Hi, Hello. Yes. No, thank you. And you are? Congratulations!! I'm sorry. Yes, thank you.

Okeedoke. Well, inaugural blog post commence:

I've generally thought that blogs and blogging were a wee bit narcissistic and ego-centric, but this is a modern era, so I figured, "What the hell." I don't pretend to think that anybody's going to read this, much less care about what I write, but I guess it might be a good way to write on a consistent basis.

I suppose the main problem I've had with starting a blog is the same problem I've had with status updates on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Are some people so vain that they think people care what the hell they're doing at 6 PM on a Tuesday? "Tim Sardepartment is eating a can of peaches." "Burt Dangley is picking the lint between his toes." "Sally Lally is buying a new pair of rockin' jeans." For the most part, I don't even care what my close friends are doing throughout the day, not to mention somebody I met once three years ago. And I just assume they don't care what I'm doing either. Don't get me wrong, I've posted status updates before, but within an hour or so of posting them I usually think, "Who the eff cares?" and I delete it.

Now, I think there are certain times and circumstances when blogs, status updates, etc. are useful social tools. For instance, I have friends in other parts of the country and abroad who I like to keep in touch with on some minimal level, so being able to visit their blog from time to time is a great way to do so. And if you want to say, "Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! or "I just got engaged!" on your status update, I say go for it. But, "Bonson Ronson is waiting at the airport"? Really? Fascinating! What a unique human experience! Are there other people at the airport? If so, I wish I could see their faces!

I don't claim that these ideas are original or useful in any way. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm as full of BS as the next schmuck on the street. But I suppose that, on the rare occasion that I might have something worthwhile to say, this might be a good forum to do so.

"Graham Shafer is going to check the mail now." (Ever done it before? Then you know exactly how I feel!)