Joe.

How are you a better person today than you were ten years ago?
Sponsored by Nature Made.

1. Dear Vox,
   Sorry I've neglected you for so long. I still think Vox is the most interesting social network I've seen. It's beautifully written, attractive, and has a more cultured and interesting user base than most other social networks.
   
   
2. If I had not changed the direction I was headed ten years ago, I'd be dead or in prison [cliché]. I was completely irresponsible, drinking like a fish, living back at home with my parents, working dead-end jobs, being a generally miserable human being, and taking it out on everyone and everything around me.
   
   I decided to leave home and join the Army. I figured if anything would help me get my shit together, the military would. That was a hair over seven years ago. It helped. I still haven't decided whether it was the best choice, but I would not have met my wife otherwise.
   
   There are still things in my life I'm trying to turn around but, in general, me ten years ago couldn't have imagined what me now is like. I haven't achieved personal greatness or anything, but I'm proud of what I've done. I've been married for four years to a great woman, and we have the coolest 2.5-year old daughter ever. I'm satisfied with the progress I've made.
   

Show us two things that should never be together.

Bono and Me

Show us the very last picture you took. No cheating!

Lucille buried in stuffed animals

Show us what you're looking forward to in 2008.

[Updated 20 June 2008]

I just took a look back at the things I said I was looking forward to this year. I checked off 4 more. Not bad. Of the items remaining on the list:

– My daughter will be two in about two months.

– One car is paid off, the other will be in two weeks.

– I still cheat on the meat-eating periodically, particularly if there is Italian sausage around.

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I've never cared much for making New Year's Resolutions or anything like that, but there are quite a few things I'm looking forward to this year.  Here's is a concise list:

A two-year old.
A third anniversary.
A new house with more space for aforementioned two-year old.
Better playground proximity.
Not smoking for a year.
Running as much as I used to.
Not eating meat for a year.
Having two paid-off cars.
Getting a raise.
Starting my two-year countdown to ETS.

I'm sure there are more, but those are the big ones that came to mind.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Show us the wallpaper on your cell phone.
Submitted by jacolily.

The most gorgeous little girl around...

Show us your mother.

Jackal

What are your neighbors like? (The ones you live near or next to, not the ones in your Vox neighborhood!) 

I haven't spoken much to my neighbors, but they seem very nice.  They have a young daughter who is once of the most polite children I've ever spoken to.

Also, their kids make a lot of noise.  They run up and down their stairs like a herd of elephants.  Contrary to how most people would probably feel about it, I love it!  It makes me happy knowing that when my kid makes noise, they either don't notice or don't care, and hopefully they are just as comfortable with their kids going wild.

Kids need to make noise.  I think they will actually, physically explode if they can't.

I recently signed up for a Facebook account for the first time, and signed up for MySpace again after not having an account for about two years...

I don't have much time to spend on Vox at the moment because of school, but Vox really takes the cake.  Design, content, crowd.  Each social network out there tries, whether directly or indirectly, to cater to a specific crowd, so maybe I just have more in common with the demographic on Vox – who the hell knows?

All I know, is I like using Vox and I enjoy reading what many Vox users have to say...

This photo gallery on NPR was just submitted to digg.  It's a short gallery of photos of teenagers around the country from a book titled "It's Complicated: The American Teenager".

It's Complicated: The American Teenager

What do you think is too serious to joke around about?

I've been trying to think of an answer to this question for the past few minutes and for every horrible (yet cliché) topic I could think of, I thought of something funny that used it as a vehicle.

I really don't think there anything too serious to joke about.  For some reason, I like uncomfortable humor.  I like when people say things that are funny, but so offensive or disturbing that you're not sure whether or not to even laugh.  Sarah Silverman is good at that.  So is Lewis Black, although he's much more thoughtful about it.

The catch is that if there is even a shred of doubt whether it is a joke or not, it can turn bad quickly.  Michael Richards was a great example of that.

That was a long explanation, but the punctuating idea here is being offensive is funny, but only when you're kidding.