A reader once asked me about my site traffic. DavesBeer.com doesn't have all that much traffic compared to the big guys out there but I'm happy with it. I'm thrilled actually. It's enough. When I peruse my visitor logs and notice someone's server I recognize, I cherish the visit. Someone came to visit!

When I told him the actual number he gasped: "why, what . . .?".

I know:
• Dooce is a new parent of a 6 month old girl, Leta, she's recently been admitted, lived to tell about it, used to work in LA, lost her job because of her blog, is a web designer, is hilarious and has given me more consolation than my pediatrician regarding parenting;
• Serenaluchang hates her job and is also hilarious;
• The author of Greasy Skillet once considered giving up the whole blog thing. I'm glad he didn't, he's interesting.

I looked forward to reading all of it and will return for more.

I'm (obviously) not a writer. I don't have credentials to evaluate writing and my punctuation stinks, but I enjoy what they and other bloggers write. Some blogs are well-written and some aren't; do you have to be a writer to write? Should untrained writers cease blogging, return to their cubes, take their interval of Prozium and stop writing because they don't express themselves well enough?

If I were an English teacher, I'd be skipping through the streets thinking maybe there really is a god. A god that even likes gay people. People are writing for the fun of it at their own expense (time and money). How much more intellectually-productive could an outlet be? If I wake up in 10 years and realize I've embarrassed myself, so be it. I'll get therapy and deal.

Blogs do not detract from the beauty of the web. If you don't want to read them, they're easy to avoid.