Message boards. They serve a purpose and can be interesting, informative and entertaining. For some, they can be addictive or at least overly time consuming. For every message board, from toddlers to taboo sex fetishes, there are similar personalities talking about different subjects.

Doing a search, I came upon (www.semoball.com) the following definitions which reminded me of high school (long ago, by the way):

The Trolls. These are the troublemakers forever finding fault with anything anyone says. Their negative comments are often designed just to provoke other posters and get their blood boiling. Think of a bully patrolling the halls of the high school always on the lookout for his next wedgie victim.

The Gnats. These are people sort of like the trolls with much less bark or bite. They're pesky but ultimately harmless. They're not well received in message board land because their comments at times are just bizarre or out of scope. They're like your nerdish friend in high school who could give a five-minute answer to a yes-no question. "There was this one time…at band camp…."

The Chamber of Commerce Crowd. These are the cheerleaders for the local teams. They tend to object to any criticism of any kind. They're the 'anti-trolls." In their personal correspondence, these people use a lot of smiley faces and exclamation points and while out to dinner, think it's fun to sing along with the Applebee's workers as they serenade a stranger with Happy Birthday.

The Beautiful People. These are the most popular and most respected posters on the message boards. They may not post as frequently as some others but when they do people always respond and almost always positively. Even the trolls tend to stay away from the cool crowd and look for easier prey elsewhere.

The Norm and Cliff Crowd. Like the characters from the TV show Cheers, these people are always present. I really wonder how they do it. I'm convinced they're genetic mutants. That or they still live at home with their parents and don't have a job. I picture them with three arms typing away on multiple computer keyboards as fast they can. Their appetite is unquenchable. They either have an opinion, knowledge or question. Their total number of posts on these boards is well into the thousands.

Compartments, a smart blog writer with a sharp tongue and quick wit who can be brutally honest, has written about message boards in her new post, Bored With The Boards, from her point of view and it's more accurate than I think anyone else would ever admit. I have been reading her blog since it's beginning and ironically I believe her recent posting has to do with a link to her blog being posted on the local message board.

Kate

I dropped my phone into the bathtub this evening. I'm able to check messages remotely (it takes them awhile to arrive, apparently), otherwise, the phone is a goner. It's not your typical cell phone situation so I'm not sure if I will be able to have it replaced or if I will just go ahead and get a local number. All of this to say, for those of you with my number, leave a message and email if you can. I will contact you with my new number if I take that route.

First, an update:

- I've purchased the green tea, haven't had a sip yet. I'll do that tonight, since I'm thinking about it.
- I'm reading, but the book, "I Am Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe is not that great in my opinion even though reviews were positive. I'm about halfway through and am hoping that someone is going to get murdered pretty soon.
- Getting up earlier is not happening and I think it's because I am not a gym member. When I moved to Seattle I exercised outside while I looked into the different gyms. Then, something came up and exercising became infrequent so an outside run every other day or so was enough. Now, I'm ready to get back into my regular exercise schedule (inside) and that may help with my sleeping schedule also.

It's supposed to snow this evening which is a huge deal in Washington. In November an inch of snow caused five-hour traffic delays for evening commuters and people abandoned their vehicles on the freeways. On the east coast, a Nor'easter with three feet of snow doesn't even cause that much trouble. The biggest inconvenience is usually the parking bans, the shoveling and the salt that ruins your shoes. In any case, the city is supposed to be more organized this time around so with any luck an inch of snow won't cause mass chaos.

My schedule over the next four weeks is filling up fast. I'm excited to see some friends I haven't been able to meet with since my move and am flattered to be flown across the country to see them. This is the best time of year to be busy. Regardless of what you're doing, being busy makes the time go by faster and as far as I'm concerned, now that the holidays are over, Spring can't get here fast enough.

Kate

Happy New Year!

I'm not big into New Years Resolutions. I maintain my health regardless, I don't smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol to excess and I always thrive for improvement professionally and otherwise, it's an endless journey. Of course, I have goals and they change as other goals take precidence or life brings us changes.

I've thought about it and have come up with a few resolutions for myself.

1. Drink green tea every day.
2. Get back to reading more. Somehow my two book per month habit has waned.
3. Get up earlier every morning (this is as common to me as "stop smoking" is to smokers.)

It's uninteresting, I know. But on the other hand, I don't have bad habits to rid of or health concerns to improve, so that's something.

My New Year didn't exactly ring in the way I'd hoped. I wonder if that means bad luck for 2007? I hope not . . .

Kate