Back at Starbucks tonight— Shocker! This particular Starbucks is located less than a mile from our local university, CalState, San Bernardino. The benefits of that close location are a larger-than-normal store with plenty of small tables and plenty of outlets for laptop cords. For some reason, the music also tends to be set at a lower volume than is customary. On the negative side, the store ocassionally fills up with college kids— like tonight!— and college kids these days seem to be only a few days removed from potty training. They are so young! And so loud! This being Friday night, they're just hanging out with nary a thought of studying.

I have just recently begun to use a wonderful app supplied by Google. (What do they not supply?!) This app is Reader and can be accessed from the Gmail page. I imagine it is also easily accessed from any other Google page. Reader is an aggregator for RSS feeds. If you check a particular website frequently and that website supports RSS feeds, you can subscribe to the page through Reader. Then, every time you log into Reader and that page has been updated, it will be highlighted with easy access to the update(s).

I first started playing with it by subscribing to all the web comics that I frequently read. Previously, I had to bookmark each web comic and then click on them every day or so to see if there was a new comic. Now, all I have to do is check my subscriptions in Reader. Each comic that has been updated will be highlighted, saving me the truble of clicking through the entire list. Since then, I have discovered that The Onion supports subscriptions so that each new story triggers a highlight. And, I've even begun to put some of my favorite podcasts on the list. It's such an easy way to check for updates across a growing list of favorite sites. Check it out.

FYI: here are some of my favorite web comics:

The Order of the Stick. My friend James introduced this comic to me about 3 years ago now. It is still one of my favorites, despite a storyline that has bogged down. If you've ever enjoyed fantasy or D&D, this one is a must.

Beaver and Steve. This was absolutely my favorite comic until it either ended or went on extended hiatus last year. I recommend starting from the beginning and reading through to the end. This is a gem.

Dinosaur Comics. You have to see and read this one to believe it. Apparently the creator cannot or will not draw. Every new comic is composed of the exact same six panels every day, and only the dialogue changes. Surprisingly, this formula works exceedingly well. I recommend reading at least 10 or 12 comics before deciding whether or not it's for you.

Perry Bible Fellowship. Beautiful artwork married to some of the most disturbing jokes ever! Like the famous chips, you won't be able to stop with just one.

Kate Beaton. Wonderful comic style married to— history?? Reading is believing. Kate Beaton makes me want to know more Canadians.

Well, that should get you started. I may follow up one of these days with another list. There are so many great web comics out there— stuff that shames the comics which get printed in the papers. (Although, I do follow a few printed comics on their websites as well.) Go out and enjoy yourself!

"When birds burp, it must taste like bugs."— Bill Watterson