Blog Reader Appreciation Week Presents: Shiny’s Time-Wasters!

I appreciate you for appreciating me. This week’s blogs are all your suggestions for material. For more information, see this post.

Reader78th suggested I post a list smattering of blogs and websites I visit on a regular basis. There are an awful lot that belong on this list.

First — a few caveats: I have met (online and in person) many, many folks whom I would consider good friends whose blogs I read daily. You can find their blogs by simply reading some the clever responses to my blog entries. They’re truly wonderful people — some of whom have opinions which diverge quite a bit from mine. That notwithstanding, I treasure the friendships I have with these great writers.

I’m not including any of them on my list, though. There are too many to name. And chances are that if you’re reading this you’ve already run into them in this western spiral arm of the blogosphere already. The websites and blogs here are to show you what happens when I break out of this neighborhood a bit.

Second — technically I really only peruse one specific webpage for my viewing needs now that I’ve discovered the magical world of RSS and Google Reader. All of my reading needs in one place I can access from any computer. How cool is that?

So — aside from you guys, this is where my eyes are hanging out:

Mindsay: http://www.mindsay.com – Ever wonder where Shiny spent the past four years before leaving for the Takeout? It was here: a blogging community with a strong base of participants and some great style. I’ve been with Mindsay through a lot of changes to the direction and philosophy of the site, and I still consider it home (even though I’m not blogging there anymore). if you look for my blog (http://shiny.mindsay.com) you’ll even find the tribute to my twenty year milestone in blogging I celebrated in 2005. (Yes. You read that right.)

Boing Boing: http://www.boingboing.net – This site self-proclaims that it’s a “Directory of Wonderful Things.” It’s an ecelectic “best of” blog list — featuring excerpts of articles on items as varied as airport security theater, strange video games, the Bill of Rights. Creative Commons, and pictures of strange looking goats. I can say that it’s been a gateway for me to find other fascinating places out there on the web.

Schneier on Security: http://www.schneier.com/blog/- Bruce Schneier, the author of Beyond Fear, has studied the construct of security for years. He’s also an occasional columnist for Wired Magazine, and a strong proponent for a better assessment of realizing the trade-offs between security and personal freedoms. Some credit him with coining the term security theater, implying that, at times, the presence of heightened security is for appearance’s sake only. He discusses real-life scenarios in which security trade-offs are evaluated — as well as issues with security in computing and, of course, in the airport. the dude’s really got a good head on his shoulders. He’s worth checking out.

The Consumerist: http://www.consumerist.com – Been jilted by customer service? Want to know the inside scoop from the used car industry? Need the phone numbers of high-level executives for the major airlines? The Consumerist provides a forum for people to report their experiences with all things customer oriented. Some articles have specific suggestions based on personal experience (and, at times, horror stories!). If you’ve ever felt like you’ve been stuck in hell dealing with customer support that isn’t getting you anywhere, this is a site for you.

DCRTV: http://www.dcrtv.com – This one is for the local DC folks: Dave Hughes reports on radio and television happenings all across the region. He gets the inside scoop about changes in the local (and sometimes national) media. Oh — and the local radio and television personalities can’t stand the guy.

My Shrapnel: http://www.myshrapnel.blogspot.com – this is the story of Gila Weiss, a woman with whom I was acquainted through our synagogue. (She even had a bunch of us over to her place for dinner one evening.) A few years back, Gila decided to take a plunge and move from the DC area to Israel. We wished her well on her journey when we heard that she was leaving.

We heard about her again a year later — when we were notified that she was injured in a suicide bombing outside of the crowded Machane Yehuda marketplace in Jerusalem. I recall emails flying around trying to find out the latest information.

Gila has had a long path to recovery — which she describes in great detail through different surgeries and medical experiences which could take place only in Israel — and she’s now living in Tel Aviv and writing about her experiences as a survivor. Some of her writings from immediately after her recovery from the bombing are posted here, as well as her own current commentary about being an American-born new immigrant to Israel facing something like this. Her writing is very powerful, very emotional and (at times) quite funny. She’s one of the stronger people I’ve run into (reunited with?) through the blogosphere.

Mashuptown: http://www.mashuptown.com – I’m a sucker for mashups. And this is where they go to be spread across the world.  I’ve found some brilliant works of art here.

Coverville: http://www.coverville.com – a close second to mashups are cover songs.  Brian Ibbot celebrates the art of the cover song through a podcast he puts out several times a week with a whole bunch of covers — usually as part of a show’s theme. Certainly worth a listen…

I know that as soon as I post this I’ll think of many more. But I guess eight is a good starting point, isn’t it?

Here’s the tenative schedule for the rest of Blog Reader Appreciation Week ’08:

Sunday, June 15: Lazy Sunday

Monday, June 16: Shiny’s Time-Wasters!

Tuesday, June 17: List on the 3s*: Shiny’s Bookcase

Wednesday, June 18: Fun with “Hebrew with Shiny” / A Tribute to Shiny’s 80s Hair

Thursday, June 19: List on the 3s*: Shiny’s Favorite Blog Posts

Friday, June 20: Shiny’s vlog entry! *cringe*

Saturday, June 21: The Infamous “How Shiny Got Cock-Blocked by Meredith Baxter-Birney” Story