I'm plugging back in after a long weekend spent largely unplugged, pretty nice.  I will do so more often.  This is one of those things, nobody says on their deathbed "I wish I would have spent more time checking email".  I have much to do, but much of it is quadrant two stuff, and the things I did do were more quadrant three, like cycling (pic at right taken from China Peak) and working out and going to a Dodger game with my family.  We'll see whether this lasts... in the meantime, some quad4 stuff like making a filter pass!

Urgh!  The U.S. Treasury's End-of-Summer $50B Bonfire.  We are spending too much money we don't have, and it will take too long to recover. 

I must tell you I am *not* paying attention to the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain), which is taking place right now.  They lost me when they didn't invite Team Radio Shack I think.  I see that Igor Anton is leading, good for him, and the next "name" is Frank Schleck at 1:47.  Tom Danielson is at 1:52.  So be it... 

I liked this: The Driver's Seat (PDF).  Which car is right for you?  The choice of a car is much more than the choice of a vehicle, it says a lot about you, and determines a lot about how you see yourself. 

A great review of great books about a great man: Finest Hours (PDF), The Making of Winston Churchill.  Of all historical figures, the one I would probably most like to meet would be Churchill, a brilliant, intelligent, charming, and [by most accounts] delightful man.  It would be my finest hour :) 

Trend of the future: The Up! Personal Portable 3D Printer.  Now just $1,500.  Man I might have to get one of these, how fun :) 

Scott Loftesness is playing with HDR, and shoots the Gates of Hell.  That would be the famous Auguste Rodin sculpture in the Stanford sculpture garden; I know it well and have admired it many times.  He says the black & white version is more powerful but I disagree.  I remember so well seeing this piece in a rainstorm, with water streaming off it, and it was a powerful experience. 

Robert Scoble interviews Scott Cook.  It's an interesting interview ("Continual entrepreneurship is necessary to reengineer success") - Cook is always interesting, a truly fascinating guy - and Scoble notes he has been leader of Intuit longer than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been alive.  Wow. 

People who know me are generally struck by a couple of things, first, I eat a lot, and second, I don't sleep much.  Now TheScientist reports hungry flies ok with less sleep (PDF).  "When flies are starved, they are able to stay awake for long periods of time without suffering the negative outcomes of sleep deprivation, including cognitive impairment."  I will leave it to others to decide if there is any parallel :) 

Onward!  have a great week...