clock … watching time, the only true currency

A journal from John B. Roberts

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Entries from November 2008

OpenDNS has a new CEO

November 22nd, 2008 · No Comments

I left OpenDNS in April of this year, after two years helping bring the startup from pre-launch to profitability. I remain a firm believer in the service, and its growth potential. PCWorld (and every other IDG service) ran this Robert McMillan article yesterday, “VMware Security Chief Leaves to Run OpenDNS,” announcing Nand Mulchandani as the [...]

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Tags: DNS · OpenDNS

Movie: Quantum of Solace

November 22nd, 2008 · 2 Comments

Quantum of Solace… hmmm… not sure about that title. After Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace stumbles slightly. The 2006 re-imagination of Bond employed Daniel Craig to remove the camp and some of the set pieces from the franchise. Quantum of Solace continues the new attitude and Craig, marvelous choices that don’t save the weaker story. [...]

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Tags: Movies

Book: You Can’t Do Business With Hitler

November 16th, 2008 · No Comments

Perhaps you can’t judge a book by its cover. But the title of this demure black hardcover distinguished itself enough that I plucked it off the shelf and kept it in the pile of things I might read someday. That was several years ago. Last month, I finally read You Can’t Do Business With Hitler [...]

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Tags: Books · Everything · Non-fiction

Movie: Children of Men

November 15th, 2008 · No Comments

Children of Men darkens your life for watching it. But it’s not because the movie tells a poor story or tell its story poorly. Instead, the utter mundanity and recognizable degradation of a near future where the human race is now infertile (for reasons unknown) just saddens you. When a crying baby is a beacon [...]

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Tags: Movies

Sorry… Twitter Tools went crazy

November 15th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Just deleted the several dozen rogue posts from Twitter Tools, one of Alex King’s projects. I’m a fan of the plugin and have been using it for several months now without incident. During an upgrade yesterday, I turned on the daily digest feature for the first time. This setting assembles your “tweets” into a blog [...]

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Tags: Blog management · Everything · Twitter

Make all usability test cash payments divisible by $20

November 13th, 2008 · No Comments

Quick note: when setting usability test cash payments, pick a number divisible by $20, so the ATM is enough. In summer sessions, we offered $125. Rounding up that $5 triggered minor pain for every session. Lesson learned. This week, we scaled back to $120, and the money flowed like credit in 2005. If the economy’s [...]

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Tags: Everything

Book: Anathem

November 5th, 2008 · 1 Comment

I’ve never hidden my appreciation for the previous works of Neal Stephenson. So I was one of the many fans attending the release party for his newest book, Anathem. The evening, nearly two months ago on September 9, stumbled along a little bit, as audio difficulties delayed the events. But a thrumming chorus of anticipatory [...]

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Tags: Books

Movie: Millions

November 1st, 2008 · No Comments

Millions was a total surprise in the Netflix queue, thanks to the wife. Wonderful blend of the mundane and imaginary, Millions shimmers with a distinct look. The story stays true to the world of one little boy who’s learning to deal with a new world, one with his mother no longer in it. Throw in [...]

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Tags: Movies