Magpie Mind

I have a magpie mind. I like anything that glitters.
Lord Thomson of Fleet

When I described myself in earlier posts as having a magpie mind, I wasn't making any kind of literary reference. At least, I didn't think I was. That's the thing with having this kind of mind - you collect all sorts of glittering, precious trophies of information as you rove the world of books, movies, media and 'Net over a lifetime...and then you pile them all in a glorious heap, where some of them will never see the light of day again. I'm sure it is literally true that I have forgotten more than I will ever remember - so much of my schooling, the human resources, psychology and aromatherapy I studied as an adult and the gleanings of a voracious reading habit seem to have slipped away.

Sometimes I think all I remember is the useless and crap. Take me to a Trivia night - that might make me a feel a bit useful.

Hmmm, that sounds a bit self-pitying, and I don't mean that. I adore learning things, and a new passion (eg. blogging) can send me scouring the library and the 'Net for information and inspiration. Of course I'm not going to retain it all, nor do I want or need to try. I just love the seeking of knowledge.

Witness my Favourites file. I've been on the 'Net for about 6 years now (with a 12 month break in the middle when we moved to the mountains and were very technology-free for a while...until my brain screamed out for external stimulation!). When I first got online, I went on a kid-in-a-candy-store frenzy of surfing, with a little list by my side of all favourite subjects and hobbies to trigger my searches. My Favourites file rapidly filled with all manner of things, many of them repeatedly visited but some compulsively filed "just in case". This is the second computer I've had since then, but I had discovered one of those handy bookmark-storing sites and had stored all precious links for transfer to my new computer. Since then, I've become a bit more discerning (and have also become a mother, which has taken a fair bit of my free time *wry grin*), and have even had a stab at going through the files, checking the links and deleting any that were out of date or no longer of interest to me.

Out of interest, before I wrote this post I checked on the current total.

I have 1314 links in my Favourites files, in 152 folder headings.

See what I mean?