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I enjoy reading June Watanabe’s Kukua Line column in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Sometimes she runs an auwe section where anonymous readers point out shameful behavior they have witnessed.

Wednesday’s column featured a Honolulu firefighter from the Nimitz station who was seen raising the US and state flags while he was out of uniform. HFD personnel are supposed to wear an HFD shirt, along with pants and shoes. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he was wearing rubber slippers. Auwe!

The firefighters from the Beretania station are always properly dressed to raise and lower the flags at Fort Street Mall by my office.

Thursday’s column was a two-for-one deal with an initial item about vulgar vanity license plates that slipped past the state’s application process. Auwe!
There was another story about a man who parked his car at a stoplight by Central Middle School to buy a plate lunch. He parked in the center lane of the Pali Highway. That’s a big auwe!

The Web has spawned a legion of sites devoted to reporting rude behavior. Some Craigslist users post their auwes on the rant and rave board for their city. There are sites devoted to rude drivers, restaurant patrons, employees, and other topics.

From tomorrow’s New York Times comes a sobering examination of the dominant blogging business model.

“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”

“This is not sustainable,” he said.

I discussed blogging for a living on 27 March 2008, but I didn’t discuss stress. Two prominent technology bloggers, Russell Shaw and March Orchant, have died in the last 5 months.

Some bloggers have decided to chase the headlines, and post up-to-the-minute comments about news events. For a solo blogger who is also managing their own comments and web site, the duties can pile up. Another blogger mentioned in the Times article, 22-year old Matt Buchanan of Gizmodo, sleeps about 5 hours a day, and drinks protein supplement lattes to stay buzzed.

“There’s no time ever — including when you’re sleeping — when you’re not worried about missing a story,” Mr. Arrington said.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we said no blogger or journalist could write a story between 8 p.m. Pacific time and dawn? Then we could all take a break,” he added. “But that’s never going to happen.”

One advantage of blogging in Honolulu is that I can check the news later in the day, before the East Coast bloggers really get rolling.

Exercise also helps me a lot. I go running early in the morning, partly to get away from the computer as the US news cycle is full swing.

On Tuesday, 8 April 2008, I’ll post an article about how I manage billso.com and avoid some of the issues I’ve discussed in this article. When that a

From Reuters and the New York Times: Microsoft and Yahoo aren’t negotiating.

Who will blink first?

Yahoo should come to their senses soon and take Microsoft’s offer, if Microsoft doesn’t rescind the offer first. Too many Yahoo employees are fleeing already, but Yahoo’s share price has dipped quite a bit lately. Microsoft is sticking to its offer of US$31 a share, and Yahoo stock has ranged from US$19 to US$28 since the offer. Microsoft’s stock has taken a beating in the interim, too.

Meanwhile, Bill Gates says that the next version of Windows may be released within the next 12 months, according to this Reuters report. I doubt the software will be released that quickly.

Related posts

• 17 February 2008 : Shareholders may bring Microsoft and Yahoo together
• 7 February 2008: Microsoft’s rocket ship
• 4 February 2008: Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo faces roadblocks
• 1 February 2008: Microsoft makes offer for Yahoo