Reduce!

I found this in my drafts. I was thinking about writing a blog post about my online DJ gig and it seems I had. So here it is!

As I close in on finishing episode 48 of my podcast, it occurs to me that perhaps I might be trying to do too much. I recall an article from a few years ago that suggested New Year’s resolutions should be about doing less, not doing more. And there is that famous advice in the movie Birdcage where the son, in his attempts to make the apartment less fabulous, says, “Don’t add. Subtract.”

I still have a number of projects I want to accomplish. And of course there’s travel. And I don’t want to lose touch with my friends and contacts. So what do I give up?

I think the first step is to end my long running progressive rock radio show in Second Life. Even at my peak, I’ve only had about a dozen people in the venue, and that’s for special occasions. It’s never been consistent. Add a couple more listeners from outside SL in the real world, but it doesn’t add up to anything significant. While I enjoy playing the music and interacting with visitors in the venue, I have to ask if the time involved is really worth it.

Or as I sometimes say at the beginning of the show, what if you gave a DJ gig and no one showed up?

Also, recent problems with streaming has interfered with my enjoyment of the event. I had a great regular stream, but suddenly it disappeared, along with the company I rented it from. They just vanished from Second Life with no warning. I rented from another company, but I can’t seem to make the stream public, so people have a great deal of trouble connecting to it. If your listeners can’t hear you, what’s the point?

I do have some diehard regulars, and I hate to give it up for them, but I’m thinking of the big picture. This is retirement; it’s time to relax, I need to find ways to use my time more wisely. it’s been a fun gig but…it’s time to move on.