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Add one part satire to two parts sincerity. Sprinkle on a couple of rants. Stir liberally.
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Daily Blah FAQ
Who are you?
I'm the newly-appointed Future editor at Business 2.0 and the former San Francisco correspondent for Time Magazine.
Wow, so does this mean everything you write reflects Time Inc's opinion? Or do you perhaps have some sort of standard disclaimer to the effect that it doesn't?
Naturally, the opinions contained in this blog are not those of my employers. In fact, some opinions may be the polar opposite of my employers. Some may be the same, for all I know. Hey, it's not like I ask my employers their opinions about everything in the news, okay? Let's just say that if this were a Venn diagram with one circle marked "my opinions" and the other one marked "my employers' opinions", there would doubtless be some overlap. But neither I nor my employers are able to pinpoint exactly where that overlap is.
What is this Daily Blah thing?
An experiment for a column I wrote about blogging back in December 2001. All these years later, I haven't been able to kick the habit.
If it's called Daily Blah, how come you don't ... hey, wait, you're writing every day!
See? Told you I'd try harder.
Mister, you talk funny. Are you one of them furrners?
Why yes I am, as it happens. I was born, raised and educated in Great Britain. I've been living in the U.S. since 1996 and identify as British.
I say, old chap, you forgot the "u" in "colour."
No I didn't. I may identify as British, but I am also an American journalist writing for an American audience about mostly American issues. These two different sides of me are a constant source of tension. Nevertheless, Daily Blah will adhere to American English grammar and spelling.
Praise for Daily Blah:
"It is fun to watch the author's navel-gazing joy." - Sunday Times (UK)
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Daily Blah for... Monday, November 17, 2003
A Cellphone's-Eye View
If you've ever wondered, I can now report authoritatively on what it sounds like to be a cellphone going through an airport security system.
Much as expected, it's a bunch of thumps, thuds and other crackles and pops. Not too exciting.
But it was an interesting experiment, and I now have a little bit more respect than I used to for all those laptops, backpacks, keys, coins and even the occasional guitar that we routinely ask to get screened on our behalf but rarely inquire of as to how it went.
I came by this knowledge because I was doing a phone interview this morning with a gentleman who was at the airport while he was in the security line. When his turn came, he put his phone down into the tray with the idea that we'd continue the conversation on the other end. Assuming the phone didn't disconnect. And praise be to his carrier, it didn't. I got to hear every exciting moment of that phone's journey through the screening machine.
My only question: Did I just get X-rayed?
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