Tree Surfing

Here’s a listing of all the blogs that I read on a regular basis. It may seem like a lot, but I use an RSS reader so it easily cuts my reading time in half.

This listing has long been in the works, I decided to the best way to do it would be to just publish what I have so far and continue to add to it as my time allows.
In no particular order:

Art & Letters Daily
New material is added to Arts & Letters Daily six days a week, not as often as Boing Boing, but considering that the articles are much longer, and more academic in nature this is to be expected. It also contains a large number of links to other interesting site in it’s sidebar. This site is not for those with muddy brains, if you can’t think straight (tired, suffering from a hangover, loopy, bored, really hungry, or just plain stupid,) this site is not for you. It’s not a site designed for casual browsing, come only when you have the time to read.

Boing Boing
This site is so popular it hardly needs an explanation from me. However, for those of you who have yet to bathe yourself in it glorious rays of internet curiosities: you should go visit this site now.

Diary of the Mad Pigeon
I really love this site. There are several different authors who contribute content at their leisure, but you’ll almost alway find yourself amused or enlightened by the writing on this blog. Social commentary abounds, romping hand in hand with observations from about the military life and the wonderful sarcasm. A refreshing rain of humor on to brighten any day

Pierian Gadfly
Apart from the interesting name this is a site for those interested in poetry. Not updated as often as I’d like, but still a good place to stop by and visit. (Leave comments encouraging more posts!) Official description: An opportunity to ponder the state of poetry in modern American culture coupled with thoughts on rescuing the art from the “Academy” and returning it to the public square. If that perks your interest feel free to stop by for a visit.

Right on the Left Coast
The blog of a conservative teacher living in California. Topics generally revolve around education and politics although he occasionally posts on other things when he’s in the mood. Good writing interesting conversations.

The Blog Herald
Important news and information from the blogsphere. This is a site you should keep a eye on if you’re interested in what’s happening in the blogging world.

Fred on Something
Another greatly under-appreciated site. The author is responsible for at least two wonderful blogger tools: King Ping and Talk Digger. English is not his native language, which makes his site even more amazing: He writes better than most Americans!

Zazzafooky
Hilarious on her good days and generally amusing on her worst. The blog of an interesting, introverted woman.

Slactivist
One of the main topics is the ongoing review of the horribly written Left Behind series. Look no further for a “how not to write” guide. Like the rest of the blogging world he also writes about other things. Almost always has some good points for you consideration.

LifeHack
A great blog with tips on how to organize and otherwise make your life more productive and efficient. You’ll also find information on health related topics along with the occasional news curiosity. Defiantly a blog to browse.

Gone Away
The blog of a jolly British fellow who has moved to America. This blog tells the tale of his journey and all of the insights that have come since then. It’s a really interesting read, and he writes wonderfully. Do take some time and have a look at this wonderful site.

Octavo Dia
One of my old college acquaintances, he writes his opinion on various political and social topics. Another interesting writer with some truly unique views on topics one doesn’t think about on a regular basis. Worth a look.

Hamlette’s Soliloquy
A interesting gal, married to the writer of the previously mentioned blog. She and I were active members of the Writer’s Group during our college years so naturally we got along quite well. A blog of thoughts, musings, stories, and the occasional fan fiction; there’s something of interest here for everyone.

Tonight after work I stopped outside and talked to an older polish guy we affectionately call “Farmer”. We stood around in the parking lot and talked about all sorts of things: The price of gas, owning houses, the way things were 30 years ago, and other such topics.

I immensely enjoy talking to older people. Many times when my high school friends would throw parties I would end up in the kitchen or living room talking to the parents instead of down in the basement watching dull teen movies. Parents loved me.

I’ve never had too much trouble connecting with the older generations. I talk and listen carefully, prompting them for details where necessary; drawing the wisdom and stories from their memories and storing them away in my own.

One of the projects I’d undertake, if I had the means and the time, would be to buy a digital video camera, and then interview millions of older people. I’d ask them questions about historical figures and events, thoughts on the future and stories from their childhood. By the time I was old I would have thousands hours of interviews. Interviews of normal everyday people, the things that make anthropologists drool.

Perhaps one day if we ever develop artificial intelligence to a self-conscience level (I’m not holding my breath), it could watch my interview and gain an understanding of the generations that preceded it. I’m crazy, no?

How often should one update their blog. Once a day seems to be the optimal level for a more personal blog such as mine. If I don’t post enough then obviously I won’t maintain any decent readership level. Theoretically if I posted too often then my readers would find themselves overwhelmed by too much information.

I never seem to be able to keep up such a steady stream of posts for very long. This is due partly to to my only super power: Fear for me I am Procrastination Man!
Other reasons (excuses) include having a young baby and a pregnant wife. However, these excuses only hold true for one or two days, any longer and you can assume that lack of updates is not due to lack of time, but lack of motivation or willpower.

Community blogs, those with multiple authors, and the great “link-collector” sites such as Boing Boing have a much higher frequency of posts, often numbering 10, 15 or more posts per day. Their readers can tolerate a higher number of posts because they skim to find information that is relevant to them.

