Picture of a sign reading Gee Willickers Saloon Est. 1985

Searching Through Smoke: A New Wisconsinite’s Observations of His Adopted State

Moving to a new state means experiencing a new local culture.  I expected, as a new Wisconsinite, I would have fewer culture shocks than being a new resident of, say, Alabama or Hawaii as I moved from another, similar, Midwestern state.  Similar is not the same, however, and, despite Wisconsin’s statewide smoking ban, I ended up searching through smoke for a bar to watch sports.  Smoking is still a problem in Wisconsin.

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In Defense of Vaccination #TBT

Vaccines

Whenever anyone says they are anti-vaccination the first image I think of is this one:

The photo is reductionist, of course, but it’s also powerful.  Powerful because it encapsulates the current anti-vaccine debate: Vaccines cure and prevent deadly and debilitating diseases and yet are viewed as an olde tymey relic.  For pro-vaccine advocates vaccination’s benefits are established history and to argue otherwise is as incomprehensible as arguing against the Holocaust.  For anti-vaccine advocates there’s a mountain of “evidence” and the wisdom of mothers and fathers with first-hand “experience” and “logical” caution.

I use quotation marks, because I am pro-vaccination; this post is in defense of vaccination: a scientific, humanitarian, and moral position. […]

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Playing With WordPress (Publishing a Website Part 2)

(Part 2 of the series: Publishing a Website. Read Part 1.)

Playing with WordPress

In Part 1, I had decided on the purpose for my website (professional web presence, blog, and acting repository), had chosen a web publishing platform (WordPress), and picked a web hosting service (1&1). I had not yet purchased a domain name through the web hosting service. I knew the path I wanted to take, however, I had not yet paid to drive on it.

My path to publishing a website stopped prior to purchasing so I could play with WordPress. I wanted to learn the user interface, test out the features, and ultimately see if I could actually use WordPress as a publishing platform before I paid someone to host my website. How to do that for free? […]

Domains, Platforms, and Hosting Services (Publishing a Website Part 1)

Photo of a white slatted gated with the words painted on it: "THIS GATE HANGS WELL / and HINDERS NONE / REFRESH and REST / THEN TRAVEL ON

Elevated Advice

My new website – matthewcollie.com – is up!  Please comment with feedback.

I hope, like this gate I saw in southern California, that this website displays well, hinders none and is a place to refresh and rest before traveling on.  Let me know if I fail to live up to that.

Yet, I have lived 33 years without a personal website so that begs the question:

Why a personal website? […]