Diary

In a sense lab-book is the working diary of a scientist. (Of course the purpose is not at all romantic. You could well consider it as a remedy for dementia.) It may be slightly disappointing to know that the other species that keeps a diary of this kind is senior government officials.

You may think blog is another kind of diary we keep, but it is not - it is meant to be read by the others. As my friend KM pointed out, we write in an attempt to bury painful memories or stories, and we display the best of our image by self-censorship. In his words, I show you the wardrobe where my best clothes are being displayed. (See http://drkmchow.blogspot.com/2007/12/eavesdropping.html)

In addition to this blog, I am still writing my own diary - by pen and ink in a hard-cover book - four or five times a week. Rosy as it sounds, the content is actually boring. After all, nobody but I would read it again. Therefore, there's no need to elaborate on an event. I could actually put a short note barely sufficient for bringing back my memory in the future.

Moreover, the life of an academic and a father is not very exciting, and my written diary seems to bear much similarity to that of Nicholas II of the Russian Empire.

PS. The diary of that last emperor of Russia is in a sense amazing - it is exceptionally boring when read on its own, but probably the most thrilling tragedy in modern literature when put in parallel with what actually was recorded in the history.