The Left Coast Biased

I don’t know what to do with a blog, but quite a few people (some of whom I even respect) seem to think blogs are a good idea so I guess we'll give it a go. I don’t even know what a ‘blog’ is. I mean, I’m familiar with the concept, but how did we get here? So I looked it up. It’s short for weblog, and apparently it is just a journal, albiet with an audience and hyperlinks. Memoirs with the conceit of not being retrospective. Well, I’ve kept a journal for years so this shouldn’t be too difficult of a transition. Having stepped into this now, what exactly are the standards? Do we address you, the ever present reader, or are you the elephant in the room? Do we have to write daily? Do we need a theme? I am a huge fan of standards as they play nicely into my completely unfounded sense of elitism, but I look around the World Wide Web and it appears that there are none whatsoever. Looks like you elephants will have to indulge our flights of fancy as they swing o’er philosophical ranting, sports commentary, local cuisine, and random biographical nostalgia. The central theme will be the reflection of our intellectual meanderings and as such most of what ends up here will be our own opinions, some original, some colored more heavily by other’s thoughts and some ripped off wholesale, but go read Neal Stephenson’s Anathem for a fun little illustration of the vanity of original thought. Or the copyright to Days of War, Nights of Love. Or Ecclesiastes.

I am sure that no one is going to read this without having substantial personal exposure to us already, but on the off chance that someone is bored and stumbles across this by hitting the I Feel Lucky button, I guess I’ll start with a justification of our chosen name. First of all, this should be an imperative: if you are going to start a blog with a clever name, say, back in 2002, and then not post for the next 6 years DELETE THE BLOG. Or don't be foolish enough to post your home address unless you want some future blogger to come drag you into the street to physically vent some of the frustration of spending a half an hour trying to find some domain name that is appropriate and witty. To all of you, I hate you. That being said I don't want the chosen title of our blog to give the impression that this will be a bludgeoning of provincial sporting convictions. We will try to keep that to a mere smattering, at most. The name was chosen from our undivided affection for all things West Coast. The coast itself, and all accompanying beaches and subsequent recreational pursuits are more pleasant. The weather is nicer for longer. The people are prettier. Everything about this edge of the country is better. And that assertion is in no way related to the fact that my entire family moved back east and now I never get to see them.