Patterico's Pontifications

2/17/2012

Happy Blogiversary to Me

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:11 am



This blog began nine years ago today, on February 17, 2003. Over the years I have made many friends through this site, and I got to chat with many of you in the live chat last night. Blogging is not always upside, but I think the rewards have outweighed the problems — and that is entirely due to the community here.

Please take a moment today, if you think of it, to mention the blog to a friend or five. Expanding our community is the best thing you can do to help. (Buying Amazon through the search box on the right is the second-best! Many of you have done that and I thank you kindly.)

On this blogiversary, I would ask the long-time readers how long they have been reading here. Tell me in comments. The longest-standing reader gets a cookie.

It will be a virtual cookie, to be sure, as we live in a virtual world. But if I meet you in person I’ll buy you a real one. Or maybe a real beer.

Thanks for reading.

164 Responses to “Happy Blogiversary to Me”

  1. I was here on Day One! I want my cookie!

    OK, not really.

    Happy blogiversary!

    Karl (6f7ecd)

  2. Not until linked by Instapundit, whenever that was. Good work, by the way.

    BarSinister (99d480)

  3. In a weird coincidence, it’s also the 3rd anniversary of the stimulus. The CBO is not impressed.

    Karl (6f7ecd)

  4. Happy anniversary. I’ve been lurking here for about 5 years,

    kenseica (0521d7)

  5. Happy Blogiversary!

    Here’s a disingenuous LA Times story defending Obama, although I repeat myself.

    Here are the story’s first two grafs:

    Reporting from Washington— Since President Obama moved to require Catholic hospitals and universities to offer their employees contraceptive health benefits, Republicans have rushed to accuse the administration of an unprecedented attack on religious freedoms.

    None has been more forceful than former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who accused Obama of “a direct violation of the 1st Amendment.” But years before the current partisan firestorm, GOP lawmakers and governors around the country, including Huckabee, backed similar mandates.

    Keep on reading and you encounter this:

    The original Obama regulation, released in January, went further than any state by requiring that women receive contraceptive benefits without co-pays or deductibles, as required for all preventive care under the healthcare law.

    So the regulation was indeed unprecedented. The LA Times buried this fact, which undermines the story’s entire premise, in the 14th graf. Bias, LA Times style.

    I wonder if in the print admission this graf was on the jump. Would be a good case for Patterico’s The Power of the Jump™ series.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (07f25f)

  6. Well I dunno exactly, certainly with Shiavo and Sheehan I was a regular visitor by mid-2005 but especially for West Coast legal intrigues.

    After 9/11 LGF was my link site until Chuckles went Dr. Death on Shiavo, so I started reading here via that route. Saint Corrie, Islamophobia, Spencer, Atlas Shrugged, was the attraction back then.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  7. PS. Happy 9th Rico.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  8. Bradley,

    But in what way does eliminating the co-pay impinge on religious freedoms?

    It seems it may be an unprecedented regulation, but it also seems like the part that impinges on religious freedoms — requiring religiously affiliated health care providers to provide contraception — is not unprecedented. Do I have that right?

    Patterico (5185f9)

  9. Prolly started reading in 2004.

    JD (becb30)

  10. As a total ADHD spaz, I love the meandering nature of the live chats. And, the interesting people.

    JD (becb30)

  11. I think I started visiting in 2005 and have been a regular ever since.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  12. 2005. But I remember best our fight over Kathryn Johnston, November 23, 2006. My father had died three weeks before, on Halloween, and I was feeling meaner than a rattler with a toothache and more maudlin than a widow on her new wedding night. Got me a poem out of it that’s had thousands of google hits and somebody took part and turned into a song.

    nk (5a9989)

  13. Im the one who’s been here from the beginning, even if that was just a couple of years ago….congrats Patrick!!!

    The real Patterico also known as refs (4dcda2)

  14. Eveb when I can’t spell my own real name!

    Refs (4dcda2)

  15. Probably started reading in 2005 or so. I enjoyed the sock puppet wars with Michael Hiltzik.
    Many things are fake in this life, but Hiltzik comes as close to being a genuine putz as anyone I can think of.

    Comanche Voter (0e06a9)

  16. God I hate auto spell!!!

    reff (4dcda2)

  17. I’ve been coming here for about five years…

    Yossarian (b1e42a)

  18. Happy anniversary. Love this place. Been here just a few yrs I think.

    no one you know (325a59)

  19. Happy Blogiversary!!

    I came to your site via an on-line nemesis, Radley Balko, six years ago. I still read and enjoy both of you.

