Author: Carl Setzer

A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.

Making the Internet Personal Again

Carl Setzer
wocintech (microsoft) - 58

I’ve been on the web for years. I started this blog back in 2005, though before that I messed around with hand-coded sites. Reading Justin Cox’s post from early 2025, “Let’s Make The Internet Personal Again” reminded me of those days. The internet was a quirky place, with sites ranging from the cerebral to the downright weird, ie: Dancing Hamster.

In his post, Mr. Cox writes about Lost and its impact on the blogosphere. Though I didn’t get into Lost, I did have my sets of interests and found my own focused sites.

On a 2023 post, “The End of Centralized Platforms is Over“, he states:

You put the distribution into the hands of a company without your interest in mind. 

I deeply agree with this point. Build your own site, build your own community. Even in the heyday of the platformed web, I promoted the notion of using social media sites to drive people towards YOUR site. Don’t let a third party control your community! I can point to Twitter and YouTube, amongst others, who seemingly capriciously de-platforming people, people who depended on that community for a living. They were left in professional limbo. A benefit of pointing people to your website, to your email list is that if you’re kicked off a platform, or that platform fails/goes out of business, your community can still find you, can still maintain that connection.

Personally, I’m going through a minor struggle. Should I hand-code my main site (like this page of mine), should I focus on THIS site (which is WordPress)? Or some other option (Joomla?)

What are your thoughts? Do you focus on a single platform? Do you maintain a website/blog? I would love to hear your thoughts.

I’m a Word Nerd!

Carl Setzer4 Comments
person holding white ceramci be happy painted mug

Good ol’ Grammarly! I don’t generally pay attention to these updates, but this one struck me.

As I value my writing skills, this made me happy. I’m lapping the competition? Cool!

I’m more productive than average and have higher mastery, too.

And I’m more creative, or at least have a broader vocabulary, than most:

I find this satisfying as I deeply value my communication skills, especially my writing. The hard work I’ve done over the years has benefitted me. Which I find wonderful.

A Blogging Challenge

Carl Setzer4 Comments
woman using smartphone and laptop

I don’t generally do these, but I’m starting to think I should. Take the opportunity to write more, right (write?)?

Anyway, Pooja posted this challenge to everyone/anyone who read the post (here’s the post that was the challenge to her). So, let’s explore this, shall we?

How did you come up with your blog name? 

Well, this one’s pretty easy: it’s my name. And, nerd that I am, my goal was to capture the SEO surrounding my name. And I feel pretty successful. This blog is in the first position on a SERP for “carl setzer“.

If your blog was a person (fiction or real), who would it be?

Very interesting notion and question. I’m trying to think of a character who loves writing poetry, but also writes about a slew of random stuff. I’m drawing a blank, though.

What helps you create new content if you feel like you need some inspiration?

Like Pooja, I often get inspired by other bloggers. That’s what’s going on with this post. Another who’s

good for inspiration is my friend Bill Pearse and his blog “Pink Lightsabre“.

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?

I haven’t thought of collaborating in some time. It sounds like fun, but I’ll need to think about it further. If anyone has any ideas, I’m open.

Is there anything more you wish you had or would like to learn as a blogger?

One of my key goals as a blogger is to become a “better writer”. I’m working on defining that better. Most of my time as a blogger has been spent, well, flailing. No real focus, nor goals. I’m working on that, though.

Do you have a specific style of blogging?

Like Pooja said in her post, my style is pretty random and chaotic. Looking over the past few years, I seem to have settled in on poetry, especially Haiku.

So, my nominees?

I’m going to start with Bill Pearse at Pink Lightsabre. He’s also a blogger who I highly recommend others read. I also recommend DavidWDon (another writer of Senrye & Haiku) and Michelle Lee at “My Inspired Life“.

I’ll add similar disclaimers as Pooja for my nominees: don’t feel any pressure. That is NOT my intent. Also, if you’re inclined to add to this challenge, please do!

Some thoughts on the Long-Term Impact of Designed Babies

Carl Setzer
baby boy sitting with white inflatable balloon above

Oh, this article on Wired got me thinking: Designer Babies Are Teenagers Now—and Some of Them Need Therapy Because of It. Quick summary: the writer, Emi Nietfeld, is summarizing a discussion with a family therapist working with these teenagers.

Let’s start with, well, clearly this is an example of the Law of Unintended consequences. These technologies were supposed to make families “better”, to create the most beautiful and brilliant children. And, well, not exactly. People want to be valued as their unique selves. So, I found this line both telling, and rather messed up.

The kids feel like walking science experiments; the parents are disappointed in how their progeny turned out.

Seems like folks fell into the trap of grasping for control. If you thought the folks who hyper-structured their children’s lives so that they would become exactly who they wanted them to be were dysfunctional, imagine being able to go from math camps, piano lessons, and language immersion programs to messing with their DNA.

I kept coming across teens who were in distress about the way they had been created.

Created? That really felt weird to read. The interviewee sums up my thoughts well with this line:

People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture.

To me, this highlights the reason every major religion emphasises relinquishing control. Abandoning fear and allowing things/people to just BE is powerful.

Anyway, as the subject of this article states, “I don’t know if anyone’s making sure parents understand that they can’t test-drive a child and then return it.” People are not products! They aren’t resources to extract. They aren’t vehicles to further your ambitions. Sigh…

These tools have some powerful applications, and some of them, I expect, are life-affirming. However, they can leave a mess of multi-generational trauma. Perhaps we can’t prevent every Unintended Consequence, but, I expect, with thoughtful consideration, we could mitigate or eliminate more than we do. One can dream, I suppose.

Ways of Making Tea

Carl Setzer

I love tea, and I have a particular fondness for English (or Irish, or Welsh) breakfast teas. Once (ages ago) I was lectured by a British chap about the proper way to make tea (and how I was NOT doing so). Therefore, this xkcd was perfect.

I’ve been a fan of this comic for ages. I’m sure I shared from them before, but thought I’d highlight a few of my favorites. And, if you haven’t, encourage you to follow them.

Here are my two favorite comics (and this is a solid tie):

and this one…

So, I hope you enjoyed and consider giving them a follow.