Graham Glass, etc.

Nuclear Sunset

Linda and Paul: Lovely Couple

Here's a great video of Linda and Paul McCartney: a lovely couple:

Christmas comes early

I decided to splurge on some fun toys from ThinkGeek, the kinds of things that I would have loved as a kid (and still love as an adult).

Here's a photo of one of my new toys: Glowing Jellyfish:

Life in the Bay Area

It's a beautiful place to live, even on the gray days....

Mmmmmm.... Coffee

This is a visual ode to all the coffee beans in the world.

Thank you!

My Cats

Cats are one of my favorite animals, and I've been lucky to have several great feline companions over the years. Here are some photos of my American cats "Truth", "Beauty" and "Agatha". Sadly, only Agatha is still alive. Someday soon I will post another album of my British cat "Midge".

Dungeons and Dragons

When I was at high school I used to enjoy the fantasy game "Dungeons and Dragons". One player, called the "Dungeon Master", creates a fantasy world on paper complete with castles, dragons, treasure and trapdoors. The other players explore the dungeon master's world hoping to survive long enough to amass plenty of treasure.

Most dungeon masters at my school created quite complex worlds with backplots and challenging puzzles, so our lunch breaks were quite an adventure! A few friends and I are now considering starting a Dungeons and Dragons game in San Francisco - I wonder how our games will compare to the ones I played as a kid?

Here's a picture of the original Dungeons and Dragons boxed set; it's probably a collectors item by now!

Time Management

I've been asked by a few readers to describe how I manage my time, so here are a few details:

• I always start the day by writing a to-do list that enumerates the things I'd like to accomplish by the end of the day and by the end of the week. At the end of every day, I update the list and try hard to at least complete the highest priority tasks.
• I've been lucky to be my own boss for most of my life, which gives me a flexible schedule. In general, I try and do tasks that seem most appealing at the moment. For example, I find some items are unpleasant to do in the morning and yet strangely therapeutic in the evening. I enjoy taking breaks for sports like tennis and going to the gym. Regular exercise keeps my stress level low and clears my mind.
• I hardly watch any TV, except for Tennis grand slams and the occasional DVD series like Lost and 24.
• I often overlap travel with work. For example, during my last trip to the UK and Sweden I was able to work via the Internet on some edu 2.0 features while still enjoying the new surroundings. I'll usually work 2-3 hours a day on any given trip.
• I always overlap eating with something else, whether it's reading a book, writing down a movie idea, or reviewing code.
• I like to get at least 8 hours of sleep, so I don't try and get more done by sleeping less.

I don't think that anything I've noted is particularly unusual, but it's the combination of them all that allows me to get a lot done.

Earthquakes in San Francisco

One of the unusual things about living in San Francisco is the earthquakes. They're fairly rare; maybe one every few months. I was woken up at around 4am this morning by one that was a little larger than usual. The entire room shook quite vigorously and my cat was understandably freaked out. But you get used to it and two minutes later I was asleep again.

Blood Puddle Pillows

Check out this hilarious design for a pillow; I bet the FAA wouldn't appreciate someone using one of these in an airplane!