    Long Live Patterico!!

    DeadGuy (34a358)

  20. I’m pretty sure I came here via The Other Mccain. How funny is that?

    I think it was actually pretty recently compared to most of the other commenters, but it’s at least a year or two.

    Dustin (401f3a)

  21. I noted on my site your initial projections for Patterico’s Pontifications:

    when my pop-up blog regime kicks in, my hit count passes Drudge’s, and I get my own Fox News talk show

    and if you didn’t quite meet those targets, I did give readers the reason why. 🙂

    The Dana who has been reading since 2004 (3e4784)

  22. I recall being a regular on this site before the 2004 election. I first found this by running a Google search for criticism of the LA Times.

    Patterico, I think that the argument over whether the contraception mandate is “unprecedented” boils down to a question of to whom the precedent is being attributed. Defenders of Obama always point out that several states required coverage of contraception for religiously-affiliated institutions before the administrations latest diktat, and that is true. I think what is unprecedented is for the federal government to impose such a sweeping mandate.

    JVW (4d72aa)

  23. I don’t remember. But it was a long long long long time ago. Blogs still had names like BlUBBER BANG ZOOM and SPOONERIfIC and I did photoshops.

    SarahW (b0e533)

  24. It was definitely pre-Schiavo.

    SarahW (b0e533)

  25. But in what way does eliminating the co-pay impinge on religious freedoms?

    Because then the Catholic entity is paying for the contraception.

    Under existing state mandates, contraception is an optional feature that those insured must pay extra to receive.

    The so-called “free” offering of contraception is a deception, because nothing is free. Someone has to pay for it. The insurance companies will pass along the cost to the companies. And for those who are self-insured, they will pay directly.

    This is the crux of the bishops’ objections, and hasn’t been reported very well, surprise, surprise.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (a18ddc)

  26. I tried to look in the comments but then I remembered you didn’t take them for a long time.

    I didn’t read much excepting Lileks til 2002. In 2003 I was a heavy blog reader. Probably came here the first time Ed or Beldar or Insty linked you. Or maybe Charles Johnson or BillINDC.

    Those were the days my friend

    SarahW (b0e533)

  27. I think it was from the now-defunct Liberal Avenger website that I found your website.

    You’ll be happy to know that LA has moved to Bangkok!

    The really old Dana (3e4784)

  28. I came here via Cathy Seipp and met you at her funeral. Can’t remember the year. It was back when the Times was about the only topic.

    Mike K (326cba)

  29. I think Cathy Seipp was also my portal here. She knew so many good people; you, Dr. Capt. Mike K., Kate Coe, Luke Y. Thompson, Amy Alkon . . . and some colorful characters like Luke Ford and David Ehrenstein.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (a18ddc)

  30. Amy Alkon’s another awesome blogger who has had to deal with some unfortunate crap lately.

    2011 was not my favorite year.

    Dustin (401f3a)

  31. 2004. I moved from LA to a tiny town in AZ. Only had dial-up back then so I lurked. I can honestly say that I read all articles and comments every day. Well done Patterico.

    Gazzer (21df87)

  32. I had a fluffblog back in the day, and you were bloggrolled on it right away, in jul of 2004. I’d been visiting well before that. I’m looking through the old comments right now to see who is familiar to me. Yup, Beldar and Captains Quarters have trackbacks. God I am old. I remember
    when trackbacks were new.

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  33. Sarahw,
    You’re not old, you’ve got perspective.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (a18ddc)

  34. I’ve been reading for just shy of 9 years; I originally was drawn in by discussion of the recall.

    aphrael (5d993c)

  35. Happy Blogiversary! Been enjoying your work at least since I started blogging myself back in December of 2003 http://is.gd/2BYj5p

    That would be 8+ years.