I like to rationalize my lack of daily posts away with some sometimes true, although often slightly over-used logic. Quality vs. Quantity. I don’t pretend that all of my posts are great works of art, but I generally won’t post willy-nilly about every thought that crosses my mind. Nothing like a constant spew of navel-gazing, or “what I ate today” posts to drive your readers away.

There is a fine line to walk between writing with sincerity and writing more than your readers really care about. Your readers can help keep you in check by posting comments and questions. Thanks again to all those who have been commenting on my past posts. The feedback is greatly appreciated.

I built a ship of dreams,
Upon an island shore.
And sailed out on an ocean,
As many had before.

A ship built strong and sturdy,
With vigor from my youth.
I sailed out on the ocean,
Still blinded from the truth.

I sailed without direction,
Upon the open sea.
While searching for a purpose,
An island just for me.

And then I met a woman,
One I truly loved.
I thought a heavenly angel,
Had fallen from above.

My ship had gained a rudder,
My purpose now was clear.
To love this graceful angel,
As long as she was here.

I gave up everything,
My heart was in her hands.
I told her that I loved her,
But she had other plans.

She lulled me into thinking,
That her love was true.
All her actions saying,
“I want to rid myself of you.”

I didn’t see it coming,
I missed all of the signs.
I know now what they mean,
When they say that love is blind.

Once I was not watching,
Once I was asleep.
She took my ship of dreams,
And sailed into a reef.

She left without a reason,
She did not tell me why.
Running from my broken ship,
She left me there to die.

My friends sailed near to help me,
They floated me to shore.
I said I was alright,
And did not ask for more.

Upon the beach I wandered,
Gathering pieces of my boat.
Filled with determination,
Again to make it float.

My ship has lost it’s luster,
It’s hull is cracked and torn.
But it is built much stronger,
Than it ever was before.

Again my ship of dreams,
Sails strongly through the waves.
It basses through the storms,
And keeps me form my grave.

Perhaps another angel,
One who wants my love.
Instead of falling out of heaven,
Will be sent down from above.

Of course now I’m married to a wonderful woman so it’s all good. It’s another poem day today, because 1.) I’m a big lazy butt, and 2.) I had to take my wife to a medical appointment so I only have a few minutes before I have to leave for work. Eventually I’ll run out of old poems and have to come up with new content.
*Shrug*
Oh well until then I hope you’re all enjoying this parade of poetry, and don’t forget to leave comments telling me how much you love or hate it: AND please give suggestions on the what sorts of topics you’d like me to cover in the future.

One of the thing that annoys me a lot, almost more than anything else, is inconsistent people. For example, extreme environmentalist who say they want to prevent animal cruelty and then do something stupid like release thousands of domesticated animals to starve or be eaten by wild predators… yeah real humane. Idiots.

Of course this is no different than pro-lifers that bomb abortion clinics, or any other non-logical behavior. Perhaps violence is too ingrained in certain people, who knows. There are some days when I sway dramatically between future optimism and absolute wonder at how we ever got to where we are today.

The smell of smoke;
A char-broiled lamb,
I sense a dragon is at hand.

Above the trees;
Just out of sight,
It waits to eat your child at night.

Fear the fire;
Dread the flame,
And never let it hear your name.

The cursed creature;
A horrid beast,
So chants the shire’s pious priest.

Tied to a pole;
A maiden fair,
It’s said the dragon eats them rare!

When such a gift;
The dragon sees,
His anger just might be appeased.

A shadow falls;
From the blocked sun,
A dragon this way surely comes.

Quick to your house;
And lock the door,
Hide from the monster all abhor.

The people poke;
Their heads outside,
And warily scan the deep blue sky.

They look around;
No dragons here,
But the maiden’s disappeared.

A voice is heard;
One deep and strong,
That can only be a dragon’s song.

A second singer;
Picks up the tune,
On that fateful afternoon.

A maidens voice;
Rains from the sky,
While upon dragon wings she flies.

~*~
That’s right! It’s poem day here at the Tree Surfing blog. I fun little poem don’t you think?
Don’t forget to leave comments about how much you love or hate poem day!

Many of my friends are new to the blogging scene, and therefore I’ve decided I should post a little information to help them delve deeper into the internet world. Today we’ll talk about streamlining your blog reading process.

Survey: 11% of blog readers use RSS, 66% of people don’t know what RSS is.

Rather than bore you with a technical discussion of RSS and Atom Feeds you can use one of the best internet resources, the Wikipedia! Here is the RSS entry.

Suffice it to say that RSS feeds allow you to direct content from several sources into one easy to read location. Using an RSS feed reader you can download the feeds from all of your favorite blogs or websites right to your desktop. This eliminates the need to surf to each individual blog or website to check and see if they are updated. Open up your reader and poof all of the blogs with new posts appear instantaneously(or a little slower if you’re cursed with dial-up).

Personally I use Omea Reader, a wonderful (and FREE!) news aggregator. You can find an extensive list of readers here.

As a bonus for Firefox users, after installing Omea Reader,you can download an extension that lets you subscribe to the rss feed without entering them into Omea. (Although I can’t for the life of me find the link too it… anyone know of it?) I heart internet technology!