Dr. Hypocrisy, or How I Learned to Love the Weblog.

It is a well known fact that I hate 'blogs; I absolutely abhor them. I think that they are meaningless wastes of time that only exist to further the rampant sociopathic behavior already running wild in our society. God I hate 'blogs. Now before you start yelling Hypocrite, let me tell you why I hate them. The majority of blogs, and when I say majority I mean the vast majority, are used as a sort of online diary. It is not hard to see why I might have a problem with this, given my expressed opinions in the past. The Weblog itself (commonly referred to as the 'blog) is in fact a powerful tool to help communicate information across the Internet. Its purpose is to either provided a chronicled basis for in formation or a simplistic method for communication. Now, both of these are valid uses which I have no qualm with, however its is the perverse combination which truly infuriates me. Given the simplicity of the tools at hand, the weblog is available for use in even the most inexperience of web viewers; this is the root of my problems. Instead of being available solely to those who might put it to proper use, the weblog is available to those who have neither the experience, nor the capacity to do so.

And thus the modern 'blog is born. Instead of leveraging the impressive tools at hand for some sort of beneficial communication, the average 'blog user uses it to chronicle the most mundane of all features, his or her own life. This doesn't seem like such a problem until you realize that the vast majority of activities which take up your life are relatively uninteresting. On average a person spends 8 hours of his or her day sleeping. There are numerous studies that indicate the most uninteresting thing to hear about is another person's dream. As such a full third of a person's day is not worth recording in a public venue. Of the remaining 16 hours of your day, the average person spends 2 hours in commute too and from work 8 hours in work, and 2 hour eating. All of which turn out to be rather uninteresting activities (unless something interesting happens at work which it rarely does). This leaves us with a sole 2 hours of the day with which your life may yet interest me. But don't worry the average American watches 4 hours of TV per day, so I can assure you, it won't. I don't care that you ate peanut butter and jeally for lunch. I don't care you sat through a 3 hour meeting listening to someone who has noise hair. I don't care if you think bush is the worst president ever because he "is a stupid man who didn't even win an election lol." I really just don't care; and do you know what? No one else does either.

It is easy to see why I hate 'blogs so much. However, there are a few, and they are very few, who's weblogs actually contain interesting arguments or chronicles of useful information (like building and instillation). You'll notice I refer to their content as weblogs, where as the journalistic filth that other people produce as 'blogs. In my mind there is a difference. But, I was not always convinced as much. It wasn't until I actually found a group of weblogs that tended to produce reasonable content an a consistent basis that I was won over. For those of you who are interested, my weblog reading list consists of:

ClockWorkZen (http://clockworkzen.intellectualelite.com/)
A contrary fellow, who's weblog is temporarily down. While he can be abrasive at times, he generally has interesting insight into a verity of topics, and is worth a read every now and then. Just don't piss him off.

Dem0critus (http://dem0critus.intellectualelite.com/blog.html)
A normally mundane fellow, who is none the less full of interesting information. In addition to being an excellent debtor, Dem0critus' weblog tends to be both helpful and eclectic, and worth a read.

Dr. Dolphin (http://drdolphin.intellectualelite.com/)
In addition to being clever, Dr. Dolphin is well read and able to discuss some of the more interesting aspects of modern society. If you get a chance read his "When Physics and Metaphysics meet..." post.

Jebus (http://family.ncambium.com/jt/)
A journalism major who's posts are on par with my own. Jebus is both whitty and insightful. He will make you laugh and then realize how stupid you look.

Mercutio (http://mercutio.intellectualelite.com/)
Perhaps one of the best weblogs you will ever read, most of the time. While he does occasionally lapse into the bad habits of talking about his own life, Mercutio's more thoughtful posts are unparalleled in both quality and content. A definite must for those of you transitioning over from 'blogs to weblogs.

Muse (http://muse.intellectualelite.com/)
The only 'blog to make my reading list, Muse's life is one of the very few that is interesting enough to hold my attention. Unlike the vast majority of 'bloggers, the idiosyncrasies and frantic self deprecative humor that makes up Muse's 'blog are more than amusing. What's more she is a fun person to get to know.

Last but not least: JCStrider (http://jcstrider.intellectualelite.com/)
Given the gravity and intellectualism of many quality weblogs, it is fun from time to time to read a weblog which can be appreciated for its pure aesthetic qualities. JCStrider's is such a weblog. But for those who like to read between the lines JCStrider can be an excellent read.

And of course there is always my weblog, but if you're reading this, chances are you read that too. You'll notice however I've increased the line length on my weblog so as to allow better viewing, and I suggest you do the same.

taken from the weblog of Jim Tzenes (ie. this)