I unsubscribed from almost all of my feeds.

I still love you guys and gals. You now show up in my Google Reader instead of my inbox.

I can now consolidate all my RSS subscriptions in one place. My entire computing life is more streamlined now. Having a Google account gives me some cool online tools. I can squeeze even more functionality out of my non-smart phone.

If you’re not cool enough to have a smartphone, the next best thing is an unlimited text messaging plan connected your social media accounts.

Now that I have a Google account and iGoogle homepage that I’m actually using, I’m looking at Google’s SMS goodies even further. A detailed post about how I make my dumb phone smarter will be coming soon.

I’ve been tagged! One of my new favorite mom bloggers, Beth, over at “Open Seven Days a Week. Closed Sundays” has tagged me with this meme.

What is your current obsession: Vegetarianism

What are you wearing now: The Dad uniform – cargo shorts and comfy t-shirt with food stains. If you want to know specifics, the shorts are from “Circle Dot” and the shirt is Adobe.com SWAG.

Who was the last person you hugged: My friend Linda.

Who is the last person who kissed you: Depends on what kind of kiss you’re talking about. A friendly peck on the cheek – Linda. A full-on game of tonsil hockey – Gentlemen never kiss and tell.

If you were a tree, what tree would you be: Redwood.

What’s for dinner: A bean burrito.

What was the last thing you bought: Venti coffee at Starbucks.

What are you listening to right now: Pandora radio online.. As I type this, Leann Rimes covering “Crazy” is on.

What is your favorite weather: sunny, mid 70’s.

What is on your bedside table: Cell phone charger, lamp, dust.

What is your most challenging goal right now: Getting my butt to Tennessee.

Say something to the person who tagged you: I am blessed to have you in my life.

Suspend all disbelief. What is your dream job: Starting goalie for an NHL team.

Name the things you cannot live without: food, shelter, water, internet.

What would you like to have in your hands right now: My daughter’s hand.

Hot or Cold coffee: hot coffee, with heavy whipping cream.

What would you like to get rid of: A quarter million dollars in debt.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go: Oak Ridge Tennessee, with my daughter.

If you could have your portrait painted/made by any famous artist from any era, who would you choose: Annie Liebovitz.

What is your favorite book: The Art of War, Sun Tzu

Name one foreign country you’d like to visit: Sweden

Mom and dad bloggers can get away with disappearing for weeks at a time. I’m anxiously awaiting updates from some of my favorite moms and dads in the blogosphere. Where are you?!?!?!

21st Century Dad is moving in a new direction which is following the course correction my life has taken. I will continue to write about topics of interest to all dads in addition to garnering fellowship with divorced and separated dads. An article about time management is coming up very soon. I didn’t want to spring that on you in the midst of the CTRL-ALT-DEL stuff without an introduction.

Seitan Worshiper

Seitan steak'n'cheese sandwich

As some of you know, I’ve been exploring vegetarianism and veganism lately. I made my own seitan for the first time last night. It’s incredibly fun and easy to make. An investment of just under $4 yields 3 pounds. How much meat can you buy for $4, or what kind of meat is available for $1.33/pound?

Seitan allows me to enjoy the gooey goodness of a “steak” and cheese sandwich. Thanks to Vegan Dad for the recipe.

My experimentation with tofu and now seitan will keep me busy in the kitchen for a long time. My mind is already racing with the possibilities.

Dad Blogs

My philosophy is to put more effort into fewer social media sites than spread myself too thin. You can stay very busy just working Facebook. Despite this, Dad Blogs has earned a bookmark in my browser.

As a social networking site, it has all the features you would want to use. My favorite feature of Dad Blogs is the Instant Chat. It’s like having our own private little Twitter.

Joe Schatz (you may know him as Joeprah) and Pete Janelle created this social networking site for dads and dad bloggers. It’s not a total sausage-fest. A few super-cool moms move the male/female ratio closer to that of any college with the word “Polytechnic” in its name.

You don’t need to have a blog to join.

New Friends

And now for some overdue link love. You may notice some of these as recent additions to the blogroll.

Money Smart Marriage – JW shares his insights on personal finance from a family point of view. Lots of good stuff here. Frugal date ideas aren’t just for husbands and wives. Dads paying child support feel the pinch too.

Open seven days a week. Closed Sundays. – Generation-X Christian woman, and a single mother of a wonderful little princess. I love her sense of humor. “I’m going to live forever or die trying!!!” HAHAHAH.  She also knows about proper care and maintenance of automobiles.

Savvy Stepmom – I thought back to when I was 24 and all the 24 year olds I’ve known since. Few are as savvy with money or as resourceful. This woman drives a car that doesn’t have a functioning reverse gear and gets by just fine.

The Broward County Transit Diet

Clean Air Hybrid

The popular perception in South Florida is that a car is a necessity. I’ve been doing OK with the bus and my bike. I take full advantage of Google Maps and Google Transit to plan my outings. One day, I ran errands all day and made it to a 7pm movie downtown, all without a car. I’ve lost 10 pounds after losing 3000 lbs back in July. The crunchy green part of my heart sings whenever I see the “Clean Air Hybrid” buses that BCT operates. Their buses run on a biodiesel too.

