http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314 Today's my first day back on the job after almost 2-and-a-half-weeks on vacation, and let me tell you, you all have been keeping busy!&nbsp; It took an hour-and-a-half this morning to sort through about 1200 emails (a mix of spam and violation reports), and I've been spending the rest of the day catching up on the online goings-on around here with my colleagues who generously kept an eye on things while I was away (on top of their usual duties).&nbsp; So, if you expected to hear from me or see me comment or act on something or another in the last couple weeks and didn't, now you know why.&nbsp; (At the urging of my coworkers, I left the laptop at home!) Coming back after a break, let me tell you what I see.&nbsp; I see a lot of new names and &quot;faces&quot; commenting, blogging and reviewing, and that's exciting.&nbsp; A look at our metrics shows that the number of public profiles and blogs are up, and that the number of posts and comments published continue to increase on a weekly basis. I also see, as I have over the last six months, a community struggling always to grow and become itself, and to shape itself and discover new ways to discuss what's on our minds without resorting to baser impulses.&nbsp; It's not always an easy task, but many of you continue to take it on, encouraging each other and reflecting on your own behavior at the same time.&nbsp; The more&nbsp;we model the online community&nbsp;we want this to be, and the online community members we want ourselves and our neighbors to be, the less of a &quot;policing&quot; role this job will have to do.&nbsp; And you know what?&nbsp; You're already doing it. But at any rate, I'm back.&nbsp; Heh.&nbsp; And as usual, reading as much of what you put up here as humanly possible.&nbsp; Of course, that's not all I do here.&nbsp; Other stuff includes the weekly ngage e-newsletter that features the previous week's interactive greatest hits, as it were, plus user profiles.&nbsp; And, tomorrow, we're relaunching the Bakosphere blog, a look at the interesting and quirky stuff that happens when Bakersfield and the Web collide. And, of course, I'm hosting the latest in our on-going series of real-life get-togethers for B.com bloggers, commenters, reviewers, and lurkers, this Saturday at Dagny's.&nbsp; We're looking to branch out to other kinds of meetups in other locations, too, so please give us your ideas and let us know if you're coming.&nbsp; I look forward to meeting more of you on- and off-line! Bakersfield.com Bloggers' Meetup Dagny's Coffee Company, 1600 20th St., Downtown Saturday, May 19 from 3:30 to 6 p.m. All are welcome! Today's my first day back on the job after almost 2-and-a-half-weeks on vacation, and let me tell you, you all have been keeping busy!&nbsp; It took an hour-and-a-half this morning to sort through about 1200 emails (a mix of spam and violation reports), and I've been spending the rest of the day catching up on the online goings-on around here with my colleagues who generously kept an eye on things while I was away (on top of their usual duties).&nbsp; So, if you expected to hear from me or see me comment or act on something or another in the last couple weeks and didn't, now you know why.&nbsp; (At the urging of my coworkers, I left the laptop at home!) Coming back after a break, let me tell you what I see.&nbsp; I see a lot of new names and &quot;faces&quot; commenting, blogging and reviewing, and that's exciting.&nbsp; A look at our metrics shows that the number of public profiles and blogs are up, and that the number of posts and comments published continue to increase on a weekly basis. I also see, as I have over the last six months, a community struggling always to grow and become itself, and to shape itself and discover new ways to discuss what's on our minds without resorting to baser impulses.&nbsp; It's not always an easy task, but many of you continue to take it on, encouraging each other and reflecting on your own behavior at the same time.&nbsp; The more&nbsp;we model the online community&nbsp;we want this to be, and the online community members we want ourselves and our neighbors to be, the less of a &quot;policing&quot; role this job will have to do.&nbsp; And you know what?&nbsp; You're already doing it. But at any rate, I'm back.&nbsp; Heh.&nbsp; And as usual, reading as much of what you put up here as humanly possible.&nbsp; Of course, that's not all I do here.&nbsp; Other stuff includes the weekly ngage e-newsletter that features the previous week's interactive greatest hits, as it were, plus user profiles.&nbsp; And, tomorrow, we're relaunching the Bakosphere blog, a look at the interesting and quirky stuff that happens when Bakersfield and the Web collide. And, of course, I'm hosting the latest in our on-going series of real-life get-togethers for B.com bloggers, commenters, reviewers, and lurkers, this Saturday at Dagny's.