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

Day: November 11, 2005

  • Book: Neuromancer

    I started noting which books I read here for three reasons.

    1. Saw other people doing it, and I liked the idea.
    2. Subtle way to tell people who I am, without crossing the line I have in my mind about what’s not appropriate to share with the entire world.
    3. A way as memory fades to avoid re-reading by mistake, since there are only so many hours in a lifetime to spend reading (great hours they are!).

    With all that, this re-reading was not a mistake. Neuromancer by William Gibson remains one of my post-teen years favorites. This week marked the third time I’ve read the novel.

    The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

    Right from the start, Gibson drops the reader into a different place, with no explanation. There are no apologies, few early explanations (although some seep in along the way), and a story that hums along even when it hints at more metaphysical leanings.

    I can’t tell from his website when we’ll next see a new book by Gibson, but I’ve read everything he’s published so far. The blog he hasn’t updated more than once in two years seems to hint he’s hard at work. Good for him. I can only hope Neal Stephenson is also heads-down.

  • I still need sleep… am I strange that way?

    When I learn about people doing interesting things in their spare time, I sigh. When I can IM folks building an interesting business at 12:30am their time, I shake my head. When I look at my rarely shrinking list of side projects I’d like to get to, I slump.

    Except for occasional early morning bouts of mind-racing, I sleep at least seven hours a night most every night. Sometimes eight. And I’m a cranky-pants (thank you, Tim Goodman) when I don’t get that sleep.

    I like to imagine I’m focused on the things that matter between my family and my job. There aren’t a lot of spare hours after that. Kudos to those who find the inspiration and perspiration to pursue invention of all sorts in the hours when I’m soundly asleep.

    On the job, I never count the hours; rather, I feel like I don’t have enough of them to get all the right things done. (I can understand the cultish attraction of the Getting Things Done methods, even if I continue to avoid diving in.) The few times in my life I’ve had a job I hated, I counted the hours, even when I wasn’t paid by them. If I start counting the hours… it’s time to move on. If you’re counting the hours, consider your choices.

    And get some sleep will you? You’re making me look bad! 🙂

  • A blog is so last year

    Here I am blogging away, however infrequently, feeling like I’m (almost) on the cutting edge. Until, this afternoon, a friend showed me a mashup he’s been working on with a few friends.

    Guess we’ll have to wait for the Wired Magazine “Jargon Watch” (Nov 2005) to make it official, but here’s the preview of some coming month’s judgment.

    Wired: Mashups
    Tired: Wikis
    Expired: Blogs

    Or maybe this blog thing can run a little longer. Even if I can’t keep up.