clock … watching time, the only true currency

A journal from John B. Roberts

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Entries from August 2005

Need another blog like a…

August 31st, 2005 · Comments Off

As if I didn’t have enough media-related ways to spend my time, now I have another blog. Filter provides a place for a little less navel-gazing (though I know my reading list is so appreciated) and a bit more reflecting. That said, it’s night one, so I’ll limit the promises, and the damage, for now.

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Tags: Tech

Book: Skeletons of the Zahara

August 30th, 2005 · Comments Off

Skeletons of the Zahara re-tells the story of an early 19th century shipwreck on the northeast coast of Africa. The American merchant ship Commerce runs aground, and the surviving crew ends up as slaves for various tribal groups on the west edge of the Saharan desert. No fun. Enduring starvation and thirst which evoked (in [...]

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Tags: Books · Maps

Movie: War of the Worlds

August 30th, 2005 · Comments Off

It’s been a while, but thought I’d note that I did see War of the Worlds a couple of weeks ago. Nothing special, but Tim Robbins must have had fun with his small role. Metacritic gives the movie a 74, for “generally favorable reviews” — seems about right.

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Tags: Movies

TiVo means…

August 30th, 2005 · Comments Off

TiVo means watching the early season Arsenal-Chelsea fixture over two nights nearly ten days after the match is played. Yes, Arsenal lost, as they did in the Community Shield. Yes, Thierry Henry needs to be patient as the team adjusts to new midfielders who don’t serve him as well as Patrick Viera did. But worthy [...]

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Tags: Everything

Two steps back

August 24th, 2005 · Comments Off

Great run this morning with my friend Billy… first time in a while I’ve gone more than five miles. Twenty minutes after finishing the run, though, the back seized up, reminding me that I’m not fully recovered from wrenching it nine days ago. Ouch!
But it was still a rewarding run. Nothing like Narendra’s 50 miles [...]

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Tags: Everything

Small world sign

August 21st, 2005 · 1 Comment

When Scoble points out that Technorati’s top searches this weekend were for Barcamp and Foocamp, all I can think is… we’re not swimming in the mainstream just yet. Not all bad, but (repeat after me) it’s still early. I love being immersed in this bubbling broth of media, but perhaps it’s still an acquired taste?

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Tags: Tech

Sleep, and the lack thereof

August 18th, 2005 · Comments Off

Last night, before bed, I read Deep Into Sleep. This Harvard Magazine article explores sleep research, along with some of the statistics about how poorly rested we all are. Great survey of the field, especially for someone who is only learning now (as a parent) to appreciate the joys of a great nap.
The unmistakeable irony? [...]

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Tags: Everything

Even better than the real thing: Gmaps Pedometer

August 12th, 2005 · Comments Off

Gmaps Pedometer is the coolest tool I’ve seen in a while. Focused on a small task, the Pedometer delivers a better-than-real-world experience. And my running commute is 3.263935141910354 miles long. New feature idea: allow me to plug in a time for the distance travelled, and spit out a pace. That’s more interesting than a calorie [...]

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Tags: Tech

The right audio player for listening to Windows Media encoded audiobooks

August 11th, 2005 · 1 Comment

Thanks to James Kim, I was able to pass along a useful recommendation to my mom about technology. The narrow limits of my expertise were quickly exposed when trying to help her pick the right digital audio player for listening to audiobooks which can be borrowed from her local library. Here is what I asked [...]

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Tags: Tech

I’ve been called worse

August 9th, 2005 · Comments Off

I don’t even try to follow ego feeds for John Roberts anymore (thanks to the Supreme Court), so I missed when Steve Gillmor called my response to Steve Rubel a new form of spam, based on my presumed status as an “incumbent.”
Last I checked, CNET News.com wasn’t even nine years old yet. Whatever audience has [...]

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Tags: Tech