Experience has led me to form the following theory of computer operation: there is a limit to the number of gadgets and/or software you can install before it becomes impossible to have everything working correctly at the same time. Beyond that limit, fixing problems becomes a whack-a-mole game: fix one problem, and another one will inevitably pop up where you’re not looking.

Computers are too complicated—Linux, Windows, Macintosh, the whole lot. There’s something fundamental people who design computers have failed to grasp… or not yet discovered. Damned if I know what it is, but I do know there must be a better way.

Nero, which I had proclaimed as the flawless replacement for Sleazy CD Creator, no longer works on the same system on which it had been working perfectly a few weeks ago. I just don’t get it. What is it with me and CD burning software? Aargh!

… I caught a somewhat-interesting TV show on Comedy Central the other night: Insomniac with Dave Attell. Basically (as I understand it) Dave stays out all night and finds things to do in whatever city he happens to be visiting. This includes the obvious tour of clubs and bars, but also other mundane things like the supermarket, and some other interesting attractions.

I think he would have a hard time in Silicon Valley. And I don’t just mean with regards to clubs and the like. Contrary to what some people might think, there are relatively few things here that are open around the clock. Off the top of my head: the Shell gas station around the corner, the Big K-Mart nearby (assuming the K-Mart is open at all anymore; I don’t make a habit of checking), the Jack-In-The-Box drive-through, and Denny’s restaurants. No supermarkets that I know of, though. With that kind of choice, I wonder how night owls here feed themselves adequately…

And what with Earth’s rotation slowing down and all, someday there will be (but I probably won’t be around to see it).

I once asked my boss if it would be okay if I worked on a 25-hour day—basically slipping by one hour each day and coming back into sync every 24 days. He actually said yes, but I still haven’t been able to overcome my own resistance to the idea, as appealing as it may be. I mean, I think I would just feel weird about getting up and going to work in the middle of the night (mid-way through each 24-day cycle). Not to mention the fact that the rest of the world would not be co-operative with regards to store hours, meeting times, etc.

To an extent, I already do it now. Since there’s so much to do each day, my daily schedule tends to slip by about an hour each day of the week. E.g. Monday I’ll come in to work at 9am, then 10am on Tuesday, …, 1pm on Friday. Unfortunately this also means I crawl out of work well past midnight on Fridays. This isn’t exactly a 25-hour day scheme as I “reset” the cycle on weekends. However, I usually try to get a full amount of sleep on weekends so this means the five hours I have to “pull back” comes out of my waking hours; in short my weekends are shortened by five waking hours, which is a lot when you think about it.

It’s tempting, then, just to go to a full 25-hour cycle. I don’t think it would be too disruptive to my circadian rhythm(s), as I’ve never had problems sleeping, and it’s not as if I see the light of day much as it is. In fact I think I might get a more regular amount of sleep since currently my tendency is to try and fight the time slip by sleeping less as the week progresses.

Anyway if I decide to do it I’ll be sure to log my experience here…

… A string of 16-hour workdays will do that to you. We had the whole team—including folks from all over the US, and Germany—visiting the California office this week. So in addition to an already-heavy workload I had a bunch of meetings and presentations to attend.

Anybody who knows the schedule I keep can’t argue that my success hasn’t been hard-earned. The way I figure it, if things keep up this way, in a few years I won’t ever have to work again… So I might as well give it a shot while I’m still young.