I usually note the milestones of this blog by the 100s, but when the 1300 mark arrived, which was my post about a new way of displaying bike cop galleries on my website, I did not want to delay announcing that gallery. Then I plum forgot (until now).

Not much has changed in the last 3-1/3 months since I celebrated the 1200 blog post milestone. What has been most popular on this blog? Finding a masculine gay man — a perennial favorite search that lands thousands of visitors on this blog; How To Tell If You Have Vintage Frye Boots — also an ongoing favorite, with many inquiries trying to determine what is “vintage” from the current Frye-branded much lower quality boots available these days; and finally, another ongoing favorite — how, when, where, and with what to wear cowboy boots. Man oh man am I surprised by the vast number of guys who search the web anonymously about how to wear cowboy boots.

During the last 100 blog post timeframe, my partner had successful brain surgery, my twin brother and his wife visited for a month while he retired from 32 years of service to our country; and I rode my Harley around my lovely home state and didn’t get lost (much.) We had a hot July, decent August, and very rainy September.

My “new” job at which I started working last November is going well. Four articles or papers that I wrote were published in two peer-reviewed journals, one monthly Association newsletter, and as a chapter in a book edited by a well-respected researcher and professional colleague. One of the papers received a lot of attention internationally and was nominated for an award from my professional association, which I will find out about later. As a result of that (and perhaps doing a few more things right,) I got a promotion of sorts by moving off of conditional probation earlier than the one-year timeframe originally set out in my employment contract and getting a small raise.

Life is going well, smoothly, and quietly. Not much else to report! Keep blogging!

Blogging has become a medium in which many people share their thoughts, opinions, ideas, and information about their interests. I started blogging three and a half years ago, and have learned a thing or two.

I have written 25 suggestions about blogging, and whether you haven’t started to write a blog yet, or already have one, these ideas may be helpful to you.

However, in order to comply with Suggestion #3, all you will see on this page are the main headers. Much more detail, in a printable form, are here at this link (which complies with Suggestion #9.)

Take these suggestions for what you will — my thoughts and ideas, not official direction.

1. Choose a stable blogging platform and stick with it.

2. Know that once a blog is around a while, most visitors will find it via an internet search engine.

3. Limit the length of what you write to what can be read in 30 seconds or so, and if you have more content to write, divide it into parts and publish over several posts.

4. Make it readable.

5. Use images on a blog post where possible.

6. Use visual contrast.

7. Don’t get crazy with changing font size, use bold face, or italics too much.

8. Avoid using an underline in a blog post.

9. Use links in blog posts to provide background, references, citations, or to give readers a link to find more detailed information if they want it.

10. Set commenting to be moderated, not automatic.

11: Allow anonymous commenters within your blog comment policy (see below).

12. From the get-go, establish a blog commenting policy.

13. Follow a reliable and regular posting schedule.

14. Write when you think of it.

15. Have some friends on whom you can rely read certain potential blog pieces for you in advance to provide you suggestions on how to improve it.

16. Use good grammar, spelling, punctuation, and choose the right words for what you wish to say.

17. Give up on feeling you have ownership. You don’t.

18. Post images you own or are clearly in the public domain.

19. Remember that once it’s out there, it’s out there.

20. Create a free account on statcounter.com and embed the code in your blog.

21. Create an interesting, personal image header image, not just words.

22. Remember that some readers are color-blind or color-ignorant.

23. A positive attitude is important.

24. Don’t be a quitter.

25: Finally: Have fun as a writer!

Much more detail on these suggestions are on this page of my website in printable form.

Life is short: have fun blogging!

Hi, folks. Booted Harleydude, or “BHD”, here. This is an alter-ego for a guy who lives with his partner spouse in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC.

