Damn you, Google Reader!

About 11 months ago, I took the big step from reading other people's blogs, to boring wayward internet surfers with my own tales. Things were good. I liked typing to myself and leaving somewhat of an abridged online diary. The problem I've been having is that there are a lot of other interesting diaries out there, and technology has made it easier than ever to unleash your inner voyeur.

If you haven't checked out Google Reader yet, you may want to - or you may not. You can plug in the address of any blog you wish to follow, and it will keep track of new posts and organize everything into one easy to read page. I went from clicking through about 6 blogs a day to tracking 28! Now that it's so easy to do and I don't have to visit each blog every day to see if anything is new, I can keep tabs on more blogs. This means there is practically always something to read. If I'm reading, I'm not writing. Seriously folks, if you want to hear from me more, you're gonna have to stop posting so much interesting (or not) crap. Yes, it's on you. My self-control (like my 401-K) is at historically low levels.

In all fairness (because I love playing the Devil's Advocate), it isn't just Google. They are undoubtedly making money off of me somehow, so I feel the spite is justified even if I haven't seen a web based ad in years (Thank you Firefox and AdBlock Plus!). Part of the problem is the open nature of my blog. I make very few efforts to privatize anything. This is for family and friends as well as the internet in general, so I don't go out of my way to hide names, places, etc. This, unfortunately, severely limits the amount of work-related topics I can discuss. Not only do I know that my boss and coworkers may read this blog, but I have a moral obligation to respect the anonimity of our clients. This can put a damper on things, since we do quite a bit of high-end and custom work. I'd love to post all kids of pictures of the 3 story houses joined by an outdoor elevator and waterfall, among other things, but the client may not appreciate the breach in privacy.

Then there's the waxing and waning addictions to online gaming. I've been in a gaming clan (club) (Renegade Heroes - You Know It!) for about 4 years or so, and another clan for a year or two before that. It started with Counter Strike, then went to DoD, DoD-Source, World in Conflict, Team Fortress 2, and most recently Call of Duty 4. Gaming in itself is okay, but gaming with your friends as a team is great. It's also time consuming. Time I should be spending cleaning the yard, doing dishes, exersising the dogs, helping with the laundry, blogging, etc, etc. SuperMom hates my computer with a fervent passion.

So that, coupled with the holidays and Windows taking a dump on me 2 weeks ago (a bi-anual reinstallation of Windows XP is nearly standard for me. That's how I know it's time to make my dentist appointments!) is why you haven't heard from me much lately.

I'm back. You can stop sulking now. ;)