I'll go upstairs and forget why. I'll buy all ingredients for the recipe but one from the store. Worst and most frequent of all is the truly intended but ultimately doomed I'll call you. But I'm a geek and that usually spells hope.
Historically, my attempts at todo lists rather quickly became oppressively comprehensive anthologies of failure. There was this one time I had a tiny pocket calendar and an equally tiny pen and a rubber band. That actually worked really well until I lost it in a grown-up's jungle gym in St. Louis. Fans of the PDA/smart-phone are probably scratching their heads right now. Bulk, yo; I'm a pockets man and just don't have room for those bricks. And they try to be too many things at once, in my opinion. (The iPhone is a sweet step in the right direction, but I'll wait for a bit more innovation.) Victory was eventually mine, and that victory was Remember the Milk.
The best part of RTM is how well its designers accommodate my cell phone. After a one-time setup, if you give an RTM task a due time instead of just a a due date, it will send an email 30 minutes prior. Since all phones have an email address†, I configured RTM to remind me about really important tasks – no matter where I am – by sending a text to my cell phone.
So RTM can send stuff to my phone, but can my phone send stuff to RTM? Answer: yes yes. I can send a text message to a provided email address with a wee bit of formatting (a T: here and D: there) and the task shows up presto. Alternatively, RTM cooperates with Jott.
I actually found Jott weeks before RTM. It helped me not forget things since it takes just a 30 second (tops-ish) phone call to put a transcribed email in my inbox. Schuper schweet. But it's not a task manager. Jott and RTM recognized one another's awesomeness and now I can use Jott to make a phone call that results in a new task in my RTM list. Me saying "Buy tooth paste, 8pm" while riding in the car to the North Carolina airport means I get a text message on the drive home from MCI.
RTM is proactive and not blind; the designers have hooked into the services Google provides. There's a Gmail/Firefox widget as well as an iGoogle widget. This means we Google users can access RTM within our conventional, daily web destinations. (Also, for Mac users, there's a plug-in for the indispensable Quicksilver launcher.)
RTM and Jott have helped me form an integrated todo system that functions way beyond a list. With accessibility from my cell phone and my email, I'm never out of reach. Of course, it's just as easy to ignore RTM as with other todo lists, but I've found I kind of enjoy using this one and that helps me stick to it. It is comprehensive, convenient, and free‡.
If you would like help setting this up, I'll provide some step by step instructions in response to the first of such requests posted in the comments.
† To find your email address, write the best joke you know in a text message on your phone. When you go to send it, you should see an option to enter an email address. Put your own email address in there. Your phone's email address will be waiting in your inbox. There are easier ways online, but the search works best given a particular provider and I don't know yours.
‡ Except for the ubiquitous text message fees.
13 January 2008
12 January 2008
Flying Tips
I have secrets to share about flying on planes. Hello, government spies.
The TSA doesn't let you bring water bottles on the plane because you can't bring water bottles past security. The only safe water bottles are the $4 bottles on the other side. Also, the in-flight service gives you very small water cups on the flight, packed with ice. Two things for you to know:
I've been doing the water bottle thing for a while now, which isn't surprising since I've been winning for a while now. Now it's lessons on sleeping on a plane.
One new thing I learned on the flight back from NYC is that you don't have to be uncomfortable on the plane. What what? Hell yes you can. Studies have shown† that the number one factor inhibiting sleep on planes is acquiring a comfortable position. Here's the trick. It might be specific to the plane I was on, but I'm willing to put it out there just in case it helps you. I always have trouble making my neck comfortable when I'm on the plane, even if I'm next to a window. The wall curves in too quickly for me to get the right angle. My "go to" option is to put my bag on my lap and my hoodie (always have a hoodie on a plane) and another coat on top of that if I have one. It's comfortable enough for me to fall asleep, but I ache pretty good when I come to. It also makes me look weird. Or at least really drunk.
The new sleep solution is to sit as upright as possible. What what what? Hell yes upright. The trick is to get your neck (or at least most of your head) above the back of the seat. The seat I was in actually got softer up there and I was able to comfortably tilt my head back on a cushion. Moreover I found the sense of space up there relaxed me compared to the low cage to which I was accustomed.
My sleep number was 13-F.
† - (‡) I surveyed myself on the flight back.
‡ - That symbol is my favorite because it is called a "dagger." This one is a "double dagger," Raph style※.
※ - Yes, I know Raphael used sai¹.
¹ - Sai is the plural of sai.
[Update 13 Jan 2008: A related list of foods allowed through security (secret handshake to Tyler C). And I forgot to mention that the service crew has refilled my water bottle on the plane.]
