The Weblog Review

With a name like Random Acts of Reality, I wasn’t sure what I would find. Thankfully the author has made it perfectly clear that this is a site about life on an ambulance crew. The subtitle “Trying to kill as few people as possible” clued me in that this writer has a sense of humor as well. He didn’t let me down.

This is the blog of Tom Reynolds, a guy in his early 30s who works for the London Ambulance Service. Right up front Reynolds’ unique humor is revealed in his introductory blurb. He also offers a list of 81 things about him that allow the reader more insight into his personality.

Reynolds says his site used to be named “Why I Hate Humanity” but it is obvious that he really doesn’t. Most posts here are about the cases that he encounters during his job. The entries are short and to the point. This writer makes his observations pragmatically. After getting a haircut that he is not crazy about he observes, “The best I can say is that I’m not having to brush my hair out of my eyes with a pair of gloves covered in someone else’s vomit.” Now that’s one way to look at it! It may sound to the reader that most emergency calls in London involve passed out drunks and pregnant women instead of real emergencies, and these are certainly Reynold’s pet peeves. Many entries are devoted to these runs. Particularly entertaining for me was the writer’s lament addressed to alcoholics in August 2003 as well as his short list of when NOT to call an ambulance. This site is not all about the job, though. Reynolds also posts occasionally about current events and politics. However, his entries about life on the ambulance are what I enjoyed the most. I have to admit that my favorite thing he likes about his job is “driving on the wrong side of the road with blue lights and sirens going, it’s not the speed it’s the POWER.”

Random Acts is published with a standard template that is easy to read. The minimal design enhances the content and there are no annoying frills. The sidebar is filled to the brim though, with the standard long blog roll and links. Reynolds began his blog in July 2003 and the archives are extensive. The site is archived by month and also separately by year. My major complaint with the design is that the archive links can be a bit confusing as the monthly archive only shows 5 months at a time. The reader has to do a bit of digging, but it is well worth it.

Overall this is a well-written blog that deals with a rather unique subject. The author is strait forward and to the point. You just might end up spending a lot more time than you planned enjoying the exploits of Reynolds. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Random Acts Of Reality

Upon first opening Thoughts of Mike and finding a picture of a dog, I figured that I would be reading yet another “things I did today” blog. Instead I was pleasantly surprised. Mike’s thoughts encompass a wide range of topics.

Mike is a 22 Yr. old student who also works at a local deli as a delivery driver. This author posts about whatever happens to interest him. He comments on mundane everyday occurrences with a dry wit that is reminiscent of Seinfeld. In a post about purchasing shampoo he says, “I’m trying to find the one that says ‘Dirty Hair.’ It doesn’t exist. Shampoo now does everything from color to curl, except clean. Where is the shampoo for me? The one that just says, Cleans hair real good.” In a post about car features, the author laments about not being able to find the “Automatic Detonation Feature” that all cars in movies appear to have. Probably his most entertaining posts come from his experiences as a delivery driver. He describes the joys of delivering to a local gentleman’s club and contrasts that with his many deliveries to nursing home employees.

A bit disconcerting is this writer’s participation in “Blog Jihad” where he visits other sites using Blogger’s “Next Blog” feature and leaves random and sometimes insulting comments on the blog he happens to land on. He openly posts about this practice and invites the retaliatory visits and comments he receives. He admittedly does this to up his own hit counter. It is a shame that he resorts to this, as his content would stand on its own.

The site uses a standard Blogger template. While I normally dislike a black background, as it is sometimes hard on the eyes, Mike uses pictures effectively to break up the white on black monotony. In fact, his pictures enhance many of his posts. The previously mentioned dog pictures are Mike’s proof that the dog in question is actually an alien. Archives go back to June of this year and the site includes the standard links one finds on most sites.

Overall, Thoughts of Mike is an entertaining read. The blog could be improved with more regular updates. I am sure Mike has more thoughts than he has time to post. Perhaps a little less time spent on his “Blog Jihad” would allow him more time to update. I plan to check back with Mike to see what is on his mind in the future.

