I've spent quite a few years playing around with websites of my own, but in an effort to simplify my life I've decided to give the Google Blogs a try.
I'll start by introducing myself as a 30 something ex-atheist westerner from Huntington, WV, USA who has been reading and listening to dhamma for the past 3 years or so. For those of you who don't know, the dhamma is the Buddha's teaching. A large collection of English translations from the original Pali language is available online at Access to Insight. I do consider myself a lay Buddhist at this point, which from my understanding simply means that one puts their faith in the Buddha, the Sangha (order of monks, especially those who have attained some level of enlightenment), and the Dhamma. Also, to me the phrase "puts their faith in" simply means that I believe that the Buddha discovered something very profound, then proceeded to teach these methods of discovery to other seekers of enlightenment, who then also discovered the same profound state that the Buddha discovered. What is that "profound" state? In Pali it's called Nibbana, but westerners know it more commonly by the Sanskrit Nirvana.
Now, with this brief introduction I should definitely note that I am just starting my journey. I only know bits and pieces of dhamma that I've read or heard. All of the talks I've heard have been posted to either the Bhavana Society website or BuddhaNet. The main purpose of this blog is for me to work out my understanding of what I've read and heard, hopefully through some type of dialog with others who are interested in the Buddha's teachings. As I make posts, I'll try to reference whatever I've been reading or listening to so others will be able to find the same material and make appropriate comments. That said, I'll try to make posts as regularly as possible, but there may be large breaks in those posts.
