Out of the Stone Age?

My grown daughters, Katie and Sarah, call me "Stone Age Pop" because until recently I had the oldest, ugliest cell phone on the planet...and I didn't know how any of it's features worked. The numbers that I programmed in the memory of the thing when I first got it two years ago were the same numbers in it when I lost it in a New York cab two months ago. (The one night I decided to go out with it in my pocket instead of hanging from my belt on a really ugly aftermarket belt clip I bought at Wal-Mart for five bucks.) I didn't care that it was ugly. It was a tool, not a part of my lifestyle. We have 350 minutes a month, shared across three phones. We never came close to running out.

Now I have a new flip phone - the same kind that Katie has. (See her new blog for her opinion of it.) It's newer, lighter, and hipper. And it fits in my pocket very nicely. And I talk on it a little bit more. But it's still a tool. I still don't know how all the features work, and the voice activated numbers I entered don't work - a step back from where I was.

And so the girls still call me "Stone Age".

I let them get away with it mainly because as long as they're teasing me, they're still talking to me.

But neither of them knew what a blog was til I started mine. Old Stone Age surprised 'em.

I'll admit, I hadn't paid much attention to them until we gave up television. (More on that another day.) I had read a few at random, but they usually contained the drivel that caused my son Will to turn up his nose at them. Will said

It's some kid sitting in a dark room at night, all alone, with no friends, writing crap like "I'm all alone, listening to this music. It sucks. I think I'll kill somebody." Don't ever tell my friends you have a blog!

OK. I won't tell. Your secret is safe.

Creating a blog won't change my life. Reading it won't change yours. This is fundamentally a very self-centered endeavor. It's about my opinions, my point of view, me...me...I...I. It might be the cyberspace equivalent of the crazy guy on the corner shouting at the people passing by. And you know what? If you don't like it, you have two choices:

1. Ignore it. Cross the street and don't look back. Click somewhere else. I'm not being rude, I'm just reflecting the reality of the Internet. Nobody made you come to this site. Maybe somebody suggested it, or included a link in an email. (Ha! Maybe it was me!)

2. Start your own blog and tell the world I'm wrong. Find your own corner and startj shouting. It's free. Go ahead. I dare you...no, I double-dog dare you. Send me a link when you do. (But please, no angst. It upsets Will.)


Here are some of the blogs I was reading before I started my own:

Denny Coates -- "The Book of Life". I like reading Denny's posts. He inspires me to look for the "glass half full", like my neighbor Bill does. Some of us need constant reminders.

Franklen (Sorry, I couldn't find the last name...)-- "Bicycle Commuting Now". I've been dabbling in bicycle commuting. (OK, so 3 days in 4 weeks doesn't constitute much more than good intentions.) Frank's running commentary on bicycling in Harrisburg, PA gives me frequent reminders of how easy, and fun, it can be.

Kiril Kundurazieff -- "The Cycling Dude". Kiril, aka the "Mad Macedonian", is a west-coast cyclist who comments on cycling issues around the country. He has put up some great pictures from California rides.

John Perry Barlow -- "BarlowFriendz". Barlow was a member of the Grateful Dead. He also was a cofounder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation a non-profit group working to protect "digital rights". An interesting blog that addresses a variety of topics.

My favorite blog today, however, is:
Katie Johnston, "Things That I Like and Things That I Do Not Like"

OK, so she's my daughter. I think she's funny as hell. What's so Stone Age about that?