Wednesday, March 11, 2009

What's the point of it all?

No, not our limited and improbable life on a rock hurtling through the eternal vastness of space, I'm talking about this blog in particular.

Well so far it has no more point than a bowling ball, but I'll probably use it for things that don't fall neatly into one of my other online presences, which are:

Choosing a blog name & URL

Man it's hard to pick a name for a blog! It needed to be:
  • about me in some way
  • a bit creative (so "Andrew's Blog" was off the list)
  • not too much about one aspect of my life (which rules out "Java Guy" and "Crap Cyclist")
I plumped for the one you see above, because although it's drawn from the world of programming, it's nevertheless a useful principle in many aspects of life. If you can keep separate things that are truly separate, you're halfway there. I've always admired clear thinkers who can cleave to the heart of an issue, discarding the red herrings that obscure the true path. (I also love mixed metaphors).

The other challenge was finding a blogspot URL that's not already taken. I went for "springpowered" because:
  • it wasn't already taken (amazingly, considering some of the ones that WERE taken)
  • it's easy to tell someone by voice (e.g. over the phone), unlike say www.dotcom.com,
  • I imagine it sounds quirky to non-technical people, and
  • it reflects my geekly love for the Spring framework.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Getting the ball rolling...

Finally I've joined the blogosphere, not long after joining Facebook. Where will it all end?