Diary of a Self-Help Dropout: Flirting With the 4-Hour Workweek is a fun and interesting article by Chirs Hardwick where he writes about his adventures in applying the tactics provided by three time-management books: David Allen's Getting Things Done, Julie Morgenstern's Never Check E-Mail In The Morning, and Timothy Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek. I've read Getting Things Done and as a practitioner, but not exactly a follower, of the GTD method I found Chris Hardwick's Day 9 of Getting Things Done to be most apropos and humorous. Also, his use of outsourcing using the Ask Sunday service (The 4-Hour Workweek, Day 8) was most interesting. The Internet is making amazing things possible.

We had two big snow storms this weekend, one on Friday night that dumped 6" - 9" of snow on us and then another on Sunday that dumped at least another 12". Looking to enjoy the new snow, I went snowboarding at Wachusett Mountain and Loon Mountain (despite the fact that I was running on only 3 hours of sleep, both days were awesome). The snow was soft (none of that icy man-made stuff) and the slopes weren't packed (probably because the storms caught a lot of people by surprise). The conditions on Loon Mountain were both insane and awesome at the same time (40 - 50mph gusts of wind, whiteout blizzard conditions, and snow whipping at your face so hard it felt like sand). My 4x4 truck got me through 12"-14" of unplowed roads like a knife through butter and I almost felt bad for the dozens of people who wiped out on the side of the highway.

Well, not quite the entire Earth, but it almost seems that way. I saw The Day the Earth Stood Still this weekend and I couldn't imagine a more fitting movie for what we're dealing with around here. We've been without electricity for three days now and living at the very end of a dead-end dirt road means we're probably last on the electric company's fix-it list. There are power lines strewn across the road and wires hanging from the telephone poles, big broken branches being held up by nothing more than a few thin wires, and entire trees toppled over alongside the road.

At night, the darkness is incredible. The full moon, the closest to the Earth it has been since 1994, is the only source of light around. Normally silent enough to hear a distant neighbor shut their front door, the night is filled with the sounds of dozens upon dozens of humming machines, each providing a little bit of that life-giving force to its owner. So often taken for granted, this electricity is not used for running televisions or computers or even for lighting the entire house, but instead for only our most basic necessities: heat to keep ourselves (and the water pipes) from freezing and for the small electric water pump that allows us to shower.

My hands smell of gas, my shoulder hurts from pulling the starter, my body is tired, and for the first time in a long while, I feel like I actually had a real weekend. The vast world of technology and the Internet seemed so distant -- like a dream of the way things once were. Everything felt more real, and life, more difficult. Life should be difficult. Not only mentally, but physically too. If the entire Earth was run on generators I think people would have more appreciation for not only life itself, but one another.

Lots of businesses are still without power and the electric company says not to hold our breath.

The power is still out in parts of NH and MA, including where I live. Looks like I'm in for more cold showers by the candle light, iPhone+NetShare for Internet access, and limited laptop usage (as long as the battery lasts).

I discovered Sid Savara's blog today while browsing Hacker News. Unlike most productivity blogs I have come across, Sid's blog has very practical information that is easy to understand and apply. I've only started exploring his posts, but his description of metawork and his post on paying himself with his time were real eye-openers for me, as I too think in terms of "time" and his post reaffirmed my thinking. Like myself, he is also a follower of the GTD method.

Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better is an incredible compilation of useful information, including links to several great tools and sites, like the free online speed reading application. Hat tip: Matt Mullenweg.

This has got to be one of the most stunning pictures I have seen in a long time. My first reaction to seeing it was literally saying "WOW" out loud. If you look at the photo in its original size you can even see the outline of a grasshopper on top of one of the flowers!