Best of the Aerie 2009

Yes, I know I just posted a 2009 retrospective, but it really wasn’t as meaty as I wanted it to be. So following the lead of my wonderful friend Tami, I want to present to you what I consider the best article I gave you from each month of 2009.

Audio in WoW: How I Listen to Two Sound Feeds – January 26: A quick guide on how to use a USB headset and regular speakers (or vice versa) to listen to two separate sound sources in WoW.

DPS: How to Earn Your Healer’s Love – February 11, 2009: A treatise on how DPS characters in WoW can stay on their healers’ good side.

Wherein Kestrel Proves How Boring He Really Is – March 24, 2009: One of several memes in which I took part, this one explained the origin of "Kestrel" (the name), as well as my other characters. Based on the comments, you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The Masters – April 13, 2009: A bit of a departure for me, this article was a recap and analysis of the 2009 Masters Golf Tournament.

Why FeedBurner? – May 27, 2009: In which I advocate the use of FeedBurner over your blog’s default RSS feed.

Playing With Mac Software – June 20, 2009: While this article itself was rather fun to write, the real joy came in the comments, where I was afforded the opportunity to talk about one of everyone’s favorite topics: food.

Friday Five: Reader-Friendly WordPress Plugins – July 31, 2009: As part of my effort to encourage commenting on blogs, and to make such commenting easier for our readers, I present five WP addons that, in one way or another, facilitate the commenting process.

Friday Five: Best Lagers – August 14, 2009: Another favorite topic of mine, and of many of my readers, it seems: beer. Even my younger brother was prompted to comment!

Article of the Year: "English Comp 101 – Cliff Notes Version" (9/26)

English Comp 101 – Cliff Notes Version – September 16, 2009: Judging from the comments, not only was this my favorite (and, in my opinion, best) article of 2009, but you agreed. This article marked a turning point, not only for the blog, but for me as well.

Wordsmith Wednesday: Get Ready for NaNoWriMo – October 14, 2009: Along the same lines as September’s favorite, I presented some tips on how to prepare for National Novel Writing Month.

Giving More Than Thanks – November 25, 2009: I hopped on my soapbox a bit for this one, with a plea for you to consider others not as fortunate as we are, in your holiday giving.

How Not to Impress Me As A Potential Customer – December 1, 2009: Not the rant the title might lead you to believe, this was really more a lesson in grammar and punctuation for email mass-marketers, but timely for the NaNo crowd.

I’m really curious if there are other articles I posted that stand out as much or more than these. And now, it’s time for bed: Flying home from Hawai’i on New Year’s Eve (wonder if they’ll serve us champagne?).

Happy Twenty-Ten, everyone!

Tagged as: Retrospective