By J. Patrick Coolican

Published Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 | 12:56 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 | 10:15 a.m.

(The Sun has gone on the road to listen to voters and talk to political leaders around the West. Reporters will examine the economic, cultural and demographic forces re-shaping the region as they drive to Denver for the first of the two major party conventions the Sun will cover.)

TUCSON — For the eight people reading our nascent blog, and for the two of those interested in Coolican and his lame-o life-story (mom, dad), here's a fun thing I found on the Internet Archives Wayback Machine.

Our current trip to Denver and St. Paul gives me some weird nostalgia, for it was eight years ago that my pal Steve Myers and I saved up (he mortgaged a Harley he'd won in raffle) to start a Web site, buy a couple laptops, a useless wireless modem and a really ancient digital camera, and hit the road to chronicle the 2000 primaries.

I nearly killed us when I skidded off the road in a snowstorm in Ohio, on the way to Iowa.

Myers was asleep and woke up, a la "Trains, Planes and Automobiles," and told me not to use the brakes when driving in snow and ice. Yeah, thanks, I replied.