I’m giving the final exam in my E&M class tonight (from 5-7 pm, thank you oh-so-much, Central Scheduling), which you might think would bode well for blogging in the future. However, I also have two summer students starting on Monday, a baby on the way, and major book revisions to do that need to get done before the baby arrives, if that’s possible.
Somethings’s got to give, and the blog is it. There’s just no way I can maintain the posting levels I have for the past several months, so I’m not even going to try. The site won’t be going completely dark– I’ve got a few things in the mental queue– but I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel for filler post ideas, and I haven’t even had time to read and tag things for the del.icio.us links dumps.
I’m also starting to feel a little frustrated about the whole enterprise, so it’s probably better to step back for a while before I completely sour on ScienceBlogs and blogging in general.
If you need a new source of daily updates and commentary on news from physics, well, ScienceBlogs is sort of dropping the ball, other than His Holiness. Tom at Swans On Tea does a fantastic job, though (I particularly recommend his commentary on the overhype of “slow light”), and Physics and Physicists and Built on Facts are both updating regularly with excellent stuff.
We understand, Chad. I have a pretty calm, unhurried life but I know I couldn’t keep up the consistently great level of blogging that you do. I wish you all the best during your blog down-time.
Change is stressful — even good change. New baby and new book are two very good but very demanding changes. The blog should be an outlet, not a burden. Don’t let it be the boss of you! Post when you feel like it; we’ll still be here.
And best wishes for a summer that’s as serene and productive as possible.
I just wanted to say that I understand how you feel. My own blog – http://www.layscience.net has only been running for 4 months, but has attracted a lot of attention – some of it good, a considerable minority bad. I’ve had death threats from Christian extremists, a deluge of e-mails from 9/11 truthers calling me ignorant and a government conspirator, and god-knows what other hassle.
Even aside from that, in trying to build and maintain my audience I sometimes feel like I’m trapped in a prison of my own creation – some days I actually feel stressed about the fact that I feel that I have to blog, that I have to keep pushing out new posts to keep my readers happy, and that can suck the enjoyment out of things.
So I completely understand your need to take a break. I took 3 weeks away from it in April, and I felt a lot less pressure once I came back, and realized by site and audience were intact.
Anyway, enjoy your break,
Martin