I enjoy writing [I really do], I like reading good and clever writing—George Bernard Shaw, W.S. Gilbert (of the team Gilbert and Sullivan), and Oscar Wilde come to mind immediately—and I’ve even been known to take an English grammar book on holiday! [That coupled with the fact that I have a copy of the US Constitution by my bed might make me rather odd but then I never was accused of being normal.]

Instead of writing about work-related topics, I’ve decided to push myself into other areas. However, that doesn’t mean I intend to write about things I’m not familiar with. As many of you know, from about 1990 to 2005, I worked only halftime, and after some four years of working more than fulltime since then, once again I am back in part-time mode. As such, I have a very full life outside of my work and I’ll draw topics from that.

With this blog, my goals are to do the following:

1.      About once a month, write and post a substantive essay.

2.      Share my perspectives with friends and colleagues in a manner not possible during phone calls, emails, or short in-person visits.

3.      Stimulate discussion and encourage lively interaction and constructive criticism from my readers. (Yes, dear reader, I mean you specifically.)

4.      Take responsibility for my words and set a reasonable example of writing.

5.      Set a respectful tone and discourage knee-jerk reactions. The world definitely does not need more flaming/ranting on blogs, in emails, or other public forums.

6.      Be informative, educational, and, hopefully, a little entertaining.

7.      Do my bit to improve the quality of the blogosphere. You can’t improve the process if you don’t participate, right?

I see no reason why any of my postings will need to be published in a hurry. To that end, it is very likely that I will write each one over a period of weeks or months so it can be fully baked before its public debut. I certainly plan to have at least two people—with whom I don’t always agree—review each one before it is posted. That way, most—if not all—of my errors, missteps, and faux pas will have been detected and fixed.