Well, this is going to be interesting, if not entertaining. I've been accused, by family, friends, co-workers - in other words people who know me - of being a Luddite. And for those who don't know, Luddites were members of an early 1800s movement of English textile workers who protested - often by destroying textile machines -- changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. That's the origin; more recently the term Luddite has been used to describe anyone opposed to technological progress or technological change. OK, so maybe there's some truth in that, but only a little. I like music but don't have an iPod, I don't own a cell phone (but will borrow one from my wife when I head off to National Pavement Expo or National Pavement Expo West), I prefer manual to electronic door locks and manual to electronic windows, I play tennis with a wooden racket, I still listen to LP records but own and use a CD player, I don't text message, I don't Instant Message, and I'm not at all proficient on a computer, despite the fact I can muddle my way through a number of software programs when the need arises. So that's why those who know me are going to get a big kick out of me blogging for Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction as well as the two trade shows. So be it. But I have help. Our internet specialists Sam Simon and Jacob Bare understand all this stuff, so I'm going to put the technological details in their able hands and I'll handle the writing. What exactly does that mean? Well, we'll have to see. No question I'll be writing about paving and pavement maintenance & reconstruction, and I'm sure I'll pass along some of things I hear almost every day from contractors and manufacturers (sometimes I'll pass them on anonymously if that's what it takes to get the information out). I'll try to provide some anecdotal information on materials or equipment pricing, just as an FYI (who says I couldn't text message if I wanted to?), I'll tip you off to some of the NPE or NPE West seminars you might not want to overlook, and I'll certainly try to provide timely news-type information when appropriate. But there's more to this blog than that, as implied by its Roundabout title, so I'll probably be writing about a whole variety of topics. Baseball? For sure (with the possible exception of the Yankees). Music? Yes. Books? Yes (I'm a big reader). The progress of the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team (my daughter is the starting point guard)? I don't see how I could avoid it. My son's pursuit of a career in radio? Same answer. Politics? No way. So I'll make an effort to post something every day or so (no promises) so why don't you bookmark this site or add it to your favorites or whatever else you can do to make it easy to visit frequently. Meanwhile, I've got to click the right sequence of keys to send this over to Sam and Jacob to get it up where you can read it. Somewhere in North Dakota a missile silo will probably be opening soon.
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