Thoughts of Mike

When I first entered the site of (fblog), I was actually quite impressed. It was a very clean and neat looking layout and the combined colors of orange and white, seemed to do the weblog justice.

The blog is hosted at “modblog” , (which I haven’t been very familiar with), but it was a pleasant change from the very familiar “blogspot” templates. But with that being said, it is basically the entries that are most important. At that point, I began my journey into “fMatt’S” world.

The first thing I looked for was a section where I could find out a bit about “fMatt” (the author. At the top of the page was a link to his profile among several other links. fMatt, has several tidbits of info about him in his profile. Arranging from what kind of music he likes to what kind of books he reads. Really lets you get to know him .

As I started to read FMatt’s actual posts, I noticed that a lot of them were about cricket games he has had. Well, after all, in his profile he does mention that cricket is his favorite sport. He also talks about assignments he has had in school and basically just your everyday life. After reading fMatt’s entries, I got the impression that he writes whatever comes to mind. He also seems to like playing the Sims. (One of my fav past times as well.)

The entries are written very well. The writing is very neat and very easy to read.
He has several links etc on the left hand side including a poll. He also has an image gallery which I was very interested in viewing . I clicked on the link, but to my disappointment, all the images were broken. A few of his archived pages took a little long as well. Those were basically the only faults I had with this weblog.

Keep in mind, it may not be to everyone’s taste. No weblog is. But I for one enjoyed reading it. So if you have some time on your hands, stop by and pay the author a visit. You won’t be disappointed.[fBlog]

How’m I Doing? is a generic Blogger template. Simple and uncluttered. What an unusual name for a blog, I thought when I first entered. Then I read the subtitle:

“People routinely greet one another with, “How are you doing?” But when you have cancer, they really want to know how you are doing. This blog will contain posts that try to answer that question on as regular a basis as I can.”

Turns out the name is quite apropos after all.

This is the blog of Tim Cooper of Alabama, who is going through treatment for lung cancer. He mentions in one of the entries about Writing as Therapy. Something that one of our own reviewers mentioned once. Tim’s hard copy journal spilled over into this blog.

He writes in a clear and poignant way about his illness. He also manages some genteel humor along the way. The posts began in September of this year, and are infrequent, but very well written. One is almost immediately drawn in to our author’s life as he describes his treatments and shares his faith.

The latest entry is from November 14. I will be checking back to see how things are progressing for our hero. For surely anyone who faces this kind of test with such wit and grace is certainly a hero.

I cannot rate this blog in the normal way. It doesn’t seem proper. I’m giving it a 5 for breathtaking honesty.

And here’s a prayer that the author makes a full and speedy recovery.

How’m I doing?

So the title of this blog sounded all chatty and fun. I mean, How’m I Doing–consider it–rather flippant, dontcha think? But wait, there’s more…

This is what the tagline says: ‘People routinely greet one another with, “How are you doing?” But when you have cancer, they really want to know how you are doing. This blog will contain posts that try to answer that question on as regular a basis as I can.’ Okaa-ay was my reaction. Firstly I was a little nervous about reviewing the site of someone with cancer, because you know, what if the writing wasn’t good or precise? What was I going to say?

Tim Cooper has lung cancer. And the purpose of his blog is to keep his friends and family up-to-date on his health. It strikes me as a little odd, that a blog such as this one should be up for review, but I suppose we all need validation.

What I liked about his blog was the fact that he’s managed to keep his sense of humour. There are no ‘self pity’ posts that I could spot, and he evidently is relying on faith and prayers to get himself and his family through this. I can’t make a judgement on the content having never undergone this myself, but the writing is readble… not too many “technical” details. I only wish his archives were larger or that he posted longer, because I can barely get a feel of who he is, what he likes etc.

The template is a common Blogger one and the sidebar is plain and uncluttered, even by the usual blogrolling links. How’m I doing?