I arrived home very late from work. Although I have something in mind to write, I may not get to it, because I will be updating Mr. Blogroll, a process that often results in painful hair.

Let’s see how it goes, shall we?

Update: Dammit!! So far, about half of the Jersey Sites I want to link to are unreachable. I wonder if flooding all over the farookin’ state has anything to do with it.

Nah. I figure it must be me — or, at least in part, BlogSnot.

It was a helluva party.

Before I say another thing about it, I wish to acknowledge and thank those whose assistance made the event a success.

Thanks to daughter TJ and Mrs. Parkway who showed up like the Marines before the party and told me to get out of the way so that they could make the place presentable and set up the food.

Thanks to Ken, my “bodyguard” and to Jeff, “da Chef of da Future,” both great friends and Usual Suspects, for volunteering to tend bar and for keeping everyone’s glass full and ensuring that I was never without a beer in my hand. They also selected and played the music, which set the tone and provided the background for the conversational roar that inevitably exists when a bunch of blabber-mouth bloggers are in one room.

Thanks to The Original Bill and the Quietly Sinister Linda, also great friends and Usual Suspects, who voluntarily did food duty. Bill also braved the monsoon-like weather to head out to a local store to pick up a bottle and some formula for Jaynee’s son.

I don’t think it’s possible to have better friends.

Oh, and thanks to Shelley, the Yenta Usual Suspect, who made an appearance later in the evening for a couple Diet Cokes and who, in no time, knew everyone in the place. You haven’t lived until you have heard Shelley pronounce Billy Joel’s name – “Billy Jo-well.”

Thanks to Erin a/k/a Gigglechick for creating the Blogmeet logo and button that has graced so many people’s sites.

And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Kate of KateSpot for having the idea of the Jersey Blogmeet in the first place and for helping me put it together. She also presented me with a wonderful 80 proof giftie that came with two glasses – one for me, and one for me. She also managed to circulate a card for people to sign without my noticing it. I’ve read it several times since last night, and it will remain a permanent fixture here at the House by the Parkway. She is a great lady and was a joy to work with.

As for the party itself, I think that a question posed by my friend Bill captured the essence of the gathering. Watching the bloggers interact, he asked, “Have most of these people met on another before? It looks a bit like a high school reunion.” I responded that most of the people in the room had not met before, but that we already “knew” one another. That’s the way it is with bloggers and blogging.

The problem, of course, is that there is just not enough time to spend as much time as one would like with everyone. Fortunately, I got to spend some quality bullshitting time with TigerHawk, Sluggo, and Roberto, which was a real treat. These are interesting and funny guys. Gregor came with interesting conversation and a tray of killer brownies. What’s not to like?

Patrick of Jerseystyle.net took me at my word and brought his axe (a very nice Ibanez), and we got to play a couple tunes together. Speaking of tunes, I was most surprised to learn that Riss (who I figure is twelve years younger than my guitar) knows Everly Brothers songs! She said that she learned them from her father (oy!). Speaking of Riss, she introduced me to Tabasco-laced shots of tequila. Holy cannoli!! I think Riss is ready for some moonshine Georgia wine.

Shabe and Tracey, both exceeding nice folks, showed up bearing gifts, which were a real crowd pleaser. I wish I had gotten a chance to spend more time with them.

Mr. Surly a/k/a Mr. Son-in-Law, and one of the trio of excellent bloggers at The Idiom, was great company.

I was happy to finally get a chance to meet and shoot the breeze with Lynne of Shamrocketship. In the future, I’ll have to make it a point to take a drive “Downa Shore” to have a couple pops with her at her favorite Irish saloon.

I was particularly taken with Mary of Bookblog, who came early with Kate. At first she seemed to me to be a bit tentative about it all. But that didn’t last long as she settled in at the end of the bar. She’s an interesting person, with a great sense of humor. In fact, she and Kate stayed on to hang with the Usual Suspects after everyone else left. Great company.

I didn’t get to spend as much time as I would have liked with Erin, Lizbeth, Liz, Jaynee, or the Barista. My loss, for sure. I hope to remedy that in the future. As I said earlier, there is just not enough time.

Finally, as an example of the reach of the blogosphere, I, along with other bloggers, got to chat on the phone with Christina of Feisty Repartee, Dax Montana, and Zonker, all of whom called in their best wishes. Pretty amazing, this blogging thing.

Check out the sites of the attendees, as many, if not all of them, have shared their impressions of the event, and some even have posted some great pictures.

We’ll definitely do it again.

Update: It has come to my attention that I forgot to mention Cripes, Suzette. In truth, I had written a bit about my conversation with Suzette about copyright and trademarrk law (She is being hassled by the “joy of cooking” folks). I decided that I wanted to move those sentences to a different place in the post, so I “cut,” and something must have intervened (perhaps a moment of hangover relapse) before I “pasted.” I apologize, as I in no way meant to overlook this very nice person.

This site is at the top of the Google search results list for parkway great hair.

That makes my hair smile.

I have often said that I use my morning walk time to mentally compose most blog entries. I never realized how true that is until my recent bacterial bout that kept me off my feet for damned near a week. Although I am now fully ambulatory and, as far as I am concerned, fully recovered, I still have a couple days’ worth of meds to take, so I am laying off morning walking until the meds are gone and I continue to feel good for a day or so post-meds.

