I like to read. Essays, news reports, interviews. Not much fiction. No poetry.

I appreciate the craft of writing, with precise language and personal style. Serious or funny. Mark Twain, my favorite author, was serious and funny, simultaneously, and I aspire to be like that, not because I'm a Twain-level author, I just have a twisted sense of humor. I don't pretend to be a great writer. I don't presume anyone will even read this. It's practice, a way to slowly and deliberately think something through. It's a creative process, to combine and refine some ideas that interest me. I'm learning, not teaching.

Writing is concentrated thinking, seeking insights. Trying to understand, simplify, and explain complicated ideas. Answering questions, solving problems, discovering facts, creating art. Most people aren't great writers, but writing is great, it's like exercise for the brain.

We are in a place and time where an individual has the resources to identify a problem and fix it, or at least make things less bad. From local homelessness to global climate change, there are opportunities to be helpful, to do good.

Facebook, food, and fashion aren't worthy subjects. Education, economics, and elections are. It's almost a civic duty to pay attention to social issues, think about them, exchange ideas, maybe generate some constructive action. Talk is cheap -- if it's serious, put it in writing. State for the record.

At minimum, it's a harmless hobby, in an obscure corner of the Internet. At best, it might have a greater purpose, to improve something in the real world.

I like being free to write, rewrite, revise, post, delete. This is my first draft, writing about writing. If this whole thing eventually seems stupid, it can disappear with a push of a button. It's an experiment with an unknown potential, including zero net effect. I'm curious to try it out.