I wasted my 2000th tweet this morning with a throwaway line about a clip show. But I got a few nice replies, and this one in particular made my day:
“Moby-esque cool”? That’s just pure awesome. Undeserved, but still awesome.
Merlin knocks it out of the park with this post on 43f:
Except inasmuch as it can help move aside barriers to finishing the projects that you claim matter to you, “productivity” is often a sprawling ghetto of well-marketed nonsense for people who really just need a ritalin and a hug. So, for myself, random tips and lists that aren’t anchored to solving a real-world problem for a smart but flawed adult with a mind are dead to me. Pour a forty on ‘em.
I must admit that I haven’t been reading 43f much1 over the past couple of months, precisely for the reasons that Merlin himself states in his post; namely the feeling that “productivity pr0n” had become a renegade force of nature, imploding into a time-sucking singularity of such gravitational power that it threatened to pull all real creative work into its accretion disk, where it would spin around for all eternity2.
That’s not to be construed as a knock on Merlin. Quite the contrary - it’s astounding how he managed to outline his change of gears with such candor and clarity. Merlin’s content has been the basis for much of my own efforts to understand, control, and master the information cloud that surrounds me, especially over the past six months. It’s a constant struggle to keep my energy level where it needs to be in order to do the real creative work that sustains me. While I rely on my online connections to fill my constant need for raw input and intellectual challenge, too often it’s the equivalent of junk food; spending 20 minutes sifting through a comment thread on a favorite blog just to find one worthwhile contribution often feels like eating a Big Mac and then wanting to sleep the rest of the day away.
It’s reopened my eyes to how much time I devote to things that don’t help me move forward, and seeking validation from people who don’t matter3. And it’s also got me thinking about the direction of my own site, and who I’m trying to please with it.
Among the great historical either/or questions in history—Catholic or Protestant? North or South? Cake or death?—ranks the topic of “Pop or Soda”.
Personally I grew up in a county right on the border between the two lexiconic alternatives, but always called it “pop”. Then I went away to college, and it’s been “soda” ever since, though the city I live in now is a “pop” town.
If you’ve ever wondered how the Pop/Soda/Coke monikers are distributed through the United States, the Strange Maps blog has a comprehensive map (via the popvssoda website) showing just that. The post also sites some interesting information from a research article by a philology professor and senior editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English1.
(via Strange Maps)
I’m back home after eight days of vacation1. Though I’m spending most of today sorting through various inboxes, voicemails, postal mail (hey, remember paper?), packages and parcels2 and other things that piled up while I was away.
I want to thank Josh again for guest posting last week, and hope that you’ll all take the opportunity to pester him into writing his own damn blog, despite his constant whining about how he doesn’t have time because “I have a job,” and “my wife is having twins and she’s making me run to the store every six minutes for lime Jell-O and Kraft Cheese Singles”. Also, give him a follow on the Twitter, or he’ll pout.
Regular posting should resume tomorrow. Thanks for playing nice while I was away.
I just wanted to take the time to personally thank Tony for being a gracious host and trusting me as a guest blogger in his time of absence. You have all been a very well-mannered audience and in the end, we can all say we had a great time, but deep down I know how you truly feel. It’s okay, I deserve it for selling those nude pictures of your mom.
I look forward to the possibility of writing for Tony again and maybe even working together at the capacity of what could be considered a slightly maladjusted individual with severe back hair. I wanted to post more on the topic of tech & science and not be so personal, but I just didn’t have it in me. So, I will leave you with this:
If there was one wickedly formidable superhuman power I wish I had, it would have to be an innate random insult generator. I can almost count on one hand the numerous times this ability would have proven advantageous. Sure, you can fly, but I’ll be referring to you as a [INSERT RANDOMLY GENERATED INSULT HERE] while doing so. Also, the ability to disable vulgar language would be beneficial, just in case I get into a name-calling match with another 5-year old. Take that, you spam humping thighbone nibbler.
If you have found any and/or all of what I have written to be overtly offensive, then please follow me on twitter. We hope you had fun on your vacation Tony, good luck cleaning up this mess. I left your phone bill next to the garbage, which I also didn’t take out.
- Josh Hopkins, guest blogger
