A Serbian guy has launched a Do Not Vote For My Dad initiative.

The article doesn't say, but Antonic might have taken a page from MoveOn's "Do Not Vote For Their Dad" campaign.

Before he left, Milbarge mentioned leaving some questions for me to answer, as the only non-blogging guest blogger. Of course, he took off without actually giving me the questions. Undaunted, I will press on.

Why don't you blog?
Combination of being lazy and anti-social. Alot of it has to do with the fact that I'm not overly opinionated. I will read a news item, and my general reaction is, "Hmm, that's interesting." Not the hard hitting commentary that makes for good reading. I work much better reacting to others, and not so well at leading the conversation.

What blogs do you read?
I of course started out with BTQ. Milbarge told me when he started this project, and asked me to check it out. Having known Milbarge for years, and greatly respecting his intellect and story telling ability, I obliged. Of course anyone reading this is on BTQ as well, so ya'll now know about Milbarge what I have known for years.

Prior to BTQ, I was vaguely aware of blogs, but had no real desire to read, as I thought at the time, the online diaries of complete strangers. But through BTQ, I have followed the advice of Milbarge and Fitz and checked out some other blogs. Some have become daily visits. Others occasional clicks. Others I checked a few times and haven't gone back. With one or two exceptions, all the blogs I read are on BTQ's blogroll.

Daily: BTQ, Soupie, Mr. Poon, and NRO
Occasional: Larry, Happy Fun Ball, L3

What do you look for in a blog?
While I find some parts of the law interesting, it's not something I want to read about in detail on a daily basis. The blogs I read tend to lean toward the humorous side. (Pictures of hot woment don't hurt.) I also always enjoyed debating politics with Milbarge in collge. Since graduating, I have never found a replacement for that. While I don't debate bloggers in the comments, I can at least read their thoughtful posts and come up with counter arguements. A mental exercise, if you will.

I'm also a creature of habit. I tend to get into a routine of checking the same sites. I hate to add pressure, but if I initially go to a site a few days in a row, and see nothing new, it will not become part of the daily routine. Then who knows when/if I will get back to it.

How much time do you spend reading blogs?
Probly about an hour a day, almost all of that done in the morning while drinking coffee. I used to check more in the evening, but I'm trying to get out of the habit of turning on the computer when I get home. Leaves more time for reading, TV watching, and general conversation with Soon-To-Be Mrs. Haff.

Do you leave comments?
The only place I leave comments other than BTQ is over at Soupie's place. That's just me. I don't feel the need to comment much. I don't insert myself into conversations well, and with blogs where it seems like all the readers know each other, I don't feel comfortable commenting on what seems like a conversation. Plus it's harder to make fun of people you don't know.

Do you get any of your news from blogs?
Probly not much national news. The news I get from blogs is usually more local stuff from the blogger's area that I wouldn't have heard about otherwise.

What is the best way to get other people to start reading blogs?
Ah, good question. I think initially it takes a personal connection. I doubt I would be reading blogs now if not for knowing Milbarge. Without the connection, it takes a while of reading a blog to get a sense of the person, and I don't know how many people would stick with it long enough to get that.

Would you like to meet any bloggers?
Absolutely. I have emailed with Fitz, and would like to grab a beer with him at some point. Soupie and Mr. Poon seem like people I would get along with. And of course with Larry, there is always the chance she would make out with Mrs. Haff. That would be cool. Would you go out of your way to meet them? To an extent, yes. Would I fly cross country for that alone? No. If I was visiting or passing through town, I would take a few hours and go out of my way a few miles to meet them for a beer. The question is really why they would want to meet me.

As I sit here, nursing sore calves and deciding whether to take today off from running instead of my usual Thursday, I bring you five random sports thoughts.

1. The Eagles will not make it to the Super Bowl this year.

2. Michigan is going to beat ND by 17 this Saturday. (I should be there, but my tickets fell through. I am angry.)

3. NASCAR is better on TV than in person, though the in-person experience is worth having at least once.

4. The overwhelming majority of Americans do not care one bit whether there is a hockey season this year.

5. Tiger will not regain the number one ranking this season.

This was my night:

3:14 a.m.

BEEP

I get up and wander around room looking for pants.

BEEP

Turn off speakers on computer (the computer isn't even on, but god the Beeping is loud).

BEEP

Unplug printer/scanner from wall.

BEEP

Stare at smoke detector trying to decide if that's where it's coming from.

BEEP

Keep staring, wonder what to do, it's the middle of the night.

BEEP

Hope parents will wake up and come fix it, lie in fetal position...just hoping.

BEEP

No luck.

BEEP

Go to parents room, press ear against door, knock quietly -- no answer.

BEEP

Open door just a crack and get mowed down by Molly the Satanic Dog who thinks it's Middle of the Night Playtime.

BEEP

"Mom...Dad...my room is beeping."

BEEP

My dad goes "Alright...I'm up...what's going on...what beeping? I don't smell a fire? Is there a fire? What beeping?"

BEEP

"I think the battery is dead or something."

BEEP

Dad gets ladder out of garage and blearily takes 9V battery out of smoke detector which also has a little extra power storage thingie in it to let it beep after the battery is out.

I say "Why can't they just let us take out the battery and have it be quiet?"
Dad: "Because then people would take the batteries out and not use their smoke detectors" (Leave it to him to be the voice of reason at 3:30 a.m.)
Me: "But we're smart...we wouldn't do that...."
Dad: "That's what a lot of extra crispy people said too."

BEEP...BEep...Beep...beep...b e e p....

When all is said and done it is 3:31 a.m. and I can't go back to sleep, so I read another chapter in my trashy romance novel and finally fall back to sleep only to dream about EFFING FINANCIAL AID. Oh god, will the pain never end?

There will be another installment of "How Financial Aid Ruined My Life and Forced Me to Become a Two-Dollar Whore to Pay for Law School" upcoming soon...I'm waiting for them to email me back today and tell me just how bad they've screwed me over (and from them, I probably won't even get the two bucks, those bastards). Fun!

The bright spot of the day is that I cancelled my truck reservation with evil U-haul and got a reservation through Budget, a company that will actually guarantee that you will have a truck on the morning you need it if you reserve one ahead of time -- imagine that!?! So, Friday is move all the stuff from the storage unit and my parent's attic into the truck day, and Saturday at the crack of dawn I head back to TVPNM to start another fabulous year of law school...just like in Grease 2 but without the singing and dancing and attractive foreign man looking for a girl that wants a Cool Rider.