I'd like to compliment Nick Danger on his little orange spy guy and his voluminous knowledge on a wide range of topics,
I'd also like to compliment general_re's vast knowledge and his willingness to share it here,
I'd like to compliment Appy Pappy on his curmudgeonliness and his willingness to share it,
And I'd like to compliment Hillary's Lovely Legs on her quiet, understated sense of humor. It hits you softly in the right spot at the most unexpected times.
Oy. I have been cleverly faking it ;)
That being said, allow me to recognize some folks who truly intimidate me with the breadth and depth of their knowledge, and who have caught my eye in one way or another, whether I agree with them or not - some of them, I may never have even posted to, but I noticed anyway. In no particular order:
CatoRenasci - just for being a damn smart fellow all the way around - his posts are always worth reading twice;
Nick Danger - if I ever happen to find myself in disagreement with Nick, I know it's time to stop and seriously rethink my position;
longshadow - for performance above and beyond the call of duty, in general moral support, and cleverness in the face of obtuseness;
Junior - who can always be counted on to push the envelope a bit farther than is probably a good idea ;) ;
PatrickHenry - who knows a good noir story when he sees one;
jlogajan - for general fearlessness;
Gumlegs - who has a cool hat;
Dimensio - who was kind enough not to smack me down when I maybe went too far in my logical argumentation the other day;
balrog666 - who can be counted on to always have something insightful to add;
inquest and Diamond - for doing a bang-up job of holding up the wrong end of the crevo threads, and who manage to do it with class and grace ;)
AndrewC - who may be a nitpicking, word-lawyering b*stard, but on the other hand, he's damn good at it ;)
(how's that for backhanded? ;) )
dighton, Orual, and aculeus - the Three Stooges, for being some of the most insightfully funny people I've ever had the pleasure of encountering;
Lazamataz and Iowahawk - for being two of the funniest people that I've ever failed to avoid reading;
Phantom Lord - not just for being a local boy, but for having the good sense to escape and stay out;
Behind Liberal Lines and NativeNewYorker - for performance above and beyond the call of duty, and service faithfully rendered while behind enemy lines;
Texasforever - for extreme common sense, and overall being a Good Guy;
tpaine - who has probably aggravated everyone who's ever interacted with him, including everyone who's ever agreed with him, but who continues soldiering on nonetheless;
Poohbah - who reflects well on all of us simply by being here and sharing his exceptional insights;
headsonpikes, coteblanche and habs4ever- for proving that there's intelligent life north of the border;
Hemingway's Ghost, xsmommy, tomkat, and christine11 - who all appreciate a good thong when they see it;
Bush2000 and Dominic Harr - who will probably both blanch at being included together in anything, since they generally despise one another, but without whom the Microsoft threads would be much less interesting ;)
one_particular_harbor - for bailing me out of that jam I was in (hey, she said she was 19, for cryin' out loud), and for having a fabulous sense of humor on top of a desire to do the right thing, no matter how unpopular;
And many, many others, whom I am surely forgetting. FR is like a second home to me, and I am terifically glad to have found it. Here's to many, many more years of promoting the right way for the country...