Of course, regular readers of this blog know that. The reason for this posting is that lately, several people from various places have entered, “Who is Booted Harleydude?” into search engines, and have landed on various places — my website and this blog. I’m not sure why the sudden interest in who I am from people in Minot, North Dakota USA; Barcelona, Spain; and Jakarta, Indonesia. Nonetheless, I thought a blog post asking the very question being looked up might consolidate the links to that question in future search engine results.

So, who am I? Sometimes, I’m not sure. Seriously. I am a complex man. I have a variety of interests and disinterests. For example, I like to wear boots but can’t stand shoes or sneakers — especially on a motorcycle. I enjoy wearing leather garments (pants, shirts, vests, jackets, and boots) often (though not in the heat of summer!) I don’t give a rat’s ass about the court of public opinion. If I wear leather, so be it. Honestly, once you grow up, you realize that nobody cares and you can be your own man by dressing yourself in what you like, what feels good, and what ‘works’ for your personality and style.

I love to ride my Harley, but not for long distances. I get too tired due to a chronic health condition that saps energy much more quickly than the average bear. I have been riding a motorcycle for over 35 years on a regular basis. In the past, I have ridden across the USA several times, and I also have rented bikes in exotic places and have ridden in some beautiful country (in several countries!) But for the most part, my “adventure biker travels” are history.

Bear? I really don’t like classifications like that in the gay community. I do not identify with any particular gay subculture — bear, biker, cowboy, leatherman, etc. I am all of those to one degree or another. But I guess I can say that I’m not a twink, fashion queen, or guppie. I like leather, but am rather vanilla about it (that is, I don’t engage in BDSM.) I’m a masculine man — not “straight-acting” but just a guy who likes (most) guy-things and remains in love with one special guy.

Yeah, I’m gay. So what? Lots of other people are, too. I do not identify myself in particular as gay. It’s just how my DNA worked out. I was very fortunate to meet and fall in love with one special man. I keep my pants zipped up when in the presence of others. Period. Honestly, I don’t fool around with other men. (Frankly, at my age, the amount of “fooling around” I do is limited, anyway, since I don’t use any form of drug to “enhance performance” [LOL!])

I work for a living, full-time in a respectable profession. While I like to wear cop boots, breeches, and cop-style leather jackets, I am not a cop. Though some fetish-wear that I have makes me appear like a cop sometimes, I don’t pretend to be one, especially in public.

I am considered an international leader in a small niche of my profession, and speak at conferences and teach courses about what I do. My work currently occupies a great deal of my time, but only for the work day. At the end of the day, I turn it all off and concentrate on other things.

This introduces another quirk of my complex personality. I do not have a smartphone; I don’t text, nor receive text messages. I do not live, eat, and breathe for the latest news or email or messages on an iPhone, Blackberry, Android, or whatever. I don’t need it. I am very fortunate to have achieved a level in my profession where I don’t have to run when the bell rings, so I do not need to have some gadget to keep me tethered to the office on a 24/7 schedule. (I used to be in that position, but younger guys, eager to pay their dues as I did, are doing that kind of work. More power to ’em!)

I have various hobbies besides motorcycling and keeping my website up-to-date. I also serve as a webmaster for four others (individuals and organizations.) I enjoy doing carpentry, electrical, and (some) landscaping work. I hate painting and plumbing isn’t my forte. I love to walk, but can’t stand gyms. Generally, I don’t follow or care for sports of any sort, and don’t play. I love to cook, and designed the kitchen in the house where we live now to accommodate my every desire. Often you’ll find me cooking away, singing, and puttering around my kitchen. (That explains why my spouse partner and I don’t eat out at all — no need to pay for restaurant meals when I can prepare what we like at home!)

Another hobby is genealogy. I keep my father’s family tree. It’s huge. What with 21 aunts and uncles who each had numerous offspring, keeping that thing up-to-date is a frequent challenge. I have to admit, thanks to Facebook, I become more aware of when the latest addition to the family comes along — much sooner than traditional methods such as email and phone (what’s that???)

