This is the personal website of John Watson: father, software developer, artist, guitar player. Follow me on Mastodon or Twitter or Twitch or itch.io or GitHub.

You know I'm just some guy, right?

Feedburner claims there are hundreds of you who read this blog on a regular basis. Time is a rare and precious commodity and I’m honored (and frankly stunned) that you spend a few minutes of yours here. Some of you have commented but most of you just read. So, I’m genuinely curious: who are you? Really, I’d like to know more about you. Especially you silent, friendly lurkers out there. And include your blog if you’ve got one. I promise to click and read every single one.

Update: You guys are great! Thanks for writing! Even those of you who, without warning or provocation, link to nightmarish photos of the world’s ugliest dog or tell horrific tales of Brazilian waxing gone awry.

Comments

  1. Kurt on 2007-04-19 12:30:26 wrote: Well, I was sitting here listening to my iPod at work and NRBQ’s “Only You” came on. I googled the lyrics and turned up your blog, so this is my first visit. I am an architect in Norfolk, Virginia. Ain’t the internet amazing?

  2. knwd on 2007-04-19 12:39:24 wrote: I came to your blog via Flickr– I saw your colorwashed Iris photo. Anyway, I’m entertained by your conversations with the Boy, so I keep coming back…

  3. Ted on 2007-04-19 12:42:17 wrote: I originally hit your site for your cool Flickr apps but got drawn into your blog posts. The one with “lady I’m not wearing any socks!” in particular struck a chord with me as I’ve got a precocious two year-old at home who’s starting to show her attitude as well.

  4. Elaine on 2007-04-19 13:01:42 wrote: Long time lurker, first time commenter. Big fan of the Flickr toys and found your blog that way. I stick around for the humor and the photos.

  5. mc on 2007-04-19 13:12:19 wrote: i’ve been a lurker for a while.. i’m also just some guy. i think i found your blog through another blog, i’m not sure. i don’t have your site bookmarked, but i check it quite frequently. the domain name is so perfect, i never have trouble remembering it and typing it in whenever i need to take a break for a minute and see the world through someone else’s eyes. i love your honesty and openness, and, even though i’m young and have no kids, i find your ‘being daddy’ posts especially awesome. your perspective is an interesting one, and the work day is long. your sense of humor’s great… a little corny sometimes, but even then, it’s enjoyable. i’m 23 and i have no blog.. but i’ll probably have one soon enough, i’ll be sure let you know once i get that going so you can check it out.. keep up the good work. :)

  6. anydanger on 2007-04-19 13:41:33 wrote: Ditto - I found your blog via the Flickr thing in a period of time when I gathered RSS feeds from everywhere having just installed NetNewsWire and wanting to fill it up! I have deleted many of them but yours is still there - I am particularly in love with the conversations you have “Me: / Son:” and “Wife: / Daughter:” They are so funny and so familiar! You know what the difference is between a 4-year-old boy and a crazy person? Yah, me neither. Actually, the only difference I can think of is that we expect the mentally ill to get treatment. Son: Lady! I don’t have any socks! Daughter: Girls can’t wear kentuckys. etc etc etc :D Keep up the good work!

  7. Kim on 2007-04-19 13:43:18 wrote: love the flickr toys! trying out letterpop! enjoy reading your blog

  8. Magnus von Koeller on 2007-04-19 13:45:36 wrote: Well, I’m German, Flickr-fan and (I think) found your blog through Flickr. Though, honestly, I’ve been lurkin’ for too long to remember exactly what brought me here. I do enjoy the stories of the kids (being a fan of children myself, I just spent four months working in a center for working children in Ecuador). Also, my girlfriend wants me to follow your example, move my work to the home and take care of the kids once we have them. ;) Anyhow, keep on writing, I do like it.

