Items by Tim

• The reason for the season

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  The sun rose this morning, right on schedule and exactly as predicted, at 6:52 a.m. Central Standard Time. It will set at 5:05 p.m., giving New Orleans a net 10 hours and 13 minutes of daylight on the day of the Winter Solstice.
  
  If this discussion seems technical and [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2009, 12:47pm EST
  by Tim

• Runs with Wolves

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 5
  Everyone who knows our family knows this: I run with cats, Darling Wife runs with chickens and Precious Daughter runs with wolves.
  
  I've always been a cat person. We've had at least one cat for the past 20 years, and we've had as many as five at any one' [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 10:19pm EST
  by Tim

• When trod upon he explodeth with a great noise

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 2
  As part of her assignments in Louisiana history class this year, Precious Daughter has been reading the ruminations of Mr. Lafcadio Hearn.
  
  Not all of his observations find a favorable audience with 13-year-olds, but one recently seems to have piqued her interest. She came home from school the [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:12pm EST
  by Tim

• An invitation to blog

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  
  Only technically superior computer users and the most gifted writers can blog, right?
  
  Au contraire, mes amis. Blogging is, by definition, a personal journal. You can blog for an audience of one or two, or you can [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 12:11pm EST
  by Tim

• Two tired

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 2
  At 9 o'clock my Darling Wife will say, "I can hear my pillow calling."
  
  And she means it. Try as I have over the 22 years we've been married (and even for the several years we dated), it is a rare event for her to be awake past 10 [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 10:08pm EDT
  by Tim

• "Never again" must not fade to a whisper

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  In February of 2008, Senator and presidential candidate Barrack Obama visited New Orleans during his whistle-stop campaign of "Hope."
  
  I joined my fellow NOLA Bloggers in welcoming the lanky lawman from the Land of Lincoln. But in true blogger fashion, we all nit-picked about one thing or another that [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2009, 7:19am EDT
  by Tim

• Mellytawn Festival

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  I think I was in high school before I discovered how ridiculously mangled my pronunciation of mirliton was.
  
  It was in the middle of a conversation about who-can-possibly-recall that I said it, which completely derailed my geeky friend, Anthony.
  
  "What did you just say?"
  
  "We ate mellytawns" [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 8:05pm EDT
  by Tim

• Planning for the worst

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 8
  The Dutch are the recognized experts in “living with water.” As a nation, the people of the Netherlands have struggled to hold back the sea for hundreds of years. Much like the people of New Orleans, they’ve suffered and prospered thanks to their proximity and intimacy with the sea.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 11:54pm EDT
  by Tim

• RT4: Sinking to New Heights

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 2
  As further proof that we in New Orleans are “Sinking to New Heights,” a group of NOLA Bloggers and others who love New Orleans gathered for the our fourth annual conference on the future of our fair city week. Rising Tide IV was, by all accounts and metrics, a [...]
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  Posted: September 03, 2009, 11:53pm EDT
  by Tim

• Remember

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 3
  
  
  
  "The total number of fatalities known, as of this writing, to be either directly or indirectly related to Katrina is 1833, based on reports to date from state and local officials in five states: 1577 fatalities in Louisiana, 238 in Mississippi, 14 in" [...]
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  Posted: August 29, 2009, 12:11am EDT
  by Tim

• Tongue-and-groove

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  It was just another white pick-up truck, clattering as we all do down the streets of New Orleans. Sticking out the bed was an assortment of tongue-and-groove lumber, in pretty good shape by all appearances, although certainly not new. No, not store bought. Old.
  
  We cherish the old things [...]
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  Posted: August 27, 2009, 6:29pm EDT
  by Tim

• Hello, Ana

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  It's begun. They told us "hurricane season" started June 1, but we all know the real time of worry is August and September.
  
  So here we are looking at maps again. Waiting and worrying.
  
  
  
  Hello, Ana.
  
  Go away!!!!' [...]
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  Posted: August 15, 2009, 9:33am EDT
  by Tim

• Routine business

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 6
  My Darling Wife had to go to City Hall the other day to conduct some routine business.
  
  Which is almost laughable to anyone who has been to City Hall and knows the truth: the only thing “routine” about business there is that it’s frustrating and painful.
  
  It turns [...]
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  Posted: August 12, 2009, 12:44am EDT
  by Tim

• Register NOW for Rising Tide 4

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  Get updates on the program of speakers here. Register here. Buy the poster here. Connect with New Orleans here.
  