A little-known fact: I have developed some hybrids of roses that I grow at home. I learned this from my Mom who was quite the rosarian.

I have lived, worked, and traveled in 64 countries of the world. I attended college for a year in Italy. I spent significant time in Romania after the fall of its former dictator in 1989. I also spent significant time in Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland. I speak four languages fluently, and bits and pieces of about a dozen others. But again, my days of world travel are pretty much history (at least for now.)

I have lived part of my life in rural Oklahoma, USA, and most of my life in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. While I love my family in Oklahoma and enjoyed the time I spent on the family horse ranch, I can’t say that I would choose to live in a small town where everybody knows everyone else’s business and it’s 50 miles to any major grocery store (other than Wal-sucks, which I won’t go to). While I identify DC as my “hometown,” I really don’t like going into the city and avoid it. I am not an urban guy; rather, I am truly a cul-de-sac-living suburbanite. That also explains why I avoid going to New York City, too. Haven’t been there since 2002 and have no plans to return.

This leads to another facet of my personality — I am quite the early-bird, rising at 4am every day, seven days a week. I collapse to sleep no later than 9pm, often earlier. Been that way almost my whole life. As a result, I don’t like to go out for “nightlife” as I simply can’t remain awake for it — especially in gay venues that don’t get going until after 11pm or later. I can’t handle that.

I truly identify with my Maryland home as “my life.” My spouse partner and I built a house here. I also own several other properties that I rent to make available as affordable housing for employees of our county who need to live where they work, but can’t afford it.

I have a large band of “senior pals” who live near me and who I care for in various ways. I serve the roles of handyman, transportation-provider, listener, and card-sender on a frequent basis.

I have and believe in the values of honesty, integrity, and personal financial stability. I don’t carry balances on credit cards, or take out loans. My spouse partner is the same way. We pay for what we want, and if we don’t have the money, we don’t buy it. We talk about our joint finances often, and we establish and keep to a budget. We do not subscribe to services that result in ongoing monthly charges for frivolity (that is, movie channels on cable, Netflix, or data packages for wireless devices.) I know being financially stable and living on a budget is not easy for some people, but I live among many who buy to excess and mortgage themselves into upside down situations and often end up paying the consequences. Call us “cheap” but also call us “frugal.” We don’t spend what we don’t have, and don’t get ourselves into situations where the income is less than the outgo. Ever.

I dunno… there’s always more. Suffice it to say that I’m just a guy who works for a living, loves his spouse partner, cares for his friends, contributes to society, and is financially stable. Oh yeah, I wear boots as my regular footwear and leather garments regularly… and ride a Harley. Thus, “Booted Harleydude.” Simple, eh?

So what’s my name? As I said, “BHD” will do fine. Yeah, that’s not the same name as found on my birth certificate, but the birth name is so widespread in my profession, that I don’t want this alter ego and that name to be co-mingled as the internet is wont to do.

Thanks for your interest!

PS: this page was updated to reflect that I married the love of my life in April, 2013. I call him my spouse.

Life is short: know yourself.

I was reading my buddy WescoBear’s blog the other day, and when I first entered his blog, I got a popup with some video-based advertisement, along with this message: “Once the ad ends you’ll be returned to your LiveJournal experience.”

Fooey! I ain’t gonna sit through some ad before reading a blog post. I don’t care if it’s a free site and they have to earn their support from ads. Fuggataboutit…. If I’m going to be forced to sit through an ad before reading a blog post, I’ll surf elsewhere.

That’s one reason, among others, that I won’t use LiveJournal as a blogging platform. I won’t be a party to having blog visitors be subjected to advertising. If Blogger (my blog host) starts doing that without my expressed consent, then I’ll migrate elsewhere. As difficult as that would be, I want to ensure that “the experience” that my blog and website readers get when the visit either of my sites is not riddled with ads for products and services.