  9. dave on 2007-04-19 13:50:02 wrote: I stumbled across your blog some time ago. Fellow father of two, some of your posts just clicked (dumplings! ha!). Been here ever since. Oh, and you take great photos. Dave

  10. EverydaySuperGoddess on 2007-04-19 14:04:40 wrote: I can’t remember how I found your site, I’m sure it was through someone’s link somewhere. But I have you in my Bloglines and read every time you post. I blog over at wanna-cookie.blogspot.com.

  11. Anjum on 2007-04-19 14:25:31 wrote: same as a few above, I came initially because of your great flickr toys, and stayed because I like your posts - they’re a different perspective than I tend to come across in my daily life and I’m all for that.

  12. LLD on 2007-04-19 14:35:23 wrote: I’m a 30 year old Canadian, woman - I found your blog through someone else’s blog - Picture This gave a shout out to your site, I’m into photography and was captured by the pics of you and your family - they are beautiful. I haven’t been reading your blog for very long - but enjoy your openness and candor. Cheers!

  13. Chris on 2007-04-19 14:35:58 wrote: I found your site originally thanks to your amazing flickr toys that I use all the time thankyouverymuch. Your posts about your family inspired me to make a similar site to chronicle my daughter’s childhood “flagrantdisregard style.” SIDDA SAYS: http://dirtroadphotography.com/siddasays/ MY FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pultzpics/ MY AVOCATION: http://www.dirtroadphotography.com See. Nothing special. I’m just a guy too.

  14. Dino on 2007-04-19 14:39:26 wrote: I am in Michigan. An electrical engineer with some web programming experience. I don’t remember how I found this site, but I have linked to it from my blog since I read your about me page. My wife is a photographer, so that aspect interests me too. Your posts on Ubuntu have been inspiring, although I can’t quite shed Photoshop yet. I have a couple kids too, so many similar interests. I am glad you have had more time to post recently. Now, I gotta click the links to see who else reads this…

  15. Steve Crane on 2007-04-19 14:45:00 wrote: The author of the Flickr toys just some guy? Heck no. I’m impressed with your programming skill and knowledge. I like reading your posts about day to day things, particularly the funny things that kids say.

  16. Karen on 2007-04-19 15:03:58 wrote: I’m one of your Canadian readers! I love your Flickr toys and came over from there some time ago. You have an interesting and absolutely beautiful family.

  17. Jean on 2007-04-19 16:50:11 wrote: Hi John, I’m from Ottawa Canada. I think it was through Christian Audio that I came to know this site. Love your Flickr Toys and your daily blog about your kids! Great work! Take care, Jean

  18. Paul on 2007-04-19 17:17:15 wrote: I live in North Carolina, and love to read your blog. Your quotes from the kids are so similar to what we hear at home ourselves. Plus, you don’t post often enough for it to be a burden to read it. Keep up the good work! Oh, and I’ll have to check out the Flickr toys.

  19. Dan on 2007-04-19 18:00:00 wrote: Hey! I’m in Indiana and am also just a guy. I started reading a couple of months ago, but I don’t remember how I got here. Thanks for the great read.

  20. Sweet T on 2007-04-19 18:02:06 wrote: i delurked yesterday. found you thru flickr toys, then read ALOT of your archives. you are now in my GoogleReader, cuz i like the conversations with your kids. =)

  21. Bruce on 2007-04-19 18:51:21 wrote: Hi John: I just took a quick scan through the archives to check, and it seems I have been dropping by for about a year. Like many of the other responders, I can’t remember how I found you. (a link through WordPress, maybe?) Your ‘feed’ has been in my menu bar for a while now. You have a refreshing and entertaining (and positive) perspective on everyday life. I don’t have kids, but I do have a bunch of nieces and nephews, so I can relate to the family conversations. Keep up the good work. I post erratically at www.theweakly.blogspot.com

  22. Charles on 2007-04-19 19:00:25 wrote: I found your wonderful blog through your Scout flickr toy which I use all the time (I can’t help it.) I subscribe to it through Google Reader because I can’t ever remember to check blogs. I’m only 25, but when I have children of my own I hope that they are as awesome as yours seem to be. I have a photography blog at fervocity.blogspot.com.

