Welcome Aboard!
Introductions are in order!
The Befuddled Crew!
I've never explained the ``Mr. Muddle" name. Well, I started this blog in DEC/2004 and it's now 2010, so I suppose it's time.
Back around 2005 there was a fair amount of press coverage concerning people who got fired because they discussed work related information in their blogs. For example, one airline flight attendant got in a stew, because she posted a photo of herself wearing her airline uniform. (Of course, she may have forgotten Rule #1, No uniform is complete, without your chones on!)
But I wasn't worried about my chones. I was worried about my ever loving hiney. You see, during the early years of this blog, the Mrs was very concerned that I might write something irresponsible, which might get her in trouble at work (and that would get me in trouble at home; cause and effect, you see). Even though I felt her fears were legitimate, I still decided to have fun with them. (Like Robin Williams said, "We're not laughing at you, we're laughing near you"; Dead Poets Society, 1989.)
On the serious side I avoided any subject matter which might be remotely related to the Mrs' work. On the lighter side, I decided two things. First, if I posted any photos of the Mrs, I would simply crop her head off (poetic justice). Second, I would give her a cute substitute name. It only took a couple minutes to come up with the name ``Mrs. Muddle" I guess because it fits so well with befuddled. On her side, Mrs. Muddle has maintained a strategy of plausible deniability, so everything has worked out.
Introducing the Muddles
One of the very first topics I wrote about in my blog was sports, and women's basketball in particular. Since my dad played basketball in high school in Kansas, and his high school won the state championship in their division back in 1931, I couldn't resist bringing the Muddle family into the storyline. (Dad said you could fit his entire high school student body into a single class room, so I recall.)
Thomas W Muddle
W was the original muddle head
Dad's high school graduation class along with the principal, a teacher, and maybe a custodian or two.
Our family's interest in arena football dates back to the 1980's, when we were fans of the Washington D.C. Commandos. San Jose got it's own arena football team in 1995, and we ordered season tickets the first day they were available. We remained season ticket holders until the AFL folded in 2009. (Rumors.)
The above photo was taken right after the Sabercats won the Western Division in 2002, and were on their way to the Arena Bowl. I just reread my posting about the Sabercats on 25 JAN 2005, and I see that I had called my daughter the ``unidentified daughter"; not ``unnamed daughter" as I later began calling her. I guess I'm glad I screwed that up. I like ``unnamed" better. What do you think?
Of course, every befuddled universe needs an official waggerington; and in this universe, it's me.
(Article continues below casserole photo)
Cheesy Ham and Banana Casserole
Cooked Muddle Casserole
Recently we've had a welcome influx of new folks joining the Befuddled Universe. A Big Hello! Love you guys!
I much appreciate new and old alike. Let me give you a quick tour of the place.
Let the tour begin!
Cook's Tour:
- The blog has two columns (see example above). There's skinny column on the left (with my photo at the top), and a fat column on the right. (In the example above, Peaches the Chihuahua is at the top of the fat column on the right.) As you've obviously figured out, this big, fat column on the right contains all the main articles. In the skinny column on the left, you'll find (a) personal information about me (see ABOUT for example), (b) help navigating around the blog, and (c) info about other blogs and stuff I either recommend or find of interest.
- Like most blogs, articles in this blog have categories. An article's category is listed at the bottom of an article. You can click on the category to find similar articles (e.g., broken_memories).
- There will probably be 6–10 articles on a page, then there will be a Next » button at the bottom of the page. If you want to go on to the next page click on the Next » button. If you want to return to the top of the page, click on the Mr. Muddle's Befuddled Universe button. (The ``Powered by TypePad" button will take you far, far away. So ignore it.)
- Recent articles and a handpicked selection of my articles can be found here: http://www.befuddled.org/befuddled/
- Recent articles only, can be found here: http://www.befuddled.org/blurry/
Comments
I welcome comments on articles, and they're easy to do, once you get the hang of it.
Click away!
To make a comment regarding a special article (i.e., posting) you need to move off the front page, and find the article's permanent location on the blog. There are two ways to do this.
First, you can click on the title of the blog article (e.g., Season's Greetings from Peaches Love). Note that the title is first of each article, the letters are blue.
Second, you can click on the word ``permanent" at the end of each article. This stands for ``permanent link"; or hyperlink.
You can email me using tim at timnull dot com or tim dot null at gmail dot com. (I do not respond to newsletters and press releases, but I make a sincere effort to respond to all personal emails. So if you have sent me a personal email, and you have not received a reply within a reasonable amount of time, please send me a follow up message.)
Address
You can send snail mail to me at:
Tim Null
Mr. Muddle's Befuddled Universe
4960 Almaden EXPY, STE #226
San Jose CA 95118-2007
FAX: (408) 264-6042




