Online friends can be real cool
I have a friend named Charles Thompson that I met through the PHP Developers Network forums. After some exchanges on the forums he and I struck up a more professional online buddyship, including friending each other on Facebook. We also chat. A lot.
So it goes without saying that Charles should be entitled to a little write up on my little corner of the intarwebs. Afterall, we have chatted about marriage, PHP, programming, c, c++, college, motorcycles... you name it. Chances are pretty good that whatever subject you can think of it has more than likely been brought up. We have sent each other comments on Facebook, have exchanged ideas on forums, have even reviewed each other's designs and blogs trying to get opinions.
In short, Charles is an online friend that is real... cool. I have never met him, never spoken to him, never heard his voice. But we have communicated for quite some time now and have spent early mornings and late nights chatting about all sorts of stuff. He is a cool dude.
Of course I rarely make it a point to talk about anyone unless it is my wife, my kids or the president. Sometimes I talk about a group of people - like the police or congress or Christians or geeks - but it is the rare occasion in which I single one person out for discussion.
So why does he get his own write up on my blog when I have other, real life friends that have not gotten theirs? Well, the answer to that is simple.
He asked me. 
