Washington Post: An Old Dog Learns to Write a New Blog — J.W. Marriott Jr., who will soon be 75 years old, is not a computer enthusiast. He takes notes on legal pads during meetings. While visiting some 250 hotels around the world each year he jots down his thoughts on note cards, then slips them in his jacket pocket.. Now he dictates into a tape recorder and someone transcribes it for the web.