Depending upon who you talk to, it can mean a variety of things, but here’s a my list of blogs & blog posts that I’ll thrown in that category…

• Link posts. This can be something like “Check out so-and-so’s post/article about XYZ.” Or something with a pulled quote, a link and very quick commentary (i.e. just about any Utter Oddness post.). And also link “dailies”.
• Tidbit posts / blog grenades. This can be just a brief mention of something but offers little to no elaboration. While this is great to get the creative juices flowing, it does tend to irritate people who come looking for “meat”.
• Random posts. This can be random in the sense of the blog audience or random in the sense of the content within the actual post. It just seems out of place from the normal posts.
• Thoughtless posts. These posts are often the result of a person just sitting down at their keyboard and hacking away until something shows up on the screen and some smelly digital diarrhea is left behind for all to “enjoy”. (I apologize now for the imagery that statement may cause…but you get my point, right?)

Now there are other criteria you could use, but that list covers most “shotgun posts” you may stumble across in the blogosphere. And I must assert that if a blog is touted as a personal journal, this doesn’t matter quite as much as it does for blogs who have an intended audience besides people just interested in you. (I’m sure that people will argue some of my list…but it is my personal list, so take that with a grain of salt.)

Of the bunch, the only one that truly irks me are thoughtless posts. I can usually pick up a copy of the local newspaper if I want to read that sort of thing. Luckily I don’t run into that very often.

Blog grenades intrigue me a bit and random posts can be interesting from time-to-time. And I absolutely love link posts as they save me time by finding the content for me.

So, with that overview, I’d like to introduce you to my new sideblog/asides/mini-blog, Blue Shotgun.

There are often times that I really want to post links, tidbits, random thoughts, announcements, etc., but within the context of my personal blog, or any of my other blogs (even the ones which are technically shotgun blogs), it normally doesn’t seem appropriate, so I refrain (with a few exceptions here and there).

This is where Blue Shotgun comes into play.

While Blue Shotgun is going to serve as my sideblog/blog companion for Musings, I have opted to make this a fully functional standalone blog because normal sideblog setups are very limiting in what you AND your readers can do. With it setup this way, you, the reader, can:

1. Search the sideblog.
2. Comment on the sideblog entries.
3. Subscribe to RSS feeds.
4. See the recent entries via all Surge Bucket Media blogs. (If you didn’t catch it, or only read the RSS and haven’t visited any of the sites recently, there is now a recent SBM posts section at the bottom of all blogs.)

Content wise, I’m aiming for “anything goes” topic wise (within reason and decency of course), so I’m not sure what all will show up over there. And be prepared for the postings to come in fast spurts. While there may be days between postings at times, when I do pop in to post, they will often appear in quantity since these should all be pretty short.

Off the bat, I can tell you that general podcast announcements (i.e. “Trolley Dodgers #XX is now available”), ad scans, links and quips will be showing up. So if you want to keep seeing those updates, either bookmark Blue Shotgun or subscribe to the RSS feed.

Enjoy. (Or ignore.) Your choice.

With all of the current toy recalls my wife and I have been pondering what to do about toys, and even other products, for Christmas for the kids this year.

It’s not that I’m overly paranoid that the Chinese are out to kill and/or harm us all, but it is certainly a concern. Especially since it appears that every toy that is/was made in China toy is being recalled, but they’re just taking it in stages. (Is that paranoid or make me sound like some conspiracy nut?) And who has the time to purchase toys that have to be returned? Can you even imagine how much worse the exchange lines will be after Christmas this year if this continues?

So we looked through all of the kids current toys and haven’t found much of anything that isn’t made in China (and good luck finding many “Made in the USA” toys at the major retailers). And this also includes all of the “kids meal” related toys for the various fast food restaurants.

So this has lead to the start of yet another Surge Bucket Media blog, Just Not China, which will showcase products that you can buy that are indeed, “Not Made in China”. (If someone has a positive phrasing idea for that, please let me know.) While there are a few major companies that we hope to get on board, the vast majority of the products will not be available many places beyond online websites and catalog sales. But that is great as you’ll be helping the “little man” and be purchasing products that most people don’t even know about.

We quickly put this up today, based on this blog’s theme, so bear with us as it gets built out and products are listed. It may take a few weeks to get rolling, but we hope to have some products listed well before Christmas. So please bookmark the site and subscribe to the RSS feed. And if you have anything to add, please contact us.

Trolley Dodgers #51 and Trolley Dodgers #52 are now available. Spend 40 minutes with myself and Jeff getting caught up on the sports happenings from the past few weeks.

Here’s the Naptown Roller Girls / Tornado Sirens 2008 home bout schedule (a.k.a. “Season 2″). This coming season we’re treated to six home bouts instead of five. And while not officially announced yet, I’m assuming that the bouts are going to take place out at the Indiana State Fairgrounds again this year.

