clock

Watching time, the only true currency // A journal from John B. Roberts

Year: 2004

  • Not enough adherents to be a cult

    I’ve spent a lot of time rowing. Not recently, unfortunately, but it was a major focus for a decade or so. So I could smile at these two quotes from the September issue of Rowing News. I don’t even know which article they are from, since I ripped the page out of the magazine solely…

    Read on →

  • Hot, hot, hot

    I’ve spent the afternoon indoors, mostly, but San Francisco is hot today. Up over 90 degrees. Felt great during my run this morning, when it was probably a few degrees cooler, but this is startling. September is often the best month, weather-wise, but what a contrast to the hurricane season lashing Florida right now. I…

    Read on →

  • Movie: The Bourne Supremacy

    Matt Damon does the sequel right. The Bourne Supremacy keeps moving, and was a worthy evening of entertainment in Lake Placid, New York a couple of weeks ago. The movie Bourne doesn’t have all the darkness and complexity of the book Bourne, but who wants that anyway, in a movie. The performance of the Russian…

    Read on →

  • Book: The Bourne Legacy

    More vacation reading from a few weeks ago. After my speculation about who’s writing the Ludlum books that keep coming out, at least The Bourne Legacy, the newest one, acknowledge that the author is someone else: Eric Van Lustbader. The cover screams “Robert Ludlum’s Bestselling Character Jason Bourne,” but does say “A new novel by…

    Read on →

  • Book: The Golden Ocean

    Since Stacey’s didn’t have volume 18 in the Aubrey-Maturin series handy, I picked up a couple of other Patrick O’Brian’s, including The Golden Ocean. This novel was written earlier (1956) than the series which made the author famous, but it’s in print now thanks to his other success. The Golden Ocean is a historical rewrite…

    Read on →

  • Bachelor Days

    The kids and wife have been out of town all week. Life is different on your own, running your schedule without accounting for other people. That doesn’t include the office, of course, but I avoided spending all my extra time at work. Phew. My mania for consuming media — so much easier than creating it…

    Read on →

  • Enjoy the quiet

    I won’t be filling any aggregators for a while. Back in a while.

    Read on →

  • Procrastination gene identified?

    Reuters gives the article a less provocative title, but “Gene Blocker Turns Monkeys Into Workaholics – Study” is really about procrastination. “The gene knockdown triggered a remarkable transformation in the simian work ethic. Like many of us, monkeys normally slack off initially in working toward a distant goal,” he added. I know we’re 97% the…

    Read on →

  • I’m not moving, even if blue is my color

    After reviewing a political map presented proportionally to electoral votes, I can only think a few thoughts. First, California is so damn big, in so many ways. Second, I do hope that predictions of “blue” victory work out. Third, my vote might “count” for more if it were not in California. Fourth, applying maps to…

    Read on →

  • I want my i-den-tity

    (to the tune of “I want my TV” … think Sting pitching in for Mark Knopfler and the rest of Dire Straits) Robert Andrews weighs in on the vigorous debate (hope that link works… the online-news mailing list archive is not easily linkable) with his thoughts on registration frustration. My response? He’s proposing something that…

    Read on →