Blog

Tag! I'm it?

Wolfbaby tagged me on "the four things." Of course, being clueless blogger that I am, I had to consult with my blog specialist on what "being tagged" was all about. (Thanks Moof!) So, here are my answers:

Four Jobs I have had:
America's Top Model (oops, wrong list)
golf caddy (would you like the 7 or 8 iron for this shot?)
k-mart inventory/stocker guy
domestic environmental specialist (cut laws for a few summers)

Four movies I would watch over and over:
Hoosiers
Airplane: The Movie
Spies Like Us
Hunt For Red October

Four places I have lived:
Florida
Ohio
California
Mars (aren't men from Mars?)

Four TV Shows I love to watch:
Cops
Big Love
MTV: The Real World (guilty pleasure)
Anything on the Golf Channel

Four places I have been on vacation:
Key West
Grand Canyon
San Francisco
Toronto

Four sites I visit daily:
Bloglines (does that count as one site?)
PGA Tour.Com
The Unofficial Apple Weblog
The Weather Channel

People I will tag -- You're It!:
NeoNurseChic
Cathy
Ladybug
TheTundraPA
jumpinginpuddles (sorry, looks like they already got you)

Dirty little secret

As I begin this third week of blogging, I found out something a little disturbing -- maybe I'm not as anonymous as I once thought I was. In the midst of my sidebar overhaul over the weekend, I added a couple of new counters and a cool map.

When I'm further exploring this, I'm learning that when I'm logging into other people's blogs, they can figure out what city and state I'm in. They even know I'm viewing them on my trusty Mac and the resolution on my screen (hell, I don't even know the resolution on my computer screen).

The super-techo-geeks out there could also probably tell me the prescription of my contact lenses, the color of my shirt, and the cologne I'm wearing today. The evil super-techno-geeks out there probably know my mother's maiden name, my social security number, and the expiration date on my discover card -- Scarry!

So, as you're out there on the information superhighway, don't think you're out there in some kind of stealth car hopping from site to site. The reality is that you're driving out there in a mustang convertible with the top down. The least that you could do is wave hello...

Tour De France

I'm not a cyclist myself, but like a lot of other Americans, I became hypnotized every July for the past few years because of the story of Lance Armstrong. In his book, "It's Not About The Bike," Armstrong talked about his bout with cancer and his road back to cycling, eventially to win the most prestigous race in his sport.

The start of this year's race was yesterday. But instead of the usual talk about who is going to win, the buzz was about the riders removed from the TDF because of an international doping scandal implicating many of the top riders in the world. Although he retired last year, Armstrong himself was accused of using banned substances.

The Spanish authorities say that other sports could be involved, like soccer and tennis. We already know about the controversies with steroids and baseball in this country. And, every olympics, there is always talk of someone who had a positive drug test and had to give up her/his medal.

When I was growing up, sports was about learning the fundamentals of the game, learning to listen to the coach, and learning to work as a team. It was a great way to learn some socialization skills as a kid and to learn some strategy skills also -- skills that you could apply as an adult. In school, we used to joke about the use of "roids" in body builders. But now, the term is "performance enhancing substances," and there's talk about it everywhere - even at the grade school and high school levels.

Kids these days have lost interest in sports. Some coaches and some parents put so much emphasis on winning, that it turns kids off. They're happier in front of the xbox. Decreased interest in physical activity has also contributed to the obesity problem. Granted, playing sports is not the end all and be all solution for a happy and healthy childhood. But, without sports, I think kids are missing out on a lot.

Add-on addiction

Ok, so I went about 36 hours without blogging and I just cannot take it anymore. GEEZ! Glad I said it. Actually, I've been on blogger all day (confession), but did not post anything until now.

As you can see on my sidebar, I kind of went nuts today. I was reading this from the blogger help desk about stuff that can be added to the page. I said, "Hmmmm, this looks interesting." So, I checked out some of the links, and did some google searches on my own. And, I explored other blogs to see what they had on them. What I kept reading was that if you can figure out how to change your sidebar links, you'll have no problem with add-ons to your blog. So, I tried my first one, and it worked!

Before I knew it, six hours went by and I just kept adding, what I thought was cool stuff, to my blog. It was really hard, but I cut myself off from searching anymore. I trimmed down the amount of stuff over there (that was tough). And, ended up with what you see now as the "new and improved" sidebar.

Here are just two things I want to highlight:
Frappr Map: You can put a kind of thumb tack anywhere on this map. Can also post a comment and other stuff I haven't figured out yet. You'll see that I put myself in Key West. I have visited there a few times and would like to live there eventually (except during hurricane season).

