claudeb | The machine stops again

It's been nearly two months since my last post here. I'm forcing myself to write even this much.

A friend died earlier this month. You know what's been even harder to deal with? The grief of his other friends.

I've been coding furiously as of late, and writing about it. But I do that under another name, not that anyone cares anymore, either way.

This is where the machine stops. I wrote that before, on a blogging service that's now long gone. Back when nobody knew how good we had it. Well, this time it seems to be for real.

Make no mistake. What's been going on in the world this year? That's not what will do us in. It's only the straw that broke the camel's back. The little flaw shattering the illusion of a working system.

You know those old cartoons where a character keeps walking on thin air after reaching the edge, and only tumble down when they notice? Look in a mirror.

These days mirrors show me with the head of an ass. That used to be a thing in old cartoons, too.