What Am I Up To Lately, in 2004?

15th April 2004, 11:00am

So I haven't been keeping my website up to date. And I haven't been keeping in touch as often with past friends. But does that really warrant all the "Are you still alive?" emails I've been getting recently? Okay, perhaps it does. So, to placate those who keep asking "Are you dead?" (and there's been several of you), here's what I've been doing the last few months.

Reading

... The Power Of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz. This book surpassed my expectations, it's now one of my favorite business books. It's very readable, starts slowly, but the case studies at the back are really helpful. Basically they provide action plans for defeating various limiting habits. My favorite section is on Precision And Specificity - in short, the more specific you are about when, where and how you will do a task, the more likely you are to actually do it. Up to 80% more likely. So if you can plan your whole day in advance using specifics, you'll accomplish a lot more.
... The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger. It was recommmended to me by a very close friend and I finally read it in just 3 days. I have mixed feelings about it though... I keep looking for a 'meaning' to the book, but can't find one. Perhaps I've forgotten how to read a fiction book after reading non-fiction for so long.
... Richard Branson: The Autobiography. Okay, so it's actually subtitled "Losing My Virginity", but if you've never heard of the Virgin brand (and I gather it isn't that popular in America) then you won't get the joke.
... The Time Trap by Alec Mackenzie. Now this book is really good! I bought it almost by accident, but it's one of the best books on time management I've ever come across. It lists practical ways to defeat the 20 top time-wasters, and it also lists simple habits that will radically improve your productivity (eg start on your top priority task first - even before breakfast!)
... Lonely Planet Guide To The USA. I've been toying with the idea of a trip to the US, but sadly I can't see it happening for quite a long time.
... The Road To Serfdom by FA Hayek. I thought I'd like this, but I'm finding it really difficult reading. It's a political book discussing the problems with communism and proposing anarcho-capitalism as a viable alternative. But even though I'm already sold on the argument, this book is so dull it's not doing a lot to persuade me.
... The Online Copywriter's Handbook by Robert Bly. It's a good (but not great) on writing advertising copy for the web, and it's certainly filled with good information. It even has neat ideas for online promotions. However, it isn't easy to find what you want in the book due to some poor organization... so once you've finished the book, you can't find the section on writing product descriptions easily. A list of "action plans" or "checklists" to refer to while writing would have improved the situation. Tested Advertising Methods is looks like a good alternative, though it isn't web specific.
... Refactoring by Martin Fowler. Supposed to be a great book about redesigning code to be more readable and easier to extend. I haven't found it very useful though. All you really need to know is that "JUnit is good". Learn JUnit (or PHPUnit, or the equivalent for your language) and use it. And save yourself the $100 that this book costs... get Code Complete and Writing Solid Code instead.
... Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, the book. The TV show is really funny and sometimes educational, the book continues the tradition - but with less emphasis on educational. Some of their info seems just plain wrong - you can get a closer shave by using a blade shaver *and* and an electric, instead of what they suggest.
... The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley & Danko. An incredibly boring book, it's just a collection of statistical tables written in prose form. Nevertheless it was recommended to me by a millionaire, so maybe I should persevere with it.

Wow. I've been reading more than one book a month and I never even realized. Since I started reading business books I've been a much more prolific reader. It's easy once you have interesting books to read.

Writing

... a collection of tips for website designers, newbie webmasters and anyone who submits their site to online web directories. As maintainer of one of the net's largest business directories, I see a lot of websites every day. These tips will show you how to enhance your site and improve your chances of being listed.
... a bunch of online journal entries that are still yet to be published. They're mostly incomplete or still require tweaking.
... not a lot else lately.

Working

... on Softener 1.20. The new version of Softener has a redesigned interface - it's really pretty and works much more nicely on XP. It also features new methods to get feedback from customers & non-customers, but it needs to be beta tested before finally being released.
... on negotiating a deal with My Creative Computer magazine. It should result in some flow on sales, especially with the discounts I'll be offering.
... on rescuing the pages for black:not:green. Problems with the domain name meant I had to try a rescue mission as soon as possible. I'm really glad that I did, even though we haven't salvaged everything yet. So far it's all been at my own expense, but the band's paying me back later.
... on rush ordering a new computer monitor. My previous 20" monitor died on me, and since I need my computer for work I tried placing an overnight courier order with a local store. Alas, the courier didn't deliver it over night, and the following days were the Easter weekend, so for 5 days I was without a monitor. Business 101 folks, always have backup hardware. Fortunately I could use my laptop during that time, and I could connect the computer to my 23" TV... once I turned the font size up to 32pt. Everything is hard to read on TV because the resolution is so low.

Tidying

... my room. I'm pedantic about this now. I dedicate 10 minutes of every morning to freshening up the room. If I have a tidy environment, I have a less cluttered headspace also.
... the garden. I started off tidying the side passage and that went well. Then I tidied the garden shed, trimmed the grass and tidied the reticulation sprinklers. But the grass is still patchy, and now the side passage is untidy again. Darn.
... the kitchen. Which reminds me, I really should be washing the dishes now. Are we starting to notice a trend yet?

Listening

... to lots of NIN, Placebo, Prodigy, Marilyn Manson, Fischerspooner and more at a nifty Perth nightclub. I won't tell you which one, because I'd rather not have internet stalkers following me. I have too many stalkers as it is.
... to Winning Days by The Vines. Ride is their best song to date, and Animal Machine sounds like a Nirvana B-Side from the In Utero days. Evil Town sounds just like a track by Bush. Everything else is lame 60s pop, until FTW anyway. Incidentally the CD copy protection appears not to work - not that you should copy the tracks illegally! But it does make legal pursuits such as digital analysis of tracks much easier... that was a fear I had that previously stopped me from buying Copy Controlled CDs.
... to 720AM 6WF radio. Liam Bartlett provides surprisingly balanced political & news coverage. For a while Jaslyn Hall hosted the midnight - 2am shift with "Jaslyn's Exceedingly Easy Twelve Questions"... except the questions are very difficult. Her voice is relaxing and soothing, with an infectious laugh. There are always interesting guests on the show too.

Eating

... out with friends, usually at Hungry Jacks. That's the Australian version of Burger King, for all you non-Aussie folk. Sometimes I'm coaxed into a 24-hour McDonalds, for the most bizarre conversations you can imagine.
... Nandos. Regularly. To the point where I don't even have to place an order, the sales girl just asks me if I'd like Cheese & Pineapple on my burger. She's memorized the rest of my order - I don't think it gets any more Nandos Addictos than that.
... Subway. A bit too regularly. The staff know me by name, and they keep asking how my gym training is going, or why I wasn't in the previous day. They do give me freebies, which is nice. But the girls in there hassle me about just how well I know the staff. Which isn't so nice.
... Tofu and Soy products. They're awful, no matter what vegetarians tell you. I wanted to try them at least once in my life though. Tofu has potential, but I'd want to drown it in a lot of barbecue sauce first.

Watching

... comedy shows & sitcoms on TV. I would really love to have a TiVo if they ever came out to Australia. I'd fill it with as many comedy shows as I can, so I can turn it on, make myself laugh and cheer myself up easily.
... the movie Hulk on DVD. Waste of time.
... Master And Commander on DVD. It's actually pretty good, more enjoyable and more gripping than I had expected. Not as bloody as I had expected either. There's a few scenes that seem clever for the sake of cleverness though. Probably a 4-star movie, worth seeing.

And I think that's it. I've probably been up to more than that, but I just can't remember it all. That should be enough to prove that I'm still alive though.