  

  
  Thanks to our artist-in-residence Greg Peters for this great poster.

  [...]
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  Posted: July 25, 2009, 9:43pm EDT
  by Tim

• "You're a damned public monopoly...make it right"

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  "Entergy throws our heritage into the dumpster." That's what Ashley Morris said about the thoughtless destruction of street name tiles set in the concrete of many New Orleans street corners.
  
  "You're a damned public monopoly, guaranteed to make a profit," Ashley wrote. "Make it right. It's all important."[...]
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  Posted: June 23, 2009, 9:36pm EDT
  by Tim

• Discovery Bay

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  When I was about 9 years old, my dad came home from work and was greeted by his three children eager to show him their new shoes. It must have been spring or summer, because we had all just been outfitted with new “sneakers.”
  
  “Wow, I bet you can [...]
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  Posted: June 21, 2009, 7:10am EDT
  by Tim

• RTIV: Save the date

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  It's almost time for the next Rising Tide conference. This will be the fourth year of the gathering of NOLA Bloggers and those who care about the recovery and growth of New Orleans.
  
  This year's conference will take place on Saturday, August 22, returning to the same venue as [...]
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  Posted: June 14, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
  by Tim

• How can this even be a question?

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  Mark Singletary over at CityBusiness wants to ask you a few questions.
  
  Go ahead, try it out. See if you can answer four simple questions about Louisiana, WWII, and the rock band Coldplay.
  
  At least, these should be simple questions. People who live here, work here, stake [...]
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  Posted: June 02, 2009, 11:20pm EDT
  by Tim

• Imagine

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 3
  I was walking with my Precious Daughter to Bayou Boogaloo yesterday when we came upon this sign on Ursulines and North Rendon.
  
  

  
  It was a beautiful day for music by the bayou. This year's Boogaloo expanded to the south with a second stage. The' [...]

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  Posted: May 24, 2009, 5:52pm EDT
  by Tim

• I saw Bonerama at Jazz Fest and I wrote this Haiku

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 5
  Music washes down
  Over a sea of faces
  Mixing sweat and tears
  
  Sometimes New Orleans is a complicated place.
  
  How can you explain to someone outside of New Orleans why we laugh at tourists who cannot pronounce "beignets" and then revel in the way we knowingly and obstinately [...]
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  Posted: May 05, 2009, 6:23am EDT
  by Tim

• Change the odds

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 3
  A new report from the National Academy of Sciences generated sensational headlines recently. Unfortunately those attention-grabbing headlines and the ill-informed commenters that responded all seem to have missed the major point.
  
  The report, The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: Assessing Pre-Katrina Vulnerability and Improving Mitigation and Preparedness, was most [...]
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  Posted: April 29, 2009, 5:52am EDT
  by Tim

• Waiting for evidence

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  An engineer dies in a car accident and finds himself in Heaven where he is greeted by the full host of angels and a heavenly chorus. “This is fabulous,” the engineer says to Saint Peter. “Do you greet all new arrivals this way?” “Oh, no!” St. Peter says. “This is [...]
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  Posted: April 26, 2009, 1:30am EDT
  by Tim

• A crack in my own voice

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 5
  We were shopping a few days ago and ended up at Cane's for lunch--a favorite of our Precious Daughter's. In the next booth a group of adults were talking about everyday things.
  
  "Oh she has a nice place on the North shore," one lady said.
  
  "But her sister" [...]
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  Posted: March 28, 2009, 6:20pm EDT
  by Tim

• Mea culpa

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 2
  I'm sorry.
  
  I made a huge mistake, a terrible miscalculation of character, an embarrassingly poor choice a little more than a year ago.
  
  Regular readers of this blog may recall my support for Malcolm Suber in his bid for New Orleans City Council at Large. Having met' [...]
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  Posted: March 20, 2009, 11:03pm EDT
  by Tim

• Its rightful place for New Orleans

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 8
  Tucked into the rich folds of his inaugural speech, it was almost too easy to miss what in the long run may be the most significant and far-reaching change in policy made by President Barack Obama.
  