    🙂

    Sissy Willis (4fc799)

  36. Your Dad was a faithful reader until the day he died–then I took over. Love, Mom

    Mom (c61f87)

  37. I essentially have been lurking since about 2008 or 2009. Pop off once in a great while. I came here through a series of links via Mark Steyn and the Canucks

    Angelo (d81675)

  38. Addendum….lurk every day; I enjoy and appreciate the commentary. Thanks Patterico.

    Angelo (d81675)

  39. I’ve been here since 1993. I’m pretty sure.

    Darin H (650041)

  40. Happy Anniversary Patrick! I got here through Ace.

    sybilll (af2038)

  41. That Endora is always playing tricks on you

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  42. I think I started coming here more regularly once it became pretty much the only one of the old LA blogorati left standing. Everyone else seemed to move on or get stuck in a rut. Myself included.

    LYT (191703)

  43. Infrequent commentor, longtime (though sometimes sporadic) reader, since around 2006 I think. IIRC, a link from Michelle Malkin brought me here (which is interesting because I haven’t read her site in years now – she got too shrill for me).

    radar (3a664a)

  44. Came sometime circa 2004 when I wanted to understand more about the legal proceedings concerning Schiavo. I found the folk here kind and patient to explain things like when new evidence was admissible, etc., etc. It might have been 2005, or nk was actually 2004, as I seem to remember him especially taking time to explain the legal technicalities,then again, some tell me my hard drive (between the ears) ain’t what it used to be

    Since then I’m sporadically around, here and PowerLine pretty much the only place I go (althouse, too, when MadCity/Town is being exceptionally Mad)

    WLS still around, Pons? EW1?, Lord Naz?

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  45. Painted Jaguar: I don’t remember. Sometime during the kerfuffle over language with another blogger. MD thought my experience with confusion over hedgehogs, turtles, and armadillos (shudder) invited my commentary.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  46. MD, I believe that WLS changed his name to shipwreckedcrew.

    aphrael (5d993c)

  47. MD, it’s great to see nk back lately. Even when I haven’t agreed with him he’s got some chops for explaining things.

    Dustin (401f3a)

  48. Pons and Machinist are wise wise people.

    JD (12366a)

  49. On this day of celebration, a question:

    When did the Democrats decide that “the Separation of Church and State” goes by the wayside (or gets thrown under the bus, as it were) when it comes to the issue of health care?

    Icy (f5a880)

  50. EPWJ has been here for sooo long . . . 2 million new Joos have been created during his tenure.

    Icy (f5a880)

  51. Happy Anniversary, Patterico!

    Colonel Haiku (add084)

  52. I came here after Cathy Seipp passed about 5 years ago. I think a number of other readers from her place were a bit bereft and drifting through the nets looking to find something as challenging and insightful. And here we are.

    Congratulations, Patrick. I hope this next year brings you more time than ever to write.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  53. Off and on for so long I don’t remember when I first found you–and sometimes more off than on. It was no later than the Terry Schiavo affair. Found you originally through a negative comment by Billy Beck, and you were interesting enough that I kept coming back for a look.

    In your honor, I hereby raise a virtual toast to you with a virtual dram of 40 year old Balvanie. It will have to remain virtual, however, since Total Wine (where I saw it yesterday) gives it a retail price of $3999.00–or if, single malts are not your thing, we can make it a virtual snifter of Hennessy Richard–a comparative bargain at only $2999.00

    JBS (9ee373)

  54. Patterico – 5 years…Happy Blogiversary, and wishing you more years of success!

    Fighting Wombat (ff5655)

  55. Patrick has been here nine years
    And fought through all of the smears
    The Dog Trainer knows
    As down their circ goes
    That Pat is the man they all fears!

    The Limerick Avenger (3e4784)

  56. I am one of those readers that Dana mentions in #52.

    norcal (9fff3f)

  57. to blog is human
    coyote howls in distance
    the turdblossom blooms

    Colonel Haiku (add084)

  58. All that said, I forgot to say HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!!!

    And thanks for the info and comments, aphrael, Dustin, JD

    Icy- in my perspective (not mine alone, but the emphasis is on a perspective, not mine), that some would like to view “religion” (i.e., “church”) as a discrete belief system that involves a deity or deities, especially as it pertains to specific acts of worship or “religious behavior” that are distinct from everyday life. From that perspective, it is pretty easy to make most parts of “real life” as a “religion free zone”, including health care.