&nbsp; We're looking to branch out to other kinds of meetups in other locations, too, so please give us your ideas and let us know if you're coming.&nbsp; I look forward to meeting more of you on- and off-line! Bakersfield.com Bloggers' Meetup Dagny's Coffee Company, 1600 20th St., Downtown Saturday, May 19 from 3:30 to 6 p.m. All are welcome! en-us 35.377116 -119.020086 Welcome back, Jason.&nbsp; Any chance you can get Dagny's to scale back the Muzak while we're there?&nbsp; Spouse #2 has problems with background noise, especially when it bounces around a lot. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90505 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90505 Welcome back, Jason.&nbsp; Any chance you can get Dagny's to scale back the Muzak while we're there?&nbsp; Spouse #2 has problems with background noise, especially when it bounces around a lot. I'm sure that won't be a problem, RF.&nbsp; Looking forward to seeing you both! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90507 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90507 I'm sure that won't be a problem, RF.&nbsp; Looking forward to seeing you both! How was your vacation Jason? We missed you bunches. :P http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90513 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90513 How was your vacation Jason? We missed you bunches. :P Hi Jason...glad to meet you...and thanks for the invite. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90561 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90561 Hi Jason...glad to meet you...and thanks for the invite. <p>I'm going to try and make it - with at least one possum (as per normal).&nbsp; We'll see how I'm feeling Saturday.&nbsp; And, I second Random's wife's comment about the noise level.&nbsp; :)</p> <p>Welcome back from your vacation! Hope you had fun with your family.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90575 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90575 <p>I'm going to try and make it - with at least one possum (as per normal).&nbsp; We'll see how I'm feeling Saturday.&nbsp; And, I second Random's wife's comment about the noise level.&nbsp; :)</p> <p>Welcome back from your vacation! Hope you had fun with your family.</p> wow, you got an e-mail for every photo you took on vacation.  ha, ha! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90695 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90695 wow, you got an e-mail for every photo you took on vacation.  ha, ha! Love to join you, but I have a previous engagement:&nbsp; http://makerfaire.com/ http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90698 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90698 Love to join you, but I have a previous engagement:&nbsp; http://makerfaire.com/ Good to see you back, Jason.&nbsp; Hope you're having fun going back through the last couple of weeks. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90702 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90702 Good to see you back, Jason.&nbsp; Hope you're having fun going back through the last couple of weeks. LOL Tom :P http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90706 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90706 LOL Tom :P <p>Yikes !!!&nbsp; I'll have to miss it too.&nbsp; My granddaughter, Motopoet's daughter (check out my blog on it) is getting married to her soldier &nbsp;in Vegas on the 18th and I'll be spending that night over there.&nbsp; (Not with them of course)&nbsp; My daughter and I will leave there Saturday morning and get home in time to attend the wedding of my roundabout nephew later that day.&nbsp; I don't think I can squeeze in another social event that weekend.&nbsp; Besides..my house and dog sitters would&nbsp;hang me.</p> <p>The bride to be...</p> <div><img id="content_image" style="WIDTH: 270px; HEIGHT: 203px" height="576" src="aolemb://C64FC181-F6C9-442F-8ED7-DDDAAC304A4E/beach4%20cass%20and%20aidan%202007.jpg" width="768" vspace="5" comp_state="speed" alt="" /></div> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90712 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90712 <p>Yikes !!!&nbsp; I'll have to miss it too.&nbsp; My granddaughter, Motopoet's daughter (check out my blog on it) is getting married to her soldier &nbsp;in Vegas on the 18th and I'll be spending that night over there.&nbsp; (Not with them of course)&nbsp; My daughter and I will leave there Saturday morning and get home in time to attend the wedding of my roundabout nephew later that day.&nbsp; I don't think I can squeeze in another social event that weekend.