I’m taking the day off from blogging.  Laying (lying… whatever) low.  Going incognito if you will.

It’s the weekend and I deserve some time off (plus my garage is a mess and Buddy is starting to complain about his unsanitary living conditions).

At least for today, no sitting at Larry the Laptop and trying to blog about something amusing and/or entertaining (often failing miserably, but you have to admire my effort).

Where I live the weather is perfect.  Sunshine, no wind, and 72 degrees.  In my part of the world, that’s pretty good for early November.  Actually, that’s pretty good wherever you live.

Ok who am I kidding?  This type of weather has only happened twice in this part of the US…and one of those times I missed it because I was on vacation!  Undoubtedly, I was sitting somewhere really HOT watching the Weather Channel only to find out it was perfect weather where I live.  I HATE THAT!

Of course, if you are reading this in San Diego you probably don’t understand why this is a big deal.

Of course, if you are in San Diego please realize the rest of us hate you.

Why my anger towards San Diegans?

Because I watch the Weather Channel for 2 reasons.

One, to see if my state is going to get hammered by some sort of once every 100 years weather event.  And two, to see what other part of the country is going to get hammered (if the map is dark purple over your town… that’s not good).

San Diego never comes up in these reports.

Not once have I seen Jim Cantore (maybe I have a man crush… maybe I don’t) standing on a pier in San Diego wearing a free Weather Channel parka about to get blown 40 miles into the ocean. 

To review, if you live within 100 miles of San Diego, I hate you because you never feel weather suffering (or I am extremely jealous… I get these two confused).

This brings me back to no blogging.

I have the garage to deal with.  The Weather Channel to watch (have to see who is about to get crushed!!).

I also need to mow my yard for the last time (this is the 4th time I’ve mowed it for the last time… what’s a guy have to do to get a good hard frost???).

Buddy the Dog also needs a bath.  He’s not that dirty, but I live in fear that his next cleaning could be his last until mid-June.

He is going to be one ripe beagle after playing in the snow for the next 4 months (and I also anticipate… quite tired).

Normally, I try to blog at least 3 times a week.

This is my tried and true method of getting readers.  It’s a little something I like to call “Quantity over Quality.”

3 a week equals roughly 10-12 a month.  My odds of getting one “not terrible” entry is pretty good.

Today, under normal circumstances, I would have slopped together something about one of the following:  Swine Flu (ready made for sarcasm), the ever increasing unemployment rate (I thought when I voted for you Mr. President this was supposed to go down…), the impending financial crises of 2010 in education (always a ton of laughs in this material), or maybe the Health Care Bill (what could possibly go wrong with a trillion dollar program when the government is in charge???).

But not today.

No blog.

No sarcasm.

Just chores (but at least the sun is shining).

So if you stopped by to read something educationally related or borderline humorous, I apologize.

Maybe next time.

Comments: 1
Tags: Blog, Buddy the Dog, Health Care Bill, Jim Cantore, president Obama, San Diego, swine flu, Weather Channel

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Comments: 5
Tags: Blog, comments, gravatar, subscribe

Bloggermobile.

I have but one question.

Why?

Do you find yourself with too much free time to devote to your family, hobbies, or charity work?

Do you feel like you’re wasting time reading books, taking walks, or working on a Master’s Degree?

Is your mind so demented that you believe people want to read your every waking thought?

Do you want to come home from a full-time job and then work some more?

Are you just an idiot?

If you answered YES to 1 of these 4 questions, you are wasting my time. It is also possible that you are involved in a healthy long term relationship (with another human being).

If you answered YES to 2 of these 4 questions, you have goals in life and no time for a blog.

If you answered YES to 3 out of these 4 questions, you are close but aren’t truly committed to the world of blogging (come back when you are weirder).

If you answered YES to all 4, Congratulations… you have what it takes to blog. And it is quite possible that you are a moron, slightly creepy, and in a word… breathtakingly odd (sorry, two words… and there is no chance I want to ever meet you in person).

Now that we have weeded the rift raft from the uncommitted, it is time to learn what it takes to blog.

How do I have time to blog?

I get this question a lot.

Easy, I don’t.

How do I come up with 2-3 great ideas for blogs each and every week?

Easy, I don’t.

How do I write blogs that make people laugh?

This one is way too easy. I don’t.

In fact, I don’t even try.

I write blogs that make me laugh (a really good one makes my wife laugh).

If you are struggling with starting a blog, consistently blogging, or coming up with fresh ideas for your blog…I am about to solve all of your problems.

The key to a moderately successful blog is simple.

Now, listen closely because I am only going to say this once (yes, I know you are reading this… but one day… mark my word… this blog will be podcasted to literally tens of people).

The key to having a moderately successful blog is… at this point you should be doing that drum roll sound in your head…

… a couple of times a week, sit down at your computer and type.

I almost feel guilty giving away this information for free (mental note… I need my own infomercial).

That’s it.

That’s the secret to blogging.

Sit down. And type.

Did I mention you need to do this a couple of times a week?

Type. Twice a week. After sitting down (stand if you like… it is a free country).

Do this every week.

In a month you will have 8 blog entries. In a year 104. Slightly less in a leap year.

And there you have it. A blog of your very own.

Now you may ask, how in the world can I come up with humorous interesting topics that thousands of people will enjoy?

You can’t.

And don’t try. You might pull something.

Just type (twice a week… don’t forget) about things that interest you. And things that make you laugh. And things that you believe in. And things you want to see changed.

You will be astounded that those very same things that amuse you… amuse others. And things that you believe in and want changed, are the same things as lots of other people.