Not walking in the morning has provided me with a bit more sleep time, but it has completely knocked the shit out whatever little creativity I have. I have temporarily lost that hour or so of mental space that almost never failed to spawn something moderately interesting or humorous to write about.

Right now, I feel about as creative as a piss-clam.

You remember Sandy Berger? Just in case you don’t, he was Bill Clinton’s National Security Advisor and former advisor to the John Kerry campaign.

You remember why he made it into the news a while back? Just in case you don’t, he is the guy who was caught spiriting classified documents and handwritten notes (stuffed in his pants) from a highly restricted section of the National Archives prior to the 9/11 political circus hearings.

Mr. Burger, who had claimed that stuffing handwritten notes down his pants and removing highly classified documents from a secure area was an “honest mistake,” will be pleading guilty to a “misdemeanor.”

Yes, I said, “misdemeanor.” Just a little Washington “oopsie,” I suppose.

Via Res Ipsa Loquitur

Today we managed to squeeze in a couple latecomers, but now the final headcount has been provided to the caterer, and, as such, we are unable to accommodate any additional attendees.

Thank you to those who have arranged to attend. We are looking forward to a terrific time together.

If any of the attendees has any questions, please drop me an e-mail at the address provided in the sidebar.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday.

This picture and the one linked below were shot a week or so ago by a friend of a friend in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the Union. I have written in the past about the annual battle in New Jersey over whether the state should permit a limited bear hunt to control the black bear over-population and thereby reduce the increasing number of people-bear confrontations.

I suspect that even those who are vehemently opposed to the bear hunt would not be very happy to see this fellow (and they tell me that he’s a just a youngster) hanging out on the back deck.

Cousin Jack is dabbling with podcasting. Check it out here for some interesting information concerning the Byzantine process of getting a license, if one even exists, to play copyrighted music on a podcast. You can also get an ample dose of some serious picking (with the picker’s permission). Finally, you should not miss Jack’s rendition of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (copyright has expired), which will make your hair hurt is truly inspired.

Quite a night, this.

As I was pulling into my driveway tonight, sporting a major case of the ass from a long and aggravating day, I got a phone call from Eric. My rotten mood instantly turned around when he told me that he was calling from Chicago where he was attending a Blogmeet and was, at that moment, surrounded by Bloggers. They were obviously having a helluva time. Before I knew it, I was talking to Teresa from Technicalities, Harvey of Bad Example, and my buddy – The Laughing Wolf. I wish I could have transported myself to the Windy City to join in the serious writing discussions that I am sure would be taking place as soon as I hung up the phone.

About a half hour (and a plate of kielbasa and eggs and a couple bourbons) later, I tuned into Yellowstone Radio via the Internet to listen to a panel discussion about blogging. The panelists included Craig of mtpolitics (who liveblogged the event) and Karen of karbonkountymoos. Randy and T.L. Hines called in, and it was great to hear their voices. I had drunk just enough bourbon to dial in to the program. The call screener said, “Wow, we never had a call from New Jersey before,” and he put me right on the air. However, I suspect that after hearing about thirty seconds of Jerseyspeak, he decided that I would be the last call they would take from New Jersey. I can’t believe that they actually thought that I have an accent. Fuggetaboutit!

Talking to Bloggers in Chicago and calling in to a Montana radio program where some of my cronies were appearing – this blogging thing is pretty farookin’ amazing.

What a horrible thought.

And yet, you may be doing exactly that if your computer contains Peer to Peer software, the type that countless people use to share music files.

As Rick, at See What You Share, has pointed out in the past, unless you configure your Peer to Peer software to permit sharing only music files, anyone with the same software can access all the files on your C Drive.

The possibility of sharing your kids’ pictures with pedophiles is not a bunch of theoretical baloney. Rick has seen instances where the pictures of User A’s children stored in his computer have shown up on the User B’s computer, along with numerous child p0rm files (as is plain from the disgusting file names).

The problem is that many, if not most, of these programs default to permitting the sharing of all files, and they automatically run each time you boot up your computer. The net result is that the same freak who can download pictures of your kids also can download your resume, your tax returns, your correspondence, your credit card and banking information and everything else that you may have stored on your C Drive, including the type of information that makes locating you and or your children a snap.

This is frightening stuff and something that law enforcement authorities and legislators had best begin paying attention to. Law enforcement authorities can and should use Peer to Peer software to locate and prosecute child p0rn collectors and purveyors who prey upon unsuspecting Peer to Peer software users. Legislators can also play a role by requiring the licensors of Peer to Peer software to configure their programs such that they do not default to “all files.” In addition, the software companies should be required to prominently post a warning of the potential consequences of permitting access to “all files.”

However, at the end of the day, the most important tool to combat this problem is education. People who use Peer to Peer software must be made aware that, while they think they are only sharing tunes, they might actually be sharing the entire contents of their computers with countless numbers of people all over the world, many of whom are predatory animals.

Memo to Mainstream Media: Wake up!!!

Update: Michelle Malkin weighs in with “Child Porn and P2P: a Reality Check,” which includes some horrific screen shots.