A couple of the 25 I agree with & follow. Many of them are completely unknown to me, though with the world of WordPress being so vast (and getting larger every day), I’m not surprised to see so many unknowns on the list.

That said, I would think the list could include some of the Automattic team or some of the known core contributors. (@jaredatch mentions this in a reply on Twitter) Rather than just disagree with the list in question, I thought I’d go through my short list and make one even more focused than the blog article. I’m going to list 10 WordPressers you should follow. These are just 10. There are hundreds of good folks on Twitter with great ideas & knowledge of WordPress who can inspire you to do great things with WordPress. I’d say if you started a Twitter list with these 10 – if you haven’t doubled that in less than 15 minutes after starting to follow them, you’re doing something wrong.

(In no particular order)

@Nacin

Core developer for WordPress. If you touch any code, you should know who he is.

@BillErickson

I have saved hundreds of hours of coding pain by following Bill and his ideas. His contributions to the WordPress developer community are invaluable.

@janeforshort

Jane doesn’t have her finger on the pulse of both the WordPress product and the community, she’s very much the pulse.

@Ipstenu

Keeps the WordPress forums in check, always links to useful & interesting articles, guides, tips, etc. @Ipstenu’s tweets also serve as a reminder to think & check yourself before posting in the support forums.

@norcross

Another good source of code fixes & examples.

@nathanrice

Nathan’s the lead developer with Copyblogger Media (Genesis). I use Genesis day-in and day-out for theme development If I didn’t follow Nathan, I’d check my head.

@markjaquith

I remember reading some of Mark’s code fixes wa-ay back in the days of working with WordPress and being impressed. I’m still impressed.

@JJJ

WordPress’s siblings: BuddyPress and bbPress have improved dramatically in recent years. If you want to keep up with these two, follow @JJJ.

@devinsays

Devin’s a great WordPress dev who’s been developing the Options Framework & theme.

@jaredatch

Jared’s a developer who’s done some great work with Genesis & bbPress.

@wpengine

OK, one more I can’t leave out: WPEngine – great hosting provider made up of a team of knowledgeable & dedicated WordPress supporters. I wouldn’t use them if I didn’t like them.

This list is per sack (Each sack of live crawfish is 30-36 pounds in size.)

• 1 sack of swamp fire mix
• 1 jar of paprika (5-10 oz is good)
• 8 oz cannister of cayenne pepper
• 4 oz. chinese red pepper or other “heat”
• 3 bags of zatarains corriander and peppercorn sacks
• 1/4 o 1/3 flaggon of liquid boil (preferably cajun land brand)
• 3-4 heaping tablespoons of good curry powder
• 6-8 bay leaves
• 8-10 lemons cut in halves
• 4 yellow onions halved or whole if small
• 3 bell pepper cut in quarters (put these in last of the veggies as they will impart flavor no matter what, but they’ll disintegrate if you put them in with the garlic and potatoes)
• 1 bag of new potatoes (approx. 2 lbs.)
• 1 package frozen corn (cut half-cobs)
• 10 heads of garlic
• 1 plastic tray of mushrooms
• 1 package little smokies
• 5 stalks of celery cut into 3-inch chunks

Fill pot half-full with water.
Bring to boil.

Add potatoes and garlic to basket.
Lower basket into boiling water.

Boil for 6-7 minutes.
Remove from basket, set aside.
Add purged & rinsed crawfish to basket.
Lower into hot water and return to a low boil. Don’t over-boil your crawfish.
Christen with a beer. (*failure to do this will create havoc the likes of which even God hasn’t seen)

Two or three minutes following the dousing of the crawfish, add the celery, onions, bell pepper in and return the potatoes and garlic to the basket.

Bring back to a boil and cook for five minutes.
At the five minute mark, add your dry and liquid spices (I find hitting it with the liquid stuff brings the rolling boil down a bit, you can turn the fire lower)

Turn off the fire.
Stir well.
Add the lemons, squeezing a bit of juice as you go. (note: sometimes we add an orange or two, its nice and gives another level of flavor)
Add the corn, sausages, mushrooms, a few good scoops of ice (to bring down the temp).

Stir, let sit 15 minutes, taste, repeat 15 minutes.

If not ready, let it sit another 5 minutes.

Clear the table, dump, enjoy.

I was disappointed to read on Propublica.org that you are in support of SOPA. I make my living building web sites. Prior to this I studied and worked in the print news industry. (Just to cap things off I am also a proud former Navy reservist & worked with digital technology onboard ships.)