  23. Roblin on 2007-04-19 19:06:45 wrote: Been a fairly regular reader for a while now. Like many of those above, my wife and I came for the photos and came back mainly for the dad stuff. For what it’s worth, I try to keep my own set of kid and whatnot stories; yours always encourage me to stick with it. Thanks.

  24. Ray on 2007-04-19 19:34:35 wrote: I’m a 21 year old Brit now living in Alaska, found your blog through your Flickr toys. Again it’s the conversations with your family I like to read - especially as I seem to spend my days having very similar ones! raymenie.wordpress.com flickr.com/photos/rdavis

  25. Norby on 2007-04-19 20:57:26 wrote: I came for the photos long ago, stayed for the stories, and leave for the toys :) I have no green thumb for blogging, so I just don’t bother. It’s as much as I can do to post a photo to flickr once in a while lately. I always share your best tidbits with my wife, who does try and post the occasional “ROFL” moment to her blog though. -//

  26. mims on 2007-04-19 22:15:02 wrote: chance upon your blog via flickr and since then i’ve been a fan. love your timely sense of humor and the series of dialogues with your kids and wife are just hilarious…makes me wanna keep on coming back for more ;-)

  27. nick santilli on 2007-04-19 22:19:35 wrote: The quick snippets from the mouths of babes are what keep me coming back. It’s much like listening to my own random thought machines. Great stuff. I found you originally through flickr photos, and then the toys. I was actually the one who interviewed you for QJ.net Photography when I was blogging there. Although I’ve since quit that gig, I’m the main blogger at theappleblog.com now. I’ll occasionally pen a random thought of my own at vulio.com, but between theappleblog and near daily blogging about my kids, the personal site is admittedly neglected. oh well. Thanks for the laughs, the great flickr toys, photography that keeps me motivated to get out and shoot!

  28. Elaine on 2007-04-19 23:31:30 wrote: I, too, originally got here through your Flickr tools but I enjoy the stories of your “lovely wife” and the pictures and shenanigans (sp?) of your two very cute kids. I have one cute kid of my own and a mediocre husband (don’t tell him I said that). If you should email me, change the @hto to @hot, spambots, you know.

  29. Amy at Fannfare on 2007-04-20 04:14:08 wrote: Washington DC Mom – have been reading for months. Up early this morning (fingers crossed) in labor with baby #2. Thank you for sharing your beautiful familly with us. Recent favorite: “I wish our table was made of sticks.” Excellent.

  30. Laughingcow on 2007-04-20 04:24:34 wrote: First time commenter too, and I love the good clean fun vibe of your blog. :) Love also the free books every month at Christian Audio! :P

  31. James on 2007-04-20 05:58:16 wrote: I found your site for a certain Flickr app during a forum craze of creating motivational posters. Just out of curiosity, I read the blog and check back every few days since that point. I’m a 21 yr old “just some guy” living in Alabama. Thanks for all of the neat things you post. :)

  32. Amy on 2007-04-20 06:15:14 wrote: I won’t be original when I say I found your blog because of your nifty flickr tools….but anyway…I’m hooked on the blog now :) I use bloglines :) Glad you’re around!!

  33. Valerie on 2007-04-20 06:17:24 wrote: I’ve been reading you for about a year now and found you through your flickr toys. I used the “motivators” to make some spoof posters of our cast at the Georgia Renaissance Festival. (They can be found in my webshot albums - user ‘grvlgal’.) Being a parent, I love reading the stories about your kids. They crack me up and remind me of the goofy things my own son has done. You can read my blog over at grvlgal.blogspot.com though I don’t post as frequently as I should. Mostly about cross stitching, my theater work, my kidlet, and my crazy/wonderful friends.

  34. are you my rik? on 2007-04-20 06:20:46 wrote: not sure i remember how i first found your blog. i’m sure it was through your flickr toys, but i was instantly hooked. your “being daddy” moments really got at me and really got me off my duff to start our own little family blog (since our family lives in california and utah and we’re way out here in kansas).