    Editorial Warning, read on if interested.
    Those who would define religion as “a fundamental understanding of the nature of reality, the way life is, how one fits into the universe” would see all of life as involving religion. In this view walking down the street is a religious activity. This is obvious for someone who adheres to Jainism, who believe that all life forms have a soul to the extent one avoids stepping on or breathing in insects (in addition to not eating plants like carrots and potatoes, for to eat of the plant requires to kill it).
    In Western culture there is the question as to what is “secular” and what is “religious”, which to some means that being a priest is a religious vocation, but being a carpenter is not. This is often how things seem to be in practice, but when a “Christian” carpenter cheats on the bill to a customer it is generally recognized that there are at least some aspects of being a carpenter that involve the person’s religious beliefs. Of course, the discussion becomes just what that involvement is, etc.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  59. I think I first found your blog in 2005 during the Harriet Miers’ confirmation, although it may have been before that. I noticed your excellent posts and a loyal group of interesting regulars, and that’s why I stayed around.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  60. Icy – you should find the video clip of Wasserman Schultz ranting about religious institutions imposing their will on their employees, which is bad bad bad, and going on to note that it is good good good for the federal government to impose their will on religious institutions. She also uses the BS construct that not paying for something that stands in contradiction to doctrine equals denying access to same.

    JD (12366a)

  61. I think Mom wins the cookie — and that’s one you’ll have to pay off in real life, Patterico! — but aphrael and others deserve honorable mention.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  62. me love you long time GI!

    redc1c4 (403dff)

  63. At least the Colonel
    Is sticking to his genre;
    I won’t bitch-slap him. 🙂

    The Limerick Avenger (3e4784)

  64. To Pat, I raise a toast:
    “He is an excellent host!”
    Nine years to the day
    And come what may
    Of this blog he really can boast!

    The Limerick Avenger (3e4784)

  65. If Patterico doesn’t give me a free cookie, he is denying me access to cookies.

    Frankly, that might be justified. I eat a lot of cookies.

    DRJ’s right that mama wins this one.

    Dustin (401f3a)

  66. JD, when I hear her talk I am convinced she and I do not live in the same universe with the same laws of cause and effect. Rather than stick around to make a definitive decision, I go do something else.

    Listening to some people at times is like listening to my cousin convince me to go “snipe” hunting years ago. I knew “snipe” hunting was a practical joke, I saw it on the “Hardy Boys” or something on the Mickey Mouse club or something. Really, for a kid that was more reliable than Walter Cronkite. But I could not believe my favorite cousin would trick me…it still gets brought up at family reunions…

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  67. If he doesn’t give us all cookies isn’t that discrimination against “late-comers” or something??

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  68. Oh, I missed Mom’s comment. The sweetest, as only one’s mom can be.

    The commenter that I miss is Apogee. He always made me think harder. What patience, too. I hope he’s well.

    You’re not old, you’ve got perspective.

    I’m so stealing this.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  69. MD in Philly – Do you know where I can get a good used sky hook?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  70. The Philadelphia physician wrote:

    Really, for a kid that was more reliable than Walter Cronkite.

    For adults as well. One of us suspects that it is fortunate for Mr Cronkite’s reputation that Al Gore hadn’t yet invented this internet thingy when he was still broadcasting the news.

    The Dana who knows that Walter Cronkite was better than perky Katie Couric, but that's about all (3e4784)

  71. I came here via Seipp and Mickey Kaus.

    Mr. Frey… what was the topic of your very first post?

    Colonel Haiku (add084)

  72. Daleyrocks: call Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

    The Lakers' fan Dana (3e4784)

  73. I made you a cookie but i eated it.

    Congratulations Patterico!

    Noodles (3681c4)

  74. the only reference to the very first post I can find includes a quote pulled which declared that this site was “destined to be the hottest blog since that one put out by that guy. You know who I mean.”

    Colonel Haiku (add084)

  75. I probably picked up PP about 6 years ago.

    I had a nice run for a couple years when Patrick allowed me to post some original material as a guest blogger, but that came to an end for a lot of reasons.

    I don’t hang out here as much as I did in the past, but still like to lurk and jump in when the mood strikes me.

    Among the best commenting communities in the blogosphere, and without question the most tolerant of dissent.

    Congrats Patrick.

    shipwreckedcrew (bafbcb)

  76. MD in Philly and The Lakers’ fan Dana – I do have half my Scout Troop convinced there is a secret Wisconsin DNR breeding and stocking program for the Muskieperch, a hybrid which combines the best attributes of both fish. We have not caught any of the elusive rascals on any of our outings yet because the program is still in its infancy and secret, but we are hopeful.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  77. This was the best gift I could up with on short notice.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpg7q9u8VCk

    Noodles (3681c4)

  78. daley- will they eat Asian carp? I am so into stocking muskies that eat Asian carp, then go muskie fishing.
    How many kids refuse to go swimming in the lake???

