Blog Master G

It’s just past 4am and I haven’t been awake this early in ages. Even most of the times I went skiing last year, I didn’t leave from the Bay Area (I started out in Sacramento or Tahoe). It was hard to fall asleep at 9:30pm last night, but I always have this renewed energy on early ski mornings — especially when it’s the first trip of the year. I’m psyched. And I should be on the road before 5. The weather report says the following:

Today: A mix of clouds and sun. High 36F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to considerable cloudiness and fog after midnight. Low 12F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow: Sunshine along with some passing clouds. High 36F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.

I will, of course, miss Jen and the pups the next couple days. Then it’s off to NY on Tuesday.

Jen emailed me this article that’s an argument for why automatic transmission vehicles are better than sticks. Of course, having bought my WRX earlier this year — and never for a moment considered not getting a stick — I completely disagree. Why? As the author with the opposing viewpoint puts it, “The plain truth is that sticks rule.” And are simply more fun to drive, which is the point that the automatic tranny author just glazes over at the end of the article. The second article also makes a good point about automatics making people lazy, which, of course, is the American way. So it’s no surprise that more people prefer automatics.

But that doesn’t make it a better driving experience. With 227 horses under the hood, why would I harness those stallions with an automatic?

While sitting in a two-hour meeting this morning, someone said something that has got to be #1 on the list of Top 10 Things You Never Want to Hear a Coworker Say in a Meeting. So, without further ado, here it is (10 through 2 I just made up, but #1 was actually said):

Top 10 Things You Never Want to Hear a Coworker Say in a Meeting
10) “I see your action item is as big as mine.”
9) “Next step is to schedule a meeting to debrief this meeting.”
8) “Trent Lott has been assigned to lead our core team in the South.”
7) “George W. Bush will lead our environmental clean-up efforts.”
6) “Screw you and your little dog, too.”
5) “Your ideas are shit.”
4) “I haven’t been listening to you for the past hour. Could you please give me an executive summary?”
3) “Is that drool on your face or is this meeting really that boring?”
2) “Is your employee ID badge doing a head stand in your lap, or are you just happy to see me?”
1) “I got it last night, too.”

This morning I took a bunch of photos of our place and reposted the ad to craigslist — with mention of the tennis court, the pet rent, and link to the photos of our apartment on Ofoto.

So far there’s been quite a bit of interest, but only one guy has actually come to look. One woman cancelled today because her car was flooded in, but will likely come on Sunday or Monday.

This Christmas Greetings card that really has nothing to do with Christmas and isn’t really a card is pretty funny nonetheless. Check it out. Calling it a Christmas Greeting card is just an excuse to see something funny.

I’m heading to Sacramento tomorrow to meet up with Mom and Dad at Nana’s house. It will likely be the last time I go to Nana’s house. I’m sure it will be sad, but will also help with closure.

I’d really like to go skiing Sunday and Monday, so I’m keeping an eye on the Tahoe weather so as to make my decision. I hope the weather clears up a bit.

I have a really good feeling about this place in the Mission we’re going to check out Saturday at 10:30am. Imagine: A place with character! So far, on Treasure Island and in Larkspur, we’ve lived in manufactured homes with zero character and uniqueness (aside from the TI view). This place is quite the opposite. I’m psyched to see it.

Marin is flooding. It’s been coming down really hard all day today. It’s nuts out there! The skiing will rule.

I went to college with Jess Barron. We were even on the newspaper staff together at one point. She now lives in the Bay Area, too, but we’ve only seen each other once out here. In true fashion of its being a small world, I even work with her fiance.

I mention Jess now because I was just reading about the legal problems she recently faced with her domain name (poprocks.com) and how fucked up that is. It makes me mad when evil corporations pick on individuals. The whole domain name rights issue is a tricky one, but Jess has a solid case for keeping her domain name, and I hope she gets to.

So why am I writing about this under the header of “Project Email?” Something I’ve been thinking about lately — my next big Web project — is to go back through a selection of old emails that captures the essence of what was going on in my life at the time and post it to my blog. A reverse-blog, if you will (I wonder if anyone else has used that term before — hmm, only about 7 people have).

Anyhow, I often kick myself for not having published lots of Web content over the past 9 or so years that I’ve been online (since the early days of the 2400-baud modem and BBS “sites”). I’ve had my own domain name since 1998, when I was still in college, and put my first personal Web site online before that — during my freshman year of college in 1995. (I hope some day to find those old Web files on my Mac, once I get around to fixing it, and publish them online once again.) I think that Web publishing rocks. It’s a great way of not only creating a personal history while living it (as I’ve said before), but capturing the moment; creating content for others to benefit from; adding to the vast collection of human knowledge that is the World Wide Web.

So my recent idea was this: Even though I haven’t been blogging for years, I’ve been emailing for years. And I’m anal about keeping my sent archives. I have immediate access to sent archives dating back to June 1999 (all the emails that are archived on my Web server and sent via Pine). Additionally, I have buried on my Mac emails dating back to 1995, when I started college. Assuming my data aren’t corrupt, which I’m hoping is not the case, I can eventually dig up all those emails. I can then take these email archives, reverse-blog them, and voila! I will have created a virtual blog that encapsulates my life and my online presence back to 1999 — and eventually all the way back to 1995. That will rule.

Which brings me back to Jess. I read parts of her site from time to time and am inspired by her and what she’s done online. I like how she’s created an online “playground,” as she calls it, and I’d like to do the same. I have tons of electronic content, so it’s just a matter of roping it all in to make it easily accessible to me, my friends, family, future-children, and, of course, the world.

And that, my friends, is what Project Email is all about. Stay tuned…

I’m working from home today and just finished showing my apartment to this dude who’s possibly interested in taking over the lease. His timing is also February 1, 2003. He took a bunch of photos to show his wife. He even took photos of the entertainment center, which he may buy, too. That would be cool because it would be a pain to move, so we would sell it anyway. If he decides he’s not interested, there’s another woman with whom I spoke this morning who seemed really into this place. It’s good to have backup.

Jen and I were talking earlier about the possibility of moving to a loft near her office. These places look really cool. Tons of space. Outdoor areas. Views of the city. Centrally located. Awesome, brand-new kitchens with gas ranges. Private garage. Huge windows with lots of light. I want to check them out soon. The rent is $1,700, which is what we’re paying now. And we’re betting we could talk them down from that. Maybe even to $1,500. Even $1,600 would rock. We’re both really excited about this possibility. Second and Folsom would be pretty cool. I’m waiting to hear back from the leasing agent. (The Glen Park apartment we checked out on Sunday was way too small and not all that nice.)

Right now February seems like a long way off, but considering we head to New York in less than a week and don’t come back until after the new year, 2/1/03 will be here before we know it.

And hopefully we’ll be living in a pimpin’ new pad in the greatest city in the world.