Posts made in October, 2006
On trackbacks/pingbacks
I’m always puzzled why some bloggers turn off the trackback/pingback feature. From my vantage point, these are wonderful ways to find out who’s blogged your entry and to increase community on your blog. This is a major aspect of the blogosphere that is being ignored by some.
Please, if you have a blog, turn on your trackback system or get a blogging platform that has it.
Read MoreHalloween rules by a 5 year old
Phil from A Family Runs Through It posted Halloween Rules from the perspective of his 5 year old. The truth is, she’s dead on. We should all heed her rules and thank her.
Thanks for posting it Phil!
Nature v. nurture discussion on Dad Bloggers
Fellow dad Jeremy, from the Two Okapis, has a very thought-provoking entry over at Dad Bloggers regarding the nature v. nurture debate that is always raging. I made a comment to it as I think this is a very important discussion and is fundamental for good parenting.
Read MoreMy morning routine
I woke up earlier than usual today. I guess I haven’t adjusted to the time change yet. It gave me some time to think about what I do every morning. I’m sure you have one too. Doesn’t everyone? You probably don’t appreciate it until something disturbs it. “This is interfering with my morning routine!” you mutter to yourself.
Anyway, I get up and turn off the alarm. I go make my Cuban coffee and crank up my computer (it’s in the kitchen, don’t ask). I open up Outlook Express and my OMEA reader as I pack the fine Cuban coffee grounds into the coffee maker and set it on the stove top.  I watch groggy but with anticipation as the 180+ emails begin to march down my screen. The reader is busy scanning my 80+ RSS feeds. They too order themselves into a neat file running down my screen.
I sit down and, while sipping my hot coffee, I begin to read. Hmm, 120 emails are SPAM or log messages from the server I administer for www.aquaticplantcentral.com and www.daddaily.com. Delete! Only a few of the remaining emails require my attention and a response. I move to the RSS reader. This is more interesting. I scan the posts from fellow dad bloggers. As usual, interesting stuff has been written.
For example, The Zero Boss informs me that he hasn’t given up on his adult comics blog. Why? Money. I guess the Adsense is working for him there. He’s very open about the fact that he wants to earn a living from his online work. He works very hard at it, that’s obvious. He deserves it. I wish him well and move on to the next post.
Harold from Dad Writes has a touching entry about moving to a new home and reminisces about the times he had with his daughter in the home they are leaving. I really enjoy this type of blog post. It’s very personal and truly written as a journal or dairy. You know that Harold’s daughter will some day read it with tears in her eyes. I think it exemplifies one style of daddy blogging- I call it the personal blogger. There’s another type of daddy blogger that does it more professionally and reading this type of blog is almost like reading a magazine. It’s very entertaining and valuable.
Curt, from the Happy Husband, wrote about the legend that Ernest Hemingway wrote a story with six words. He tries it. Some of his friends do to. Damn him! I’m a lawyer and can’t say anything in six words or less. I make a note to myself to think about this on the way to work today and continue.
Phil from A Family Runs Through It (isn’t that a great name!) wrote a short piece about the mystery surrounding what his son told his sister- “You’re not real! You’re made out of gum!” Thanks Phil! It’s good to see that all brother/sister relationships are similar. And, if it’s any help, a friend told me that when she was little she told her little sister that she was adopted and if she told her parents anything about it, they would ship her back to the orphanage. So, it could be worse.
Mike from Athomedaddy says he’s “Halloween-ed out”. Two Halloween parties this weekend. We had one. He’s also making Halloween a family affair this year and driving across town so that his kids can haunt their cousin’s neighborhood. I too will make it a family affair as I was out of town on business last year and missed it. This year I put my foot down and rescheduled a trip just so that I can be here to spend it with them. I move on.
Lastly, I spot a small post from Rich of Championable. He’s a personal blogger and I very much enjoy reading his work. He writes to 10 people (including mom and dad) that he wishes they would hang out more. Then he writes that these people will never read his post. Come on, Rich! Number 1, go tell these people you want to hang out more with them. Life is too short to keep these things bottled up. Then, Number 2, tell them to start reading your blog so that they really get to know you.
Rich finishes his post, as he always does, “Love to all, especially, um, see above.” I got to say Rich, you have the best endings of any blogger I read. So, as a tribute to you, I will do the same with this post.
Love to all, especially you, my colleague who is making me get to work early today for a 9 a.m. meeting.
Read MoreAre comments important to dad bloggers?
I’ve been surfing the sites of fellow dad bloggers. It’s amazing how personal some of them are. Others are so well written that they are a joy to read. What got me thinking, however, were the comments made to some of these blogs.
Many of the comments are from women. Why is that? Where are the fellow dads? Who are we writing for? Is it for ourselves? For our children? For fellow dads? Are we all just feeding our need for attention? Hmmm… Is it social interaction we crave? Do we post up an entry and then check back a million times a day to see if someone posted a comment? Are comments really that important to our blogs? (I hope not, as I get very few)
Personally, I feel they are sometimes valuable and sometimes trash. For example, here is the MetroDad‘s first ever post. As you can see, even in 2004 he was as eloquent as ever:
Charles Barkley once said that “you can talk without saying a thing. But I don’t ever want to be that type of person.” So, it’s in the spirit of the misanthropic Sir Charles that I begin this weblog. I plan on using this blog to voice my opinion on a wide variety of random topics: the designated hitter rule, the state of the world around us, the joys (and ensuing struggles) of impending fatherhood, the beauty of a great steak sandwich, the banalities of organized religion, my obsession with the swiffer, the love of a good scotch, the unconditional friendship of a cool dog, the hypocrisy of a culture of victimization, the greatness that is Scrabble…well, I think you’re getting the point. If you’re reading this, be prepared for a lot of ranting from a cynical New Yorker who reads, eats, drinks, smokes, loves and hates…too much.
But I’m also writing the blog because it’s cheaper than therapy and I don’t have to make the $15 co-payment. I’ve kept a journal at various stages of my life. I found that both writing and reading it were highly therapeutic for me and gave me a good deal of perspective on my life. I figure when I’m in my golden years, sitting on the porch swing with Boss Lady, whittling farm animals out of ivory soap, and listening to the soft soothing sounds of the banjo, I can read this blog and just LAUGH!
To wit, a wonderful comment was posted by Calvin:
Score one for the touchy-feely squad. Buddy, smells like you’ve been smoking some bad granola. You better be a Republican or I’m gonna boycott this blog. I want some pro-Bush propoganda. Better yet (and more original) how about some pro-Cheney rants. There’s somebody who needs all the support he can get. So how about it? Give Dick a lift in your blog. Who do you want as VP? You know you want Dick. The word is that you want all the Dick you can get. Oh, and good luck with that whole “dad” thing. Don’t wear your rope sandals out pushing the stroller, freak…
Ah, how wonderful. Encouraging words from a troll. Thankfully, Metrodad continued to write.
Read MorePlease stay in touch!
About Me
I'm a forty-something father and husband in training. It's on the job training and I'm doing my best. I share my successes, faux pas and experiences as I try to keep my priorities straight while climbing the corporate ladder (a/k/a the rat race).