    My #1 son caught a Tiger-Muskie (Northern/Muskie hybrid) in a lake where we did no even know they were stocked, “only” 27 inches long though

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  79. Long time ago. Someone at Littlegreenfootballs posted a link in a thread about either the doctored photos from Iraq or something about the L.A.Times. Been here, mostly lurking, ever since.

    Labcatcher (61737c)

  80. Happy Blogiversary! You are great.

    MayBee (081489)

  81. Just over two years for me – I have no idea how I came to this site! I do have one question. Did Icy Texan change handles to just “Icy”?

    felipe (2ec14c)

  82. Basement basketball! That is what I call a “basketball jones”.

    felipe (2ec14c)

  83. 70. Nice site.

    gary gulrud (d88477)

  84. MD in Philly – I think the freshwater sharks that came through the St. Lawrence Seaway will take care of those carp. My only concern is there are not enough of them. The adaptation process from salt to freshwater was slow and percentage wise not that successful, which is why sightings of them are rare.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  85. If he doesn’t give us all cookies isn’t that discrimination against “late-comers” or something??

    Comment by MD in Philly

    Help, I’m being repressed! Come see the violence inherent in the system. We are the 2% (milk).

    Dustin (401f3a)

  86. How time flies when you’re having fun…
    you are having fun, right?

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  87. Here’s a great carp video poached from Ace.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  88. JD, it’s all about forced “equality”.

    Icy (f5a880)

  89. Congratulations Patterico!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Forgot that earlier.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  90. felipe, my three-year incarceration (kidding!) in The Republic of Texas has ended. I have returned to my home state of Arizona.

    I came to Patterico in 2007, using the generic handle of Independent Conservative. Deciding to stick around, I settled on Icy Truth (“independent conservative truth”; “I see truth”; “cold hard truth”). When my company — one of those poor businesses that had been mercilessly decimated by Bain Capital, oh my! — transferred me to Texas I noted that change by altering my screen name. Returning to AZ, I decided to simplify.

    Icy (f5a880)

  91. Hey… they’re just making it official…

    PRESS: Record 19 reporters, media execs join Team Obama…

    http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/record-19-reporters-media-execs-join-team-obama/380971

    Colonel Haiku (add084)

  92. I like you when you give me cookies.

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  93. At the risk of threadjacking, I want to let ya’ll know – because this is one of my communities – that I received notice in the mail yesterday that I can now take the oath of office (and pay the fee) and that once I have, I will be admitted to practice law in California.

    Next up: the NY and NJ bar exams. 🙂

    aphrael (5d993c)

  94. congratulations, aphrael!

    Colonel Haiku (add084)

  95. One more honest attorney. You increased the percentage to 1.8357%. Congrats, aphrael.

    JD (12366a)

  96. Congratulations, aphrael!

    Maybe you can give some bar exam coaching to LA mayor Tony Villar. 😉

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (a18ddc)

  97. Some things are beyond even aphrael’s sterling qualities.

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  98. Congrats Patterico. Sorry I couldn’t keep my own blog going (despite your and DRJ’s kind encouragement). 🙂

    qdpsteve (f1c59f)

  99. Or, he could work up to it by first coaching Kathleen Sullivan!

    AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92)

  100. Here’s a fun look at the Tony Villar, token Hispanic for the DNC, 2012.

    Democratic Party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has nominated Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to Chair the 2012 Democrat Party nominating convention where Barack Hussein Obama is expected to be nominated for a second term.

    Radical Chicano activist, labor agitator, lifetime politician, tax raising, gun grabbing, sleazy Antonio Villaraigosa. The perfect Obama Democrat and the perfect contradiction to the traditional values that Americans of Hispanic descent hold dear.

    Dana (4eca6e)

  101. Congrats Aphrael! Like JD, I think you’re going to be a rare thing in the legal profession.

    Good luck.

    Dustin (401f3a)

  102. Congrats Patterico and aphrael.

    I think I started hanging around here in 2005 or ’06. Time flies.

    Ag80 (b0b671)

  103. Congratulations on your achievement, Aphrael, and on your ambitions as well.
    fwiw I’m very fond of lawyers especially good ones.

