"Is it rolling, Bob?"

Testing, 1, 2 ... greetings, and welcome to my blog!

If you're here, surely you already read my Inland Valley Daily Bulletin columns. (Readers: "Don't call us Shirley.") If not, look for those pieces at www.dailybulletin.com/davidallen, where I roam from La Verne to Fontana, Upland to Chino, with lingering stops in Ontario, Pomona and Rancho Cucamonga, looking for silly stuff, quirky stories, culture, charm and character before development drains it all away.

Why do a blog AND three columns a week? Because overkill is underrated. Also, it's an experiment on my part.

I find more material than I can always get into print in a timely way, I get entertaining comments from readers (especially reminiscences about the recent past) there's no room for and I notice things around the valley, such as business closures, that I can't think of much to elaborate on but that ought to be put on the record.

Moreover, I try new restaurants and almost never write about them, and I journey outside the valley to places you might like to read about -- for instance, I was at the Rialto Theater in South Pasadena for its closing weekend -- but that my column isn't really set up to chronicle.

Thus, this blog.

My goal is to post daily, so that every time you check in, there will be something new here to read. I can't promise it will always be scintillating, and it may be just a few lines, but hey, at least it'll be fresh. Your readership and comments are encouraged and will help this experiment succeed.

Oh, and one more thing: I'll call you Shirley any darn time I like.