Category Archives: Introductory Drivel

Welcome! But who is Tim and what is conTIMplating?

Welcome to the Fourth Year of My Blog. I Apologize.

Hello.  My name is Tim.  Welcome to the fourth year of my blog.  Please do not be offended.  I apologize.

So here we are again.  Those who consider themselves regular readers of this electronic page of web-based wonderment are kidding themselves because one cannot be a regular reader of something that does not regularly exist.  Such is the case with this virtual locale of computerized verbosity, as I have lamentably not posted in nearly a year.

I would like to blame my lack of typeset activity on a sudden and debilitating mandoline tragedy, but alas, I am not that lucky.  It is instead the case Continue reading →

Welcome to the Third Year of My Blog. I Apologize.

Hello.  My name is Tim. Welcome to the third year of my blog.  Please do not protest me.  I apologize.

If you are especially astute you are to be self-congratulated for knowing what that means and noticing that I have not posted now for these three months as I have been engaged in a brief hiatus whereon I sought to learn a good Latin word for ‘taking a break.’   Actually, the real pretend reason I have been wanting in the blog post department is because frankly, between my work, family, and golf club membership, I have been busier than a horsetail at a fly convention.  I’ve been busier than Lois Lerner’s ‘delete’ button; busier than DNC spin doctors after a few off-the-cuff-remarks by Joe Biden—busier than Charles Barkley trying to say, “Irish wristwatch”—busier than…well, you get the idea.

Anyway… After a short but mysterious disappearance I have suddenly returned, which is yet another reason people tend to confuse me with Jack Bauer.  On the down side, returning to the blogosphere means that I will once again be doing stuff and saying things.  Continue reading →

I Love Making Up Non-Fiction

About a year ago I waxed eloquent in Pulitzer-winning fashion about my favorite fiction books.  Since then I have been swamped with an e-mail asking about my favorite non-fiction books, to which I have been hesitant to respond because non-fiction books are hard—especially when being thrown at you for taping the end of the Alabama-Auburn game over one’s wedding video.

In my defense, I have already watched the end of that game way more often than any wedding video.

And in retrospect, my defense is perhaps not as strong as I had anticipated.

The problem with ranking non-fiction books is that when you combine the sheer number of categories with varying personal tastes you almost have a possibility for every time Lorde is played on the radio.  Continue reading →

Welcome To the Second Year of My Blog. I Apologize.

Hello.  My name is Tim.  Welcome to the second year of my blog.  Please do not be outraged.  I apologize.

People seem rather sensitive to becoming outraged these days.  Just turning the key in the ignition of one of the many search engines out there proves that.  For example:

Military.com:  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ‘Outraged’ Over AF Sexual Assault Arrest.  It is not clear whether Mr. Hagel was outraged at the embarrassment of the crime to his administration or the crime itself.

Chicago.cbslocal.com:  Local Muslims Outraged By Card Depicting Muslim Girl Doll as a Terrorist.  Meanwhile, local Muslim outrage at actual terrorist attacks has yet to be reported. Continue reading →

The Year of Blogging Dangerously

Well, here we are: conTIMplating one year later.  Has it been a year already?  It has.  It seems just like yesterday that I was debating which pair of boxers to wear for my big background photo shoot.  If I were Bob Hope I’d start singing “Thanks for the Memories” but luckily for Mrs. Hope, I am not Bob Hope.

I suppose to accompany the congratulatory fanfare and wellwishiness you are feeling right now an appropriate post would be a clever recap of the past twelve months that revisited the high and low points of a year-old page of spectacular electronic webness such as this, but it doesn’t make any sense to recap because unfortunately, it was never capped in the first place.  Besides, like the old saying goes, nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.

So if you’ll permit, I will simply wax illogic Continue reading →