Paul Graham puts into words thoughts that I've had for years, about why it's so difficult for me to work in an office.
"Most powerful people are on the manager's schedule. It's the schedule of command. But there's another way of using time that's common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can't write or program well in units of an hour. That's barely enough time to get started.
When you're operating on the maker's schedule, meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in. Plus you have to remember to go to the meeting. That's no problem for someone on the manager's schedule. There's always something coming on the next hour; the only question is what. But when someone on the maker's schedule has a meeting, they have to think about it."
Wired has The Seven Best Capers of 2008:
"The Plumas Lake Penny Pinch - If you've ever linked up your checking account to an online brokerage house or digital payment service, you may have noticed that the company automatically initiates one or two small deposits -- typically less than a dollar each -- for verification purposes. If you're hard up for cash, or just really bored, you might have thought, “if only there was a way to make real money off this ...” Twenty-two-year-old Michael Largent of Plumas Lake, California allegedly figured out a way: Volume! Prosecutors say Largent wrote a script that rapidly opened about 60,000 new accounts under aliases like Johnny Blaze and Hank Hill, then linked them all to a handful of bank accounts under his control. Largent allegedly accumulated some $58,000 in nickels and dimes from Schwab.com, E-Trade, and Google Checkout, and transferred the free money to pre-paid debit cards before the companies could renege on their generosity. The venture was ultimately thwarted by bank reporting regulations, and Largent is now facing federal computer and wire fraud charges."
"Karin of ValhallaBrooklyn started her business with the goal of large wholesale orders to shops throughout the United States and Europe. Once setting up shop on Etsy, she soon discovered she could make wholesale orders and retail orders together in order to support herself. With a new baby on the way, she made the decision to stay small and handmade rather than outsourcing her designs to larger companies. She now finds herself supporting her entire family through the endeavor and sure works the hours to prove it! Keep reading to find out what goes on in Karin's 80+ hour work week!"