Babel Fish translator: It's strange seeing this page translated in different languages. I tried and it works for most of the languages listed.

There is so much more stuff over there that I don't even know what they do yet. But, they look cool, don't you think? All I have to say for myself is this, "I'm Dr. A, and I'm an Add-On Addict." Please help me!

Fireworks safety

This is a public service announcement from Doctor Anonymous.

Since the Fourth of July is next week, I just wanted to review some important safety tips when it comes to fireworks. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Council on Fireworks Safety offer these tips to help make your holiday a safe one.

In addition, please review the following educational video to see what could happen to loved ones when fireworks are used improperly. You may want to turn up the sound a bit to get the full effect. Click here for video. Remember, fireworks are not a toy, so use them wisely. (It's a tough day to be a stuffed animal -- HA!)

Thank you and have a happy and safe Fourth of July holiday weekend!

BA Meeting

Attention members of Blogaholics Anonymous and you know who you are! Because of our meeting yesterday, I am the first chairperson of our fair group. I thank you for this honor and I'll do my best to serve as your chair.

For my first task, I've taken the liberty to deem this "THE Official Un-Official Site" for our group. Warren Buffett graciously donated the funds to get this site up an running. Thank you Warren, you're quite a philanthropist!

Just to let you know, today's meeting is taking place over at Cathy's place. So, don't be late! Don't forget to bring a covered dish and your favorite dessert. As always, everyone is welcome to attend. For prospective new members, all you have to do is click here and take the first step ==> Admit you are powerless over blogging.

Conquering blogaholism.... One day at a time....

Bloggers Anonymous

As I was reading through my comments, I ran into this one from Dr. Engel:

With a gestation period of a mere two months, I seem to have also turned into a BAT. I know I should join the BA (Bloggers Anonymous): I neglect chores, forget to make up my bed, clean the kitchen, leave mail and newspapers behind - all due to the urge to read or write blogs all day long. Why get addicted to heroin or meth when you could blog?
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 8:27:32 PM
Which got me thinking... Hm... Bloggers Anonymous!

I can hear the radio ads now, "Hi, I'm Dr. A, I'm not only a doctor, I'm also a client!" How about this as a slogan, "Join BA today! It's no BS!" Or, "Think you're addicted? Well, let's blog and find out!" There could be t-shirts, mugs, posters, mouse pads, key chains, etc --this could be HUGE!

But, alas, when it googled it, I found this article from the Wired magazine website. Don't get me wrong, funny stuff. But, I think I'll keep my day job. How about BATS Anonymous? Or, Idiots Anonymous? Would those work?

Here are the "minutes" of the previous Blogaholics Anonymous meetings:

  • My first post 6/28/06

  • Cathy 6/28/06 (link now inactive)

  • Dr. A 6/29/06

  • Dr. A 7/7/06

  • NeoNurseChic 7/11/06 (blog now private)

  • May 7/14/06

  • It's Me, T.J. 7/18/06

  • Cathy 7/28/06 (link now inactive)

  • Dreaming Again 8/2/06

  • Ladybug 8/25/06

  • Dr. A 9/5/06

  • Sarebear 9/10/06

  • Dr. A 9/13/06

  • The Curmudgeon 9/18/06

  • Dr. A 9/25/06

  • Empress Bee 10/7/06

    • Feeling the love: Part Deux

    You guys amaze me! (You know, I'm using "guys" in totally the non-sexist manner. WHEW! Almost got in trouble there...)

    I am just humbled by the kudos that I've been getting yesterday and today from YOU, my friends (some fellow idiots), in BlogLand. I thought that the BATS got the best of me, but I knew better (Whoa! Lots of B's in there).

    Thanks to DP, Artemis, Cathy, Lea, and Moof for mentioning me in your blog. And, for may more of you who have graciously placed me on your blogroll.

    As Gene Hackman said in Hoosiers (BTW, one of the best movies EVER!):
    I love you guys!

    Feeling the love

    So, it's been a week since I've been in the blogosphere. I've been soaking up some BlogRays and wearing my BlogSunscreen -- Like my tan? I thought I would get BlogSick (like seasick - bad joke), but except for dealing with the totally addictive tendencies of the blog. I guess that's been ok. I think the medical term is "Blogger Addiction Tendency Syndrome." I don't know, but I think I have the BATS!

    Anyway, thanks to everyone for your advice and support over the past week as I've been getting started. I now have a blogroll going and some of those little button thingies in my side bar. I'm feeling the BlogLove (BL). I hope I don't get BlogOverload -- I don't want to have BO! HA!