  To be sure, his acknowledgement of “when the levees break” was encouraging to [...]
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  Posted: January 26, 2009, 5:46am EST
  by Tim

• Democracy demands it

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  A lot has been said about The Current Occupant, soon to be former-president, George W. Bush. Many have said he was ineffectual if not destructive. While everyone has someone who loves them--even disgraced and convicted Edwin Edwards has fans--it is clear the majority of America is more than happy to [...]
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  Posted: January 19, 2009, 5:56pm EST
  by Tim

• Not on the agenda

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  Another meeting today with another design team. Technical issues. Schedules. Cost estimates. Coordination with local agencies. Testing. The meetings are incessant, coming like a rolling rhythm on a snare drum leading up to some great finale, a cymbal crash that will signal we've accomplished our goal, a goal that we' [...]
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  Posted: January 13, 2009, 10:40pm EST
  by Tim

• New Year's 2009: Not yet time

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  We spent the last hours of 2008 in Algiers Point at a friend’s house on the west bank of New Orleans. It was a breezy, crisp night and I think my Darling Wife and Precious Daughter did not wear enough layers. But neither did I.
  
  A few minutes before [...]
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  Posted: January 02, 2009, 6:13am EST
  by Tim

• Remember what's good

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  This story filled me with admiration, pride and sorrow all at the same time.
  
  Lest We Forget, published online by GovExec.com, reminds us that there are at least 180,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines away from home this holiday season--many in harm's way. Read it and remember.
  [...]
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  Posted: December 24, 2008, 11:32pm EST
  by Tim

• Made in China

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 3
  The other night I showed my Precious Daughter what grown-ups do for Christmas. Well, grown-ups who are also NOLA Bloggers, that is. If you didn't know, they engage in a Christmas video war dubbed the "Hostilidays."
  
  The idea is to post the most silly, annoying and offensive videos. So' [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2008, 10:01pm EST
  by Tim

• Unlimited fuel

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  Such a simple thing. It's almost inconceivable that the City of New Orleans has no written criteria for assigning take-home vehicles. And no established method to monitor or restrict their personal use. And no requirement that employees with take home vehicles document any public purpose for all the expenses the' [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2008, 7:32pm EST
  by Tim

• Snow in New Orleans

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  It doesn't happen too often, so when it does it's quite an event. I had already arrived at work today when we started to hear reports of snow.
  
  Baton Rouge, we heard, then Covington.
  
  Suddenly one of my colleagues was putting on her coat. "What's going on?" I' [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2008, 5:05pm EST
  by Tim

• Where ya been, Tim?

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 8
  Working. "Like a rented mule," as my Darling Wife likes to say.
  
  Not only that, I'm afraid there's just not been much to write about lately. We're happily settling in to our new home, paying bills and taking in some of the pleasures of living in New Orleans. Nothing' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2008, 10:20pm EST
  by Tim

• The 4,900-year gap

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  A neighbor from Vista Park had another letter in The Times Picayune today.
  
  KC is one of the few people in New Orleans who truly understands the risk of living here. As he rebuilds his home just a few hundred feet from the London Avenue Canal breach, KC [...]
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  Posted: October 20, 2008, 5:05am EDT
  by Tim

• From the seat of my pants

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 7
  Driving in Orange County, California turned out to be quite an amazing experience for someone from New Orleans.
  
  Bumps, potholes and anything that would add vibration to travel on the city streets simply do not exist in Orange County. Specifically, I was driving in Santa Ana this week, the [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2008, 10:12pm EDT
  by Tim

• My biker friend

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 2
  In those dark days following Hurricane Katrina few things were certain. Among them, I knew I must return to the city as soon as possible. I also knew I had no place to live when I did.
  
  In an incredible turn of luck, a friend introduced me to a [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2008, 5:26am EDT
  by Tim

• 'Tis the Season

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  Hurricane season continues, at least according to scientists, until November 30.
  
  While I'm sure they put a lot of thought into selecting that date, it remains rather arbitrary. There's no reason why hurricanes can't develop and strike after that date (and they certainly have). Nature has relentlessly resisted all' [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2008, 2:47pm EDT
  by Tim

• Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like ...

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas
  >>
  >> Number Ten:
  >> Decorating the house (with plywood).
  >>
  >> Number Nine:
  >> Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last
  season.
  >>
  >> Number Eight:
  >> Last minute [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2008, 2:47pm EDT
  by Tim

• Evacuation is the wise choice

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 4
  There's been some ongoing discussion around town about whether or not people would evacuate should another hurricane turn toward New Orleans. The one thing everyone agrees about is that evacuating is unpleasant and costly.
  
