The whole blogging thing seems to get lost in the translation. Those who do it can't fully explain it to people who aren't doing it. If you try to explain it to non-bloggers the best you get is a friendly nod. I've seen this phenomenon already.
After a few days of blogging I selectively notified a few friends, and other inquisitive sorts, of what I was up to. Most people have been polite, and a few seem drawn to the concept. But one or two people seem truly distressed over this whole 'blog thing. They want to know what my purpose is. Which, I guess, is a valid and adult-type question. So...what do I say? The truth is I don't know exactly what my purpose is (do I need one?) but I feel drawn to something that is worthwhile, and I sort of like feel like I'm experiencing something like...an adventure. Maybe so. But if I say that they'll just pretend to understand.
Somehow, that reminds me of a few years back when my friend Henry and I were in the Air & Space Museum in D.C. shooting the shit about kids, and how they change your life. As I recall, my son was only two at the time, so I hadn't really grasped a whole dimension of parenting that Henry (whose son was eight at the time) was then facing. At one point he told me how the hardest part of dealing with his slightly-older child was the penetrating questions that he asked. I assumed he meant the usual stuff like "where do babies come from?" No, he said, "I'm talking about the questions that make you re-examine your whole life. For example he said that one day, while driving his son Deeb to Kindergarten, Deeb abruptly looked up at him and asked: "Dad, how come you never got to be a Spaceman?" Henry shook his head as he told me this. "God, how do you answer a question like that?" I didn't know either, but I pretended to understand.
11:59:15 PM
Microdots sprayed on legal documents? Sure, let me get my aerosol can...
Wired Magazine reports on Ian Allen, an Australian entrepreneur who hopes his new anti-theft system will not only foil thefts, but also help validate legal documents. Basically, you spray the vehicle (or I guess the legal document) with a mixture that contains hundreds of tiny dots that have identifying information that can be read with a magnifying glass. Allen thinks that the dots may have an application in assuring the integrity of legal documents. Dream on. Remember all the hoopla about the Electronic Signatures Act?
We have laws now that prevent people from "discriminating" against electronic documents (i.e. scanned documents) or against electronic signatures. And what good has that done us? Are people rushing out to buy the full version of Acrobat so that they can "digitally" sign documents (even though it creates greater security, and facilitates the process of getting documents signed by groups of people)? No, they're not. In fact, one of the lawyers in my firm, who was doing an article about the new electronic signatures laws, sent a poll to various local clerks of court in Louisiana to ask them if they were now set up to accept documents with "electronic" signatures, and was told not only were they not set up to do so, but they would not accept such a signature if they had the technical capability. You can lead a horse to water, but sometimes, even if the horse is dying of thirst, it won't drink.
3:18:31 PM
You've got to love the law
So, I'm reading a journal on franchise law a few moments ago and I come across this description of a case...
Barqawi operated an A-Plus Mini Market and gas station ...During a graveyard shift at the A-Plus, a stock clerk argued with a customer named Mace and eventually pummeled Mace with an aluminum baseball bat in the store parking lot.
These are the sort of simple everyday events that give rise to great jurisprudential pronouncements. The case is cited in a Journal on Franchise Law. But, it sounds more like a case for Judge Judy, doesn't it?
10:00:28 AM
Eastern Philosophy
The world is filled with workers, and worthies.
Those who come easily first, and those who come decently after.
But I know it is the height of wisdom....
to be drunken and foolish and go to the dogs.
-Rabindranath Tagore
8:42:42 AM
My wife: I think I'll keep her.
Monique has suggested that my journalizm skils 'r poor. She wanted me to give a more balanced account of my life. In short, she wanted me to pay proper tribute to her.
Well, baby, here you go. A picture of you!
But, I swear! I'm not going to talk about the damn cat! Let Maui get her own freaking 'blog. And we are not buying any more cat food until she learns how to properly clean her litter box.
Eastern Philosophy
My wife: I think I'll keep her.