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  104. Sometime in 2003, I’m sure. I had started my own (now defunct) blog in September of that year, and I’m pretty sure I was commenting here (and on Calblog) for some time before that. I see you link to a (dead) post of mine on 9/27/2003.

    I don’t use my full name online anymore, but I’m sure you’ll recall meeting me election night 2004, at the same party that Master of None met his wife.

    Happy blogiversary. Wish I had the time.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  105. I was sad when calblog more or less died.

    aphrael (5d993c)

  106. Congrats!

    I found a post I made here in 2005…

    Amphipolis (e01538)

  107. aphrael – Congratulations! A very worthy addition to the bar.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  108. Congratulations, Patterico! Nine years… wow.

    As far as a paper trail goes, I think I started here late ’04, early ’05. A cursory search on the Google-Device shows that I posted a mini-bio on a “Tell Us About Yourself” thread” . A cursory comparison of that comment with my birthday reveals that I lied about my age slightly, which I think is really funny for some reason… I was such a pill back then.

    Lotsa good memories of this place. Taught me how to be polite, in a big way – the “put the angry letter in a drawer” theory. Also taught me the importance of Discourse, which has played a big role in who I’ve tried to become since then.

    Looking through that thread… time-warp central. JD was there, DRJ, nk, MD in Philly, Dana Pico, assistant devil’s advocate (who’s been sorely missed), Mike K, Xrlq (who I miss, with the qualification that I don’t know what the fallout was about), aphrael…

    aphrael! Congratulations to you too, man! Passing the bar… way cool. How do the bar exams of NY and NJ stack up against the Cali bar?

    These threads are really good, Patterico… like blog-family reunions, reaffirmation of the clan. A toast to the proverbial fallen.

    Leviticus (870be5)

  109. It’s been quite a while but I don’t remember when I actually started reading Patterico. I don’t recall how I arrived here for the first time either. During the blog’s history, in addition to the host’s postings I’ve also enjoyed the insights of some awesome commenters and guest posters who are still around, and I really miss some who seem to have departed. (Some provocateurs who are no longer around I don’t miss one little bit, though.)

    elissa (22d83d)

  110. Congratulations aphrael!

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  111. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to Chair the 2012 Democrat Party nominating convention where Barack Hussein Obama is expected to be nominated for a second term.

    One SCOAMF to another. How appropriate. Now all you need is Peter Sellers as Clouseau, or maybe Chauncey Gardiner.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  112. Congratulations, Patterico. Well done.

    Can’t remember how or when I arrived here, but I always come back, every day. Mostly lurking, but an occasional comment. Love reading the comments and feel like I know everyone.

    And congratulations, aphrael. And good luck on the next two challenges.

    PatAZ (2c3538)

  113. because this is one of my communities

    Awww. This is why I adore aphrael.
    Congratulations. You are now a lawyer-American!

    MayBee (081489)

  114. I check my blog archives, and I see my first link to you was June 19th, 2004, but you were over at OhThatLiberalMedia.

    My first link to PP was April 15, 2005, something about a Western Burger?

    Many good, good years. Be well, all.

    Pious Agnostic (40011c)

  115. Best wishes, Patterico!

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  116. Congrats aphrael,
    you sure your didn’t overestimate, JD

    Daley, that carp video is awesome.
    I think a carp-hunting safari would be a great community service project for a scout troop, protecting the natural ecology and all. I think I need to plan a trip.
    Fresh water sharks up the St. Lawrence? Say what?

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  117. I started reading regularly when Stashiu3 chose to share his GITMO story here. You and your blog were the only journalist he trusted and that was as good a recommendation as I could have imagined for anyone. The outstanding nature of this site has kept me here. I know of nothing else to match it.

    My appreciation and my debt are great indeed. Thank you.

    Machinist (b6f7da)

  118. aphrael will pass the bar
    As a lawyer, he’ll be a star!
    He will not chase
    The ambulance race
    he’s classy and he will go far!

    The Limerick Avenger (f68855)

  119. exception to rule
    “thousand bottom of ocean”
    a very good start

    Colonel Haiku (8d7732)

  120. I was here since probably Insty linked you. What a sense of camaraderie I discovered, with someone else who was growing ill at the downward spiral of the LAT! Very validating.

    So now you are an institution, part of the new culture of L.A. Best wishes for whatever comes next.

