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Friday 19 October 2018

Pure self-indulgence

Some time ago, when I was experiencing problems with Blogger, I became concerned that all my blogs would become 'lost' if Blogger every disappeared. I do have a Wordpress backup, but I prefer to use Blogger.

I have always kept copies of my blog entries in MS Word format as ongoing blog diaries. I therefore decided - as a pure piece of self indulgence - to have them printed and bound ... and the latest batch have recently been delivered by Lulu.com.



This is not a cheap way to store my blog diaries, but I now have hardback versions of the early years on my bookshelves, and as and when I can afford it, I will gradually have the rest of them printed.

An example of pure self-indulgence? Yes ... but one that has given me a lot of pleasure!

20 comments:

  1. Hi Bob,

    Now that is a great resource - especially when there are internet or PC issues.

    I must admit that looking back over early blog entries can be quite therapeutic - sometimes less so!

    All the best,

    DC

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    Replies
    1. David Crook,

      Although I have all my blog entries saved electronically, having them printed and bound ensures that they should be available for a long time to come.

      Looking back at old blog entries can be quite an interesting exercise, even if some of the ideas don't bear close examination.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Bob,
    A great idea there- the Net can be a problem as can the Personal Computer...my previous Computer failed and I lost all of my overseas digital photos from a World Trip in 2015...I had not downloaded any photos to a USB Stick as a precaution...we lost all our photos from England, Scotland, Wales...Hungry, Germany, Amsterdam etc...Singapore. Good to see you now have Hard Copies as a Record of all your years of Blogging- very valuable. All the Best. KEV.

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    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson,

      I have several back-up files saved on various device 'just in case', but a proper hard copy of my blog entries has a permanence that should outlive whatever electronic devices I use.

      Sue and I have been printing selections of our cruise photographs for some time, and these are stored in a large number of indexed albums.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Wow... Never knew you could do this. Well, never thought about it at all, really. Tempting idea. I find myself occasionally going back over some of my early postings...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      Because I started saving my blog entries in .doc format almost from the start of my blogging career, it was fairly straightforward having them printed and bound by Lulu.com.

      As each batch arrives, I spend time going through them, often rediscovering ideas and projects I had forgotten about.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. That is madness. Pure, beautiful, enviable madness.

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    Replies
    1. Viscount Eric,

      Very true ... but also very enjoyable!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. One reason I started blogging was so I'd have something to look back on in my Autumn years. It was around the time my mum, who did a lot of craft work, had to move into care and had her handicraft options curtailed and that had weighed on my mind.

    I wouldn't want to have a hard copy, but certainly a copy that is free from any fate that might overtake Google might be something to put in place. I've about 1,000 posts and each would be a few MBs, so should easily fit on a hard drive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sun of York,

      When the late Dr Paddy Griffith died, several of us - including his family - realised that his body of work and unpublished research could easily be lost to posterity. Steps were taken to ensure that it was not, and his archive is gradually being sorted and catalogued by John Curry, of the History of Wargaming Project,

      My blog is nowhere near as important, but I wanted to make sure that my work would not just disappear at some time in the future, and saving my blog entries as electronic files and having them bound and printed goes some way to ensuring that.

      I'd strongly recommend that you find a way of preserving what you have done in a manner that best suits your needs and requirements.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. Very cool (and expensive!)

    I often wonder about what will happen to our digital selves in the future, where as paper has a certain stability and respectability to it.

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    Replies
    1. Lasgunpacker,

      It is expensive but in some ways rather necessary.

      The National Archives are trying to look at ways in which the growing number of electronic records being generated can be stored in an accessible form for future generations. I don't think that have yet come up with a foolproof solution whereas paper records can be preserved much easier, even though the storage required is much, much greater in volume.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  7. Personally, I don’t find that self indulgent at all- you are preserving your work for future generations

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    Replies
    1. Ian Dury,

      Cheers! Not only can I enjoy revisiting my work in the future, so can others after me ... I hope!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  8. Very nice - does it feature all of the comments too?

    Cheers,

    Pete.

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    Replies
    1. Pete.,

      Unfortunately I could not find a way to preserve comments and/or my replies to them. This is a great pity, but just proved one step too.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  9. I too have started downloading posts to Word as a backup.. would it be rude to ask how expensive your books were?? Looking at Lulu it seems to be just less than £20 for a 100 page paperback (A4 size)??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve-the-Wargamer,

      My books are hardbacks, printed in black and white, on paper that is slightly smaller than A4. The average volume is about 160 pages long and costs me less than £20.00. I usually wait until Lulu.com has an offer available (e.g. free postage or 10% off) before having them printed.

      I hope that helps.

      Good luck with your own downloads.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  10. Oh no I now have "paper copy envy"!
    I fear the first victims of any cyber war would be the bloggers electronic storage ;)

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    Replies
    1. Geordie an Exiled FoG,

      Just don't let a 'paper copy gap' develop! In a world of escalating tension, you mustn't allow such a gap to develop.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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