I understand the need

I understand the need for a business to "keep current".  Services added or deleted as demand desires.  It is a good thing to be responsive to customer wishes in any service business.

In product businesses, it seems that things must routinely change or folks won't think they are getting their money's worth even if that product is inexpensive, utilitarian, and requires only basic functionality to meet its primary purposes.  This is true, for instance, in the auto industry where the cosmetics of each car line changes every year even if the mechanics of the car stays the same.  For the auto industry it is a hold over from post WWII economic euphoria that had folks buying a new car every year or two at most.

It is also true in the software world.  Many of the changes in Microsoft Office over the last couple of releases where nothing more than changes in the look and feel.  Some drop off of support for older third-party software and new support added in. 

It is also true of LiveJournal.  Once in awhile a new feature is something I use (Like the menu bar at the top of every page).  But many other features are on my "no interest" list.  Mostly I don't care, but once in awhile I find that my preferences have been overridden by some nifty new thingamabob.  That I find irritating.

The newest thing that I'm aware of is an indexing and searching function in the works.  The announcement said LJ will "protect [my] privacy settings".  Reading their extended announcement, it seems that I can limit the searches I request to specific journals/communities.  But I didn't see a mention of an option to leave my journal the comments it contains or the comments I've made in other journals out of the search.

Even with my preference set to disallow search bots, I still see my posts show up on Google from time to time.   It is time to go friends only, I think.

This likely the last public post.

[Edit. Changed my mind. Pique has subsided.]

I remember

I remember a time when I was sure that life was going to get easier. I remember thinking how much better it was going to be when I was finished with school. I also remember thinking how much easier it was going to be when I retired from the Navy. How much easier my life would get when Heather was out on her own. And so forth and so on.

But life doesn't get easier. There are always new circumstances and new concerns. Things happen and they will continue to happen.

An easy life is a state of mind rather than a state of matter. It isn't that the tasks that need to be accomplished are difficult or not, but the attitude one has going into it. My life is very complicated right now, but there is a general ease (finally returning after a year-long absence) that make "life easier" than it was.