott of Slashdot by disgruntled 
Slashdot regulars), but slowed down after a couple of weeks.  Really have 
to get back into it.

	Also tried COM on SDF for the first time yesterday, even posted to 
BBOARD.  Might be small potatoes to most SDF regulars, but it's a first to 
me.  I'm planning on spending a LOT more time on SDF in the future, it 
really does have a fair bit to offer...

	In other news, I decided, quite spontaneously, that the web page 
of our long-dead user group, The Thugs, was something worth saving.  The 
Thugs' page is where The 4P Diaries and The Model 100 Diaries got their 
start, so I opted to save (and possibly continue) the rest of the site 
here on TBRTC.  Most of the content is here onsite, it's just a matter of 
deciding on a layout then trimming the extra code Tripod inserted into 
each page.  I'm hoping to have this done by the end of the week.

	The Thugs' page was never anything to look at (or follow), but it 
was OURS.  Looking back, I'm amazed at how far we've come in terms of our 
skills.  I'm sure, one day, I'll look back at THIS site and shake my head, 
wondering what the Hell I was thinking...