  35. ruthdeb on 2007-04-20 06:53:45 wrote: Same here John, found you through FlickrToys and stayed for your “being daddy” conversations. hi-LARIOUS. Truly your flickr toys add so much additional fun to be part of Flickr – they should pay you. I joined flickr becase I saw the mosaics people were making, and I’ve used a bunch of your toys. (Mosaic, Hockneyizer, DxO lighting, Scout, the calendar maker) Flickr is so much more fun when you mash it up with your toys. Anyway, your being daddy conversations are so great. I sometimes read them out loud to my family.

  36. Marlo on 2007-04-20 07:20:07 wrote: It’s the conversations which keeps me coming back. I also have two kids, boy & girl. I think your kids are older so I feel like I’m getting a heads up on what to expect from mine. BTW, I like the new redesign of the blog.

  37. Bahi on 2007-04-20 07:43:25 wrote: I found you via your Flickr toys, then subscribed to feeds for this blog and (later) to Photodoto.com - I enjoy them all. It’s unusual to get warm, thoughtful writing, smart coding and really good photography from the same person. Thanks, and well done. (Bahi, London, UK.)

  38. John Y. on 2007-04-20 08:00:22 wrote: Hi there. Yes, I’m a lurker too. I get the RSS feed so I usually don’t take the time to click through and comment. I originally found your blog through Flickr Toys. Great work on those by the way, very cool stuff! As others have commented, I particularly enjoy the conversations with your kids. Also, the conversations with your wife are hilarious! Oh and good luck with the Newsletter stuff. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!!!

  39. Peter on 2007-04-20 08:48:05 wrote: came here through your flickr/flickr toys. like your photos, your humor and i think your interaction with your kids and wife are hilarious.

  40. Captoe on 2007-04-20 09:00:59 wrote: John, I’m just a guy. A dad. A flickr user. Curious about Linux. A blogger. I subscribe to your feed and dozens of others. I don’t even remember how I got here in the first place. Mike H

  41. Brandi on 2007-04-20 09:37:42 wrote: i found you sometime back while googling “larry the cucumber”. i come back for the kid conversations. we have 2 big kids (10 & 11) & a brand new one (3 1/2 weeks!) so we haven’t had those type of conversations in awhile but now we have something to look forward to. i like your style.

  42. Mario on 2007-04-20 10:27:43 wrote: I’m been reading your blog, I mean your RSS feeds, since your Girl was 3(?), just after you finished updating the diaper-counting-thing you used to have. I remember I came to your blog following a link from bloggingbaby.com referring to that diaper thing. I’m just a wannabe-blogger, wannabe-photographer but a full time dad of two, one girl (12) and one boy (3). It was you who inspired me to start my first blog (www.explicitexposure.net) back in Dec 2004, my second blog (www.taekwondokids.net) and more recently you were the person who inspired me to try and fall in love with Ubuntu. I can tell you that when I grow up I just want to be like you ;-) Keep going and never stop being a dad for those beautiful kids of yours. Best wishes, from Miami FL

  43. Kate on 2007-04-20 11:03:24 wrote: Don’t recall how I came a cross your blog, but I dig it.

  44. Dennis H on 2007-04-20 11:21:30 wrote: First time commenter, long time lurker. I can’t recall how I found your blog, but after reading a few posts I could instantly relate to your experiences. I’m also a Dad of two small kids (5 & 1.5), into photography and blog about them. Really dig your writing style and creativity. The Olympics post this week was hilarious. I RSS your site via Bloglines.

