BTW, playing with my thingy was precipitated by Billy playing with BlogPeoria’s thingies. Blame the Blogfather.

She’s probably really regretting it now.  She has a post about the unfounded and extremely dangerous MYTH that autism is linked to vaccination. I, of course, went on a rant.

I began my blog anonymously, but came out in the open half way through my first year.

My first controversial stand involved rhetorically taking on Jim Mangan and Mike Noyes in the school district consolidation debate.

My commentary on the local Pekin political scene, notably the exaggerations and deceptions of mayoral candidate Bill Toel, garnered some attention … both positive and negative.

Most importantly, I’ve had the opportunity to call attention to the great blessings, wrenching heartbreaks and lingering malice within my new home … Pekin, IL. I’ve grown to love this town, and most of the people that I’ve had the opportunity to meet – online and off – have been fantastic. Pekin is a wonderful community, and I hope to see it grow and evolve into an even better place.

Cheers also to my fellow local bloggers & regular commenters. You’re a unique bunch of folks, and I appreciate both your support and your criticism. One of these days, I’ll even show up to a blogger bash.

I look forward to seeing what the future holds for us all.

Apparently PI switched because some readers were having trouble posting their comments. If anyone has a problem posting, please email me at knightindragonland@yahoo.com.

Addendum: I didn’t use widgets with my old theme. Widgets are coooooooool.

Yes, I am a geek … just see the nerd test on my sidebar.

I guess I’ll blame the beautiful weather we’ve been having lately.  I’ve been outside a lot in the last week.

My backyard would be the perfect hangout if it weren’t for all the infernal insects … mostly gnats and mosquitoes.  I collected 25 mosquito bites the other night while trimming the hedges.  The dern bloodsuckers get so thick they literally drive us inside at sunset.

Anyone have a good way to clear the yard of annoying insects without turning it into chemical perdition?

The Times weekend edition has a staff editorial about opening up their web edition for comments.  This feature has been in place for a month or two now, but I guess they wanted to draw attention to it in the print edition.  I found the following comment interesting:

Many blogs allow people to post comments anonymously. We know that often people used to this high-tech way of communication prefer it that way, so far be it from we neophytes to the blogosphere to upset the apple cart.

Clearly Michelle Teheux had some moderating influence on Rick Wade’s opinions when they put this piece together.

So now both the Pekin Times and the Journal Star allow direct comments to their web edition articles.  I, of course, think this is a great thing.  In my opinion this makes the papers much more interactive with their readers.  Hopefully people will take advantage of this new feature and let their opinions be known.

Thanks to Akismet for keeping me cootie-free!