Anonimizing

A friend of mine recently told me how unsafe blogging is if you use your real name or the real names of your kids, spouse, pets, etc.  I noticed a few of the people I follow use nicknames for all their family members.  Actually, this confuses me and I have to try and figure out which of their kids I'm reading about.  The ones who use initials are easier to figure out but still slow me down a bit.

I can barely remember my own kid's names some days.  There have been times when I was trying to get one of them to pay attention and after calling the same name multiple times I realize that isn't even the kid I'm talking to.  Scoff and scorn if you will, but frankly, keep it to yourself unless you've got five or more kids and have never had this problem.

I do call all my kids "shorty" as an ironic form of endearment since they all top the growth charts for height; but otherwise I don't really have nicknames for them.  I guess I could refer to them as Shorty 1 through Shorty 5 but that just seems... lame.

There is the option of making my blog private.  Again, my friends with private blogs are probably being much more responsible and safe.  However, a good part of the time I can't get into their blogs; and I know them and they invited me.  Those private blogs are not bookmark friendly so by the time I find the link and get past the security they've had three more kids, started a new business, and moved to Kansas.

Anyway, so life is unsecured.  The internet is unsecured.  If you're reading about my kids to come up with bad stuff you can use, or good stuff you can use for bad things... well, just log off right now and go find something better to do with your life because you know what goes around comes around.