Why Do I Have A Blog?

I have a confession to make: I used to watch Doogie Howser as a child. The plots, of course, were crap, but I didn't know it at the time. What I really loved were the endings when, with Aesopian glee, Doogie would boot up the ol' laptop and make a note of the day's moral.

The image of Doogie's face, dimly lit from his monitor screen has inspired several "start-ups" of a diary. A few in High School. One or two in college. Even one a few years ago. All of these attempts to maintain a personal reflection space have failed miserably. Why? For years I lived under the false perception that a diary, personal as it is, must be hand-written to preserve its integrity and, simply put, even I cannot read my own handwriting.

So here is my on-line diary. Call me Doogie. This is a place I can record, and reflect, for free (thank you blogspot) and keep little searchable records to my obsessive-compulsive heart's content. With any luck, this little slice of ether will keep me sane, or at least provide an entertaining chronicle of the alternative.

Publishing things in a public forum (however unlikely it is that this forum is being read) helps me stay humbled and open, two things I often struggle with. I am under absolutely no delusion that what I type here is of any interest to anyone other than myself. But having cast something out for display requires either a great honesty or an ability to self-censor, and I will happily cultivate either.

So, hopefully, that answers the question "why blog".

Far more interesting, perhaps, is the question "Why are you reading?"

Edit: The answer to "Why are you reading" is (most probably) that I sent you an e-mail saying "go check out my blog". 8)

-Ed