In the fast-paced world of blogging, where sites go dark in mere weeks or months, a blog reaching the venerable age of eight is a bit of an achievement (if only of persistence). Why do I still do it? Damned if I know … but if I haven’t published at least a few posts by mid-morning I feel like I’m slacking. It’s certainly not for the fame or fortune: it’s probably harder to become rich and famous through blogging than in many other fields, but to compensate it requires less talent.

Eight years ago, a fellow writer set up his own blog and invited me to set up my own blog on his site. Jon stopped blogging (far too soon, in my opinion), but allowed me to maintain my blog on his site for over five years and still graciously hosts the archives from that period. I probably wrote more and quoted less in the early days, but it’s now hard to remember what I did online before I became a blogger.

I did a retrospective round-up of the first year for the 2010 anniversary, and I collected the “best of 2005” for last year’s anniversary post. I guess this year requires a look at what I posted in 2006 (and may still have some relevance or interest):

January, 2006

• Woodbutchering, New Year’s style and Woodbutchery, part two, as I got some sawdust flying around the basement.
• Jon live-blogs the debate, where Jon sets the standard for commentary on political debates in the minimalist style.
• Woodworking follies (I was doing a lot more woodworking in 2006 than I am now).
• Why scrutineers are important (yes, a frequent repost, but still relevant)
• Missing the point of “intellectual property”, at the intersection of 21st century law and 14th century technology.
• Austin Bay on the Canadian Forces, a friendly fisking of Bay’s complimentary view of Canadian troops and disparaging view of Canadian politicians.

February, 2006

• Replacing the Browning High Power? Conditions for Canadian troops in Afghanistan indicate that a new standard side arm is needed.
• Harper’s new cabinet. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first cabinet had some unexpected and controversial choices.
• More on the ethical side of healthcare: a case where medical ethics, economics, and basic humanity all rumble for supremacy.
• Another myth … busted. S.L.A. Marshall, faux-historian (or should that be “fabulist”) of the US military experience. He’s the one who promulgated the myth that most American soldiers were too cowardly to fire their weapons in combat.
• Guest Editorial: Union and Management. Brendan McKenna on the adversarial nature of labour relations (and rediscovering the old truth that companies often get the unions they deserve).
• The Tiger takes down the ID card proposal. Disparaging Stockwell Day’s mandatory internal passport proposal.
• Well, at least I’m not this bad… some thoughts on the decline of “collecting” hobbies.

March, 2006

March was a particularly fraught month with serious work deadlines, followed by a vacation at a hotel that didn’t offer internet access, then a debilitating cold, and a business trip. As a consequence, blogging suffered a sharp drop in output.

• Daunte Culpepper traded by Vikings? It may well have been the right decision, but it ushered in the quarterback-by-platoon era that lasted until 2011 when the Vikings finally drafted Christian Ponder.
• Will MPAC be reined in? I’d documented our run-in with the folks at MPAC in 2004 and 2005. Others were having much worse experiences.

April, 2006

• Trying to understand Afghanistan. About how we in the post-tribal West fail to understand the structure of everyday life in tribal societies.
• They make it sound so … unappealing. On the dramatization of the 1972 Canada-Russia hockey series.
• A Florida motel that James Lileks missed. A few photos from a Florida motel I stayed in. It’s full of “character”.

May, 2006

• Oil prices. Examining implication “that Canada wasn’t considered a “well-established liberal democracy”! And the Fascists [had] only been in power for a few months!”
• Conspiracy theory top 10 list, where the polarity of currently popular theories is highlighted.
• The play’s the thing. Visiting the youth theatre group we used to work with in Stratford, being able to watch the stage combat without worrying intensely (I used help out with basic fight choreography).
• A possible answer … to the question of why we have troops in Afghanistan (on the life and death of Captain Nicola Goddard, RCHA).
• Doors. It took a few months, but there was finally more woodworking progress to report.
• Mid-century comic books. From early comics to blaming NASA for the suspended animation of the space program in a few short sentences.
• The mystery of “Canadian Content” rules. I didn’t like ’em then, and I don’t like ’em now. But if you’ve got rules, at least try to have them make some kind of sense.

June, 2006

• Completed Cabinets. Finally got those bookcases out of the basement and into the office.
• Accidental humour. A cameo appearance by the once-obscure former Ontario premier Bob Rae.
• Today is P-Day. The kingdom of cats is disturbed by the arrival of a new pet.
• More puppy pictures. Canine cuteness.
• Saturday Puppy Pictures. The cuteness continues, with the horror of the first bath.

July, 2006

• Mister Ghost asks “What does Canada stand for?”. An odd one, as it’s a link to another blog where I have an extended go at answering that question (it’s the very last item in the post).
• Soccer stadium to be built in Toronto. I’m glad they built it, but I still wish it had been funded privately rather than with involuntary “contributions” from the taxpayers.
• O pleez spehr mi! Yet another silly attempt to “simplify” the language.
• Saturday evening photos. Playing around with the new digital camera.
• Red Ensign Standard 44. One of the last instances of the once-common blog round-up post.

August, 2006

• Travelling by air can be fun. My top travel tip garnered from this little gem of a trip is “don’t try to travel at the same time some would-be terrorist launches their new operational plan”.
• Travel restrictions, British style. The British security theatre festival’s latest season.
• Another nice game, with a good result. One of the weekly soccer game reports, this one from one of Victor’s better games of the season.
• Guilty Money. Emiliano Gonzolez is rescued by police after being in the hands of a desperate gang of dollar bills. 124,000 of them.
• User-friendly technology. My computer starts to act out-of-sorts.

September, 2006

• Carnival of Liberty no. 61. I hosted the weekly Carnival of Liberty round-up for the Life, Liberty, Property (LLP) blog group on my birthday.
• How not to fire someone. Being fired is a traumatic experience. With care and attention to detail, an employer can make it far worse for the employee being terminated.
• To fall just short of fame …. Photos from the end-of-season soccer tournament, where Victor is seen demonstrating heading the ball while highland dancing.
• QotD: Mutability of Human Sexuality. A vintage quote from Dan Savage — NSFW, of course.

October, 2006

October was another light-blogging month, as my employer of the time had been taken over and we were all busy trying to be seen to justify our continued existence on the payroll. Mid-month, along with most of my department, I got a termination notice.

• Sorry for the extra-light blogging lately. A short note of thanks to the readers who sent good wishes at the awkward moment of termination.
• Algonquin Park in Autumn. A few small photos (I was trying not to destroy Jon’s bandwidth cap in those days) from a pleasant drive in the southern part of Algonquin.

November, 2006

• This could get ugly. Ontario starts introducing roundabouts to replace some low-traffic intersections.
• Why did the Republicans lose? Explaining why the GOP was “beaten like a rented mule” in the mid-term elections.
• “… a serious flaw …” An unforeseen drawback to blogging.
• Most recent project. A minor home improvement project bloated out to full-day workload by the use of science. Or powertools.

December, 2006

• Unscheduled downtime. Power outage and a badminton tournament.
• A bright new day … for unions? How unions could change to remain relevant in the modern workplace.
• Absurd to the nth degree. Young teens charged with, in effect, being young teens.