Recently in Family & Friends Category

Facebook friends have started commenting, a few of them, on the decline in blogging. Most seem to be melancholy, and one person actually resurrected a defunct blog of his today.

That got me to thinking about my blogs, and the blogs I followed, and then updating my RSS feeds, and fixing some broken things in my own blog and ... It's a bit like when you go to fix a sandwich and notice that something smells in your fridge and next thing you know, it's hours later, all the contents of your refrigerator are strewn about the kitchen, you're elbow deep in suds and rags but you still haven't had a sandwich.

The reasons I have slowed way, way down on my blogging are many and include the time I now spend on Facebook. When I'm not working, or working out, or walking the dogs, or going out with friends for hot stone coconut oil Swedish massages, I can probably be found faffing about on Facebook. Nearly all my bloggy buddies are there. My old Usenet buds, too. Lots of real life friends. Family members. Cow-orkers, present and former.

Here's the deal: blogs are navel-gazing one-to-many deals. I write. You (might) come and read. You get to comment and maybe others will comment, but in the end, it's massive amounts of me versus little bits of you. While I adore that y'all're coming here to see me, it's not quite as fulfilling as it could be. If I want to go see you, I have to, well, go. See you. I maintain a "blogrole" of peeps to make it a bit easier for me to go over to where you all are, but I still have to go there. If you haven't written anything new, it's a bit of a wasted trip. If I use an RSS feed I don't have to waste the trip, but it's still something "outside" of my own blog. So my blog is contained and a bit lonely.

Facebook manages to retain that navel-gazing aspect, but becomes a many-to-many deal. I write smaller capsules. You are there already, commenting and your own capsules of self-indulgent information are all there. We have multiple conversational threads going. I get notifications of when someone has said something. The world has expanded manyfold. It's fractal living.

Nevertheless, the format is a bit restricting. My capsules of me-ness are limited. When I have lots to say, I have to say it in many takes. To edit, I have to delete the previous one and try again. Facebook has its downside as well.

Maybe there is room -- and time -- for both.

I received one of those humongous e-mails friends and relatives like to send around, filled with "beautiful, awesome, you will be amazed!" images. Sometimes they have video attachments. Terabytes of e-mails go slogging about on the Intert00bs, even in times when you can more quickly find the item by clicking on a web link than downloading the leviathan messages.

I was looking for the web version of one of these massively ugly e-mails when I discovered "9 most uglies and bizzares animals" (sic) and was struck by the resemblance some of these animals bear to relatives of mine. The uakari pictured at the top of this post stared back at me from the mirror just yesterday morning, and I could swear I saw the fellow over to the right at family gathering last Christmas.

Check out some of the other links at Lucky Clover when you have nothing more interesting to do ... and be sure to copy/paste what you find into a Word document, then e-mail the whole thing to everyone you know!

So many people like to do those chirpy year end newsletter things where they talk about how wonderful the past year was. What do you do if the past year wasn't really great? How do you sum it up?

"This year we did not murder our children. Um ... that's about it. Hope 2009 turns out better than 2008!"

Yeah. So. I think I'll just revisit some of my past poasts instead.

January: I got flashed, but nothing ever came of it.

February: Peeps were excited about my Happyness. Twelve comments! I think most of them were my own.

March: Oatmeal is the world's strongest super glue.

April: I found myself technologically bloggesquely challenged.

May: The great Spring hunt is on!

June: Spending money is a great way to exercise.

July: Clothing optional

August: Proper grammar, punctuation and spelling is just so Nineties, don't you agree?

September: It's Arts & Crafts time, boys and girls!

October: Skool Pitchur

November: Uncharacteristically, I get a bit cranky about phone calls.

December: It's raining, it's pouring, the dogs think I'm boring

I guess I am. I've been playing with Wii Fit -- my son and I are in a sort of competition.

For those who do not know what a "Wii Fit" is -- or even what a Wii (pronounced "wee") might be -- lissen up. First: get out of that cave. Now. Second: Wii is a game console by game maker Nintendo. It differs from other game consoles (such as Sony Playstations 1, 2, or 3, GameCube, XBox, or, for you geezers, Atari) in that the device you use as a controller is wireless, you grip it in your hand, and interact with the game by aiming it at the television screen (or whatever you use to display the game) and moving it. So games like bowling, tennis, and boxing are naturals for it. It enables the player to mimic the moves he'd make if he were really playing that sport. While gripping the controller tightly (with a wrist strap, just in case you accidentally let go), you swing your hand in an underhand toss as you might a bowling ball and watch the ball on the screen roll down the alley. You can put some spin on the ball by flicking your wrist. You can throw a fast ball or a slow one, depending on your swing. The controller has feedback, too. It rumbles, buzzes, and makes sounds that go with the game, depending on what you do.

You create a Mii -- an avatar that represents you in the game.

So Wii Fit is a fitness game. For this, you need to purchase a different controller -- a balance board you stand on. It senses the weight you're placing on it at different points, calculating your center of gravity, and you can engage in a variety of games and exercises and have it "correct" your stance. You earn points by how well you perform the activities while maintaining a steady center of gravity. The more you use it, theoretically, the stronger your abdominal muscles get enabling you to have correct posture and strong "core" muscles.

So I totally school my son at the various yoga poses (nearly -- I am not so steady on one legged poses), but he's got me beat when it comes to jackknifes, push-ups, and other more physically intense activities.

I like the rhythm step aerobic activity, and the hula hoops. I also like the rhythm boxing. It's a fun way to exercise.

Anyway, you can share your Mii with other game consoles. The Wii is capable of connecting to the Internet -- over a Wii-fi connection, or directly wired to your router. If you have a Wii, and want to play with my Mii, send me your console # and I'll add you to my Wiidress book.

Mark said "More dog pics!"

Sorry guys, but I'm afraid I have to post a couple more dog pics. Hey, it's not like I have a choice, here.

Taken with the new camera which, by the way, arrived in an 8"x8" box.

Click to biggify

Peeps 'preciating pics of puppies please peek. Pet-hating poopyheads, push off!

Prairie dog photos stolen from websites. Puppy pics all taken with my sucky cell phone camera. Still waiting for my new Exilim!