I was thinking though, who is that can tell me that I should give up an hour of my life? I’m very busy and really just don’t have it to spare right now. Sure, a little bit of extra sunlight in the day is nice but nature really takes care of that quite nicely this time of year.

So I think I’ve decided not to adjust my clocks for Daylight Savings Time this year. That’s right – if Arizona and Hawaii can do it, so can I. So while the rest of the Central Time Zone moves to CDT I’ll remain on CST – or what I’m calling Central Scott Time.

Sure – it’s going to be confusing, I’m likely going to be late for everything, and I don’t think Gina is too keen on the idea but I say – what the hell. What’s the worst thing that could happen?

I think this experiment is going to be so successful that the rest of the world will come around later in the year and realize what a waste of time (literally) it is and take that hour right back again. Want to bet?

an eclectic work
a maturing artist grows
potential achieved

For those who may not know, a contact relationship manager is essentially a super-powered customized address book that is designed to help manage the information and the relationships you have with the people you meet.

In this new position I’ll be working with their customers to help them learn about and get the most from their product. In addition I’ll be manning their user forums and doing some writing for their blog.

I’ve got a long history with the people in the company but I think they did a much better job of explaining how all this came about than I could.

Here is a link to their official announcement:

http://blog.batchblue.com/batchblue-new-hires/

For those who may not see the the value of creating and cultivating online relationships, be it through Twitter or elsewhere, I can honestly say that this opportunity wouldn’t have,or really couldn’t have existed without my participation in the online communities. I think I am proof that if you connect with people in a real and honest way, the physical proximity becomes less important.

Writer / actor Wil Wheaton just recently wrote his own article on how Twitter has impacted his life and I see that we share the belief that our participation there has opened up opportunities and access to people that would be out of reach otherwise.

Because the rest of the team is all located in the Rhode Island area I will work virtually from home. We do our team meetings via webcam and video chat and they even turn the screen around so I’m facing who is talking. I did miss out on the celebratory donut cake they had for the new hires but am otherwise as fully integrated in to the team as is possible.

I think this is a great opportunity for me to get more involved and more fluent in the ways small businesses are using the Internet to grow and advance their businesses. I also am a big fan of their product, their company, and the people who work there so it’s really a huge win all around for me.

I wanted to be sure to let you know though that even with this new gig, I’m still doing what I was doing, eSeMBe is still alive and well, and I am still always available to help you.

Cheers!
sb

Us: “Yeah – we do need it. How much will you charge?”

Him: “How much did I charge you last time?”

Us: “I think it was $25″

Him: looking around… “It’s a lot of snow”

Us: “So um.. $30?”

Him: “That’s ok, I’ll do it for $20″

Us: “um..”

So we leave him to his shoveling and he’s out there for an hour, all by hand, and there’s a boatload of snow, and we feel bad, so we write him a check for $40

Us: handing him the check “Here you go – thanks so much”

Him: “You didn’t have to do that”

Us: “no no, thank you so much, you were out there a long time”

Him: “I’ll tell you what, next time it snows a lot I’ll come by and do it again for you no charge”

Us: “um”

So the next day we looked out and he’s there doing a second round and clearing the next 5-6 inches we got the night before. If I thought I could get him to take it, I’d offer him a few more bucks…

Thanks so much David. I don’t understand, but thanks.

No, I don’t think there is.

Nice cover of Pearl Jam – “Black” from Temple of the Mule – 12-31-2008

But I can’t state enough just how profoundly this work did affect me. The examination of the transition between childhood and adulthood at a time when I was struggling with just that. My own thinking about morality and honesty, truthfulness and what I now think of as transparency.

Each person reads and interprets a book differently (that is the beauty of them, really) and I’ve had some unusual conversations regarding this one. It also pains me that Mark David Chapman found what he did in his reading, leading to his decision to murder John Lennon. Reconciling my love for the book with that is a constant struggle for me.

Back in high school I used to question the notion of  ”classics” – who decided they were classic?  Why is this work more important than others?

Over the years though, I’ve acknowledged that there are some works that really do transcend, that do represent something bigger, or more important, and that a failure to read them represents a deficiency in one’s life.

I think Catcher did capture something so truthful which explains why it has resonated with so many, and why it continues to be so important to this day.

I never “had” to read it, but over the course of the last 27 or so years I’ve probably done so nearly a dozen times. In fact, I think I’ll give it another go this weekend.

I’ve read all of Mr. Salinger’s published work. I sincerly hope that it is his wishes that the material he has been compiling over the last decades see the light of day now that he has passed. It is a shame to think of such treasures never being appreciated.

SB

btw, I think The Onion nailed it with this one…

Bunch Of Phonies Mourn J.D. Salinger | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

Hope you enjoy this song called “Slow Train” – It’s got an Allman Brothers feel to it (including a nice Jessica tease) which might help explain the attraction. Sound could be better as the lead guitar seems way down in the mix but it’s a killer performance.

They’ve got quite a few shows available for download on the Internet Archive so I recommend using a little bandwidth to pick one and check them out.

More info also available on their official web site.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think.

Big Sky Stringband - Slow Train

Thanks BatchBlue!