The increased physical activity has also helped my overall mood too. I don’t want to think about where I’d be without exercise, good nutrition, and medication.

Holiday Insanity

I am certainly not an exception. Who am I to think I would escape the frenzied pace at this time of year? It was more frenzied than I could have ever imagined leading up to and through this 2008 holiday season. I alluded to some of this insanity in my last post. Now I’m going to blog about it.

Has it got any sports in it?

Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…

Yes, it’s all true, except for the fencing, torture, and revenge.

I’ve Been Tagged Again

Down To Earth Mama has tagged me again, hoping to uncover more of what she calls an enigma. The last time she tagged me, I didn’t bite. This time, I must come through.

“Oh blogger, will you post a photo?”

As you wish.

The punk-ass that she is, she tagged me after I just spent 20 hours on a Greyhound bus!

No, this isn’t the first photo I took. Shooting into a mirror is tricky.  However, this photo is completely unedited except for resizing. I didn’t even fix the white balance or Photoshop out the convenient carrying handle attached to my head.

Here are the rules….

1) Take a picture of yourself right NOW!
2) DON’T change your clothes, DON’T fix your hair… Just take a picture.
3) Post that picture with NO editing.
4) Post these instruction with your picture.
5)Tag 10 8 people to do this..

I don’t want to tag 10 people either. That’s a LOT, unless you’re über-popular like Busy Dad. I see that he’s already been tagged by Joe.

Dad of Divas

Building Camelot

Buddha Belle

Mom is Just a Nickname

Dad’s Workbench

Israeli Mom

Dad Thing

21st Century Parenting

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Celebrate 1/100th of a Century With 21st Century Dad

YI’ve seen several of my blogging buddies let their anniversary (or blogiversary) pass and be followed up with a “I forgot… better late than never.” I swore up and down I wouldn’t miss mine. Guess what happened on October 24th? Nothing! That’s why I’m here today.

Every “blogging expert” tells you not to write any “I’m sorry I haven’t posted lately” posts. I did it once and most of you have too. My posting frequency is down, but I do strive for quality content. What fun is it if you open your feed reader or check your email only to see such a cardinal blogging sin let you down? You can catch up with my random musings on Twitter in between posts. For now, just wait patiently for entertainment, information or a combination of both.

Wherever you stand, you hope to look back and feel good about it. We’ve faced our share of adversity in this household over that period:

• A blog is born
  
• We celebrated a birthday
• We said goodbye to a dear friend

Most viewed posts:

1. Riding My Bike To Save Money
2. How to Prepare for a Baby’s Arrival on a Budget
3. Teaching Teens How To Use Public Transit
4. Get Stuff for Free – Freesource and The Freecycle Network
5. Good Dad or Good Employee. Pick One
6. What Does Social Media Mean To You?
7. Teen Saved From The Pitfalls of Poor Communication Methods
8. High Fructose Corn Syrup Scorecard
   
9. Take Better Photos of Your Children – Use Window Light

There’s only 9 because it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want. If you really care what #10 is, your odds for a correct guess, as of November 2nd, 2008, are 119-to-1.

Top Referring Blogs:

1. Frugal Dad
2. Renee and Elliott
3. Unpredictable Life
4. Parent Hacks
5. 21st Century Parenting
6. Geek Mom Mashup
7. Building Camelot
8. From Mike
9. Thingamababy
10. Mom Is Just A Nickname
11. Dad Thing
12. The Busy Dad Blog
13. TipDad

There are more than 10 blogs listed here because I wanted to be sure to mention Jared, Jim, and Jason. My top-13 is bookended by Jason’s two blogs.

What to Expect in Year 2

This is your blog too. I’m open to suggestions. The comment section below is a great place for you to make your voice heard. Cast your vote here too. A vote in the state of Florida can count and can still make a difference. I already have some ideas for continuing topics and new topics:

Personal Finance – This is a topic I shied away from at first. We already have some great personal finance bloggers out there. I’ve also been a slacker in this department. But I am shaping up.

Photography – I would not be true to myself if I didn’t cover photography. I enjoy taking photos immensely. I am my own worst critic, but have learned to relax. I’ve dipped my toe in the water. This year I’m taking the plunge too.

Personal Accounts – Are you a mommy or daddy blogger? You probably started off trying to share tips, tricks, secrets, and be informative. Then one day, you posted a personal account of parenting and your popularity improved dramatically.

Time Management – The first time I put myself through fiscal rehab, I started to pay more attention to my time. Time is much more finite than money, so you have to manage it to be effective in all areas of your life. I have some time management posts in the works.

Career and Workplace – I am in regular contact with industrial-organizational psychologists through my work. I think about this kind of stuff a lot.

Cooking – Here’s another passion that I’ve been encouraged to channel into blogging. Just like the work I do in the kitchen, I have to massage the written word to be fit for human consumption.

Enjoy Year 2 of this blog!

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