When I worked at The Worst Job I Ever Had, they contributed to a technology purchase in lieu of getting me a laptop bag or Franklin Planner -- a Palm T|X.
I had a Palm III way back when, and then later, a Handspring Visor (which was tres cool!). I loved that Visor.
So when I had the opportunity to upgrade it to a Palm with wifi capability and a color screen that would allow me to watch videos streamed from SD cards, I jumped at the chance. I even purchased a better file manager and the Fitaly keyboard. It was very nice, albeit a bit buggy with the Blazer browser and such. VersaMail worked pretty well, though. I held on to it, using it off and on for a couple of years. Recently, I have been in an "off" section of time, though I have been watching Justice League episodes on it.
This last Sunday was my birthday. My wife snuck out a few days before and bought me a frivolous gift that I mentioned that I wanted (okay, I gushed about it like a little girl). In any case, I was surprised Sunday morning with a bag containing a bright, shiny, new iPod Touch 2.0, 16GB.
Even though the iPod pricing has come down, this is still a $300 do-dad, which gave me great pause. Do I really need something this expensive for watching videos and checking email at Panera? Do I really want something fancy to replace my tried and true Palm T|X?
I have been agonizing over this decision. Here's what I've been thinking about:
• The two units have a lot in common: wifi, a browser, a media player, and lots of storage memory (SD cards on Palm, 16GB on iPod Touch)
• I rarely used the wifi on my Palm, and used the email, calendar, and contacts only slightly more
• My T|X is only about two years old -- it has lots of life left in it
• Sure, the Touch is very swanky (and slimmer and lighter), but do I really need to replace a device I only used sporadically?
I was also curious about whether or not the Touch could be used as a PDA, or if it was just a glorified media player (read: TOY). So I began researching what it could do. I found a bunch of references to using it as a productivity tool -- as a true PDA.
That got me to thinking. It has email, calendar, and browser, PLUS it will sync all those with my MacBook Pro ... but could it's limited applications compete with the tens of thousands of apps out there for the Palm?
I checked for comparisons -- people who had a Palm T|X, but were considering, or had switched to, the Touch. I found a few that made that switch, that compared the two, and found the Touch equal or superior to the Palm.
Then I thought about why I never used the Palm at Panera to surf ... and I remembered taking 5 to 10 minutes trying to get the browser going, only to have it be slow and a pain in the ass to use. I thought about the calendar, contacts and email -- all hallmarks of a PDA -- that would be even easier to use on the Touch by being synced to my laptop.
And after all that, it seemed more and more likely that the Touch could be the PDA that I wanted. In fact, I was terrified that it would be near, but never meet, what I wanted, but the chance was still there.
So I took the leap.
I decided to keep it.
I opened it.
I charged it today and set up wifi at two locations, synced my contacts and calendar, and even set up my work email -- on IMAP, no less. I added a couple of movies to see what they would look like (Buckaroo Banzai and Appleseed).
And I have to say ... it's FANTASTIC! I love this device. It does more than I thought it would, and it does it all beautifully! It's light years ahead of the Palm in functionality and usefulness to me!
I was disappointed when I switched from the Handspring to the T|X, because the only things I added were color, media, and wifi -- with all the other apps being the same as they were on my 5+ year-old device.
I think the iPod Touch can be a very effective PDA, and I'm so glad that I decided to keep it. I'll try to keep posting on my experiences.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Democracy ... at Work
This is an interesting read.
Imagine a company that:
• Lets you vote on the CEO's performance – and lets you, not your boss, determine your work projects.
• Uses e-mail discussion lists to make critical decisions, practicing full transparency so everyone is kept in the loop.
• Rotates all leadership roles on a regular basis.
Read the article....
Found via The Chief Happiness Officer.
Imagine a company that:
• Lets you vote on the CEO's performance – and lets you, not your boss, determine your work projects.
• Uses e-mail discussion lists to make critical decisions, practicing full transparency so everyone is kept in the loop.
• Rotates all leadership roles on a regular basis.
Read the article....
Found via The Chief Happiness Officer.
Monday, July 14, 2008
A Schlepping Party
So the wife asks if I want to go to Buffalo for the weekend to attend a party.
What kind of party? I asked.
A Schlepping Party, she says.
What's Schlepping? I asked.
Well, it's part of the big Graduation Party they're having for my brother Matt, who's graduating high school.
Well, says I, I'll miss Gaming Sunday™, but since it's a one-time thing, I'll go.
Well, we all know what schlepping is, now don't we?
"Schlepping" means moving stuff.
Lot's of stuff, in this case.
Two other guys and I helped her dad move 100 wooden folding chairs and 14 giant tables from a church to some trucks to the park to some trucks and back to the church. All in one day.
