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Goatee Style is chock-full of goatee goodness!



Ryan updates his journal on a regular basis and always has something interesting to share, whether it’s the fact that he saw “Bring It On” and actually enjoyed it or just posts some really nice pictures from his Godfather’s garden. He shares links with his readers, along with his own thoughts/opinions/commentary, and usually manages to bring out a smile and some laughter.



Navigation is very clear and simple. There’s a links header at the top of each page that includes his profile, photos, his very own comics, webcam, and contact information. There’s so much to see, but it’s all so easy to find and browse through.



Ryan is a very artistic person who enjoys using his talents in so many different mediums. He enjoys his work, and that comes through loud and clear in this site. Visit Goatee Style and take a look at everything there is to offer!

Goatee Style

The interesting name of this blog is Syaffolee, which is derived from S. Y. Affolee. This is the literary pseudonym and self-proclaimed scapegoat of the author named Thea, a non-nerd biology student at Caltech. The initials come from the first letters of her Chinese name, which means “sea poem”. The last name is the feminine form of a French word meaning “fool”. Unlike so many other people nowadays, Thea writes in the biography that she avoids wasting her time watching television or partying like many of the other university students. But don’t you dare calling her a “troll” for being that way, because in this fine blog she has alot to offer. In that regard, we should be thankful that she redirects the usual energy spent by students her age on partying on her blogging endeavors, for she does a pretty good job.

This fine blogger created the site because she was plain tired of being drowned out by people louder than she. Thea states: “Here I can be vitriolic and cantankerous without people in real life hanging me by my toes.” One wonders what experiences she might have had before while hanging in such an uncomfortable position in life. Inspiration for this blog?

The blog called Syaffolee is in itself an interesting combination. Daily activities centered on student life are mixed with reviews and reactions about news items she has read and to which she wants to react: genome secrets, hiv problems, university suicide, a pill to stretch your day, etc. Her writing style is sober and down-to-earth. Alot of the subject area keeps returning back to her biology background, but this is understandable and refreshing. The style reminds me a lot of a mix between Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould, but that is probably because they are also authors of biology science. Her blog archives go way back to the beginning of the Millennium, and there is plenty to peruse. One notices that in two years time, her writing has matured significantly, and this is an interesting process to follow. More depth, more concern with the outside world, an inner growth of someone coming of age. Good blogs, and this is certainly a good one, allow the readers to take part in this process of inner and outer discovery.

Other sections provide balance and escape at the same time. In her page called “Decoder” there are a number of interesting definitions of common and not-so-common terms related to her student life. In the page “Chrono” she reflects back on her life according to the books she has read, and one is immediately moved by the numerous titles she has read with gusto. From a children’s picture book about a bear to Harry Potter, H.P. Lovecraft and Angela Carter, it is all in there. You might also want to have a look at her small gallery where she displays stuff about Gustav Klimt and more.

Anyone admitted to Caltech has by definition got his or her act together. Thea is one smart cookie that is for sure. There is a tendency towards intellectual expression, but Thea tempers this well with simple ideas that make you think. The no-nonsense design of white text on a black backdrop makes the thinking that much more accessible. Not bad for someone who claims that she does not work as hard as she should. I can recommend this site very highly, not only for students but also for the many readers out there who are still at heart “students of life”.syaffolee

Katar.net is the homepage and blog of Aussie James Turnbull — in his words, Katar.net is his “play thing,” and he utilizes the full ability of his site to share his blog, founded in December 2001, among other nifty details.

With a simple, clean, and attractive design in cool shades of blue, Katar.net offers a glimpse into James’s life — his blog is well written with crisp language and sufficient details about the people, places, and things that matter to him. Whether it’s a poor dining experience, an investment in technology toys, or the decision to have a child, James shares his life willingly and honestly, and that’s a refreshing experience for this humble reader.

Katar.net uses frames and Blogger as to structure its content, and this worked well for me. It was easy to navigate through James’s web site and his blog, with clearly delineated sections. My only complaint was that there was no way to leave comments for various blog entries.Kartar.Net

Quick, think of a 16 year old male and what do you think of? I am almost positive that at least one quality about your 16 year old that you thought of this one has.

Alex is your standard high school student. He has some interest in school stuff, and has your standard share of classes, and of course, likes video games, and his computer. Not to mention his liking of the NBA.

Most of the posts are just short little blurbs about what is going on that day in his life. Every now and then, he throws up a random link which leads to some interesting sites.

Unfortunately the program he uses to publish his weblog isn’t up to par for him. He had to take away his archives, and his comments for his site, which is somewhat harmful to a weblog to remove. He did put up 30 entries for me to read, but I still did not have access to the 1 year, 3 months worth of posts, I would like to have had. He is however, looking into using a different weblog tool, which he will hopefully get up and running soon.

He has a pretty sweet design going for his site. I really liked it, even though it is just black, white, and shades of gray, it works very well. There are plenty of external links which makes the site even more valuable.

Considering in one of the posts, the author mentioned how he has been on the web for almost four years, and this site he has kept open for the longest out of all of the ones he has had. The site, in time, will grow, just as the author will and should prove to be an interesting read if the author keeps the site running. My only complaint really was the lack of archives, which really adds a lot more to a site than I realized it would. Hopefully he will find some way to transfer all the old archives to his new tool that he decides to use.
enfusi0n

Are you paranoid about what Microsoft is up to? Do you need to know everything is going on at Camp Microsoft? Watching Microsoft Like a Hawk is the place for you.

Every day there are numerous (and I do mean numerous) links to anything and everything Microsoft related. The author(s) (I am still not quite sure if there is more than one) scout many news sources and then post all the links on their site.

Of course, no “All about Microsoft” site would be complete with out a joke section. I found a lot of the items in this section to be funny, and I am sure that any semi-geek person would find them amusing too.

The design of this site is really easy. One central table, with all of the links to the Microsoft news inside. But it isn’t just a link; there are brief descriptions, which is helpful.

The only problem I had with this site, is that it is only links. I understand that it is very time consuming to find all of these links, but I would like to have seen a separate page, with the author’s opinions on what is going on. Give us all of the news sources on one page, and then give us your opinion on how these things are good/bad/indifferent to the general public.

If you are a tech person, who is constantly looking for news on Microsoft, then you don’t have to go to any other site. It is all here. If you are interested in seeing what Microsoft is up to, then this is the site for you. If none of that interests you, then this site is not for you. I know that I will be checking out this site from time to time to see if there are any problems I should be aware of.
Watching Microsoft Like A Hawk