Say, over there...isn't that...?

     It's still amazing to me that, in the wired world, you can get to know someone pretty well, and only ever have made contact via email, online conferencing, social nets and email.  This goes, of course, for folks not only half a world away but half a township away too.
     This evening while Mrs. A and I and our next-door neighbors were trying to eat our way through the nine million or so items on the Ryce Chinese Buffet in Maryland Heights, I thought I recognized a face in the crowd.
     If it was who I thought it was, it was a guy I'd known for four or so years, since I'd first read and encouraged his early online work, but only virtually.  I'd seen photos, but never met him in person.  Didn't want to interrupt his eating, waited until he went back for Round 2 and then stepped up to him.
     And, yup, it was who I thought it was:  Jim Hoft, the Gateway Pundit.  Jim's blog is arguably the most influential locally published Conservative blog, and is quoted and referenced across the Blogosphere and by broadcast commentators.  He's also in demand as a keynote speaker at TEA demonstrations and Blogger meetings across the country.  Hoft is also a regular on Jamie Allman's morning radio show on KFTK.
     And it was great to finally put out a handshake to someone for whom I have a lot of respect.