&nbsp; Besides..my house and dog sitters would&nbsp;hang me.</p> <p>The bride to be...</p> <div><img id="content_image" style="WIDTH: 270px; HEIGHT: 203px" height="576" src="aolemb://C64FC181-F6C9-442F-8ED7-DDDAAC304A4E/beach4%20cass%20and%20aidan%202007.jpg" width="768" vspace="5" comp_state="speed" alt="" /></div> Yeah...he missed some interesting stuff. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90713 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90713 Yeah...he missed some interesting stuff. <p>Welcome back Jason.  You were sorely missed but I'm glad you got a chance to get away from it all.  Didn't you have even the tiniest withdrawel symptom though?  Steve, Logan, and xxx did their best but they weren't..well..YOU.   I was going to mention the blog family here but decided it deserves it's own seperate blog.  Late today it will appear.  Like magic.</p> <p>Whooohooo...Jasons home.</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90826 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90826 <p>Welcome back Jason.  You were sorely missed but I'm glad you got a chance to get away from it all.  Didn't you have even the tiniest withdrawel symptom though?  Steve, Logan, and xxx did their best but they weren't..well..YOU.   I was going to mention the blog family here but decided it deserves it's own seperate blog.  Late today it will appear.  Like magic.</p> <p>Whooohooo...Jasons home.</p> <strong>TomW</strong>... I'm jealous.<br /> <strong><br /> Everyone else</strong>, I'll be there, and yes, I'm back... in a slightly limited capacity... I still have cats to take care of and find homes for. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90828 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90828 <strong>TomW</strong>... I'm jealous.<br /> <strong><br /> Everyone else</strong>, I'll be there, and yes, I'm back... in a slightly limited capacity... I still have cats to take care of and find homes for. ki6amd, it should be a good time and I'll try to do a write up for you.&nbsp; It's my first year going, so it should be interesting. http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90856 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90856 ki6amd, it should be a good time and I'll try to do a write up for you.&nbsp; It's my first year going, so it should be interesting. <strong>TomW</strong>, I'll see the video of it on Systm.org no doubt too. But I'm looking forward to pics too (if you take any).<br /> <a href="http://revision3.com/systm/makerfaire"><br /> See last year's Maker Faire</a> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90878 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90878 <strong>TomW</strong>, I'll see the video of it on Systm.org no doubt too. But I'm looking forward to pics too (if you take any).<br /> <a href="http://revision3.com/systm/makerfaire"><br /> See last year's Maker Faire</a> Duh!! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90880 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90880 Duh!! <p>Thanks for all the kind welcomes-back.&nbsp; :)&nbsp; It's nice to be missed.&nbsp; Heh.</p> <p>Vacation was awesome.&nbsp; As for withdrawal...&nbsp; I was sorta afraid to see what you guys were up to.&nbsp; ;)&nbsp; No, really, it helped to have no easy access to computers or the internet.</p> <p>Looking forward to seeing both new and familiar faces this Saturday.</p> <p>And btw, <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/User/bakosphere">Bakosphere</a> launched this morning, so go <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakosphere/9330">check it out</a> and give us some love!</p> http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90881 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_90881 <p>Thanks for all the kind welcomes-back.&nbsp; :)&nbsp; It's nice to be missed.&nbsp; Heh.</p> <p>Vacation was awesome.&nbsp; As for withdrawal...&nbsp; I was sorta afraid to see what you guys were up to.&nbsp; ;)&nbsp; No, really, it helped to have no easy access to computers or the internet.</p> <p>Looking forward to seeing both new and familiar faces this Saturday.</p> <p>And btw, <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/User/bakosphere">Bakosphere</a> launched this morning, so go <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/bakosphere/9330">check it out</a> and give us some love!</p> Hey! Welcome back! I can't make it on the 19th but I wanted to attend. Maybe next time. :(  You still have to show us your vacation photos! http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_91859 http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/jasonsperber/9314/#c_91859 Hey! Welcome back! I can't make it on the 19th but I wanted to attend. Maybe next time. :(  You still have to show us your vacation photos!