So what about me? I’m an ex-Cold War submariner in my late forties who spent most of his life in computers, peripherals, R&D and anything else technical that they could throw at me. The rest of the time was spent writing, working my own small, mobile sound production studio and riding around on Harley Davidsons.
Then one day that life ended when family duty called (assisting my sister in the care of my aging parents) and I moved to Vermont and eventually to minimum wage jobs, working in less than wonderful conditions in order to be close to home as it were. I came out a bit worse for wear when it was all over.
Note: In 2003 I met the women of my dreams and we’ve been together ever since. Life is good!
Currently, I’m living with 3 service-related disabilities (one which has made me legally deaf) which have taken advantage of my getting older to start causing trouble (the rotten boogers) and trying to stay in the work force at the same time but no regrets here and no complaints. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my life and it’s the good fight to be sure. Then I stumbled across the art of blogging and I was hooked. I love to write although I’ve never attempted to publish anything and I’ve always loved anything computer/technically oriented so here I am like it or not.
So where did Just Thinkin’ come from?
Once upon a time there was a blog that went by the name of "Conversation Lost" that was born and raised at a place called Blogger. This blog was named after a short story/article (one of 15 or so that remain unsung) I wrote years ago about how two people just don’t seem to have the ability these days, in my slightly less than astute observation, to hold an intelligent conversation for more than say, 24.437 seconds without their brains seizing up and their mouths along with it. This, of course, results in a lot of long embarrassed silences where each of them blindly search about their tongue tied brains for anything to say at all until the something brilliant like "Okay…well…see ya’ later" comes draining out. The two then part company knowing that any future conversations that might possibly occur between them should they ever meet again are highly unlikely. And so was born "Conversation Lost".
I figured that I not only could hold an intelligent conversation for a greater period of time than stated above but I could bloody well hold it with the entire world while I was at it. Tall order you say? Well, you could be right. However, my safety valve was the fact that I knew that I would only have to hold up my end of said conversation only with the ones who:
- Found the blog in the first place.
- Bothered to really read anything and…
- Actually left a comment behind.
So as it stood, I felt reasonably safe in assuming that I wouldn’t have to hold my end of that conversation up while the majority of the entire Blogosphere beat down my door. I was of course, correct in my assumption. Nonetheless, I stand by my original statement.
The blog went from Blogger to Wordpress.com with only a few minor lacerations and had it’s name changed to "Just Thinkin" because someone else had the complete audacity to come up with a Wordpress.com blog called "Conversation Lost" before I got there. The nerve of some people. Anyway… The time at Wordpress.com showed me what was really available out there for a new blogger who intended to stick with it (ie: stubborn and thick headed) and through a few theme changes, a bunch of questions, a boat load of posts and achieving a decent rank/rating which was improving as the days went by, I was ready for the big move to "doing it myself"…so I did. I wasn’t too sure where the blog would end up but now it was all mine and that’s what counted.
So what is the purpose of this blog? Good question—thanks for asking. As of the present, this blog has been a learning tool for the future. My classroom for learning as much as I can about the ins and outs of a Wordpress. It didn’t however, mean I was out to be an expert in PHP or HTML or CSS but I did wish to be able to hack my theme templates and whatever else that needed modifying and be comfortable doing so. I wanted to spend my time writing up posts, not worrying about upgrading or wasting time trying to figure out why this or that didn’t work. Seems to have worked.
I may go on to a more niche style blog someday but Just thinkin’ will always remain as my personal blog where I will continue to inflict my personal observations on life, liberty and anything that comes along that’s easy, upon my readers, as few or as many as they may be. 
Enjoy or not as you see fit and Welcome to Just Thinkin’.
Have a great day.
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Thanks for the compliment you left on my blog!
Well deserved…glad I stopped by to catch your new fame.
[...] About [...]
Hi Kirk, loved reading ‘about’ your blog journey. It seems you can carry on a conversation for longer than 24 seconds, even if it is with yourself:
“So what is the purpose of this blog? Good question—thanks for asking.”
Just kidding, I share your love of blogging, sending stuff out there and see if anyone cares to comment, or not…
I will be checking back to see what you are ‘just thinkin’ about.
Hi Susan,
I will be looking forward to your visits and amazingly enough, the journey continues and I’m still having a heck of a lot of fun.
I’m still not sure of what the purpose is or where it’s leading to but what the heck…it’s the journey that counts, not the destination. If this blog was a Harley I’d never run out outta gas.
