rebecca's pocket

On vacation

» I'm off on vacation. I have some entries scheduled for you while I'm gone, but comments are disabled. See you in a couple of weeks.  [ 08/26/07 ]

Data Vacation

» Recently, my computer melted down. I suspect the hard drive will need to be replaced. Unfortunately, my last backup was mid-May. If you sent me an email requiring a reply between June 1 and June 20, and you have not received one, please resend it. Then go back up your computer. / (5) Comments  / [ 07/05/07 ]

The (Organic) Thrifty Food Plan Challenge

» I'm still tweaking the website, but I'd like to introduce my latest project: The (Organic) Thrifty Food Plan Challenge Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget. (I've been persuaded that the second one is a snappier name.)

We eat well. Maybe a little too well, judging from our waistlines. And we eat pretty inexpensively, too. So the recent spate of publicity about Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski's committment to eat food totalling only $21 for one week (the amount an average Oregon food stamp recipient receives) caught my attention.

Now, the Governor's stunt is a little misleading: no one expects The government doesn't expect food stamp recipients to eat on only $21 a week (though I'm sure some people try). The USDA's Thrifty Food Plan [pdf] (from which food stamp allotments are derived) is spartan enough, but the most recent figures provide an adult male between the ages of 20 and 50 years of age with $35.40 a week for food—part of which will be provided by food stamps, and part by the individual, depending on their income. Regardless, the Governor's point is well taken. It's not a lot of money to spend on a week's worth of food.

I pride myself on my thrifty shopping habits. I've also been fortunate in these last few years to be able to afford to buy organic and locally grown fresh food most of the time. So I've decided to take the Governor's challenge a step further. I'd like to see if I can feed the two of us for one month on a "Thrifty Food Plan" budget using organic food. My budget: 74.00/week or 320.80/month, the USDA "Thrifty" standard for a family of 2 adults, aged 20-50 years.

I just completed my first week. I spent more than I thought I would, but in general, I think it's going pretty well. You can read today's entry, how I'm accounting for individual items, my Sunday's week-end summary, or just start at the beginning and read from there.  / (3) Comments  / [ 05/08/07 ]

Rebecca's Pocket is 8 years old

» What with travelling and all, I missed it—but it occured to me today that on Friday, Rebecca's Pocket was 8 years old. Thanks for reading. / (7) Comments  / [ 04/30/07 ]

In China: As you were

» I'm in China. Entries are scheduled. Comments are off. I'll be back soon.  [ 03/03/07 ]

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

» I'm off for a holiday break. Stay safe, enjoy the season, and thanks for reading all year. I'll see you in 2007. / (4) Comments  / [ 12/21/06 ]

Leslie Harpold, RIP

» Apparently the terrible rumor is true: Leslie Harpold has passed on. I only met Leslie a couple of times, but I found her to be smart, funny, a great raconteur, and very, very nice. She has been a fixture on the Web from the time I found it, a pioneer of the personal publishing genre. Thanks for everything, Leslie. We will miss you.

Update: Merlin Mann remembers his dear friend.

Another dear friend remembers.

The full story. / (12) Comments  / [ 12/12/06 ]

Leah Peah interviews Rebecca Blood

» In a turn of the table, Blogger/Journalist/Web designer Leah Peterson has interviewed me as part of her excellent series on the people who blog. You folks who tried to guess at my teenage role models will find the answer here.  / (1) Comments  / [ 12/08/06 ]

Vacation

» I'm on vacation this week and don't expect to be posting much, if at all. Have a great Thanksgiving! / (5) Comments  / [ 11/20/06 ]

Bloggers on Blogging: Scott Rosenberg

» I'm excited to share with you the latest in my Bloggers on Blogging series, an interview with Salon's Scott Rosenberg, one of the first journalists to really "get" blogging. In it, we talk about about his new book, the Web as a collective recordkeeper, and the effective uses of online media.

Anyone who argues that, you know, bloggers will on their own transform American politics and usher in the participatory millennium simply because they are blogging is not being serious. Blogs are simply a format in the continuing evolution of the Internet. They make it really easy for individuals to publish. This is a wonderful and valuable thing. Then it's up to us to do something with it. If your goal is to 'speak truth to power,' it behooves you to figure out where the powerful people are and how to get their attention.

  [ 10/31/06 ]

O Burrito!

» A haiku:

I am your fat wife.
More and more of me to love.
O burrito!

 / (2) Comments  / [ 09/12/06 ]

Rebecca Blood has left the building

» It is vacation time. I have scheduled some links for you while I'm gone, but comments will be off until my return, after Labor Day. Nor will there be email. Enjoy the last days of summer!  [ 09/05/06 ]

Bloggers on Blogging: Tiffany B. Brown

» I'm very pleased to point you to the latest in my Bloggers on Blogging series, an interview with Web designer Tiffany B. Brown, whose blogs include tiffanybbrown.com, (the now defunct) CulturedWino.com, and blackfeminism.org (selected by Lisa Stone as one of 14 New Voices worth reading). We discuss identity-blogging, the power of comments, and the difficulty of being yet another tech blogger.  [ 08/28/06 ]

And many more

» Happy Birthday, Molly Magnet. / (1) Comments  / [ 08/14/06 ]

Bloggers on Blogging: Jason Kottke

» I'm pleased to point you to my most recent interview in the Bloggers on Blogging series: Jason Kottke. We discuss everything from blogging fulltime, to the perils of being married to another blogger, to handling flames.

