Cutting down on the blogging

by philg

The chickens are coming home to roost, all around early December, which will necessitate a drastic reduction in posting here.  Here’s what I’m up to…



  • co-teaching a software engineering lab course
  • taking an atmospheric physics course (all Coriolis force, all the time)
  • taking an evening drawing class
  • trying to finish my Commercial airplane certificate (tough because a lot of the maneuvers need to be done close to the ground, which means unpleasant turbulence most days in New England (wind + hills = bumps))
  • trying to finish my helicopter rating
  • finishing a hardcopy edition of Internet Application Workbook (looks like MIT Press is willing to do a hardcopy version without attacking the Web version)
  • planning some trips for the winter and spring

Check back around January 1, 2004 for new stuff.

16 thoughts on “Cutting down on the blogging”

  1. So Philip,

    have you come to the conclusion that blogging is a waste of time and there is more to life than the internet?

  3. Billy: Is there more to life than filtering through spam? 🙂 Seriously, though, I think blogging after a few months becomes diminishingly interesting because one has already put forth one’s best ideas. New thinking might be spurred from time to time by current events or a trip to a new place but as long as I’m chained to a static set of projects here in Boston I don’t see myself coming up with any brilliant new insights.

    For a more creative person perhaps daily blogging ad infinitum would not be a waste of time.

  4. Philip, you’ve always been ahead of the curve, and I think you’re ahead of the curve again in realizing that blogging is a colossal circle jerk rather than a media revolution.

  6. Philip–

    How unfortunate it is when the activities of Real Life interfere with cyberspace activities. How fortunate it is when someone takes the time to evaluate and adjust his priorities.

    I suppose that if I had such a rich and varied life, as well as the wherewithal to plan a round-the-world trip, I would tend to put a higher priority on those activities than on blogging. Regrettably, I don’t think I’ll ever be in that situation (although I don’t blog, mainly because my daily life is far too uninteresting). However, should you come up with an insight or two during your travels (which seems inevitable because you seem to be overflowing with insight), it would be nice if you would share it with us.

    For ssn: “To a small mind, a nit is an elephant.”

  7. It would be nice to hear about your book sales when you get to observe the numbers for a while. New articles are out about the failure of e-books (people apparently don’t like losing their vision to save a couple bucks); and while cheap college students love wasting time, it’s not a fun timewaster to spend hours tricking Amazon so you can sit around printing a random chapter of your required textbook.

    The sky isn’t falling, and your customers aren’t plotting against you. Harry Potter (and much more) is already on Kazaa.

    But I’m still waiting for a math book from that one publisher…

  8. You can’t blog because you are taking an atmospheric physics class, taking an evening drawing class, finishing your commercial aircraft certificate, finishing your helicopter rating, publishing a book, and planning a trip around the world, all in addition to your job of teaching at MIT? Is this a matter of priorities or a mid-life crisis?

    Everyone is entitled to at least one mid-life crisis. Enjoy it while it lasts. But I sense that you really enjoy blogging. And, I for one, get a big kick out of your blogs. So, let’s strike a deal. Just change your rule. Instead of “A good idea every three months, a post every day” why not just post when you have a good idea?

  9. JCM, It’s not a mid-life crisis. When you teach at MIT, you have a lot of spare time.

  10. Glad to hear that MIT Press will permit the web version of your next book. The online version of Philip and Alex’s Guide to Web Publishing convinced me to obtain the coffee table version — a pleasurable complement to the web edition.

  11. Phil, you’re blog is far more intelligent and more interesting than 95% of blogs out there. Most blogs (in my experience) are boring 99% of the time. So, it will be a loss to the blogreaders of the world.

  13. I want to see yr drawings. i think taking that course ws a great idea. i still worry abt those helicopter lessons. e

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