The TSA doesn't let you bring water bottles on the plane because you can't bring water bottles past security. The only safe water bottles are the $4 bottles on the other side. Also, the in-flight service gives you very small water cups on the flight, packed with ice. Two things for you to know:
- You can ask for multiple cups of water when the cart comes down the isle. I usually ask for one with ice and one without. Steward people are nice.
- You can bring a water bottle onto the plane. What? Hell yes you can. It just has to be empty when you pass through security. If it's not empty, the joyless zombies take it and throw it away (Recycle? Fmeh.). The drones won't even let you drink it in front of them even though you could have chugged it 30 seconds ago. Once you get through the oddly placed door frame, just fill up at a water fountain. This sort of thing is how I win.
* * *
I've been doing the water bottle thing for a while now, which isn't surprising since I've been winning for a while now. Now it's lessons on sleeping on a plane.
One new thing I learned on the flight back from NYC is that you don't have to be uncomfortable on the plane. What what? Hell yes you can. Studies have shown† that the number one factor inhibiting sleep on planes is acquiring a comfortable position. Here's the trick. It might be specific to the plane I was on, but I'm willing to put it out there just in case it helps you. I always have trouble making my neck comfortable when I'm on the plane, even if I'm next to a window. The wall curves in too quickly for me to get the right angle. My "go to" option is to put my bag on my lap and my hoodie (always have a hoodie on a plane) and another coat on top of that if I have one. It's comfortable enough for me to fall asleep, but I ache pretty good when I come to. It also makes me look weird. Or at least really drunk.
The new sleep solution is to sit as upright as possible. What what what? Hell yes upright. The trick is to get your neck (or at least most of your head) above the back of the seat. The seat I was in actually got softer up there and I was able to comfortably tilt my head back on a cushion. Moreover I found the sense of space up there relaxed me compared to the low cage to which I was accustomed.
My sleep number was 13-F.
fin
† - (‡) I surveyed myself on the flight back.
‡ - That symbol is my favorite because it is called a "dagger." This one is a "double dagger," Raph style※.
※ - Yes, I know Raphael used sai¹.
¹ - Sai is the plural of sai.
[Update 13 Jan 2008: A related list of foods allowed through security (secret handshake to Tyler C). And I forgot to mention that the service crew has refilled my water bottle on the plane.]
04 January 2008
Tipping Folly
NYC is a tippy place, and I've already screwed up twice.
For the shuttle from the airport to Midtown, I made my reservation online, including tip. But dispatch didn't tell the driver that, so I had to say, "I already tipped you $3 online." How lame must that sound? Moreover, my "proof of purchase" didn't show the tip, so I'm not even sure he got it. And what if he didn't deserve $3?
I took a surprisingly awesome free tour of the Grand Central Terminal neighborhood. The guide was excellent, but I didn't have any cash. Free meant free right up until he finished and I realized "He did so well! I'll give him a good tip... err." I darted off both out of embarrassment and in search of an ATM. Found one, but it only leaked $20s.
Lessons I've learned so far: tipping in advance/online and neglecting tip cash just because a service is free are both unsmart.
On a related note, I rarely feel comfortable when deciding how much. Tight wads aren't cool. Big tippers try too hard. And rarely will I tip if I know someone makes full wages. I'm pretty sure Sonic Drive-In workers make full wages. What about those restaurants where you order at the register? I've actually asked "Do you make full wages?" before – yep, I'm that uncouth. Fortunately, it was a high school kid who didn't realize that I was really asking "Should I give you extra money?"
Anyone know of a general rule/resource for knowing who to tip and how much?
For the shuttle from the airport to Midtown, I made my reservation online, including tip. But dispatch didn't tell the driver that, so I had to say, "I already tipped you $3 online." How lame must that sound? Moreover, my "proof of purchase" didn't show the tip, so I'm not even sure he got it. And what if he didn't deserve $3?
I took a surprisingly awesome free tour of the Grand Central Terminal neighborhood. The guide was excellent, but I didn't have any cash. Free meant free right up until he finished and I realized "He did so well! I'll give him a good tip... err." I darted off both out of embarrassment and in search of an ATM. Found one, but it only leaked $20s.
Lessons I've learned so far: tipping in advance/online and neglecting tip cash just because a service is free are both unsmart.
On a related note, I rarely feel comfortable when deciding how much. Tight wads aren't cool. Big tippers try too hard. And rarely will I tip if I know someone makes full wages. I'm pretty sure Sonic Drive-In workers make full wages. What about those restaurants where you order at the register? I've actually asked "Do you make full wages?" before – yep, I'm that uncouth. Fortunately, it was a high school kid who didn't realize that I was really asking "Should I give you extra money?"
Anyone know of a general rule/resource for knowing who to tip and how much?
