When I first became interested in this whole blogging thing, I was strictly a reader. I tried to start a blog, but did not feel I had the stamina to keep up with it. Growing up, I never kept a journal -- beyond a few isolated entries in notebooks here and there, sometimes years apart. I did write letters to friends pretty often. I guess something of a "journal" was given away in the letters I wrote.

The other problem was a feeling of shyness. Not sure I wanted to blog, to share. It felt weird. So, I gave it up right away.

But today, I was feeling struck by the fact that my entries on this blog, while plentiful, were more often than not, fluffy? Not always. I do try to keep things funny for my own sake. I try to say something, even something silly, or just a notation of something interesting I saw elsewhere, as a time-capsule of "self"...as an exercise in regularity...in sticktoitiveness. To say, "I DO have the stamina!"

I thought back for a moment, back to my few feeble attempts at an anonymous blog. I re-read my few entries (posted and not posted) and felt almost perplexed -- "Who is this person? I wrote that?" And so, I decided to dust one of them off...because I thought it was funny, but also very telling. To those who know me really well, it speaks so innocently and simply, but peculiarly accurately, of the person I am today. What do I mean by this? I see the seeds of my current self in this childhood memory...my creativeness...my joy of feeling chills from spider-like tickling...and my selfish, demanding nature with regard to things being done "properly!"

Early childhood inventions: The Tickling Machine

As a child, I built the following engineering masterpiece:

Using several Tinker Toy sticks, I attached a rubberband to each one, knotted and fitted at the end of each stick - tight enough so that they did not slide off. This formed a loop on the end of each stick by which the individual stick could be hung. A much larger, "master" rubberband was threaded through these loops and looped through itself to tie the grouping off - into a sort of "key chain" of sticks.

I then presented my father with this bouncing windchime of sticks and rubberbands. In addition, I offered my bare 5-year-old back to him and demanded to be tickled with the instrument. My father required extensive training before he mastered the desired effect I had envisioned for the apparatus...namely, chills.

Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Labels: blogging, childhood, experiments, family, funny, memories, reading, recycling

Been having some problems with publishing to my blog...I write posts and try to publish them...and get the dreaded "Publishing taking longer than expected...blah blah blah." Eventually, hours later, the posts will arrive on the blog. There is no such thing as a "spontaneous post" to my blog when this garbage is going on. And if I decide to edit or add something, that will take hours to appear on the blog. Very, very annoying. Been going on for a few weeks. I called my host service -- nothing useful. But, I think I found some actual help on resolving the issue from one of the kind folks in the Google/Blogger Help Group. Doesn't happen very often, but once in a while, someone answers...and actually knows what s/he is talking about when it comes to the question being asked. Which is refreshing -- as compared to the responses where the person just generically refers you to Blogger Help -- as if you haven't read all of those articles already. So thanks, nitecruzr. It seems as though your writings on FTP/Blogger problems may have fixed my issue. This post is a test of that...

In the meantime, I felt I needed some virtual flowers to pick up my spirits. Because the Trudy-ChooChoo-Cat has been trying our patience something awful. We had a horrible time with trying to medicate her today -- getting clawed, bleeding, foaming at the mouth, wasting pills, getting pissed with her, getting pissed with each other while getting pissed at her...you get the idea. She is impossible! But, by 11PM?+/- I found a method of wrapping her in the towel that works much better for keeping her "blades of death" out of our skin. Doesn't help us with the drooling and foaming, the biting and the Exorcist-head-turning theatrics that she puts on to keep us from easily putting anything in her mouth -- BUT, it does give us a better chance with those challenges when we are not screaming in pain from being slashed by her. So that's good. It is a good thing she is a wonderful cat in every other way because this shit is for the birds. Seriously.

Ok then, enjoy my virtual flowers! Aren't they pretty? They make me feel better (even if they are just imaginary!)



UPDATE: Yes, the test seems to show that the fixes worked! YAY! Thanks, nitecruzr, again!

Labels: annoying, blogging, cats, ChooChoo, computers, friends, pets, reading, testing, web

As some of you may know, I like to read blogs. I don't read any and all blogs...I have my favorites that I check out on a regular basis. Every once in a while, I find a new blog of interest and add it to my favorites list for future reading.

For a number of years now, I have been an avid reader of The Sneeze. Steve writes about a variety of topics --- his kids, wife, food, pet peeves, friends, music, etc. --- if there is a funny story involved, he'll tell you about it! Some of my favorite stories are his recurring topics, such as "Steve, Don't Eat It!", in which he finds all sorts of strange or gross food products to try out and then details his findings for his readers. Another must-read is his annual "Brain Watch" in which he photographs and reports on the status of a sulfur shelf fungus that grows on a tree in his yard. This particular story has intrigue attached --- one year, someone actually stole the fungus! He is obsessed with robots and loves cereal...all in all...Steve is a very funny read.

He recently wrote a post [The Art of Getting Bent, 02/05/07] regarding another blog that I plan on adding to my favorites ASAP, Bent Objects. Steve featured pictures of some of the hilarious bent-wire sculptures that Terry Border recently made, but there are many more on the Bent Objects blog. Most of the pieces are silly-funny, but there also some, shall we say, more provocative pieces shown --- amusing satisfaction for all types :) I particularly enjoyed the lesbian humor piece, titled Useless [posted on 01/22/07]. A very witty and quirky sense of humor has he...the best kind, in my opinion. Check him out if you have some time to kill!

[Additional info: his main website is www.terryborder.com]

Labels: bent objects, blogging, funny, reading, the sneeze