I've found that without an RSS reader I don't get around to checking out my friend's pages, so I need to get myself a reader and am now going to make a concerted effort to find one that fits my needs. Throughout this process I'll keep you updated with my impressions of the various clients I try out. Note that I may end up finding a great client and/or get bored before I can try out every client out there, so don't be disappointed if I peter out.

So, what are my criteria?

Must Have:

• Offline Reading - I tend to live most of my life on my laptop and if I can't take care of some of the reading while on an airplane or sitting in a waiting room it won't work for me.
• Comments API - The original post is not all of the interesting content related to a post, I need to be able to read the comments on my blog and the blogs of my friends without having to navigate to the blog and dig down to the comments page.
• Windows application - I use Windows, if it runs on another platform it obviously won't work for me (and please don't start any religious Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux discussions with me, I can't be bothered).

Like to Have:

• Saved Searches - When part of my feed base relates to work it's great to have a "feed" which is a view of all posts which contain a particular keyword (e.g. Hotmail).
• Outlook Hotkeys - I use keyboard shortcuts in Outlook to speed up reading of messages. If my RSS reader were to use the same keys I'd be able to quickly mark things read, delete and forward posts without having to learn a new set of keys (which would potentially get confused with other applications).

I've started an initial list of readers with my main requirements: http://www.little.org/tips/rssreaders.htm. If you have an app you really like, please let me know.

It seems that one of these “best pictures of [some year]” directories shows up every year... and they never indicate how the pictures were chosen.

Where do they come from?  Who choses them?  What authority does this site have to publish them? 

I don't care... they're purty.  Check out the “best pictures of 2004”

  
Click for a larger version.

This week's contest at b3ta is to add one word to a movie title. I needed a break and couldn't resist (Turns out shortly after the Harry met Sally picture was taken she bumped into him and he took a swing at her).

After complaining in jest about my wife I realized something...

...we have a really, really comfortable couch positioned nicely in front of our home theatre system... having to sleep on the couch for the night is not such a bad thing.

Now, if Paula ever figures out a good way to lock the refrigerator...

Well, we wondered if it would ever happen... but it did.  Dick proposed to Trina.  Congratulations you two! (Everybody else, check out the proposal story, it'll make you teary ).

I think the best thing is that in a show of Victorian geekiness they have maintained separate XBoxes... to share an XBox before being married just wouldn't be appropriate, the neighbors would talk.

I made Mike back up so I could see this again...

Okay, so perhaps it's a little weird that my toolbox is still littered with screws I pulled out of a radio-controlled car in Jr. High School, but hoarding old stuff isn't always bad.  I was looking through some pictures I took when I was in South Korea and I found a picture of a street cafe which I almost tossed right when I took it.  I'm glad I got distracted and didn't delete the picture, I'm now quite fond of the colors and feeling of movement.

(larger version: streetcafe.jpg (245.71 KB))

Along many of the busier streets in South Korea are little food stands which offer seating for 4 to 6 and have food within arm's reach.  During rush hour many corners are packed with these part time restaurants.  They remind me of a grown-up lemonade stand with friendly proprietors chatting up the patrons in a neighborly fashion.