clock … watching time, the only true currency

A journal from John B. Roberts

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Entries from March 2003

When e-mail isn’t enough

March 31st, 2003 · Comments Off

The VPN at work is down. I rarely connect from home, since I can get my email in mobile fashion (thank you, RIM), but the people I work with need to get to the servers to make changes, and tonight, that connection just crapped out. Pointed reminder that despite thinking the network is Shirky’s permanet, [...]

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Tags: Everything · Tech

BOOK: Patrick O’Brian, A Life

March 31st, 2003 · Comments Off

I finished my mental candy last night, so it’s time to get some intellectual fiber again. I’ll see how a biography of Patrick O’Brian turns out. Author is Dean King, which means nothing to me now. I haven’t read all of the Aubrey and Maturin novels, but I’ve read enough to know they are masterpieces. [...]

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Tags: Books

Why products are easier than services

March 30th, 2003 · Comments Off

I received a notice that my current primary care physician (PCP… what a lovely acronym given the context) is moving to a new city, and therefore I’ll have to choose another doctor within my HMO. I’ve only seen my doctor three times in four years, so I don’t have a deep attachment here, but I [...]

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Tags: Everything

BOOK: The Lost World

March 30th, 2003 · Comments Off

What you read says a lot about you, so I’ve decided to emulate the ‘currently reading’ idea I’ve seen on several other sites. Of course, I’m not yet willing to set it up nicely, so I’ll just start by noting what I’m reading as normal posts, rather than anything more dramatic. I’m (re)reading The Lost [...]

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Tags: Books

San Diego weather in San Francisco

March 30th, 2003 · Comments Off

A co-worker told me Friday afternoon that a weatherman had promised ‘the best weekend of the year.’ A different co-worker (a surfer) took a look at his favorite weather maps and seemed to agree. After enjoying the sun, blue sky, and very light winds of the last two days, I think the forecast was spot [...]

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Tags: Everything

Infants heal fast, thankfully

March 30th, 2003 · Comments Off

After burning his hand last week in Arizona, the boy continues to demonstrate the importance of infant healing powers. With the bonk above his eye, the scrape on his elbow, the pinched skin on his stomach, and assorted scratches, he’s altogether too much the little boy right now.

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Tags: Family

The native is restless

March 28th, 2003 · Comments Off

I’ve waited 25 minutes, listening to him ‘read’ to himself and give instructions to various of his stuffed animals… but I think it’s time to go get the boy out of his crib.

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Tags: Family

Not the only Aries…

March 27th, 2003 · Comments Off

OK, I never thought I was. But Brent Simmons and I share a birthday. Not that we’ve met, but I’m a happy user of NetNewsWire (Lite, for now).

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Tags: Everything

Why time hurts blogs

March 27th, 2003 · Comments Off

I’m oversimplifying the point of Steven Johnson’s article about what blogging could become, but I found this gem of a quote: “The beautiful thing about most information captured by the bloggers is that it has an extensive shelf life. The problem is that it’s being featured on a rotating shelf.” Substitute ‘news sites’ for bloggers [...]

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Tags: Everything · Media

Some things are harder than they should be

March 27th, 2003 · Comments Off

I spent a little over 30 minutes at work talking to two different people about blogging software. The conversations reminded me that web publishing is getting easier, but it’s still not automatic. I know the most about Radio Userland, since that’s what I’ve chosen to use, but I quickly realized that there are plenty of [...]

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Tags: Everything