Stuff...

I am still here, in the background, somewhere writing some letters, and doing hobbies when the time allows. I have not forgotten about this blog, but have been using my time to write letters, do hobbies, do other things too... So much has been happening this year but not always wonderful; I have not been in the headspace to blog, and have barely posted anything to (un)social media. I'm still on Instagram, but with the hashtags no longer fit for purpose (cannot see most recent posts for a hashtag, and it also repeats posts in the feed), and the algorithms forcing content on me as I scroll, OK, some of it is decent and inspiring, but most of it is uninteresting to me. When I do post, not much in the way of reaction nor comment, as if Meta is deliberately hiding my content from my followers and friends. So, maybe I should post more to forums, and to blogs, comments and such, places where you are not fodder for the unsocial scroll (if lucky). I am visiting a couple more forums I used to visit years ago, for another hobby or two. Small, quiet, but still friendly. 

I used to love taking pictures of postboxes, especially with woollen toppers created with care and talent. However, I can't pinpoint when, but at some point, the joy of the postbox has diminished.  Maybe the stories of postboxes being stolen - there was one about 15 miles away from me I wanted to photograph, attached to a post, but thieves nabbed it... Perhaps Royal Mail vandalising them turning them into parcel boxes, accepting packages that may damage/crush the post already inside the box... and I won't post my letters in them. They no longer seem that magical... 

Another concern I have is AI. AI is everywhere. Do I want my blog-ramblings to be used to train AI? Early on in my snail mail forum, I decided the forum shouldn't have everything visible to all, not even to new members who've only logged in. AI wasn't my concern for that, but possible rogue / not lovely accounts grabbing addresses (some threads have mailing addresses posted). New members don't automatically gain full normal access.  

I have used AI - I was for a while, using an "art" website with AI things to create images. I can't draw well at the best of times. It did seem "fun" in the early years, with its too many limbs, bad spelling, and such.. For writing though, not tried it other than to follow what Letters of Note did a few years ago asking ChatGPT for missive sign offs, and I wanted some German options - Alles Marmalade was one! 

Postage is rather shockingly expensive to send a postcard/letter abroad. Currently, it is £3.60 and asking Google shows this is just shy of 5 USD. Domestically, I use the 91p second class rate, so writing to penpals within Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland doesn't seem so expensive. If postage was more reasonably priced, then maybe I would want to do more promoting of snail mail, encouraging more people to discover the joys of penfriendship. Don't need expensive tools for the job: the nice smooth quality letter writing paper I use was under £5 a pad for A4; although I do use fountain pens, the cost of mine doesn't break the bank. My enthusiasm for promoting snail mail, for bringing new people in, has been very much dampened by Royal Mail's postage rates and attitudes (parcels/tracked does take priority over letters, even NHS ones), and the cost of living crisis (water rates/utility bills going up, gotta pay those fat cats / shareholders, even though quality of service goes down; food prices rising too).