Yes, I know I practically never write anything here these days, but it's not as I haven't been busy. I've been, among other things, rebuilding my Web clips file, and so far I've got three quarters of 2007 done, after which I'll go back and do similar pages for 2006, 2005, and then the FDC years (2000 to mid-2005) all following the same format. After that I'll go through the years at EN, IW, NCN, and if time and resources allow, digitize the stuff from before that. (No small feat, that.)

But so far this year, and not counting anything from the first quarter, I've written 63 stories, 14 Byte columns, five magazine stories and recorded 40 videos (not counting the one I shot today). Look for yourself:

Second Quarter


Third Quarter


Fourth Quarter to date


Of course none of this reflects what I really spend most of my day doing: Deflecting PR pitches from industry neophytes who haven't done their research into what I cover, but figure since I cover "technology" that I'll naturally be interested in their client. They're the ones who clearly haven't read any of my recent stories because for some reason they don't think its necessary because my name is on some list their boss has given them and as such they're expected to call me, but not smart enough to speak up and say "Hey boss, I don't think this is Arik's cup of tea." Yes, they're the same ones who are audibly irritated when I tell them I've never 1) heard of their client, and 2) have no use a meeting as there's zero chance I'll ever write about them and 3) try to find some "angle" that they think will keep me interested, all the while running up the bill they'll submit to their clients. And yes, I'll admit: I can sometimes be quite harsh in my rejections, and think nothing of hanging up on an unprepared PR flunkie mid-pitch. It isn't pleasant, but I have a lot to do, and limited time.

In any event, the above scenario should be less frequent as I finish the build-out of the archives. Even the laziest of PR professionals can Google my name, click on the first link (or third; it varies) and navigate to the "clips" section, and find an itemized list showing what I've written recently, and for that matter, in the distant past. Or at least that's the idea. So ever so slowly, I'll get these pages built, if only to give the flacks a crutch, and maybe spare myself some unnecessary phone calls.