In college, I tried to take a course called “Thinking About Thinking.” In addition to the appeal of the intriguing title, it was taught by such academic celebrities as Stephen Jay Gould, Alan Dershowitz, and another, less famous professor whose name I can’t remember. I went to the first lecture or two, but it was quite a popular course and evidently I didn’t get into the course. At least, it’s not my transcript so I assume I didn’t make the lottery.

Being the innovative intellectual blogger that I am, I decided to take the professors’ idea to the next level. That’s right, I am blogging about blogging. Perhaps you guessed that’s where this was going because of the title of the post.

I’ve been posting to infobhan for years now, I’m always tempted to abandon it for some easier-to-consume format. At one extreme is Twitter: it’s great for a quick thought or comment, forcing me to distill my thoughts into 140-character soundbytes, but it can’t replace the sheer joy I get from rambling on this site. I’ve dabbled into Facebook – it succeeds in bundling social networking services into a neat package, but ultimately seems to be creating it’s own microcosm of the internet and lacks the flexibility of more open, albeit more targeted, services like Flickr and Twitter. I thought about trying to simplify my posting with an integrated blogging system like Tumlbr, but I find I rarely actually read anyone’s Tumblog. While it seems appealing that you could capture both Twitter-length mini-messages with full blog posts, viewing these interspersed with random photos and links seems somewhat disjointed.

As I searched for the right platform, I asked myself the same question all bloggers ask themselves: why do I blog? The answer, of course, is a bastardization of this site’s tagline: I blog because I am. We blog to prove our existence, to contribute some proof that we are still alive and thinking. But this brings me to the nightmare that all bloggers have…what if no one is reading? It’s a fear that even I must confess to having from time to time. “How can that be?” you ask. “Surely a wise and experience blogger such as yourself must know that there is a wide audience reloading this page hourly in anticipation of your wise words.”

Well, those are comforting words. And yes, I know I am blessed with admiring fans. But fame can fade and I may be left one day with a dwindling audience and the need to ask myself if I should go on posting. Until that day, I hope you enjoy reading.

Today I turn one year older. People often act like it’s a big deal, but of course I’m just one day older than yesterday. Nonetheless, it’s a reminder of the fact that I am, indeed getting older. Of course I have other reminders of that. Like my wife, who frequently remarks at the number of grey hairs cropping up in my head.

A year is a long time. Much has changed in my day-to-day life. A year ago:

1. I was using a different computer
2. I was using a different phone
3. I was using a different camera
5. I had a different job
6. I had a different office
7. I had a different gym
8. I had a more valuable stock portfolio
9. I had fewer joint problems
10. I drank less coffee
11. I had a worker espresso machine

Surprisingly, even a few things changed outside of my personal world. A year ago:

1. W was still president
2. Hillary was the front-runner
3. Steve was still running Apple
4. Tim Russert was still running Meet the Press
5. It was very cold outside

I guess some things never change…

I’ve never been a big one for New Year’s resolutions. They carry a certain stigma, namely that they will be largely unobserved after a few weeks or months. What I’m concerned about is that I may inadvertently appear to be following the herd when in fact my activities have nothing to do with the new year.

Let’s face it, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, many people overindulge in the holiday festivities and gain a few pounds. Then they resolve to lose weight and join a gym in January. Within a month or two they remember why they stopped going to the gym the previous time, and give up. Those of us who are more regular in our exercise patterns (“gym snobs”) scoff at these amateurs when they crowd OUR exercise facilities in the winter months. We give each other knowing glances, mocking these Nike-clad neophytes in their attempts to fit in.

This year, it’s not so simple. A series of injuries combined with an intense period of work responsibilities has kept me out of the gym for the past several weeks. Now that the schedule has cleared up and my injuries are at least stable, I’m ready to head back in. Unfortunately, the timing is such that my return will coincide with the seasonal migration of the unwashed masses.

I am faced with a dilemma: do I wait it out, sacrificing my own health and fitness so I can return unnoticed later in the season, or do I risk being mistaken for one of THEM.

Oh, the humanity…

I’m a big fan of myth-busting, and medical myth-busting is particularly satisfying. The British Medical Journal did a particularly good job with some popular medical myths. Take a look at Medical Myths and Festive Medical Myths.

Okay, so you know how the world of blogs is sometimes collectively referred to as “blogosphere?” How about referring to the current excitement surrounding soon-to-be-indicted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as the blagosphere?

Brilliant, just brilliant.

What happens when the price of gas drops precipitously? You get this sort of view from the driver’s seat of my Prius:

I don’t know why people buy Hummers. I do know why I bought my Prius, however.

To feel morally superior to these people.

I arrive at work this morning under-caffeinated and realize that I’ve forgot to bring my recently imported tea to work again. No matter, I will settle for the stock Lipton in the office. As I walk towards the kitchen, my grip on the Cafe Du Monde mug (a memento from New Orleans) loosens and it falls a seeming short distance to the carpeted floor.

The distance, however, was not short enough to prevent the handle from breaking off. My first instinct is to throw it in the trash, but I quickly recover it: who needs the handle anyway?

I brew the tea and return to my desk, satisfied that I have triumphed over a minor inconvenience when I notice a red spot on my keyboard. Apparently the fractured ends of the handle that remain are a little sharper than I had anticipated…

I found this file sitting on my hard disk. Not a good sign…

Each day, I stumble into work, dreary eyed. I sustain myself with a frequent coffee breaks and sugar-laden snacks. My eyes are bloodshot. This is no way to live.

It didn’t used to be like this. I used to wake up refreshed and ready to take on the world. Now, the it’s as if I never really woke up. Each day is a blur and merges into the next.

What happened? I broke down and re-subscribed to cable. CNN slowly infiltrated my life. Only now it was worse. Now it was…HD.

I like news. I like analysis. But the deadly combination of news AND analysis peddled by Mr. Cooper is too much for me. Even though I’ve already read it all online, I feel compelled to see the talking heads repeat the information. Just when I am ready to turn it off, on comes David Gergen, Paul Begala, or even Bay Buchanan. I know what they are going to say. But I have to watch them say it anyway.

The worst part is that the whole debacle doesn’t even begin until 10PM.

At least this will all be over November 4.

Right?

RIGHT?

A lot of Americans seem to have an inherent suspiciousness of all things Canadian. I know, I know…they say “eh” all the time, they refer to round pieces of ham as “bacon”, and they stole the term “dollar” from us to use for their currency. But let’s face the facts: if McCain wins in November, we all may have to start thinking about heading north, so it’s good to find out a bit about the country and its traditions. Some of you may think of Canada as a larger version of Alaska, but I assure you there is more to it. Let’s start with the simple things. 

I was in Montreal about a year ago on vacation. It was a short vacation, only a few days. However, I did have one unforgettable experience. I was in a small lunch joint, eating a sandwich and fries. It was a crowded restaurant, and you had to share a table with other folks. My table mates were speaking French, but one of them turned to me and asked for “le vinaigre”. When I gave him a blank look, he pointed to the glass bottle at the end of the table. I passed it to him and watched with amazement as he sprinkled the clear liquid on his fries.

Vinegar on fries? Seemed like a crazy idea to me. Sure, I know ketchup has vinegar in there. And there are those salt and vinegar potato chips. I stuck to my Heinz and forgot about the incident, but recently its been creeping back into my conscience. One day, faced with a plateful of fries and an empty ketchup bottle, I raided my closet and managed to find a bottle of vinegar. To my surprise, it tasted pretty good…cleaner and simpler than ketchup.

Give it a try, eh?