How to use this website

This website was created in August of 2008 as part of my unsuccessful campaign for Los Alamitos City Council.  It was an effort to let the voters learn as much as they want to about me. I’ve been posting here since August, and have kept it open for anyone to add their own comments or questions. This wasn’t your typical campaign website then, and it’s not a campaign website at all now.

Instead, it’s become kind of a 24/7/365 cyberspace version of something between a park bench, community bulletin board, and a “Town Hall” meeting.

If you’re new to this blog, there are seven easy ways to find what you want here:

  1. Click on any of the more recent posts listed at the top of the left column that interest you, or simply scroll down through the more recent posts.
  2. Just below the “Recently Written” posts to your left is a list of “Categories.” Click any one that interests you and you can scroll through all the posts I’ve written on that topic.
  3. If comments of others interest you, look and click under “Recent Comments” a little down the right hand column. You can see who posted each recent comment and which post they’re commenting on.
  4. A little further down on the right hand side you’ll find a “Tag Cloud” under the heading “tags.” This works pretty much like the “Categories” in the left margin with two exceptions. First, there are more “tags” to choose from than there are categories. Second, the size of the type of the tag indicates how many posts are under that tag. For example, I’ve tagged a lot more posts with “Teamwork” than with “The Base,” because Teamwork’s one of my main priorities. By the way, posts often have multiple tags or categories.
  5. The Calendar below the tag cloud, as well as the “Archives” section in the left column, allow you to search by month or date. On the calendar, click on any date in blue & you’ll get at least one post that I put up on that day.
  6. Finally, lower down on the left column is a “Search” box which allows you to type in any word or words and search this site for any post or comment that uses them.
  7. If all else fails, you can always pick up the phone & call me, or simply post a question in any comment box. (Comment boxes are located at end of each post, if you’re specifically in that post. If you can’t find a comment box, scroll up and click on the post’s headline. I don’t censor comments, but ask for “family friendly” language and a respectful tone, whether you’re writing about myself or one of my opponents.

About posting your comments

I’ve set this website up so anyone can post their thoughts, questions, counterpoints, or suggestions in the “comment” box at the end of each post.  Here’s a few things to remember when posting a comment:

  1. If you are on the home page, or clicked on a category or tag or in any other way are scrolling through a series of posts, you won’t see the comments or the comment box at the end of the post.  To see either comments or the comment box you must be in the specific post, which is easily done by simply clicking on the headline of the post you’re reading, or the blue word “comment(s)” just under the headline.   Since the comments and interaction are often more interesting than the post itself, I strongly recommend you click on the blue “comments” if  it indicates there are at least 2.
  2. You will be asked to supply a “name” and an e-mail prior to making your comment.  The e-mail is kept private, not added to any lists, and is only  used if I need to contact someone,  which I almost never do.  (If I reply, it’s usually in a subsequent comment).  However, the “name” you put down will be public.  You can use your real name, initials, a nickname, a pseudonym or just your first name–the choice is yours.
  3. I only have two rules for comments:  Try to be respectful, and please use “family friendly” language that’s appropriate to our family-friendly community.  One of my goals is to build understanding between people with differing viewpoints, so please try to disagree agreeably.  I’ve been quite impressed at how well most people have complied with this request.  Compared to a lot of blogs, including the OC Register’s real estate blog, the comments on this blog are quite decent.  I think it’s a tribute to the quality of people we have here in Los Alamitos.
  4. Once you click on the “submit comment”  button, your comment will post instantly, unless it gets kicked back to me for “moderation” due not passing a minimal spam  or language filter.  The only way to correct an error is in a subsequent comment, whether correcting it yourself or asking me to make the correction.  So take a minute to re-read it before hitting “enter.”  It’s easy to leave out a word or  add one in.  Back when I was teaching English I found that reading an essay out loud helped both me and my students pick up errors that might be missed when simply scanning.

The ability to discuss an issue via the open posting of comments is one of my favorite features on this website, and it’s one of the things that makes it unique.  I love the feedback it gives me.  In fact, this comment section was added as a result of some confusion evidenced in one commenter’s confusion.   It’s your participation via comments that turns this into “our” blog, rather than “my” blog.  It’s one reason I decided to keep this up and running after the election was over.