    Kudos!

    Patricia (e1d89d)

  121. Thanks for being a great host

    SteveG (e27d71)

  122. Patterico was aphrael’s muse
    And aph was inspired to choose
    To study the law
    ‘Cause he was in awe
    Of Pat, so how could he lose?

    The Limerick Avenger (f68855)

  123. Have read you from time to time for years, mostly from links from Instapundit and/or Hot Air. Lately have made your place a daily stop and finally got around to adding you to my blogroll. Thank you for what you do.

    Mr. D (30f5a8)

  124. “Fresh water sharks up the St. Lawrence? Say what?”

    MD in Philly – Hey, ya gotta be able to spin some yarns around a camp fire. Elements of danger keep the kids’ attention! You know about the volcanoes under the Great Lakes, right?

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  125. I’m pretty sure it was the Autumn of 2004.

    Thank you for your devotion and fearlessness in seeking truth. Others may display something approaching yours, but none surpass it.

    Ed from SFV (1d516b)

  126. Of course, Daley- the “Polar bear” clubs that dive into Michigan and Superior started years ago when the volcanoes were active and heated the water, like in Iceland.
    Did you ever tell them about that giant fungus that covers hundreds of square miles on the Wisconsin/UP border? Who knows how many scouts have “stumbled” upon it.
    Actually, Bull sharks can live in fresh water and swim up river. Many years ago several boys were lost in Jersey over a few days while swimming in a small section of river pretty far inland, surely much farther than anyone ever thought about sharks.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  127. MD in Philly – That’s the spirit!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  128. Can’t recall the exact date when I first came to PP, but it was just after or before Capt Ed, and The First Mate, hosted a No-Host get-together in Fullerton IIRC on one of their infrequent trips to the Coast, which is when I met Patrick, and Patricia, and probably others whose names I have forgotten.
    A lot has changed since then, some for the better, some not – and the LAT perseveres in its’ mediocrity.
    It’s been good to speak with all of you; and Thank You for tolerating this curmudgeon.

    AD-RtR/OS! (5b0e13)

  129. Comment by MD in Philly — 2/17/2012 @ 7:16 pm

    If it wasn’t for the sharks, perhaps the Snipe would come back?

    AD-RtR/OS! (5b0e13)

  130. “If it wasn’t for the sharks, perhaps the Snipe would come back?”

    AD – The vibrations from the underwater volcanoes keep the snipe away. Everybody knows that.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  131. Congratulations and all the best from me too, aphrael.

    Heh, Leviticus, I lied about my age too. 😉

    nk (5a9989)

  132. Well, waxing crypto-poetic is an underrated quality, in my opinion. The spice of life, I dare say…

    Leviticus (870be5)

  133. Leviticus,

    Did you claim to be older or younger than you really were?

    Patterico (13e9ba)

  134. Reading back over some of the posts from that era made me think of the Kathryn Johnston debate.

    Leviticus (870be5)

  135. I claimed to be older. By a couple months. Rounded up, basically.

    Leviticus (870be5)

  136. Guess I thought that the difference between “16” and “17” was the difference between being dismissed and being taken seriously, hahahahaha…

    Leviticus (870be5)

  137. o joyous milestone!

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  138. Poetry, literally translated from Greek (yeah, it’s a Greek word), means Creation. We have been blessed or cursed with speech, and the more we can say the smarter people people think we are (opposite example, Obama and his telepromprompter).

    So learn to talk pretty, in speech and writing, nascent lawyer aphrael and young Leviticus, as much as you can.

    nk (5a9989)

  139. From what I’ve gathered from my legal writing courses, the law puts a premium on ugly writing.

    Leviticus (870be5)

  140. everyone should stop talk talking that blah blah blah is my understanding

    happyfeet (3c92a1)

  141. No “Sockpuppet Friday, Anniversary Edition”?

    Icy (f5a880)

  142. Then you have a bad teacher. Words are mankind’s most powerful tools.

    Please!

    If you wish, view Diefenstahl’s, “The Power of the Will”. I intend no insult to your intelligence if I suggest that Hitler gained his power with speech that controlled homicidal maniacs with guns when all he had was a five foot six lung sick runt armed only with a tiny pistol he used to kill himself.

    And please grade me on the strength of thi s, my comment, but know that I will be grading you on how you grade me.

