Just a quick note to say that I am alive and well, and desperately trying to find a way back to writing here on the blog. Several readers have reached out to see if everything is okay, given that I’ve gone dark since July. I’m touched by the concern. But really, everything is okay. Life is just busy at the moment, consuming enough mental energy to make it difficult to write.

Since we last met…

• I was writing about ark, the personal archive I’ve been working on. I started building ark on March 31. One reason I haven’t written more about it is that, since my last post in the series, ark has grown and morphed and changed into something more like a personal archive/LifeOS. I hesitate to write about it when it is changing and growing so much each day. And to be honest, given how much time I spend working on it, I don’t feel like thinking about it when I am off the clock. Here’s a look at the time I’ve spent working on ark this year.

• We took the family to Alaska. That explains the gap in the work on ark in August. We flew to Vancouver, spent a few days there, and then boarded a cruise ship that took us on a seven day journey up to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and finally, Whittier. From there, we did a land tour, by bus and train up to Fairbanks, spending a few nights at lodges in Denali National Park. From Fairbanks, we flew to Seattle and spent three days there doing touristy things, and visiting family.

• I’ve been busy with work, managing one really big (and seemingly endless) project, and just completing the roll-out of a small, high-value project.

• I’ve been reading a lot, including going to some primary sources. I recently read the Library of America’s 2-volume John Quincy Adams Diaries, which turned out to be one of the best things I’ve read in American literature. I’m into the second volume of Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. And since, today, the new Stephen King novel Other Worlds Than These came out, and since I’ve never read either The Talisman or Black House, I’ve been making my way through those so that the new book will make more sense.

• The “Little Man” (who is no longer little) is a senior in high school and going through all of the machinations involved in applying to colleges. Remember when he was born? It seems like yesterday.

I hope that helps explain my absence. I frequently tell myself I should be writing more. I have a list of topics to write about. I just need to reorient myself to this new busy and figure out when I can fit it in. I’m sure I’ll get it figured out.

To those who have reached out, I truly appreciate your concern, and it is another motivator to get me writing here again. You are the best!