The Houston Chronicle

“Good night then, Casca; this disturbed sky Is not to walk in.”

Cicero in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar 1.3.40

A technology blog, truly an early version of the crossover corporate blog-style material, but it was an early one that had hotlinks in it. Some important, some not so important, some relevant, some only tangentially of concern. Still, spurious, amusing, wry, wryly amusing, tenuous, even no apparent rhyme or reason whatsoever? Hotlinks of varying degrees. That started more than thirty years back, and therein is problem. Over the ensuing years, what I’ve accumulated a ton of “Link-Rot.” I knew this would happen when I was linking to the Houston Chronicle, but some of their tabloid-style journalism was too fun not to pass on. Headlines and topical material usually stayed at a specific URL (Universal Resource Locator) for a year or less. In comparison, I’ve linked to old BBC and Guardian articles, watching as those have remained the same. The pointers didn’t change. To be fair, I’m as guilty as the next, with the questions about link rot, as I’ve used maybe a half-dozen different iterations for the weblog. But it was experimental. This weblog has always been experimental. The horoscopes have stayed at astrofish.net since summer of 1998, so that’s all in one place. The various blogs, and blog-style matter that I’ve created? Blog-pointers older than 25 (plus) years might be out-of-date. Likewise, in the horoscopes themselves, there is much rather dated material. There are a number of old-school bloggers who have shuffled off the web, or onto other material. Changes in URLs, blog motors, much of the stuff is just dead end link rot. I was reading the Houston Chronicle on Tuesdays in Austin. It was, at the time, all over the place, neither right wing nor leftist, just shy of British tabloid headlines, but not by much, and a more enjoyable experience, located nominally in Houston. I figured out, then, that the link rot was a problem, especially with that one news source, but I liked the brash, unabashed style, more facts, less breathless outrage.

But now that Mercury is in Retrograde?

A simple goal, fraught with pitfalls nonetheless, but a single, easy target to aim for? Gradually reducing that link rot on the site, and mostly just in the horoscopes. Plus a few old blog-style entries. It could be automated, but where’s the fun of that?

The Houston Chronicle

All started when I clicked on a disappearing Houston Chronicle link. • Terms and Conditions, the fineprint

Two-Meat Tuesday

Mercury is basically retrograde for all of Pisces, late February past middle March. See horoscopes for details.

Did You Ever

As the lyrics go, “Did you ever see Dallas from DC-9 at night?” Really, I tend to think of the late Joe Ely, but Jimmy Dale renders it near perfectly.

“Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eye.”

There’s more, but a single line captures the intent.

Did You Ever

There’s always Willie Nelson’s “Bloody Mary Morning,” as the plane taxis away. Auditory memories for one more flight from Dallas. Another lyrical reference that pops up? Willis Alan Ramsey, saw him in a coffee shop, just him and a guitar. That’s an older recollection: university student union coffee house. As his paean to Texas women goes? “Them Dallas women standing up beat the others lying down.”

Did You Ever

Old Jimmy Buffett B-side?

• Dallas

A1A. Dec. 1974.

Poetical Counterpoint?

From Theodore Roethke:

“I learn by going where I have to go.”

Always a favorite.