Another Sunday...another Blog

I meant to write something else earlier, but it turned into a bit of a rant and after re-reading the (rather long) diatribe through I decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to publish. As I'm sure I've told you guys, although my Mum wasn't really into computers and the only thing she played on hers was Solitaire, she did at least understand that something written in the heat of the moment should not be published immediately. Basically it was a rant against Starfleet's lack of care of its officers/personnel and yes, I included both Lower Decks and ST:TOS in this. ST:TNG doesn't do too well either. But I decided that it probably wouldn't even register with half of the people who actually read my blog.

So this is a Blog about something else. My laptop finally died. It has become the equivalent of a stone. I can still turn it on and hopefully download video files and photographs, but I don't hold out much hope. Edwin has bought me a new(ish) laptop and the software for MSOffice 2007 and before anyone says that I should have gone for the latest version, well I sometimes use a piece of Speech-to-Text Software called Dragon Naturally Speaking, well it's brilliant and sometimes when my hands hurt I can use this piece of kit far more easily than any of the other versions. The only real problem is that Dragon won't work with later versions of MSOffice. Or at least I found that Dragon Naturally Speaking 13 wouldn't work with later versions. At the time I'd already spent a small fortune (well for me anyway) on Version 13 of the Speech-To-Text software and I didn't want to be spending any more money on an upgraded version. And this really hacks me off when companies won't allow the same program to be installed on different computers - that you have to buy another licence in order to use the software on another computer. And some programs are no longer available - Photoshop CC for example which was one of the best and now Adobe wants to charge about £19 per month for me to use similar software online. As you might imagine, this infuriates me. And again, I've devolved into a rant. Sorry about that.

I'd love to say that things are looking up with my writing, FanFiction yes, but original fiction, no, not really. I don't feel like I'm in a fog anymore {which I did for months after my Mum's death} but the ability to write anything original just seems to have vanished and that worries me a little. Edwin is very sweet and says that it will come back, but I keep wondering 'When?' I mean I have written scraps of original stuff, but my ability to write and write consistently seems to have just disappeared. Well they say that things can only get better but again my question is: 'When?'

I suppose that I am being too hard on myself - but sometimes I think that's just the way of things. I come from an era when people just shrugged and got on with things, great for some things, but not for others. I tend to believe that Mental Health is just as important as Physical Health, although others obviously don't. If you came from an era when you just straightened your shoulders and got on with life, then the idea of needing care for one's Mental Health was regarded, not with suspicion, but almost disbelief. I am glad that these ideas are beginning to change now. Although to be honest, there are some parts of the industry that do need to redress this.