Hello boys and girls

It's been brought to my attention, and politely at that, by friends whose opinions carry weight, that my blog is kind of the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood of the Blogosphere. Lot's of "Let's just all get along" and "Guess what I did when I was a kid?"  Fair enough, and frankly, I was grateful for the feedback.  One thing I strongly believe about feedback - it should be received and allowed to soak in without rushing to respond with a defense or rationalization.  Don't say you welcome feedback and then shout it down. . . and most especially when it's right on target.

 I am not without opinions, and many fairly strong stances on subjects that often inspire spirited debate in the media, around the water cooler at work, or the few remaining text-free dinner tables.  What I don't aspire to do through my blog though, is to bring you over to my way of thinking.  Hell, I'm not really sure half the time what my percentage of full-of-shit is, much less whether my opinion bears sharing.  I'll enthusiastically continue to offer my thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics, but yes, I'll also continue to shy away from those I feel are particularly incendiary.

 There are topics I've toyed with developing here in IMHO, like bullying for example.  I was bullied as a child.  And yes, I can attest to the validity of recent studies showing that the impact is real, it is measurable, and it shapes and stays with the adult you one day hopefully become.  Every time I've tried to write about it I end up thinking that someday this blog entry will be used against me in a court of law.  My defense attorney would not be amused.  So just in case you're wondering, no, bullying results in not a hint of anger issues.

 I could offer my opinion about certain legislation that I'm opposed to.  For example, I could let all three of you who read my blog know how passionate I am about government staying out of the business of deciding who may or may not get married.  Here's a short blog entry on that topic - "Anyone familiar with the phrase Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  Or was that something I read in one of my sci-fi novels describing some utopian society in another world?

 Without a doubt I could go on about the above topics or a number of others.  But as I've said before, in this post as well as previous offerings, I'm just not interested in having a contentious or controversial feel to this tiny bit of cyper property.  It's my lawn and I'll put out pink flamingos instead of campaign signs if I want to. So if you're sick of having a soft place to land once in awhile for a minute or two of whatever this is, I get it. And I also know there's more than enough of what you're looking for out there.  One thing the internet is not lacking is rant.

 What I'm finding funny right this moment is this - I know that those who know me well are thinking "it's just a matter of time before he goes off on something."  It's only funny because it's true.  I can rant with the best of 'em.  One day it'll happen.  I'll be a little too hungry feeling a little too pressured to produce a blog post, and a few of you, if you're still here, won't be disappointed...