December 29 – “It’s a BOUT Time”
NRG vs. Kalamazoo Kamikaze Roller Girls from Michigan

February 9 – “Shove ‘em & Leave ‘em”
NRG vs. Burning River Roller Girls from Ohio

March 22 – “Lucky Harm”
NRG vs. Cincinnati Roller Girls from Ohio (WFTDA)

April 19 – “The Pint of No Return”
NRG vs. the Brew City Bruisers from Wisconsin (WFTDA)

May 17 – “Valley of the Brawls”
NRG vs. Pikes Peak Derby Dames from Colorado (WFTDA)

June 14 – “Hoosier Daddy”
NRG vs. Dixie Derby Girls from Alabama (WFTDA)

It’s hard to put into words the ambiance of a roller derby bout (and the crowd)…it’s just something you need to check out for yourself firsthand. I only made it out to one bout last year and was totally amazed at how much fun it was. The excitement was similar to when we had a “real” hockey team in Indy (the IHL version of the Indianapolis Ice)…and I might go out on a limb and say it’s even more exciting than hockey if you sit in the “Suicide Seats” where you’re actually right up on the track, sitting on the floor (remember, this is flat track, not that stuff you saw on TV in the 70’s and 80’s). And if you’re a fan of Arena Football, you’ll probably get into this.

I’d probably suggest leaving the really little ones at home, though there is a “family section” if you choose to bring them. That suggestion is based on your own enjoyment more than anything else…and there*may* be some things, mainly roller girls and refs “names”, that you don’t really want to explain to your kids in case they ask, or have them repeat them. Also, if you’re brave (or stupid) enough, like me, and actually want to sit in the Suicide Seating area, you do have to be 18 years old to do so.

See you there, down in front!

Trolley Dodgers #50 is now available. Get caught up on the sports happenings from the past week.

Utter Oddcast #35 is now available.

On this episode of Utter Oddcast we discuss A Pensylnania woman cussing her toilet, Chinese drivers kick up stink about “WC” car plates, a naked man breaching Vatican security, a man walking plank in his undies (again), a NYC woman finding a python in the toilet, Hardee’s 920-calorie breakfast burrito, and the Pepsi vs. Coke throwdown at Wal-Mart.

Utter Oddcast #34 (a.k.a. October Oddness 2007 #4) is now available. Check it out for another dose of Halloween related oddness.

Trolley Dodgers #49 is now available. Go get caught up on the sports happenings from last week.

Do you have some Halloween memories, ghost stories or any other October Oddness to share with Utter Oddcast listeners from around the globe (and beyond)?  And do you want to win some Future Karnies of America  prizes?

Check out the October Oddness 2007 Drawing for more information…

Utter Oddcast #33 is now available.

On this episode of Utter Oddcast we discuss a hospital who gave a man a drip-feed of vodka, stealing the Bible, the free ‘Naked Lunch’ controversy, a dog that saved a family from a fire started by a cat, chicken wing competitive eating, a Wal-Mart wedding and a man who tried to pass a million dollar bill.

Utter Oddcast #32 (a.k.a. October Oddness 2007 #3) is now available.  Check it out for another dose of Halloween related oddness.

Trolley Dodgers #48 is now available.  Go get caught up on the sports happenings from last week.

Utter Oddcast #31 is now available.

On this episode of Utter Oddcast we discuss the Tokyo Circus invasion, Malaysia seeking out dirty toilets, an orangutan that prefers tattooed blondes, Bengals fighting their stadium’s pooping pigeons, competitive eating: 21 pounds of grits in 10 minutes, and Illinois school that says “no hugging”, a man charged with stealing 123 parking meters and casket sales tipping off police to murders.

For those of you who’ve not caught it yet, we’re doing a Halloween/October themed episode series all month on Utter Oddcast titled October Oddness 2007.

These episodes are scheduled to be released each Monday in October, for a total of five episodes. AND we’re looking for your contributions to include in the remaining episodes. Please see the website for the full announcement.

Episodes

• #1 – Utter Oddcast #27 (October 1, 2007)
• #2 – Utter Oddcast #30 (October 8, 2007)
• #3 – Utter Oddcast #32 (October 15, 2007)
• #4 – Utter Oddcast #34 (October 26, 2007)
• #5 – Utter Oddcast #36 (October 29, 2007)

To say that we’ve been busy the past two months recording Utter Oddcast episodes might be an understatement. Since mid-August we’ve cranked out about two or three episodes per week, so if you’ve missed any recently you’ve got a bit of catching up to do. But the good news is that we’re keeping most of our “normal” episodes around the 10-12 minute range (before any music is included) instead of the previous 20-45 minute range.

Here’s the list of episodes you may have missed: #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29 and #30.

Enjoy! And check Utter Oddcast out on MySpace.

If you happened to miss them, Trolley Dodgers #42, #43, #44, #45, #46 & #47 are now available for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

OK, I’m a bit behind on my announcements, but in case you missed them, the following Utter Oddcast episodes are available for your listening pleasure…

#4, #5, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14

Enjoy! And check Utter Oddcast out on MySpace.

If you happened to miss them, Trolley Dodgers #39, #40 & #41 are now available for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

Trolley Dodgers #38 is now available for your listening pleasure.

SHOW INFORMATION

• Hosted by Jeff Stanger and Brian Groce
• Recorded on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007
• Leave us a voicemail at 317-565-4250
• Snail mail us at:
  Trolley Dodgers Podcast
  c/o: Surge Bucket Media
  P.O. Box 78306
  Indianapolis, Indiana 46268
• Recorded, edited & encoded by Watershed Studio, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• The Trolley Dodgers Podcast is a proud member of Surge Bucket Media