  45. Brian on 2007-04-20 12:33:08 wrote: Hello :) I’m one of your UK readers, and I came across your blog when Steve Lacey commented about it on his blog: http://www.steve-lacey.com I must admit, I tend to miss quite a lot of your posts as you post quite often and I tend to skim read when catching up - mental note: add this blog to your RSS Feeds. Even without any children, your posts are very amusing, especially the conversations with your Son, although the latest one with your wife at the airport had me laughing out loud (yes, yes, I am slightly crazy!!) Anyway, keep up the good work/blog etc. Brian. P.S. Your Flickr toy/gadget thing is really cool :-)

  46. Chuck on 2007-04-20 19:03:41 wrote: Hi John, I think this is my first time commenting as well. I originally found your site while browsing for photography help. Like so many of the others I stick around because of the laughs and insights. Keep up the great work.

  47. anna on 2007-04-20 19:49:18 wrote: found you through despair.com, bloggers with kids have an unfair advantage over the rest of us, blogging conversations with the boss doesn’t have the same appeal. (PS, would you consider my house as a future venue for your homelympics?)

  48. Michelle on 2007-04-20 20:05:51 wrote: Hey, been lurking for quite a while around here and honestly don’t remember how I found the site originally. Love the flickr toys and the site is always entertaining. Keep up the good work.

  49. kim siler on 2007-04-20 20:43:44 wrote: i use your flickrToy and actually have your site in a folder of bookmarks i call WEEKLY. I catch up on your great photos and quick blogs on a weekly basis. LOVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY!!! :) Our Blog: http://www.sillysilers.com

  50. Mrs. DSN on 2007-04-20 22:07:26 wrote: I originally came to your site to download your Feedburner plugin for WordPress but ended up becoming a subscriber to your blog. It’s those warm lovely funny conversations between you and your family that I love most. Thanks for sharing.

  51. Phil on 2007-04-20 22:26:34 wrote: I’ve commented before… I’m a stay-at-home dad in the beautiful lake country of North Idaho. Last year I became a home-schooler, teaching my 8-year-old son and loving every minute of it even though it’s incredibly tiring. Next month will be my third anniversary of blogging. You are one of 136 mom and dad blogs I read through Google Reader.

  52. Stephen on 2007-04-21 09:35:27 wrote: Stephen here, from Adelaide, Australia, discovering you for the first time at 2am on a Sunday morning. Here is the site-linkage I went through to arrive at this page: 1. bighugelabs.com/flickr/scout - very handy 2. bighugelabs.com/blog/ 3. internettypewriter.com/ - this is great 4. watson-net.com/ - no, you are NOT an ordinary guy, you are an extraordinary guy 5. and now I am going to look at your flickr.com shots!

  53. JustAReader on 2007-04-21 15:56:59 wrote: I dunno how I found you. I keep coming back because the kids look so cute (can I order a pair exactly like them?) and the stories about them are so hilarious(and ring true). In a world of craziness its nice to see a crazy-normal family life in a nutshell. TLATW is lucky to have you, and you lucky to have her. And we are lucky you blog. lol

  54. Nik on 2007-04-21 16:53:56 wrote: I came to your blog from a link somewhere on the despair.com web site (or was it an email from them). As I decided to close the browser, I read one of the conversations with your kids. It made me laugh, so I read more … and more … and so on and so forth … Oh yeah … I’m a student … still … working/stressing out towards a Comp. Sci degree. And thanks for sharing your stories!

  55. David Ritchie on 2007-04-22 13:46:33 wrote: Been reading your blog for a while now, found it from your flickr toys. One of a few that I still read regularly Just some guy from Aberdeen, Scotland

  56. Bill on 2007-04-22 15:03:21 wrote: I’m married with no kids. I like your sense of humor… reminds me of my neighbors’ kids and my nephews. I can’t remember where or when I found you. I’m a work-at-home IT geek who have a few passions (windsurfing and waterskiing).

  57. Sarah Z on 2007-04-22 18:47:19 wrote: Well, someone posted a link to one of your postings on DC Urban Moms, it made me laugh, (probably something about duct tape) so I put you on my bloglines feed. Turns out, your linux posts cite some blog my linux hubby reads so I forwarded your 4 part upgrade saga to him as well. We’ve got one two year old but will be looking at a multi family member computer desk soon. And yes, we IM each other within the house. And he’s also a photographer.