You may not be aware, but I constantly turn down offers to place advertising on my blog, website, and YouTube channel. Sure, I get offers to make money by accepting advertising, but the small income stream isn’t worth aggravating my visitors. Further, I won’t want to have a product or service that I don’t endorse (or even know about) advertised on any of my sites.

Life is short: keep control.

I received an email from a reader of this blog, where one of my previous posts prompted him to share some thoughts about a situation that he was dealing with.  That’s a different story, and will remain private.  However, what he closed with is something I want to discuss for a bit:  “… thank you for your willingness to publicly discuss personal matters/issues on your blog.  I do feel that by writing about your own personal experiences, you have dispelled some gay myths and made ‘gays’ to be normal.”

Wow, thanks man. As I have said before, I never really know who I touch with what falls out of my head.

I know this is not the ordinary “gay man’s blog.” I wonder sometimes what IS an “ordinary gay man” but that’s another issue.

I consider myself an ordinary guy; a regular Joe; a neighbor, friend, colleague, biker… whatever labels like that one may wish to apply.

I read some other blogs written by gay men. Those blogs have many more public followers than this one. A low number of public followers on a mature blog used to bother me a lot. I would ask myself, “what are they looking for?” or “what do other gay bloggers blog about that attract more public followers?”

As I analyzed it some more, I realized several things.

First, this is MY blog, where I express my thoughts, feelings, ideas, oddball humor (or lack thereof), likes, dislikes, interests, avocations, and such. I am not writing “for” anyone but myself. I do appreciate that others are interested in what I have to say. Ultimately, though, the blogging experience is a catharsis of sorts for me, and is a way for me to get things off my chest, or describe some knowledge, or express ideas (within limits.)

Second, some gay men’s blogs with many followers write a lot about politics. I choose to avoid that here because everyone has different opinions and I do not want this blog to turn in to a venting post for the masses. I respect that everyone has opinions, and I know that I may disagree with some of them. But I’ll fight for the right for people to express their own ideas, as long as they don’t hurt anyone. However, I do not want this blog to become an exchange of rants, which so often happens on blog posts that are political in nature.

Third, some gay men’s blogs with many followers represent a huge gay social circle that the blog writer has developed. The writers receive many comments to posts, and often the comments include witty remarks and humor.

I do not have a huge gay social circle. Honestly, (chalk it up to living with the world’s #1 recluse) I don’t have much of a social circle at all, because I do not go out to socialize (such as to a restaurant, bar, club, or to friends’ homes) and I have lost all interest in attending gay events such as MAL or IML. I get my “social jollies” (that is, fulfill my “need for human interaction,”) through other methods, like helping my senior pals, participating in community meetings, going to tons of family get-togethers, and riding with my motorcycle club from time to time.

Fourth, WYSIWYG. Read on.

Back to the comment that I received via email, I affirm that what I choose to write about is reflective of a personal life that is stable, solid, active, and totally integrated with the wider community in which I work and live. I am not “the gay neighbor”; I am “the civic organization president.” I am not “that gay guy with an electrician’s license”; I am “that nice young man who can fix this for me.” I am not “that gay biker with all that leather”; I am an appointed officer in the club who enjoys, like everyone else, riding his motorcycle while geared properly. Finally, I am not “the gay family member”; I am a brother, uncle, cousin, nephew.

I got over worrying about how many public followers this blog has when I looked at my data logs and realized that I have many more readers who choose to remain anonymous. Now that this blog has matured, I am seeing about 500 – 600 unique visitors each day from all over the world. Okay, most of them choose to remain silent; I can live with that. Heck, I read a lot of blogs, too, and there are very few that I follow publicly — so “I get it.” No biggie.

I also realize that some readers are still wrestling with their own sexual identity, and part of their struggle lands them on this blog from time to time as they seek information about what gay men are like — particularly masculine gay men who don’t… well… act and behave “gay” (i.e., whatever stereotypical behaviors you want to apply, but for me, one of those stereotypes is that I am not effeminate.)

