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• The Microsoft Network: My usual source for big media news online. I find that the MSN site is well organized and easy to navigate. The Slate magazine, though, has a quite a leftist slant. As near as I can tell, Slate doesn't even try to be balanced. Most every editorial article is presented from a leftist point of view.

• MSDN: The definitive source for learning about Microsoft software technologies. I use the MSDN site extensively in my work. If you want to understand how to develop software using Microsoft tools and technologies, MSDN should be at the top of your list of sources. It's also a great source for information on general software development, architecture, project management, web development and design, and a whole host of other interesting software-related stuff. If you're a software geek (or geek wannabe) and aren't one of those people that thinks Bill Gates is the antichrist, then MSDN is for you.

• Instapundit: My usual starting place for surfing all of the other web logs (blogs) that I visit on a regular basis. It is written by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. He links to many different blogs in his articles, and has one of the largest lists of blogs in his "blog roll" that I've seen. Politically, he leans toward libertarian, with a hint of conservatism now and then.

• U.S.S. Clueless: This blog is written by Steven Den Beste, who is a former Qualcomm software engineer. Mr. Den Beste has in-depth knowledge on an incredible number of subjects. His reasoning is thorough, detailed and precise, and the essays he writes are often very long, compared to what most bloggers write. He doesn't comment as much on minute-by-minute issues as, for example, Instapundit, but what he does comment on gets a deep and fact-based analysis, as you'd expect from an engineer. (I'm biased, of course!). He tends, politically, towards conservatism and libertarianism, based on what I've observed in his writing.

• IMAO: This political satire blog site is written by "Frank J." A lot of it is quite hilarious, if a bit raw now and then. I especially like the "In My World" series of posts he's done, featuring (among others) "the Rumsfeld Strangler," Zatoichi, the blind samurai Secret Service agent, Buck the Marine, and Chomps, the world's angriest dog. Frank is definitely right-wing in his thinking and very much supports the "right to keep and bear arms," but doesn't appear to take it too seriously. I look forward to reading his off-the-wall humor most every day.

• James Lilek's Bleat: James Lileks is an author and  journalist based in Minneapolis, and is just a flat-out great writer. His commentary on politics and world events is insightful - and made even more so by the contrast with the anecdotes and stories of everyday life he includes in his daily columns. He's a pro, and it shows in his writing. Take some time to nose around his site. There's lots of great Americana and nostalgia to get lost in for a while.

• One Hand Clapping: A great blog by Donald Sensing, a United Methodist Church pastor in Tennessee and former U.S. Army officer. One of the things I like best (besides the excellent writing) is the comments on the articles. Pastor Sensing has a pretty well-informed set of readers, many of whom write very well, also.

• Rachel Lucas: One of the best writers of "rants" in the "blogosphere." Ms. Lucas comments on politics, guns, everyday life and her beloved dogs. Her screeds on "idiotarians" are pointed, funny - and accurate. She's a conservative, no doubt about it, and not ashamed to say so. Rachel has taken a break from blogging lately, so her site isn't quite up to date. Rachel is back!