Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit likes to say that he isn’t a public utility and that he posts whenever and whatever he wants. Yet in reality, he posts on such a reliable basis that when he goes for most the day without posting something you know something is up.
I thought that today as I kept checking Instapundit. He didn’t update all day, not even a post saying he wouldn’t be posting. I knew something had happened. Turns out his grandmother had passed away at the age of 91 and he had spent the day dealing with that. Yet come the evening, he posted an update telling us what happened.
I am reminded that it is by the quiet competence of people like Glenn Reynolds that the world actually runs. The most important people are those who are THERE everyday doing what needs to be done without a lot of flash. I can only wish that my public utilities were as reliable and productive as Glenn.
Our condolences to Glenn and his family.
Reynolds has made his grandmother a lively presence in our thoughts and I second Shannon’s condolences to him and his family, especially, his mother.
As the Blogosphere matures, I think we will all some day be grateful that Reynolds’ was the voice that defined it more than anyone else’s. His intelligence is matched by his common sense, his sense of duty by his proportionality. I can never get over how much he does. Perhaps that is because he seems to enjoy it all so much – teaching, parenting, husbanding, blogging, writing, pod-casting. His good humor has been a model I think we all keep in the back of our minds as we blog.
I used to be in the crowd that admired Reynolds, but not so much as of late. I still check in with Instapundit every day, and, like Shannon knew something was up when I checked in yesterday and there wasn’t even a “heh” up. That said, I am finding it increasingly hard to believe that Reynolds is even reading all of his own links himself (not that he has to). He is an author, father, professor of law, columnist, podcaster and photographer among other things. He has helped his wife through a scary bout of heart disease. Does the man sleep? Geez, I am just a business owner and dad and that takes up 15 hours of my day right there – and then I need to go shooting and have a drink or two – in that order.
One day I decided to read every article that Reynolds linked to and it took me over four hours – and I read very quickly. Granted that wouldn’t be the total every day, but it did tell me that either he has an assistant or is just skimming the articles/blogposts for the meat and then referring his readers there to make decisions for themselves – which is OK with me, just not the style of blogging I prefer. I prefer original essays like the ones posted here or on my own blog.
Reynolds does do a service as if he didn’t link those articles (whether he read them or not) many many people would never find them. But for someone like myself who knows what they are looking for, it seems repetitive and a bit dull after a while. I will read Steyn’s stuff without Glenn’s link. And I will also read Shannon’s stuff without the instalanche.
I’m sorry to hear about Glenn’s grandmother’s passing. I wish him, his mom and the rest of his family all the best.
I agree with Shannon that Glenn’s routine blogging performance is remarkable and remarkably good. He handles a very wide range of topics with insight and generally good judgment. He’s also a nice guy.