I’ve been very bad about blogging lately. Twitter and Facebook have filled that need for the most part - Twitter in particular. I tend to think in sound bites, so Twitter gives me a way to poop those out to the world via a quick and easy method. Stringing full sentences together requires a level of attention that I don’t frequently get as I bounce from server room, to conference room, to someone’s desk, to my car. It’s way easier to fire off a 140 character sound bite from my iPhone than sit at my computer and write a longer post like this one.

That having been said, I’ve also had a bit of a slump lately with my ‘voice’. The last few nights I’ve tried to write, but I wind up sitting at the computer staring at a blank screen, not quite knowing what to say, or even worse, how to say it. I realize I may never come close to the alcohol-fueled ramblings of Warren Ellis, or have the tongue-in-cheek of David Burge, or the showbiz memories of Wil Wheaton. I don’t know if I can approach the frenetic posts of Shawn Powers , or the overall down-to-earthiness of Crystal Edwards. But … I do have me. And the things that *I* am. I’m all of the following:

• Father to two awesome kids. They influence my way of thinking daily - even at 10 and 7, they give me a fresh look at the world.
• Husband to a great wife. She keeps me anchored and focused - otherwise I’d be flying off doing this and that and the other thing, and not staying on task. Kinda like now, but this blog post is a welcome quick diversion. :) Oh, and the love is nice too.
• Manager of a good team. Not to toot our own horn, but we do kick ass on a daily basis…
• “Virtual Editor” of Linux Journal. This means I don’t actually do anything, but the simulation is REALLY cool. Seriously though, I toss in the occasional article, and I have half the Point/Counterpoint column with my bro Kyle Rankin.
• I’m a geek. I love tinkering with technology. Particularly laptops, mobile phones, and other connected gadgets. If it’s running software, odds are I’ll be interested in it.
• I’m a gearhead. I DIG cars, especially ones with lots of horsepower that are American made. That’s why I drive the Yeti, a 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP. (Yes, I know it’s a Holden import from Australia. It’s got a Chevy engine and is a Pontiac. That’s American enough for me. Shuddap. Besides, Aussies are just like upside down rednecks to me anyhow. Cousins, even.)
• I’m an American. I’m patriotic. This also means I tend to be socially libertarian and fiscally conservative. I’m left on some issues, and right on others. I also think we should walk softly and carry a big stick, and use that stick more often than we do. I think we need to clamp down on illegal immigration, and spend more money on our own country than we do on others. That’s how I feel, deal with it. You’re welcome to debate me, as I actually like that kind of thing - but don’t resort to name calling. You aren’t required to like me, but be courteous. There aren’t enough manners in this world as it is.

So what can you expect from this blog in the next few months? I’m hoping to put more technical content on the Linux Journal site, and I’ll have more personal content here. I’ve setup crossposting to Facebook, so all the Facebook folks will get my spam in their news feeds. :) You’ll also see links I find interesting here now - they’ll get summarized in a daily posting as things cross my RSS reader that I find intriguing.

In short, I’m going to be writing more - I hope - and with luck that voice of mine will get stronger and easier to speak in.

My name’s Bill, and I approve this message.