A Flit of Timely Desire: To write a short post for Blog A. Motivated.

Goes to site, logs in, opens page to create post.

Sees avatar, which will display with post:

Thinks, “Oh, right: I was going to change my avatar pic.” Logs in to Gravatar.

Uploads:

Done. Or could be, but, clicks on Gravatar Profile. It links to a website, Blog B (yours truly).

Wonders: “What do I have posted here on Blog B again? It’s been awhile. Too busy to update it with that job I was working.” Etc. (That old bunch of excuses and reasons.)

Clicks to linked website.

Reads old blog posts. Laughs. “I typed LOW and behold?!” Edits old blog posts. Listens to Sympathy for the Devil. Again. The topic’s still relevant. And—speak of the devil—notices WordPress ads are back. Whoops, must have forgotten to renew ad blocker.

Logs in to other account—the primary one, through which WordPress ad blocker was last purchased. Expired in September. Huh. Can’t renew it now; they don’t offer it anymore. Grrr! Can only upgrade to a package with ad blocker as one of several other unneeded features.

Another Layer of Timely Desire: To block the ads, package or no.

Okay, but (scary thought) will upgrading to this package—the only way to block other people’s ads from appearing on my site—totally disintegrate my blog’s design? Who has time for that?

Wonders if time should be spent researching, or just do the upgrade on blind faith?

Wonders if it’s really all that bad to have ads display on one’s blog posts…? Ads selling who knows what?

Pictures blog reader seeing an ad displayed, right here on this site, unbeknownst to me, for something I so totally oppose, that I think is so totally excessive or wrong, something I’d NEVER buy or advertise… Like, I don’t know: Ziplock bags for your Ziplock bags.

Pictures blog reader barely caring, since they are used to ads.

Realizes: ads are distracting, but we are accustomed to them.

Ads are everywhere, and we have come to expect them.

Ads tell me I am a consumer, here to consume the earth and consume myself.

Ads tell me what to buy with my life. Ads tell me I can block them for some amount of dollars, at which point they will stop being a distraction, for one year.

Thinks about how an ad blocker is something one can buy.

Thinks about thinking about ad blockers being something one can buy.

It’s almost two hours after originally setting out to write a totally different post, on a different blog. Decision needed.

Research inconclusive enough to resolve peripheral emotion on the subject of not being about to decide.

Maybe would buy Ziplock bags for Ziplock bags.

Daydreams a bit about a scene from The Sound of Music, which was on TV last night. How do you solve a problem like Maria?

Notices a persistent, repeated chirp of a bird outside. A chirp like a loud squeak in a wheel. But it’s definitely a bird.

Anyway. Where was I… Right: that other post I was going to write.

The bird quiets.

Bird & Berries