Summarizing point: I am a regular guy. I have activities that I like to do. I have clothing and footwear that I like to wear (and some clothing and footwear that I don’t.) I am head over bootheels in love with one man. So what?

Follow me or not, WYSIWYG.

For visitors who do not know what “WYSIWYG” means: “What you see is what you get.” It is a commonly-used acronym with many computer software applications, but equally applies in this case.

Sorry, but I’m taking at least a week off from blogging. May is just way too intense for me. Partner isn’t well, yet wants to continue to do lots and lots of backbreaking gardening chores, his annual rite of Spring. He insists that I help him, and while I like the outcome, I do not like the … “intensity” … of his fervor to get these chores done.

Things on the job are really crazy, including necessity to train another new boss, and if you’ve ever had to do that, you know that it takes time. I’m sure it will go well, but I have to invest the time necessary to bring the boss up to speed yet continue to do all the mountain of work that has to be done keeping people across the country safe, educated, and responsible people empowered to make informed decisions.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, 14 May, 21 volunteers and I ensured that 62 seniors were safer in their homes, by installing grab bars, non-slip mats for the bathtubs, stronger lighting, replacing smoke alarms, and other minor but important fix-up safety things. Several officials from our county stopped by the event to wish us well and thank our sponsor. After running around organizing that event for eight hours, I still had to put in four hours of “plant this NOW!” demands by Partner. Uggghhh….

Back at the ranch, I am taking a week off from blogging for three reasons: 1) my time is really limited and I do not write personal blogs while I am on the clock for work and have no time in my off time to do it; 2) I am running low on ideas again; and 3) Blogger continues to misbehave, and I do not have the patience or time to fool with it. I hope it will return to normal in a week.

Be good, smile, and take care of those you love. Remember — life is short: show those you love that you love them.

Message that appeared on Blogger for a long time yesterday morning:

I had a couple people write to me yesterday to ask if I were okay, since all they were seeing was a post from March 11, and nothing more recent.

Unfortunately, Blogger, the platform on which this blog appears, had a major problem of some sort — perhaps related to the bad luck that supposedly occurs on Friday the 13th? Actually, Blogger has been behaving strangely a lot during the past week. I hope it’s not failing, and that I would have to migrate to another blogging platform. I really don’t want to have to do that.

Anyway, by early afternoon yesterday, Blogger had resumed normal operations.  I found the posts that I had written and were scheduled for Thursday (Law Ride Gallery) and Friday (Chaps Weather).  I had to publish them again, but at least I didn’t have to write them all over again.

This is one of the perils of using a free system.  One cannot expect 100% reliability all the time.

Life is short:  keep blogging!

Lately, several attempts to leave comments on various posts on this blog have had to be deleted. A ding-dong from India has been commenting using a fictitious American-sounding name, leaving compliments on certain posts (with bad grammar and incorrect English) with an embedded link to a cheap leather goods website. Someone else from the Philippines attempted to comment on a post and had a link to a motorcycle vendor in Australia. Someone else from Pakistan has been active, leaving comments with links to cheap Pakistani leather vendors. A while ago, an operator of a gay resort in Mexico also attempted to leave a comment. The comment was good, but the link back to the resort was not.

Once again, I remind readers that I welcome comments, but I have a firm blog comment policy: 1) you have to use a name (screen name is okay) and 2) you can NOT embed links to commercial websites. That link could be within a comment or I have also found them in the “screen name” of the person leaving a comment.

When you go to my comment area for any post on this blog, you will see this:

All comments are reviewed prior to posting. If you do not have a Google ID or Blogger ID, you may use the Anonymous ID option, however, you must type your name with your comment. Comments without a way to know who wrote it may be rejected or deleted. Comments with embedded links to commercial websites WILL BE DELETED–NO EXCEPTIONS!

I don’t know how much clearer I can state it. Please comment, but please do not attempt to use this blog to promote commercial websites.