I believe SOPA creates a problem that is nowhere near as problematic as its proponents claim. Rather, this is a subsidy to the MPAA and Hollywood with police powers. Publisher Tim O’Reilly wrote,

“As a publisher, I have a very deep experience here, and the fact is that piracy is not a significant problem. Yes, there are people who are pirating my books, there are people who are sharing links to places where they can be downloaded. But the vast majority of customers are willing to pay if the product is widely available and the price is fair. If you have a relationship with your customers, and they know you’re doing the right thing, they will support you.”

He is correct. People don’t buy movies from Hollywood like they used to when Hollywood is treating them (us) as criminals before any wrongdoing has happened.

Have you tried to play a Blu-ray lately? You are not able to skip straight to the movie. Rather, Hollywood has placed blocks mandating you see the red anti-priracy screen, then you have to watch each preview, then you have to wait for the menu to load. Then and only then do you get to see the movie that you bought. It’s no wonder Netflix and Amazon video are flourishing. It’s easier to watch a movie that way. If you piss off the people who want to give you money, they’ll soon find someone else to give their money to.

I think SOPA is the latest effort from old Hollywood to legislate subsidies for their sinking profits.

More:

http://gigaom.com/2012/01/13/tim-oreilly-why-im-fighting-sopa/

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/internet-regulation-and-the-economics-of-piracy.ars

The penalty aspect of SOPA is just downright evil and unconstituional. Rather than a day in court, SOPA would mandate a hosting provider remove a suspect site from the Internet before guilt has been established.

One, that’s a violation of due process and as such, is unconstitutional. It’s also a potential violation of free speech. Why support a bill that will fail a court test?

Two, the mechanics behind this action stand to break the Internet as we know it. Rather than a single, global free-flowing source of knowledge, there would be a Balkanized system of isolated webs disconnected from each other.

How does this help make the Internet safe and secure? SOPA mandates a methodology of filtering domain names be put into place. This is a risky proposition. You’re building, by law, a method that could eventually be compromised.

From Stanford Law Review:

“Under SOPA, IP rights holders can proceed vigilante-style against allegedly offending sites, without any court hearing or any judicial intervention or oversight whatsoever. For example, SOPA establishes a scheme under which an IP rights holder need only notify credit card companies of the facts supporting its “good faith belief” that an identified Internet site is “primarily designed or operated for the purpose of” infringement. The recipients of that notice will then have five days to cease doing business with the specified site by taking “technically feasible and reasonable” steps to prevent it “from completing payment transactions” with customers. And all of this occurs based upon a notice delivered by the rights holder, which no neutral third party has even looked at, let alone adjudicated on the merits. If they get the assistance of a court, IP owners can also prevent other companies from “making available advertisements” to the site, and the government can prevent search engines from pointing to that site.”

Rep. Carter, I am asking you to publicly withdraw your support for SOPA. As a registered Republican in your constuency, I believe it is your duty to do so.

Thank you for your elected service to this great nation. I look forward to your reply on this matter.

Pat Ramsey

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine all ingredients, mixing well.
3. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.

Makes 1 loaf.

*Or you may substitute with 3 cups all purpose flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.

Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes (2 1/2 pounds)
• 3 pounds ground beef
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large onions (1 pound total), chopped
• 2 large garlic clove, smashed, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato puree
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large can Veg-all, drained
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (packed) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

Directions

Prepare the potatoes as you would for making mashed potatoes. Peel as needed, chop, place in pot. fill w/water to just above the potatoes & bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer till just soft, 10 to 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are simmering, brown the ground beef in skillet or pan. Breaking up and stirring till brown all the way through.

Heat oven to 500℉.

Drain the cooked beef. Move beef to a plate.

Add the olive oil to the pan, along with a pinch of salt. Sautee the onion and garlive till golden and tender. Add the meat back to the pan, along with the tomato puree and drained canned vegetables. Stir till the mixture is even.

Drain the potatoes when soft and tender. Return them to pot, adding the half-and-half, along with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the meat mixture in a 13 by 9 glass cake pan. Smooth it to a level surface. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Add the potatoes, spreading along the surface till the meat is almost completely covered. Drag the tines of a fork along the surface on potatoes to create grooves in the potatoes.

Bake for about an hour, till potatoes are golden.

Remove, let cool, eat.

Original recipe, Nan’s Shepherd’s Pie