After more than 10 years of publishing stuff online, I'm more or less fireproof. Which is not to say that when flamed I simply insulate myself with the belief that I'm right and the flamer is wrong (which is a maddenly common approach among bloggers); the key is not to take it personally. Maintaining calm in the face of criticism can be difficult, especially when the best flames contain real truths, and it's helpful to remember that when you read something.

 / (1) Comments  / [ 08/08/06 ]

Rebecca Blood Barcelona interview

» In Barcelona, we spent one long day being interviewed by about a dozen journalists each. I believe I was featured in 3 different news spots that evening. One of the video journalists, Javier Celaya, has posted portions of our interview on the Web, in snippets. Each section is just a minute or two long, with a translation into Spanish at the bottom of each page.

When you wrote your book in 2002, did you think blogs would become such a phenomenon?

What are the negative effects of blogs?

Some blogs aspire to become journalistic mass media. Do you think that this it is the model to follow?

Let's talk now about the impact of blogs in the business world. What do these tools contribute to business?

With regard to blogs' comments, some readers think these conversations are the most interesting part of blogging, whereas others think they are irrelevant. What is your opinion?

As the author of a book, which is your opinion on the impact of blogging in the promotion of a book? What has been your experience?

Question translation thanks to Babelfish, the Apple Dashboard translation widget, and my own extrapolation after listening to the answers. / (1) Comments  / [ 07/21/06 ]

Summer 2006 Reading List URL change

» Heads up to those who are following along at home. I rearranged a few things yesterday, and changed the location of my collection of Summer 2006 Reading Lists.  [ 07/12/06 ]

Leaving on a Jet Plane

» I'm leaving for our speaking tour. Internet access will be sporadic at best, but I'll try to schedule posts when I can get online. Comments are off during my trip since I have no idea how often I'll even be able to get online.  [ 06/12/06 ]

Beers & Blogs en Barcelona con Rebecca Blood

» Will you be in Barcelona next week? Please come join us May 29 for Beers & Blogs en Barcelona con Rebecca Blood.   [ 05/23/06 ]

Jesse James Garrett won a 2006 Wired Rave Award

» Last night I attended the seventh annual Wired Rave Awards, and watched my husband receive the award for technology. I couldn't be more proud of him, but the highlight of the evening for me was joining in the only standing ovation given that night—for the Honorable John E. Jones III, who was honored for his ruling on intelligent design. Update: Here I am next to the Giant Floating Head.  [ 05/17/06 ]

Bloggers on Blogging: Fred First

» If you've followed the Pocket for a few years, you probably remember the day I introduced you to one of the original "weblogs of place", Fragments from Floyd. Well, Fred First, proprietor of Fragments, has just published his first book, and he graciously agreed to sit for my latest Bloggers on Blogging interview. Fred is a terrific interview subject—thoughtful and eloquent and funny—and we discuss everything from the rewards of blogging to the insecurity involved in becoming a writer. I know you'll enjoy it.

I would never have thought of myself at all as a writer before the blog. I anguished terribly over calling myself a writer in those early blogging months, though I knew that was where I wanted to go. And I found some peace by telling myself this: "If a man carries a gun into the woods looking for game, he is a hunter, even if he comes back with nothing in his pouch. In the same way, you are a writer."

  [ 05/17/06 ]

Bloggers on Blogging: Not Martha

» I'm pleased to introduce the latest in my series Bloggers on Blogging: Megan Reardon, better known to most people as Not Martha. We talk about crafting, fear of writing, frustrating photography, and the many uses of blogging.

What appealed to me in general was the personal voice of blogs at that time. They were like zines, but they made sense. And they were like being allowed to read someone's diary. At that time in my life I was discovering the post-college lack of meaningful communication with others, and weblogs as they were being written filled in where intimate conversations had been diminishing.

  [ 04/28/06 ]

Weblog Handbook now is Spanish

» Fun! The UPS man just delivered a box full of the Spanish translation of my book. I have yet to see a copy of the Korean translation.  [ 02/22/06 ]

2006 New Communications Forum

» I forgot to mention yesterday that promo code NCFR200 will get you $200 (!) off the price of admission for March 1-3 New Communications Forum when you register online.  [ 02/22/06 ]

New Communications Forum 2006

» I'm excited to be giving the opening keynote at this year's New Communications Forum in Palo Alto, CA, which runs from March 1 - 3, 2006. Most of the business blogging luminaries will be there, including organizers Elizabeth Albrycht and Jennifer McClure, and Dan Gillmor, Robert Scoble, DL Byron, Denise Howell, Debbie Weil and many others. If you are a business owner or communications professional and you want to learn how to leverage social media for your organization, this looks to be a very comprehensive 3 days.

Update: Use promo code NCFR200 to get a $200 (!) discount on the conference when you register online.  [ 02/21/06 ]

Favicons for the masses

» Pages and pages of favicons (that little image that you see next to the URL at the top of your browser). You can find me on this page.  [ 01/25/06 ]

Bloggers on Blogging: David Weinberger

» I'm really delighted to present the newest installment of Bloggers on Blogging: David Weinberger, blogger, author, speaker, and a Berkman Center for Internet and Society Fellow. "For me, a community is a group of people who care about one another more than they have to. I do feel part of an ever-changing community of bloggers and readers.... There are people I've come to know over the years either through their blog or through their comments on my blog. Some of them mean a lot to me. And this is not a binary club that you're either in or out of. It's far smudgier than that, as it should be. There are blogs I read that I feel emotionally attached to written by bloggers I don't know personally but about whom I've come to care."  [ 01/18/06 ]