Blogs

I couldn't even begin to imagine a more appropriate place to start.

BLOGS annoy the living hell out of me BUT it just so happens that they are the perfect vehicle for spreading the word about all the annoying things in the world, and how all those things ultimately interact with me at some point. Plus, a touch of irony is good for the blood - keeps it that nice deep red colour.

If you were to look at it closely you'd find that, like most things found on the Internet, a great number of blogs are a serious waste of time and space. Like anyone in the entire world cares how you feel about doughnuts or what you had for lunch on your way to Phoenix. If someone does care, hell, even if a few people care, send them an email for crying out loud. Even a mass email (you know, the ones where people are too dumb to use "Bcc:" and you end up with a "To:" list as long as your arm), is more personal than just pointing people at an aimless URL.

"Hi Mom & Dad!!! There's SO MUCH going on in my life right now it's really amazing and you can read it for yourself on my blog because I'm so busy that I couldn't even begin to describe it to you in an email or God forbid on the phone or in person OK? now I have to go have 10 more Red Bulls and then go to the gym and then go shopping and..."

You get the idea. I did a quick check and started clicking "Next Blog" in the Blogger header and took stock of what was out there. It all sucked. Who knows, this blog will probably turn out to be no exception. At least my theory would hold a little water then, eh?

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Hindsight Healing

OK, I've had a long time to reflect on this post and I can honestly say that most of what I said still rings true. This rant was from almost 3 years ago and clicking "Next Blog" today yielded even worse results than it did back then.

What has changed? What have I learned? Why is today any different?

Well, for starters I think I've found a very good reason to keep a blog: memory loss. You see, my wife and I have two children now (Girl 51/2 and Boy 18 months) and trying to keep up with all the amazing things they say and do is next to impossible. When recounting a story to my mother, she would always tell me, "You should write this stuff down". So we started to blog it. My wife on her blog and me on another (sorry, desires to maintain some blogger anonymity prevent me from sharing those links).

Due to the rise in "social networking" sites like MySpace and Facebook the lives of family and friends past and present are becoming more and more intertwined. Hearing from an old friend, or a long lost cousin and being able to share stories and "catch up on old times" is an invaluable part of our lives. In a small but significant way these crazy little things called blogs are actually doing their part to help us come closer and stay closer together.