Compare it to, say, research. How much of that is poorly done, incorrect, and seemingly useless. It's the diamonds, not the dirt, put another way, that is sought. As for poor writing, if the ideas are good, I can and do sift. If they are poor, I just pass on to something else. I take a good look at poorly written material though, looking for my common mistakes, examples of how an idea might be better put, and I think about how vocabulary could be improved.
I probably should be kept off the internet, myself. But then, I am more logging than blogging.
I'm a compulsive reader as well.
I've found that I edit in my head whatever I'm reading. Granted, it has to be pretty horrendous writing before the editor kicks in, but still, I edit while I read.
I find that writing these comments has helped my prose. I'm not aiming for "literature" just ease of comprehension and economy of words.
Back when Vox's comments had a character limit helped me attain a level of brutality in my editing that I would not have reached otherwise.
"A wise man once said... the blogosphere is made up of people with nothing to say, and an undeniable urge to say it."
A fundamental reason why I do not have my own.
Now, there is a lot of good stuff out there; it's just that most of it deals with superficialities. I've learned an awful lot from the circle of blogs that I visit -- the tomato bucket was especially informative, and I had a pretty good crop of tomatoes and peppers last year. (This year we added carrots and onions to the topside of the bucket, getting two crops for the price of one as it were.)
"what if all this exposure to crappy writing is influencing us in ways we don't necessarily appreciate?"
That's all right, I try not to let your unique grammar and spelling influence me too much.
What's "monkies"? A pet name for more than one monk? Is it a pun which requires one be "southren" to understand? 
Speaking of reading, have you read The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again), Nate? If you have, your thoughts? That one's probably going on the Christmas list.
A further curiousity: do you collect stuff from the War of Northern Agression? The price of that stuff has gone through the roof.
When I started blogging, I set a limit for myself of 500 words in a post. I don't normally go much above half that, though when talking about border insecurity, the war in Iraq or the War of Northern Aggression I can get long-winded. Point is, blogging can help you practice disciplined writing if you have the willpower to constrain it.
Just think -- most bloggers today probably used to dread 500-wd essays in school. Now they bloviate for pages without saying anything.
Brevity in blogging is best, otherwise, unless you've had some training, it's easy to lose the purity of the thought. Writing a Novel takes massive discipline, in my opinion. More than I have. That's why I love books so much. The dedication and passion that goes into them humbles me. Nate, if you do write a book, I'll buy it. Even if it sucks.. 
Billiam,
A novel actually takes much less discipline than a good short story.
Well Nate, Read your Blog, JAC's blog, a few atheist blogs. But I rarely read my own.
Vox's Blog, but that's a given.
Blogging is what you make of it. It can help you with your writing or it can reinforce bad habits, like internet shorthand or l33t.
I started my blog with hopes that it would help me write and to an extant it has altho from time to time I just can't seem to put my words together yet I post it anyways. Usually I just delete the post if I cant get across what I am trying to say.
the blogosphere is made up of people with nothing to say, and an undeniable urge to say it.
It only shows the inherent truth of capitalism. With the internet, it's like a free for all smorgasbord. No quality controls exist since it's virtually free for most users. Heck, even the bum on the street can have an active blog through the public library system. So, now we have the socialist dream in cyberland. Everyone is equal, but the overall quality of the product is driven way down.
Erik, my purpose was partly to improve my writing, but I feel it just didn't work that way. Before long, I cared more about venting than writing. I think it just depends on what motivates you to do better in your work.
Yeah! Put up some real heavy chit- like this:
http://www.fridaypage.com/
images...1307_recoil.wmv
Is that Michael Moore??
With some news coming out this past week about curtailing free expression on the internet , it may not matter very much before long.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/
arti..._censorship.htm
Two years ago I use to read around 40 blogs on a weekly basis, more then half of those on a daily basis.
I now read around 5 blogs on a weekly basis, none on a daily basis.
1) I find I have a lot more free time.
2) I find that my mind is not cluttered so much with "things".
Skillet, I got that same video in an email that claimed it was a custom-built, .60 cal pistol.
The body of the email:
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60 caliber pistol
This video is basically a "show and tell" custom built on a Thompson Encore (fancy version of the Thompson Contender). The Caliber...600 Nitro Express. That's right... An elephant gun round in a handgun.
The story goes that the guy that built it is some kind of custom gun maker. He built this as an exhibition piece. He takes it to the range with him just to show it off, and the big guy that shot it (in the video) had been bugging the builder to let him shoot it.
Now think about this... Only until fairly recently (early-mid '80's) the 600 Nitro Express was hands down the biggest, nastiest, hardest hitting, and heaviest recoiling weapon you could buy. It was designed for one simple purpose...to knock an elephant flat on his butt. It was really built as an exhibition piece! for guys "compensating". This cartridge is known for breaking collarbones, arms, shoulders of the shooter!
Think about this, in the gun world they use what is termed as a "recoil index" to kind of give prospective buyers an idea of what a gun kicks like.
A 30-06 gets a rating of a 1.0, which for many people is about the limit of what they can shoot multiple rounds thru comfortably. A 243 is rated at like a .4, a 270 was like a .8, etc.
The 600 Nitro Express is rated at a 9.4... 9.4 times more punishing power than a 30-06.
Now watch the video.
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I won't attest to any truth in the text...it was just a typical chain email I received.
Interesting...
Whatever it was, it owned that fatty's butt!
If you're wanting for quality reading material, go to bartleby.com
Being overseas has forced me to discover where all the free books are buried.
You just got to eat the meat, and spit out the bones. The internet is great. The research I do on tools and equipment, it's great. I just downloaded a driver a while ago. But you're talking more about the blogosphere. It's still great. For instance, when someone (?) posted the quote from Lincoln over at VD's blog, during a debate there. None of the Lincoln defenders denied it. Very interesting, very.
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