When the members of the TV biz are out making fools of themselves at drunken Christmas parties, they broadcast these things called “reruns” to fill the time, following the theory that nobody is really watching anything anyways.

So, I too, shall do the same, with some writings from my earlier days.

(Note that this should not be interpreted to mean that I am out making a fool of myself at drunken office parties. The drunken office party is next weekend.)

So, without further ado, here is rerun #1, from Feb 17, ‘03:

Telecommuting Stinks
The techno-wonks drone on and on about the information revolution and how it will free us from the shackles of the office workplace. With paradigm-shifting technologies like the internet, video-conferencing, hand-held computing devices etc., we info-workers can execute our duties regardless of location or attire or hygiene.

At first glance, this sounds wonderful. And, in fact, it often is. Of the six years I’ve worked at my current job, about three of them I’ve worked from my home.

But, on days like today, telecommuting stinks. In Clinton County, Ohio, we’re in the midst of the winter storm of the decade. It has been precipitating since Friday in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. In our back yard, we’ve got a foot of this ice-snow mix. The temperature is sufficiently cold that regular salt won’t treat the road surfaces adequately, so they’ve declared a “Level 3 Snow Emergency” which means no travel except for emergencies. In fact, you can get a traffic citation merely for being out on the roads.

But, sadly, none of this matters to me, since, being a fully-equipped telecommuter, I have no excuse for not being able to work today.

If only the wind had torn down our phone lines…….

Here’s rerun #2, from March 20, ‘03:

Streaming Text?
I’m digging further into this Darwin Streaming Server, and, according to the documentation, in addition to being able to stream out MP3s, MP4s, MPEGs, QuickTime, and AVIs, it can also stream text.

WTF?

Here’s #3, from May 15, ‘03

Old Fogey Alert
It is amazing the things one will do when one has children that one would absolutely never ever do without them.

To wit: I got a library card this week.

Yes, I am now spending more time with books and less time with TV. Sigh.

So, as the librarian was finishing up my paperwork, she asked if there was anything else she could help me with. Yes, there was, I thought to myself, but I couldn’t quite articulate it.

You see, I haven’t been in a library since my college days over a decade ago. Back in them olden days, the library system was very low-tech. It was the same system we had in high school and elementary school: the card catalog. A big box o’ drawers, with each book listed in the system thrice on 3×5 cards: one by author, one by title, and one by subject.

Now, I know technology has really progressed; a decade is an eternity for computer systems. I knew that somehow that this library’s card catalog, along with every other one in the country, is somehow computerized. But, I had never seen it.

I suppose that in all the time it took me to think these thoughts, I must have gotten some sort of confused look on my face, because she dug a little deeper.

“Is there something else, sir?”

I realized that there was no way for me to save face; I had to bite the bullet and, very sheepishly, I said, “Yes. What do you do for a card catalog nowadays?”

I can’t believe I had to ask. I hope nobody else saw me. What would my friends and neighbors think?

Of course, the librarian was very gracious, and she showed me to the computer stations where one can perform a search.

Fortunately, my child isn’t old enough to remember this situation. I’m sure it won’t be the last time his old man embarasses himself.