Weblogs are gaining notoriety because famous people are starting to create them. Perhaps this is a tipping point for weblogs. They've already gotten a ton of press this year. No one should be surprised when the web is flooded with a slew of boring, poorly-written weblogs. There are plenty already. But weblogs won't disappear or fade away like so many Internet fads. The web is not as wondrous a place as it once was--there are few new websites that blow anyone away. Personal weblogs provide a unique daily diversion for folks--I think of it as mental exhibitionism (on the part of the blogger) and mental voyeurism (on the part of the reader).
A sampling of celeb weblogs:
RuPaul
Moby
Jeff Bridges
Melanie Griffith
Douglas Rushkoff
Neil Gaiman
Finally, perhaps, we can hear celebrities uncensored, not filtered through their agents or publicists. We can laugh at ones who can't write, ignore those who use their weblogs for marketing themselves, and realize that celebrities may not be any more interesting than people we know. I predict that in a year and a half, the celeb who doesn't have some sort of website up will be the exception rather than the rule. True, weblogs may no longer be cool (everyone blames Mariah Carey for having tainted the whole affair), but they're a welcome diversion from checking stock quotes on the web every morning.
Someday the history of weblogs will be traced, and for me the weblog as I think of it (personal diary on the web) started with web developers I knew and spread out from there.

Tax day

The one day each year where people everywhere complain when they don't receive a refund and have to write a check to the government even though a refund means that the government borrowed money from you with every paycheck throughout the previous year without paying you any interest. And now they're giving that money back to you. Far better to have borrowed money from the government and now pay them back. But if you really want that refund at this time of year, please send me a check for what you think your withholding tax will be for this upcoming year. Next year on April 15 I'll give you a check back so you can feel great about getting a refund.

Postal rate hikes

Effective June 30, the price of a first-class stamp will increase 8.8%, from 34