Speaking of CCMB. Last time I checked in at the new-format version, a couple of months ago, I saw "LetsObeyChrist". I left immediately and haven't even peeked since then.
Oh, my. Alfred, eh? Mr. "I Have Decided In My Inerrant Wisdom That Catholics Are All Idolaters And I Shall Have Nothing More To Do With Them In My Gospel Purity--Anathema Sit!" LOC? I somewhat liked him until he finally blew his last gasket in one of the greatest irrational fits I've been privileged to witness.
I would have high-tailed it right out of there myself. You can *try* to reason with him. You can also try to reason with a bridge abutment.
Re: CCMB. I've been there about three times since March, and haven't posted since about February. Lord knows I'm not close to earning a gold star (or whatever it is they give for voluminous posting). The format change ruined it for me.
Dale:
20,000? Isn't your finger tired?
Just kidding -- you're worth every click on every mouse, keep it up!!
Thanks for the kind words about little Hannah. I can tell by her smiles that she'll appreciate your dyspepticism later in life.
Ah, the old CCMB. Why did Steve ever change that format? Maybe to spawn a dozen blogs, who can say? But I really did enjoy that time -- even LOC's Keystone Kerygmatics were a hoot. I remember the time when he decided Catholics were idolators because one only has photographs of absent relatives, hence icons and statues prove God isn't in the Catholic Church. It still makes my sides hurt.
"20,000? Isn't your finger tired?"
Well, maybe a little. But it's all about stats, so I'm willing to pay the price.
I'm delighted for you, your wife and your daughter. Although, I'm a little surprised by her acquiring a taste for the dyspeptic at her age.
I'm usually more of a "terrible 2" phenomenon....
I was never entirely sure of Steve's reason for the format change. Cost was frequently mentioned, and the whole thing was gratis on his dime, so I can't begrudge him. Still, I couldn't adjust to the new format, no matter how I tried to like it. The blog explosion is a nice side effect, but I miss the community--the SheaBorn blogs come close, but not quite.
LOC--I remember you saying you never knew what you were going to get from him. He'd respond with a terse "wrong, but may God grant peace to your house," or he'd give you a five volume treatise responding to a minor point. He was a hoot, to be sure.
Thanks for the kind words Dale.
I miss the personality and fast pace of the old board... but you know it brought me to tears more times then I can count and after all the effort to share, teach, discuss, etc. I think I only made one friend. Sure, there are lots of people that I respect, and they respect me (you for example) but it feels weird/fake to have conversations with people everyday (sometimes for hours) and then remain anonymous. Do you know what I mean? We looked at one another from one constantly flat angle. Looking back on what happened with LOC still makes me feel sad, as do the other sour moments that I remember. I missed it at first, but now that I’ve had some distance from it, I think it was more like an addiction than a community. So I guess I'd have to say that I'm glad it's in the past.
Btw, do you mind if I cut, paste and rearrange your kind review for my blog sideline?
Yes, there is more than a little fakeness and impulse toward hostility in internet interactions, and I shouldn't forget that. I guess my perspective is colored by the fact I was at the CCMB from 1998 till the new format--perhaps that's the addict denying he has a problem... 
It helped me to "see" a variety of people defending Catholicism, even if it was in a less than edifying manner. It indicated to me that it was something worth explaining, and yes, even fighting for--allowing for the fact some approaches are far better than others.
I've since met in person three people who posted regularly there, and I know two other "bloggers" as real live people, so that helps. Maybe that's the (not-so-inexpensive) solution--meeting people at the other end at least once.
By all means, feel free to use the endorsement--I just hope it doesn't chase anyone away!
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