I’m not a blog critic because a blog is a personal publication, it belongs to the author and if they desire to shoot their mouth (fingers?) off, spill the beans, write about how they got up at 6:30(, brushed their teeth, ate toast and drove to work in the usual traffic etc.), or pontificate they can. This blog is pretty diverse, you never know if you’re going to get "There’s Something About Abby," "Thou Shalt Laugh," or "StatTraq statistics." However, this blog does not have a blogroll (a list of blogs I read) simply because I have too many blogs that I read with a very wide range of social, political and religious views. Some of them push the limits for me with foul language periodically, some of them crack me up and I interupt Jessica in whatever she’s doing to read the post(s). With that in mind, I’d like to list off a few blogs I really think you should read [in alphabetical order], followed by a reason why (and in a few cases, some warnings).

Apropos of Something
This blog has to be the most consistenly funny, well written, creative blogs in my blogroll. Jess, the author/blog owner, never seems to run out of material for publishing from past goof-ups, self flagellation, and humorous quips about current events.

Dave Barry’s Blog
If you read anything I write and think it’s funny, chances are Dave Barry somehow influenced it. Dave is funny. His blog has funny links. Watch out for some dangerous links to content one should avoid, but usually the title or description of the link gives away that the content is NSFW.

meyerweb.com
Eric Meyer was one of my first ‘web heros,’ he is a well studied CSS and web development author as well as a sharp thinker. He and I often disagree on our politics and philosophy in the non-tech arena but that disagreement is never without me thinking further about whatever the topic may be (he surely doesn’t limit himself to posts about web development). Eric is a sharp guy whom I had the fortune to meet at SXSW and listen to his brief contribution to the panels there.

Nick Bradbury
Nick is the creator and (only) programmer of both TopStyle and FeedDemon. I had the honor of meeting Nick at SXSW as well. Nick and I have had a few very serious philosophical discussions by email and I’m impressed by his honesty and character. Nick’s blog is also full of interesting links and snakes. I should also note that Nick is the source of much of my traffic due to Banana Phone.

Photomatt.net
Matt is the lead developer on WordPress and so I hold a special place in my heart for him 🙂 Matt also seems to have the knack for finding great little secrets on the web. Links to new technologies, better ways to approach coding and the like. Matt and Eric were both involved in the creation of XFN. I met Matt at SXSW as well.

Surely You’re Not Serious
Trint is a funny guy. Trint is also a staunch Republican, so sometimes we get a little view into his mind from the not-so-funny side. However, even the not-so-funny side is pretty funny. Trint is also a great web developer, unfortunately you’ll just have to take my word for some of it because the source code is top secret.

And also, I’ve got a list of blogs that I’d like to see more from. Blogs that are good, but short on content due to family, work, family work or previous engagements.

• Dave O’Hara [work and family]
• Tony Nuzzi [work and family]
• Chris Owen [work, school and I don’t know what else]
• Jeffrey Zeldman [work, family, speaking schedule]
• Phil Boardman [short blog entries… but this guy is a ticking time bomb of blog wonderment, he’s got a sharp mind]