All comments are held in moderation for me to review prior to posting. I will approve comments that add to a post’s content or share opinions about it, even if opinions are different or contrary, but not rude, racist, homophobic, or malicious. I delete posts that violate my blog policy. As it says above, “no exceptions.”

Life is short: follow the rules.

I have enjoyed having guests post things on this blog for the past several days.  I expected three of them, and the one from my local Community Hero was not expected, but appreciated.

Now, back to my blog. Content: hmmm, what to blog about.

Things on the gay scene are typical and moribundly boring. Same old stuff with no new news to reflect on. (At least from this monogamously-partnered gay guy’s vantage point.)

Things on the “amusing google searches” still show up. I have captured a few which I will blog about in the future. It amazes me that the more technologically-advanced toys that people use (a lot of Android processors showing up), how absolutely awful their spelling and grammar is. It’s not just short-hand text-speak. It’s fundamental stuff like not knowing the difference between “wear” and “where” and things of that nature. I fear that the more texters use their gadgets, the grammar and spelling of our language continues to go into the toilet.

Nota bene: I was forwarded a resume to review by a colleague as we were looking for short-term professional technical help on a project. The resume was one page, and had 38 spelling, grammar, and other major gaffs in it. 38 of them! My colleague and I both decided to pitch the resume in the electronic trash. If the person can’t write, he should at least have had someone proofread his resume before submitting it. Embarrassing!

I sat in on two interviews last week, observing and taking notes. One person actually answered his cell phone during the interview to take a personal call. Another kept fidgeting. We realized that she was texting under the table. Needless to say, these characters didn’t make the final cut.

As far as boot-oriented matters are concerned: I remain happily booted. The weather is warming, so I am changing boots more often, several times each day. When I hop on my Harley, I wear boots with solid tread, not smooth leather soles. I had to dress up for those interviews last week, so I wore good-looking, polished cowboy boots. Over the weekend, my partner and I did a lot of work on our house, including building a memory garden in honor of my aunt who passed away. I wore Timberland work boots and my newly-acquired Air Force tactical boots for that.

Which reminds me of a sorry web posting that I saw over the last weekend. Some guy wrote on a public board to ask if Timberland boots were acceptable for “white guys” to wear. He continued with his statement that it appeared to him that only black guys wore “Timbs.” Oh, gimme a break. Timberland boots are work boots. Work boots like for doing labor — construction, etc. I like my Timberland boots because they are comfortable and durable, and I don’t care if they get dirty or messed up with garden mud. So be it — that’s what they’re for!

One thing, though: my partner preferred that I wore my AF tactical boots instead of the Timberland boots because the AF boots have waffle soles, so mud and dirt don’t get caked up in the lugs, they way it does on Timberland boots. After a hard day’s back-breaking labor in digging that garden last Saturday, my Timberland boots had quite a bit of mud stuck in the soles. I had to hose them off with a jet stream, and even then, not all the dirt came out. So now I have created some outdoor boot storage just for gardening boots. Hell to pay if I wore those boots in the house and dropped dirt clods everywhere. (And my partner has a right to get upset when that happens, because he works hard at keeping the floors and carpets clean.)

On the leather front: yeah, I got a new leather shirt. It’s really cool-looking. I bought it on sale while I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago. I’ll describe it and show it to you in a future post on this blog.

Not much new news. I remain very busy with work, which is both fun and consuming. My partner remains busy planning our Spring gardening chores, which I vow to make as enjoyable as I can. This is something that my partner loves to do, and is a hobby that we both can share.

Oh, one thing: my twin brother chided me to “chill” on a recent post on this blog. Okay, bro’. I did. I took a few hours off on Sunday afternoon, cuddled up next to my partner, and we watched a streaming video full-length “tear-jerker” movie. Usually I am the one to break into tears over the littlest things in movies, but I caught my partner drying his eyes when it ended, as well.

Life is short: keep busy, and keep blogging!