Oh, and I moved four giant wooden picnic tables across the park, and hefted about four more from the shelter to under a tent and back again.
Needless to say, I was tired.
But that's okay, the party was a lot of fun -- it only rained twice, for only about 1-2 hours each time -- and the next day I got to rest while driving six hours home.
Ugh. My body is bent and broken.
Of course the best part, the part that rounded off the whole trip, that made leaving on Friday and coming home on Sunday the best thing ever, was coming home to find one of my cats locked in the coat closet.
Where he was for two days.
Where he scratched to get out.
Where he peed all over some gloves and stuff on the floor.
Where he seems to have lost a bit of weight.
*SIGH*
Why is it that cats run into closets when you open them, without letting you know?
Oh, well.
It was a pretty good, if tiring weekend.
Congraduations, Matt!
What kind of party? I asked.
A Schlepping Party, she says.
What's Schlepping? I asked.
Well, it's part of the big Graduation Party they're having for my brother Matt, who's graduating high school.
Well, says I, I'll miss Gaming Sunday™, but since it's a one-time thing, I'll go.
Well, we all know what schlepping is, now don't we?
"Schlepping" means moving stuff.
Lot's of stuff, in this case.
Two other guys and I helped her dad move 100 wooden folding chairs and 14 giant tables from a church to some trucks to the park to some trucks and back to the church. All in one day.
Oh, and I moved four giant wooden picnic tables across the park, and hefted about four more from the shelter to under a tent and back again.
Needless to say, I was tired.
But that's okay, the party was a lot of fun -- it only rained twice, for only about 1-2 hours each time -- and the next day I got to rest while driving six hours home.
Ugh. My body is bent and broken.
Of course the best part, the part that rounded off the whole trip, that made leaving on Friday and coming home on Sunday the best thing ever, was coming home to find one of my cats locked in the coat closet.
Where he was for two days.
Where he scratched to get out.
Where he peed all over some gloves and stuff on the floor.
Where he seems to have lost a bit of weight.
*SIGH*
Why is it that cats run into closets when you open them, without letting you know?
Oh, well.
It was a pretty good, if tiring weekend.
Congraduations, Matt!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Trying on a New Hat
At my new job, there are a variety of tasks that fall to me.
As I mentioned before, one of the first things I had to do was to locate a facility for our office. Well, we finally got the keys to the place today. It was a stressful task, and now all the stress over finding a place will be traded in for all the stress over furnishing the place. Yeegads.
Which brings me to the first item: My wife and I drove to Holland, MI to get some office furniture. We ended up bringing home six, $700 chairs ... for which we paid only $99 each. Rock!
Side Note: On the way back, we stopped at My Buddy Ronn's new apartment in Grand Rapids. He's got some pretty nice digs -- roomy place, view of a huge pond, and handy bike paths -- all for less than I paid 15 years ago in Ypsilanti for a smaller pad. Rock!
One other hat I have to wear is Marketing Guru. I've already posted the business card I put together based on the graphic firm's design, but this time I had to do something I've thought about, but never really done before. I had to create an ad for our company, to appear in the October issue of Linux+DVD magazine.
I fretted over this night after night, coming up with slogans, reading about how to create a print ad, and just generally stressing out. But on the way back from Grand Rapids, My wife and I chatted about it and generated an ad that could blossom into a full-on campaign (or at least a series of connected ads). It's by no means professional, but compared to some of the ads I've seen, it's not half bad.
In any case, here's the final product, after multiple tweaks (including dropping the clip art and hand-drawing the silhouettes). Check it out:
As I mentioned before, one of the first things I had to do was to locate a facility for our office. Well, we finally got the keys to the place today. It was a stressful task, and now all the stress over finding a place will be traded in for all the stress over furnishing the place. Yeegads.
Which brings me to the first item: My wife and I drove to Holland, MI to get some office furniture. We ended up bringing home six, $700 chairs ... for which we paid only $99 each. Rock!
Side Note: On the way back, we stopped at My Buddy Ronn's new apartment in Grand Rapids. He's got some pretty nice digs -- roomy place, view of a huge pond, and handy bike paths -- all for less than I paid 15 years ago in Ypsilanti for a smaller pad. Rock!
One other hat I have to wear is Marketing Guru. I've already posted the business card I put together based on the graphic firm's design, but this time I had to do something I've thought about, but never really done before. I had to create an ad for our company, to appear in the October issue of Linux+DVD magazine.
I fretted over this night after night, coming up with slogans, reading about how to create a print ad, and just generally stressing out. But on the way back from Grand Rapids, My wife and I chatted about it and generated an ad that could blossom into a full-on campaign (or at least a series of connected ads). It's by no means professional, but compared to some of the ads I've seen, it's not half bad.
