all that's past is prologue...

So Patrick reports that Tim Ferriss at The 4-Hour Work Week has even been outsourcing his blog. I took a quick glance at it, and while I can say that it is all well and good from the productivity standpoint, I cry foul. At some point mindsets and experiments like that can turn around and bite you in the butt. I may admire Ferriss' productivity and 4-hour system, but hey, if I go to his blog, I want to read what HE actually writes. If I want to deal with something that is outsourced to Bangalore, I can just call my cell-phone company's "customer service" number. I comprehend what he is trying to do, but it seems to me a good way to simply dilute your market share. More on diluting market share later, with tasty examples. For now, I am off to lunch with my friend Leah. She actually write her own blog . Edit: Ok, turns out that his blog post was "an early April Fool's joke" -- which I think is even stupider.

I would love to be able to take the time to write more; right now I seem to specialize in one-handed typing. I've had a couple of house write-ups to do, and I have some text to do for the Ramsey Hill Association and a big grant to start in on. But I would like to keep up my journal better, to come up with some more interesting/pithier posts for this blog, to write something more of substance. My husband, though, has come up with some great posts I am quite proud of -- check them out ! I would also so love to read more. Nursing and pumping is taking up 8 or so hours a day right now, much of which is just empty time. I love to watch Beatrix as she nurses, but can't always do so because it distracts her. It's almost impossible to hold a book while nursing/pumping, and I covet a Kindle like nobody's business. I think the price tag precludes that, though...

I normally don't see this site as a money making opportunity, but my new tech interests are making me perk up at this one. Revolution Money Exchange is a new alternative to Paypal, with not as many fees, etc. (ok, that was Paypal's promise in the beginning as well, but whatever). Right now, when you set up a new account, they give you $25 in it, and if I refer you, I get $10! Email me if you are interested, and I will pass on an invite. (especially because all referral bonuses go to Beatrix's college fund!)

My stepson's truck got broken into today in the school parking lot, and his woofers stolen. This is a Big Deal when you are seventeen (and a pain in the ass no matter how old you are). He's pretty careful about not showing off what he has and covering them up, but I am sure it was a case of some of his friends knew that they were there, and mentioned it in passing to someone else somewhat less trustworthy, and so on. So now he has learned a very hard lesson. And what do I say in a situation like that? Max needs to learn that things like this happen, but I don't want him to lose faith in his friends, either. It's a hard enough line to walk when you are older, and I wish I could protect him from having to navigate it now.

So in theory I love the idea of "101 things in 1,001 Days": http://www.triplux.com/dayzero/ Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning (while nursing, natch!) I looked over some other lists and got all excited. How inspiring! These people were doing all these great things, and some were organized by theme, and so many of them were things that I wanted to do and would make me a better person. When could I start MY list? What would I put on it? Bump. Back to earth. What I realized is that my lists serve as a sort of gentle nag for me. They allow me to put down all kinds of things, and get them out of my head and make them actionable. Like everyone else, I love to cross things off of them. My fantasy is to someday have my list starting "To Do" — and then a blank page, because for once, I would have caught up with everything. Patrick sagely points out that that is Not Gonna Happen. So a list like "101 Things" would just serve to nag me. I would be rush...

1. Watching the entire Showtime series "The Tudors." 2. Many visits to various kinds of doctors. 3. Playing "who can stare the longest?" with our infant daughter. 4. Yummy brunch. 5. Perfecting our lack of sleep techniques. 6. The big clothes clean-up.

Ok, step #2 in being more tech-savvy: I set up a Twitter account. I'm bethanyg over there — please "follow" me! Edited: Feeling very productive — now I'm on LinkedIn as well!