  58. April on 2007-04-22 18:50:45 wrote: Lurking in House Springs Missouri

  59. Pat J on 2007-04-23 07:50:51 wrote: I found your site through your flickr toys. And the post that made me stay, and keeps me coming back every so often, was this one. I still wish my table was made of sticks.

  60. Huts on 2007-04-23 16:56:28 wrote: Found it while looking at your flickr tools. Have 2 kids of my own and I really enjoy your replays of your conversations with your family. Sometimes, it is all I can do to stifle myself in public.

  61. Cally on 2007-04-23 19:22:07 wrote: I found your website because my friend lives in Cali, and is a HUGE flikr guy like you…and loved your work. I am a 1st and 2nd grade teacher and I love looking at your kids pictures and hearing thier amazing stories! I hear kid stories all the time throughout the day, and cant get enough of them. Thank you for sharing your family with us.

  62. chronicler on 2007-04-24 07:42:23 wrote: Just like almost everyone else, came by way of flickr. Stayed by way of your great posts. I love when men talk about your everyday lives, you’re such enigmas to us women folk! I’m a food person who also loves to fused glass. I live in SoCal (you know the place that is so full it’s going to fall into the ocean from sheer overload soon- for get the earthquake) I have three blogs. eeeek.

  63. Laura on 2007-04-24 15:29:04 wrote: I, too, arrived via Flickr - came for the cool apps, stayed for the slice of Dad-hood. See, my husband expresses himself neither often nor well, so I use your blog at times to view family life as he might. Your conversations with the Boy sound eerily similar to conversations with My Boy ( “My tongue is a gun” !? - cracks me up ). Same for the Girl - My Girl sounds just like her at times. Mostly I lurk, absorbing the good vibes ( even from the rants !) that shimmer from your posts.

  64. malique on 2007-04-24 20:57:51 wrote: hello stranger! im your number #1 stalker on flickr. :)

  65. Houston on 2007-04-25 05:57:08 wrote: Hey there! I also lurk in the shadows from time to time. I work tech support and ran across you blog in my wanderings and come back from time to time. Being a father of 5 kids I can relate to the conversations and the glimpses of your life you share with us.

  66. Dave Newton on 2007-04-26 07:00:23 wrote: Although I’m not sure how I originally found it, I’ve been reading your blog for a while. I find your insights regarding your family both touching and amusing. I have two girls and a grown son, so I can relate to a lot of what you say. I am a former tabletop game designer (Dangerous Journeys, Rapture), currently employed as a NASA contractor in Alabama. I used to be heavily involved in Live Action RolePlaying, but now I spend my time with MMO gaming. Just wanted to check in and say hello, and thanks for the great blog. Cheers!

  67. Carolina on 2007-04-28 18:49:44 wrote: Hi John, I’ve been visiting your sites for a long while now (“Lurker” is my middle name. LOL!). I think I found this one from your other site Photodoto (and I found that one when I googled something on photography), and I got hooked ever since. I don’t have any kids of my own (yet), but I have one Goddaugther who’ll be turning two this summer. I love your posts especially the conversations with the boy and the girl. ;) I love your photos too. Thanks for sharing! :D Greetings from Toronto, Canada.

  68. Mike on 2007-05-10 13:43:20 wrote: Oops, I’m late to the comment party. I originally found your site via two means: the Flickr toys, and some other way (which, for the life of me, I can’t remember). I didn’t realize you were the Flickr toys guy until later. The conversational posts are awesome! Those are what got me hooked. It’s great how you’re able to remember and frame just the bits that are entertaining.

  69. Laura on 2007-05-12 11:53:42 wrote: Greetings from San Jose, CA. I, like several others, came across your blog while searching for your flickr apps (LOVE them by the way). Your stories are both touching and funny, so I’ve stuck around and have been a silent lurker for quite a while. My blog: http://tiggerlarue.blogspot.com/