My collie created this blog. Thus far, no one has volunteered to discipline him for this act of sedition. I, for one, refuse to use a rolled-up newspaper on him -- mostly because I spent five years of my adolescence as a paperboy, so I know for a fact that this tactic only serves to make dogs hate the paperboy. (Although I was an entrepreneur between the ages of 8 and 13, I have since learned that it is much safer to simply "blend in" with the rest of a union represented labor force.) So, like Rafiki in Disney's Lion King, I am inclined to tell my collie "it doesn't matter, it's in the past." Besides, I know my collie pretty well, and if I discipline him for this, there WILL be reprisals. I don't want to end-up "on the wrong end of the pooper-scooper", if you know what I mean.

The inception of this blog will, no doubt, go largely unnoticed in cyberspace. Hakuna matata (no worries). Like the immensely popular Seinfeld television series of yesteryear, this blog is largely "about nothing" anyhow -- so if it disappears into the cyber-mist in a manner akin to its genesis, that would be "no big deal", would it? After all, does the "internets" need yet another blog site? I think that the answer to that is decidedly and unequivocally "No!" "So why spend your time starting a meaningless and labor intensive blog site?" my wife asks.

My Calvinist collie answered her with the following quote:

Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun— all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 9:9 (NIV)

"It is your destiny," my collie added.

I muttered "stupid dog" (mostly because I hate it when I think that he might be right). After all, what could be more of "a meaningless, toilsome labor under the sun" than starting a blog that is "about nothing"? So, because I hate losing an argument with a stupid dog, I started to list some reasons for starting a blog (even if they are not very good ones).

One reason for starting a blog is that it contributes to my long-held personal goal of "continuing education". I can use it to learn more about building and hosting web-sites. Learning about all facets of personal computers (PCs), i.e. building, administrating, and using them, has been one of my hobbies for the past 25 years. In my estimation, I am hopelessly addicted to PCs (though the recent upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista very nearly turned me into a Mac aficionado, but as you know, close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and thermonuclear war). I am praying that this addiction of mine is healthier than drinking heavily or smoking cigarettes -- otherwise, I may be in "deep doo-doo."

Yet another reason for starting my own blog is the clarity and therapeutic value that I will derive from posting my thoughts on a regular basis. A blog can serve as a 21st century version of the more familiar hand-written diary or personal journal. Of course, individuals that go to the trouble of keeping a diary do not necessarily do so in anticipation of any interaction or critique that they may or may not receive from their "readership". The usual reasons for writing a personal journal are usually just that -- personal. So it is understandable if some people believe that there may also be an element of exhibitionism in starting a new blog. So be it. I've been called worse.