  But that's not the point. Evacuation is a matter of safety. That is, it could [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2008, 12:43am EDT
  by Tim

• Outlook grim as Ike approaches

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  That's the title of reporter's blog entry from The Galveston County Daily News at 8:00 pm Friday night:
  
  "I hope that the staff at the National Hurricane Center and the local National Weather Service are wrong...
  
  "...[W]e are facing the highest tidal surge since at least the [...]
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  Posted: September 13, 2008, 11:40pm EDT
  by Tim

• Running a long race

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 3
  Back home, power on, minor damage to the house and yard. We didn't have Internet, so I haven't been able to post an update for a few days.
  
  In New Orleans, Hurricane Gustav will not be remembered for doing billions in physical damage. The majority of my friends and [...]
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  Posted: September 06, 2008, 10:45pm EDT
  by Tim

• Notes from the road

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 3
  Evacuated to Greenville, Mississippi, waiting and hoping for the best for us and all our friends and family.
  
  Yesterday we ventured out into this little town to get lunch at a local restaurant called Tabb's Barbecue. My Darling Wife had seen an advertisement describing it as, "The best dang'" [...]
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  Posted: September 02, 2008, 3:29pm EDT
  by Tim

• MSM = BS

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  If you're like me, you've suspected it for quite some time. The main stream media (msm) often don't have a clue.
  
  But does that stop them from broadcasting?
  
  Absolutely not.
  
  Last night I saw a weatherman from Anywhere-but-Louisiana standing in front of a beautiful satellite montage photo' [...]
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  Posted: September 01, 2008, 10:19pm EDT
  by Tim

• Again

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  I've loss count how many times we've evacuated. Georges, Ivan, Katrina, others I suppose. And now Gustav.
  
  Jarvis DeBerry has an excellent perspective in The Times-Picayune today, writing about the fear of losing again what we've only just regained after losing it three years ago.
  
  We only' [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2008, 8:32pm EDT
  by Tim

• Hurricane Katrina Quiz: Third Anniversary

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  Social justice, anyone?
  
  Try this quiz from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and find out the good, the bad and the ugly about recovery help for the most vulnerable citizens of New Orleans.
  
  (Thanks, Loki!) [...]
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  Posted: August 30, 2008, 1:59pm EDT
  by Tim

• New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, 3 years

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 3
  
  
  From New Orleans and in solidarity with my fellow bloggers, please remember.
  
  [animamundi.typepad.com]
  [adrastos.blog-city.com]
  [www.dsbnola.com]
  [blogofneworleans.com]
  [myrants.blog-city.com]
  [humidcity.com]
  [gentillygirl.com]
  [www.first-draft.com]
  [www.first-draft.com]
  [vatul.net]
  [noladishu.blogspot.com]
  [www.suspect-device.com]
  [www.scottharney.com]
  [prytaniawaterline.com]
  [...]
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  Posted: August 29, 2008, 12:01am EDT
  by Tim

• Still more notes on Rising Tide III

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 4
  Some random observations:
  
  - Just before keynote speaker and author John M. Barry spoke, I counted almost 80 people in the room and 11 glowing laptops.
  
  - Cade Roux was blogging on a wacky mint green notebook computer that looked like it was half the size of [...]
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  Posted: August 27, 2008, 5:40am EDT
  by Tim

• More Notes on Rising Tide III

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 1
  The RISING TIDE III journalism panel was almost as much fun as the keynote speaker. First of all, because the topic was of great interest to me. And second, because the panelists maintained an engaging yet humorous tone.
  
  No need to blog about TV's Lee Zurik and' [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2008, 5:34am EDT
  by Tim

• Notes on Rising Tide III

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  Of course John M. Barry was the highlight of the conference. Perhaps the most learned and easily the most accomplished of speakers and panelists gathered for Rising Tide III, Barry was also as charming and friendly as anyone could have hoped for. He autographed a stack of his [...]
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  Posted: August 25, 2008, 5:55am EDT
  by Tim

• A great event filled with great people

  —Tim's Nameless Blog

  Number of comments: 0
  RISING TIDE III was a big success. I have much to say and write about it in later blog posts.
  
  For now I will simply note that one of my favorite moments was when venerated journalist Clancy DuBos declared, "Ich bin ein Blogger!" [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2008, 3:57pm EDT
  by Tim