If you do this consistently, people will find you. That is the great thing about the internet (thank you Mr. Gore). You don’t even have to advertise.

If you blog, readers will come.

If you follow my simple advice.

Sit (optional) and type (not so optional).

No matter what your beliefs, there are thousands of people out there just waiting for someone to express them.

And that someone could be you.

Please keep in mind that the author of this blog has no English degree (or skills), no journalism background, makes stuff up as he goes along, and is generally full of it… Sincerely, His Wife.

Comments: 11
Tags: Blog, blogger, blogging

Sadly, this isn’t my quote. I wish it was. It would be nice to be this witty.

It came from that man genius Joey Tribbiani on an episode of Friends (and Tweeted by Scott Elias, an assistant principal in Northern Colorado… good luck on that doctorate degree).

Actually, I guess Joey didn’t really come up with it. Or Scott. It was undoubtedly from a writer on the show.

Most likely the writer in question was really skinny and quiet in school. I bet he (or she) wore black a lot, read a ton of books, and watched hours of TV. I am guessing he always got C’s and D’s in English. Every parent teacher conference likely ended with the teacher telling his parents… “If he would just apply himself.”

Some teachers may have even pegged him as a colossal failure. And look at him now. Living in Hollywood, writing for a hit TV show (although now possibly unemployed), and getting quoted in a major educational blog (yes, I mean this one…).

Turns out he was probably just bored in high school.

I have been thinking about hiring someone like this to ghost write my blog. Let’s be honest, they could certainly do a better job. Plus, it would free up some time for me (I am so behind on my naps).

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked how one becomes funny. What kind of question is that?

How do I know? And if I did, I am not sure I would have told them.

Seems to me this information could be valuable (as I write this, I am doing my best Dr. Evil laugh… mwahahahaha… which reminds me, I need a cat).

If I knew how to be funny, I might teach a class on it. Maybe start a website. Possibly even write a book or a blog. A guy needs paid after all.

Obviously this person who asked the question is not a reader of the blog. If he was he would certainly be asking someone else.

I don’t know what makes funny.

This conversation did get me to thinking.

Why are some people funny and others are not? Or is everyone funny, but we only recognize it if they share our sense of humor type?

Or are some people just cursed with a non-funny gene? Is it possible to go through life and be 100% non-funny? Maybe I should ask Carrot Top?

Should we take these people and teach them funny? Or should we drop them on an island out in the middle of nowhere (as if most islands aren’t in the middle of nowhere?) so they don’t drag the rest of us down?

I say this because I prefer students in school who are funny. There is just something about them that makes them interesting.

They seem to get it (and I have no idea what “it” is, but I recognize it when I see it).

These students are the ones that don’t take themselves too seriously.

The ones that can make a joke and more importantly take a joke.

The ones that aren’t offended by every little comment.

These are the ones that I look forward to seeing in the hallway.

It seems to me that with funny comes a smile and a positive attitude. You can’t really be depressed and funny.

I am willing to bet that funny people even make more money over the course of their careers than people who aren’t funny (mental note: do an elaborate study on funny and money).

Maybe we should add a Funny Class to the list of things that we teach kids in school. After all, we teach them how to drive a car, act appropriately, play sports and countless other things.

One more class on the schedule shouldn’t be a problem.

Especially if the students make us laugh.

Down the line this could benefit all of us.

We would have a much more productive and a happier society (and possibly graduates who make more money… I will let you know when the study is complete… or maybe Scott could do it for his doctorate??).

Maybe, just maybe one of these newly-educated students in funny will graduate and take over this blog?

And I could nap. Seems like a win-win to me.

Comments: 3
Tags: Blog, Carrot Top, Dr. Evil, Friends, funny students, humor, Joey Tribbiani, Scott Elias

Thanks for taking a moment to read the first ever Blog on PrincipalsPage.com. I will be stunned if anyone is actually interested, but I guess we will find out. I thought for my first undertaking I should take a moment and explain how this website came about. My future blogs will deal with educational issues, or maybe something entirely outside that spectrum.

PrincipalsPage.com originated last spring while I was in the process of changing buildings as an administrator. Because of this, it occurred to me that I wanted to save and have access to all of the forms that I had used, created, and borrowed from others in the last four years.

The original website was only going to be a listing of forms that I could access off the internet. Then one thing led to another and as my wife worked her web mastering magic the website started to build itself. The site is free and will always be that way. I can’t imagine charging people for information that has been shared between administrators in the past. In school administration, I think the only people who truly understand what we deal with on a daily basis are other administrators.

After the first version of the site was complete, we got the bright idea to add the forum. The thing that has surprised me about the forum is the number of guests we get compared to the number of members who register. We have approximately 200 guests before we get a new member. I am amazed that in a short time, by word of mouth only, that people stop by just to read the new content that has been posted.

Now that we have the informational website, forum, and the blog- I am not sure what is next, but I am sure something will come along. My hope is we can make PrincipalsPage.com as interactive as possible, so teachers, administrators, and soon-to-be administrators stop by the site and share information. I think I would like to start a guest blog, where administrators from around the United States can write a short blog on an issue facing them in their part of the country.

If you have suggestions for me on what should be on the site or how it should look, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. Any and all suggestions will be considered.

Thanks for taking your time to visit PrincipalsPage.com. Please share the website with your friends in education.

My next blog will be about my thoughts regarding a small town not allowing candy to be thrown from floats in a parade (safety issue)… don’t get me started.

Comments: 3
Tags: Blog, PrincipalsPage.com