David Foster Wallace killed himself at the weekend.
I should really attempt Infinite Jest again - I stalled at about the 600 page mark. It’s probably not one for the bus, in fairness. Dave Eggers reckons it takes a solid month.
Two links - Roger Federer as religious experience. And one from The Onion.
You should read Merlin Mann’s Better post. It’s a superior articulation of my goal this year: to contribute more and consume less. I’m the world’s best procrastinator. I also love the net. That’s a very, very dangerous combination, and I’m trying to redress the balance.
I have this blog and sportreview.net.nz - I do them because I want to improve my writing, make cartoons, it’s a lot of fun, and because you never know what opportunities will come. I get a lot out of it, and I think (hope) my sites are getting better.
With a new baby my time is a lot more valuable than it used to be - I’ve got stuff I want to get done - and not much time to do it. I really want to crack on at work, too. So all you non-blog digital activity - it’s time for a review based on a) what I get out and b)time suck factor
RSS reader - My ideal RSS feed is a post every other day or week or even month, as long as it’s one I want to READ. That’s your barrier to entry, team. Rands in Repose is pretty much the model. I’ve had times when my reader is showing over 500 items - not going to happen. Public Address, 43 Folders, the Onion and AV Club stay. Out go Boing Boing (overrated) and Wired (I’ll just read the magazine online from now on, thanks) and all Gawker blogs, except Lifehacker’s top posts feed. Every other link blog is cut, except Jason Kottke and Waxy links, I like their signal to interesting ratio. Stays (with drastic spring clean).
Facebook. With auto-decline of invitations, and blocking alerts and noisy people, you can be on Facebook quite stealthily and take advantage of its’ best feature - keeping up with people. On notice.
Twitter. Deleted account - Yeah I tried it for a couple of months, but I still DON’T SEE THE POINT! Gone.
Last.fm. Low maintenance. Plug in ipod and scrobble tunes. Check stats. That’s a useful tool (when it works). Stays.
Del.icio.us. Invaluable. Low maintenance. Stays.
Flickr. The best photo sharing site - and I’m kinda committed. It’s easy to use, so it stays.
Next step goals would be having a crack at writing fiction - and more *actual emails*. Proper one to one emails are becoming as rare as letters. There’ll always be a place in my life for really some solid fucking around on the ‘net - it’ll just be a little more focused.
Here’s the paragraph that made me snort on the bus today:
I noticed a stuffed spaniel poised by the fireplace with a yellowed newspaper rolled into its mouth. Madeleine said ‘That’s Balto. The paper is the LA Times for August 1, 1926. That’s the day Daddy learned he’d made his first million. Balto was our pet then. Daddy’s accountant called up and said ‘Emmett, you’re a millioniare!’ Daddy was cleaning his pistols, and Balto came in with the paper. Daddy wanted to consecrate the moment, so he shot him. If you look closely, you can see the bullet hole in his chest. Hold your breath lovey. Here’s the family.
Did pub quiz last night for the first time in ages - so here’s a Katz cartoon.
Check out Fark.com’s best photoshop contest for a while - Star Wars characters in other movies. Probably not dial-up friendly.
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