[...] subscribed and dig how personable he is and how much he interacts with the readers on his site. He describes himself as an ex-Cold War submariner in his late forties who spent most of his life in computers, [...]
[...] Here’s how: I paid someone. [...]
This was entertaining. It made me think as to what, where and why I started blogging myself.
I noticed you went to school in Upstate NY. Where? I lived in Jamestown, NY for umpteen years myself. Just wondering.
Now, I wish you a wonderful weekend!
Hi Babz! Welcome and all that!
Glad you enjoyed the blurb.
No where did I go to school? Actually, I went to Google maps and it seems we lived within150 miles of each other all in the same area. If I connected the two towns where my folks lived and then included Jamestown as a third point we basically made 2 sides of a triangle.
I spent kindergarten through the 2nd grade living in a place called Campbell, NY (right near Bath). Then we moved to another out of the way place called North Ridge, NY (near Lockport, miles and miles of flat land and truck farming) where I went to 3rd, 4th and 5th grades so we both basically had Lake Ontario and Lake Erie as next door neighbors or at least the lake effect snow made you think so. Funny how I seem to remember those years clearer than I remember what I had for breakfast yesterday.
Oh…oh yeah. I’m a man. I forgot.
Found your WONDERFUL site through Springboard Press and just love it. Seeing as how we boomer women all need to stick together, we invite you to peruse and giggle at our blog:
http://midlifegals.blogspot.com
We’ve been at it since last summer and have been featured in MORE Magazine’s Jan/Feb issue as ‘Women of the Blogoshpere.’ We’re having more fun than should be allowed and are now working on a pilot sitcom based on our nutty videos!
Here’s a tease video (from our Netflix video reviews) for your enjoyment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2l24×2g4SY
The rest may be accessed on the right side of our blog pages (in blue print). Pass the word, as that’s how this crazy thing works, right?
KK and SalGal
I know you’re a man, but you can play with us gals too, right??
@Kelly and Sally Jack:
Glad you added that 2nd comment otherwise I would have had to go and check to make sure someone hadn’t swapped out my blood pressure med for hormone supplements while my back was turned.
Too bad you really didn’t find my blog on Springboard Press because that would have meant that I had already written a book and now I wouldn’t have to deal with the actual writing of it.
Oh well…
[...] Kirk M is similarly annoyed at what he’s heard from the Obama camp. He’s an ex-Cold War submariner who didn’t go to college, has sometimes worked minimum-wage jobs, and revels in intelligent conversation. Kirk M tells the Obama campaign what he thinks of its attributing the West Virginia loss to “demographically unfriendly territory” — implying less-educated white people (thanks again to Ann Raber): Well, listen up Mr. Obama’s advisors, I have a light to shine upon this subject. [...]
[...] The Painfully Odd. If I were running the world I would have it rain only between 2 and 5 a.m. Anyone who was out then ought to get wet.” [...]
Dude – I’m an X bubbleheaded type who has been a computer geek ever since too. I’m headed up to Maine next month to see where my last boat was namesaked… Augusta. Stop by my blogger blog sometime at USS Augusta on Blogger and dump off something about your old boats. I was first qualified on the Stony J in 1982 and then I was a Plankowner on the 10 boat. Regards… Mahalo Aloha – Mal
Hey Mal, (welcome to this old bubblehead’s blog)
Well whaddayah know. I never expected to have a Cold War bubblehead show up around here. Glad you did!
I was a bit earlier than you but not by much. My boat was the USS Silversides, SSN 679 out of Norfolk, VA. At the time we were one of the only two “stretch hull” 637 class boats the navy had built and were considered the quietest boat on either coast (because we and past crew members had made it that way). Course we paid for it by spending around 300 days a year poking holes in the ocean doing all the dirty, nasty and ugly that needed doing during the Cold War. Had a hell of a time too!
I’ll stop by your place tomorrow, disabilities are acting up (yeah, the ##$$**!! things are service related). That’s what kept me from replying to your comment right off.
See you there.
Hard to tell from the picture, but I think maybe I know you from the Silversides (grenada) or Saratoga in the 80′ s.
Hey Ron,
Your name sounds awfully familiar. I was on board from early 1979 to late 1983 (extended for a Med run and a surprise NTPI upon returning to home port as senior weapons petty officer–passed with flying colors as usual). Upon visiting the Silversides a few later when she pulled into New London while I was there for shore duty I found that my…*ahem*…reputation had never left the boat. I just knew I left something behind.
The more I think of it the more I have a feeling we do know each other.