Jun 14, 2003, 11:25pm

Holy Fuck.

Some people take themselves far, far too seriously (check out "Jena's" commentary!)

See, all of this was in response to the posting of this parody of certain web loggers (bloggers). Some are probably A-List because of who they are and their daily readership. Others are more likely a-list in their own minds (hence some of the parody text used).

About a year ago, John Dvorak wrote about bloggers in a very real, and very "hey, wake up" way - some bloggers take themselves too seriously, even then. I wrote Dvorak saying thanks for the article and hopefully he won't be put under a tidal wave of people very in parallel to the folks on the show Trailer Park Boys - people who think they're not only the most important things on the planet, but also changing the world from their own meager little corner, just by updating a diary often. (in the Trailer Park Boys version, they think the world should stop because a few of their dope seeds dried out, or the park supervisor kept their hockey ball).

Dvorak wrote me back and we exchanged a few emails, and sure enough, the tide of "incensed, doesn't get it" crap flowed, overwhelming his mail box. But we also shared a laugh at the small mindedness of it all.

I do believe the web has the power to change things - for the worse or for the better. It has the ability to communicate, to network people (oldschool, not coax-cable networking), to change minds, to teach, and to debate. But that job is mainly for community websites, influencer websites, and the online press.

Bloggers *aren't* press. They aren't even media. They're someone writing a diary entry. Someone posting a collection of links. Someone talking about how cool they are, or what they bought, or what time they took a piss this morning, or the amazing thought they had while taking a crap.

This is all why I hate calling this page on my site a "blog". Not because it isn't a blog - it is. I hate calling it a blog because of the freakbloggers out there ruining what can otherwise just be a simple, fun diversion.

I ain't changing the world over here at Spiffle (I'm doing that over at CoffeeGeek heh heh heh).

4 comments | reply

Mixelania

Photos from Algonquin Park
Photos from my trip to Algonquin Park this fall with my Mom and two brothers.

War Stories

Making Snow for the Fortress
One of the worst jobs I ever had... till I got out.

Webiffied

Tools I Use
The tools I use to build websites and lead a tech life.

iPod and iTunes Offline

iMark's iTunes and iPod isn't iPlaying anything right iNow.

Most Recent Songs

Fiddlers Green by The Tragically Hip

Around The Bend by Pearl Jam

Here With Me (Rollo's Chillin' With the Family Mix) by Dido

With arms open wide by Creed

truffle pigs by Matthew Good Band

In the News

Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
Great article by Peter Meehan - provided some background.

St. Petersburg Times
Side mention in an article about good machines

AP Story on Espresso
Background and information provided

NY Times - Grinders Article
Especially proud of this one - got the reporter to focus on grinders

Globe and Mail
LOL - showing bad reporting, dude says I'm an American-based site!

The Olympian, WA
Talks about my love for the El Sal Siberia Pacamara

Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer

NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines

Time Mag Article
Just a brief mention, article about roasting beans.

NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.

Washington Monthly
Quoted reference to what I wrote in an article at CoffeeGeek.

USA Today - Barista Jam
Intereviewed for my thoughts on what the epitome of espresso is.

WSJ Article
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed me 3 times. This is the first time my name got in a story.

Reuters Interview
Interview with Reuters, Jan 2 - this is the USA Today version.

My Other Stuff

CoffeeGeek
Launched Dec 22, 2001, this is THE online community for espresso and coffee fanatics.

CoffeeKid Website
It's all new, as of March, 2002. My personal coffee obsession site.

WebMotif Services
My company's site - needs an update!

Amazon WishList
Hey, if you feel the need to buy me something, check here!

Daily Visits

enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.

Google News
This is how I get my daily news fix.

DPReview Forums`
The most active forums for digital photography online today.

Daily Zen
Need my Daily Zen fix!

Jalopnik
A blog about car stuff. Vroom Vroom.

MoCo Loco
An industrial design blog. Very cool stuff.

Friends and Family Plan

Beata Blog
Beata's got her own blog! She updates it most days.

Riddla on Flickr
Matt Riddle's flickr account, updated regularly

Irdy Photos
Irdy, my friend from Jakharta, on Flickr

Recent Acquisitions

Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
The best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp and quick.

Canon 5D
A full frame dSLR, with luscious colour reproduction.

Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography

Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.

Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D

Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs

28mm f1.8 Lens
A great lens for closeup work and full picture photography

Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.

Canon 50mm 1.4
Most amazing lens I've ever owned. Produces stellar photos.

Canon 10-22mm
Super wide angle (full frame fisheye) zoom for my Canon 20D