    “Pedantic prick” gets you an A because I’m a manipulative and deceptive person. Aw, shit! 😉

    nk (5a9989)

  143. I have diarhea of the typing fingers, tonight.

    The law puts premium on saying what needs be said in three lines or less. Judges are busy/lazy/borderline demented people.

    Keep it short, keep it sharp, keep repeating it.

    nk (5a9989)

  144. Congrats, aphrael! Hope you’ve planned a big celebration — reaching a major goal kinda requires it….!

    No “Sockpuppet Friday, Anniversary Edition”?

    Comment by Icy — 2/17/2012 @ 10:00 pm

    dittoed and seconded 😉

    no one you know, juuussst in case someone is counting votes (577ce5)

  145. I was a frequenter of Lee Stranahan’s blog, and I found this blog during weinergate. I was going by “a different mark” because there was already one Mark here.

    Ghost (6f9de7)

  146. Re #146 But when I say it, it is still “no one I know”.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  147. Congratulations on the anniversary! Still a daily stop, even though I don’t comment.

    Walt (9f130b)

  148. Enjoy the site. I learn something every time. The paragraph writers are very informative.

    sickofrinos (44de53)

  149. Re #146 But when I say it, it is still “no one I know”.

    Comment by MD in Philly — 2/17/2012 @ 10:54 pm

    Last night was looking at the “Tell Us About Yourself” thread Leviticus links to in comment 110 above and enjoyed reading all the backgrounds of people (esp those still here), including yours.

    Interesting to see people commenting on their own history and (among other things) how that helped inform their political or philosophical views.

    no one you know (577ce5)

  150. I think I visited PP’s sometime in early 2004. (worth a half-pint?) Can’t remember how I found the site, but do remember how much Patrick formed his own version of “media matters” against the LA Times fact-checking their constant bogus stories.

    Also remember “The Sullivan Wars”.

    Congrats Mr. Frey for the persistent longevity of Patterico’s—well done.

    Rov

    Rovin (0d0a09)

  151. Since Xion is in the computer room with me, I figured I should go ahead and use the Cat Years Calculator, and have discovered that this site is 53 cat years old!

    The Dana with cats (f68855)

  152. So, who was your first troll?

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  153. Good job, Patter-EE-ko.

    bobdog (166386)

  154. HA bob-dog. That phonetic spelling is how I blogrolled P. in 2004

    Sarahw (b0e533)

  155. What does it say that you and the porkulus plan have the same anniversary?

    The Dana with remembers his history (f68855)

  156. Been reading your blog for about four years, Patrick.
    Congratulations on your anniversary.

    School Marm (f0aff4)

  157. Been lurking here for about 4 or 5 years, probably after some linky love from Instapundit. Congrats on 9 years!!!! My former handle was BT.

    Ipso Fatso (7434b9)

  158. Happy blogiversary to one of the most crucial sites online..!

    chris muir (85a7a0)

  159. As much fun as it may have been for you Patterico, it has been a BLAST for the rest of us. Thanks for the great reads.

    GM Roper (d58b94)

  160. SarahW: thank you. As for my ambitions, I can’t do anything right now, as I moved right after taking the CA bar exam, and so have to retake it out here. (I moved so my husband could go to graduate school, but it’s complicating).

    Leviticus: CA is three days; NY is 2. CA specific section is six 1-hr essays plus two 3 hr performance tests; NY specific section is a 74 hr multiple choice on NY law, 5 40min essay questions, and a 90 minute performance test.

    So … you basically have to know more local law in NY than CA, but your essays don’t have to be as deep, and the performance test is less complex.

    Limerick Avenger: certainly if I could get a job in the DA’s office out here, I’d be happy.

    Dittoed and Seconded: when the bar exam results came out in November, at 9pm local time, my husband made arrangements to take me out to a fancy dinner (a michelin starred restaurant, somewhere downtown). It was an Indian restaurant, a cuisine I love and he dislikes. To our great disappointment, the food was impeccably well cooked, but utterly bland – bland by *his* i-dont-eat-spicy-food standards, not mine.

    After, we went to see Harold + Kumar. 🙂

    (I couldn’t be sworn in then, though, as I’d been slow in filing my moral character certification, and it wasn’t ready yet).

    aphrael (d46bb0)

  161. Also, it might be interesting to do a new tell-us-about-yourselves thread.

    aphrael (d46bb0)


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