Kerri tagged me - Thinking Blogger Award

Kerri tagged me. Kerri Rulz. Kerri is what Malcom Gladwell calls a "Connector" in his book "The Tipping Point."

I get one of these...



Honestly, I really do not try to make anyone think. But I accept proudly and would like to thank the little people (folks under 4' 10").

Picking out five blogs (part of the rules - I selected seven - rules be damned) that make ME think is actually not an easy task. I have three computers. One at work and two at home. One Linux. One Mac. One Windows. All three hold my RSS subscriptions. Each system holds different RSS feeds because each box serves a different purpose and I am in a different frame of mind when using each one. And this system has worked for me, until now. I had to work to collect the following.

Now, I do not expect anyone in the list to actually go "Hey, that aprigliano guy said 'I make him think.'" But these are some of the most interesting feeds and blogs you will find. Trust me.

Sixuntilme - Tag back, HA! Kidding. Really though, Kerri you have helped me in understanding Christi, my wife, who is also a Type 1 diabetic. It has happened that I looked up from reading a post of yours, looked over to Christi and said "I'm sorry." She then asked me for what reason I am apologizing. I said, "Because I sometimes forget how hard being a diabetic is for you."

Derek's Penmachine - I really can't say much here besides Derek is terribly erudite, and interesting, which is why I became an avid penmachine reader (I even mashed-up one of his songs.) He was diagnosed with Cancer earlier this year, has gone through his first round of chemotherapy and has recently come home from the hospital. I read it now because he is exactly one year and a half older than me, and the empathy I feel for him and his family is overwhelming. Yes, Derek, "fuck cancer" - 100% agree. (Side note, thank you P.M.D. for keeping us informed as to Derek's progress.)

CreativeIq - Getting a bit lighter now. This blog posts about once per week, but the gems on this design blog are absolute gold at times. No gossip, just information from professional designers who know their stuff.

Merlin Mann's 43 Folders - I never thought much of personal organization methods, but the concept of "organization as a construct" is trippy. I just blew my mind. How do you organize methods of organization? Mr. Mann tries. It is a great read, but, I must read it for the wit, because I still can't find my ass with both hands.

Worse Than Failure - An amazing collection of errors, programming and otherwise. Keeps me laughing for hours.

Finally two really good photo collections...

Dark Roasted Blend - A slick collection of style, optical illusions, computer case mods, old photos and humor. Reading is fundimental, but I sometimes just want to look at some interesting photos and see where it takes my head. I especially enjoyed Satellite Dish Art.

Charming Life's photos - This is not a blog, but a flickr photo collection. And this girl has tremendous talent. I wish I could do what she does with a camera. She has the ability to see "art" where most folks see the mundane.

And now, this is where I cut and paste the rules right out of Kerri's blog because "Ctrl-C" and "Ctrl-V" exist in GUI's for a reason - laziness. If you are on this list, I expect you to do nothing. But...

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Here are the rules, should any of these bloggers choose to accept their mission to share their thinking bloggers of choice. If the bloggers choose to participate, please make sure to pass the rules on to the next Thinking Blogs you tag:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

This award was began by Ilker Yoldas at The Thinking Blog. The mission is to create a linky thinky trail ([Kerri's] ridiculous phrase, not theirs, as they sound much brighter when they talk) to spread the word about great blogs.

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