In any case, here's the final product, after multiple tweaks (including dropping the clip art and hand-drawing the silhouettes). Check it out:
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Let's Talk Stress
I'm working my new job, and I'm loving it. But the things I have to juggle are causing me a bit of tension.
We're moving into an office/light industrial park from a home-based business and this means we have to get everything: desks, chairs, dividers, phones, networking, backup power, toilet brush, alarm systems, insurance, pencils, garbage cans, barcode scanner, portable AC units, and -- of course -- a coffee machine. Can't live without that.
To top it off, we'll need to build an enclosure for the network gear and even run some plumbing if we want anything resembling a kitchen sink. But before we do all that, we have to have a lawyer read the lease, the building has to be cleaned, and we have to turn over the security deposit and first month's rent. Did I mention I had to find the building in the first place?
Yeegads. This is a lot of things to keep running at the same time, to try to schedule convergence of them all at move-in time. And on top of this, I need to be as frugal as I possibly can. This is a startup, after all.
This is a pretty big project for me, which I have to complete while simultaneously doing marketing & advertising.
I have to say, I'm feeling the burn.
We're moving into an office/light industrial park from a home-based business and this means we have to get everything: desks, chairs, dividers, phones, networking, backup power, toilet brush, alarm systems, insurance, pencils, garbage cans, barcode scanner, portable AC units, and -- of course -- a coffee machine. Can't live without that.
To top it off, we'll need to build an enclosure for the network gear and even run some plumbing if we want anything resembling a kitchen sink. But before we do all that, we have to have a lawyer read the lease, the building has to be cleaned, and we have to turn over the security deposit and first month's rent. Did I mention I had to find the building in the first place?
Yeegads. This is a lot of things to keep running at the same time, to try to schedule convergence of them all at move-in time. And on top of this, I need to be as frugal as I possibly can. This is a startup, after all.
This is a pretty big project for me, which I have to complete while simultaneously doing marketing & advertising.
I have to say, I'm feeling the burn.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Story of Stuff
My wife pointed me to this site:
It's a 20-minute video that talks about why we have so much stuff -- why there's so much to buy, why we buy it, and what it really costs us.
You should check it out. It's worth the time.
It's a 20-minute video that talks about why we have so much stuff -- why there's so much to buy, why we buy it, and what it really costs us.
You should check it out. It's worth the time.
The Whole Nine Years
Well, yesterday was Tara and my nine-year wedding anniversary. We didn't really celebrate it -- life has been consistently getting in the way. There are just too many things that we need to do to allow us to do the things we want to do.
We did take the kids out for some games and munchies at Lucky Strike, but that wasn't really an anniversary celebration. In fact, we weren't even thinking about our anniversary much. It was more of a consistently-appearing epiphany, a *DING* "it's your anniversary, stupid!" kind of moment, jumping up at odd times during the day.
So, to honor this momentous occasion, albeit a day late, I present to you the vows we made to each other on that day in June, nine years ago, standing outside the carriage house in Ann Arbor.
I love you.
We did take the kids out for some games and munchies at Lucky Strike, but that wasn't really an anniversary celebration. In fact, we weren't even thinking about our anniversary much. It was more of a consistently-appearing epiphany, a *DING* "it's your anniversary, stupid!" kind of moment, jumping up at odd times during the day.
So, to honor this momentous occasion, albeit a day late, I present to you the vows we made to each other on that day in June, nine years ago, standing outside the carriage house in Ann Arbor.
Tara Marie, I choose you
to be my companion, my partner, my lover.
I choose you to be my wife.
And to you, I make this vow:
I promise to love you.
I will be a pillar of strength in your times of sadness and trouble.
I will remember the love you hold for me when I feel anger or fear.
To you, I make this vow:
I promise to honor you.
I will hold you in the highest esteem in all situations.
I will support you in all your endeavors.
To you, I make this vow:
I promise to cherish you.
I will keep you in my heart at all times, whether we are together or apart.
I will let no other displace you in the vault of my heart.
Tara Marie, to you I make these vows.
Douglas Mitchell, I choose you
to be my companion, my partner, my lover.
I choose you to be my husband.
And to you, I make this vow:
I promise to love you.
I will be a pillar of strength in your times of sadness and trouble.
I will remember the love you hold for me when I feel anger or fear.
To you, I make this vow:
I promise to honor you.
I will hold you in the highest esteem in all situations.
I will support you in all your endeavors.
To you, I make this vow:
I promise to cherish you.
I will keep you in my heart at all times, whether we are together or apart.
I will let no other displace you in the vault of my heart.
Douglas Mitchell, to you I make these vows.
I love you.
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