01 January 2008
The Annie Parsons Project
I have had my first taste of online super-stardom. A complete stranger posted a positive comment! This was really exciting. It just barely eeked out that always-sought-after approval of Dan, because it also introduced a mystery! Who was she?!
(I've already had the pleasure of deleting an anonymous negative comment. Sign on or shut up.)
Annie observed that even she didn't know how she got to my blog. Standard online stalking practice immediately ensued. I learned that she was hilarious, gorgeous, in and out of KC, and Christian. She also kinda looked familiar. Graham – that handsome engineer – became my primary suspect.
I saw Graham at some themeless, unexpected, and seemingly spontaneous party last night and showed him Annie's profile. No luck, but I had my first cohort. And a most capable cohort he proved to be. I will happily act as a reference for any future P.I. work, Graham.
9:22p tonight, I randomly went on my friend Rachel B's FB page. As I scrolled down I noticed a Ms Annie Parsons had posted on her wall:Thus ends (begins?) the Annie Parsons Project after not even 24 hours. (Have you heard that one before?)Annie Parsons (Nashville, TN) wrote
at 8:24pm on December 23rd, 2007I do love singing with you. :) xo
Rachel is my friend from K-State. Im guessing Annie got to your blog through mine through Rachel's...
I expect a date to come out of this. for me.
g.
Im joking about the date.
Graham was so helpful, yet I reward his efforts by airing his deepest hopes and dreams entrusted through the most private and secure of missives. Some sort of man code compels me to betray him. Also the most naïve and honest hope that I have that eHarmony touch. To be fair, I was the first to break the eternal and ubiquitous two-guys-looking-at-a-pretty-woman ice with a "you should ask her out" joke. To be fair about being fair, I just had gotten out of a conversation with three ladies about attractive actors. My inner caveman is not running the show.
Yes, Graham, I know, this was totally not cool of me. Compelled, I tell you! I feel like I'm in middle school again.
Hello Annie!
Sorry Graham.
Sorry Graham.
The end of The End of America
The best quote was a quote.
Wolf presents each step by juxtaposing recent and historic fascist government actions to reveal analogy. Quite persuasive, but it's that crafty persuasion that's hard to share with others and doesn't offer any solutions. "Regain our civic society" – but how? I see the problems, Wolf has cataloged evidence, but I don't know what to do. This happy fluffy crap is useless, because politicians don't need to listen. I emailed my senator two weeks ago via the address on his "contact" page and I have received no response. I shrug. The Daily Show shows back-to-back clips of Bush contradicting and excusing himself. We laugh. Accountability is just a buzz word.
(Transition? What?)
To her credit, Wolf rescues the Founders from the evil clutches of textbooks and wipes off the dust. She writes them as struggling revolutionaries, not fixtures of history. In their time, few people were politicians and politicians alone; it was a duty separate from one's career. The system they built was fresh, malleable, hopeful, and crafted to distribute power. Times have changed and so has the system. Career politicians are entrenched in a broken and stale corporate-government complex that I don't believe I can affect from the outside. And I can't afford (the money or the time) to be a politician, so what should I do? How can I be part of a civic society without it being a second job? Maybe it needs to be second job. Err – back to the point – it was neat to see the Founders in a humanizing light.
I found evidence to support my extant questions and even some new ones, but no answers. Hmm? What's that you say? Well, how am I suppose to know what you'll get from it? Ha!
(Tidbit: I shake with frustration at the utterance of the price of freedom. I much prefer this line by Wolf, though it trips me up without any prosody.
When America gets fascism it will be called anti-fascism.Ten sounded like an awful lot of steps. But – including such resonant moves as surveilling citizens (check), invoking an external threat (check), establishing a paramilitary force (check), targeting journalists (double check), and establishing secret prisons (double check) – all of Naomi Wolf's steps in The End of America raised my eyebrows ten distinct notches.
Wolf presents each step by juxtaposing recent and historic fascist government actions to reveal analogy. Quite persuasive, but it's that crafty persuasion that's hard to share with others and doesn't offer any solutions. "Regain our civic society" – but how? I see the problems, Wolf has cataloged evidence, but I don't know what to do. This happy fluffy crap is useless, because politicians don't need to listen. I emailed my senator two weeks ago via the address on his "contact" page and I have received no response. I shrug. The Daily Show shows back-to-back clips of Bush contradicting and excusing himself. We laugh. Accountability is just a buzz word.
(Transition? What?)
To her credit, Wolf rescues the Founders from the evil clutches of textbooks and wipes off the dust. She writes them as struggling revolutionaries, not fixtures of history. In their time, few people were politicians and politicians alone; it was a duty separate from one's career. The system they built was fresh, malleable, hopeful, and crafted to distribute power. Times have changed and so has the system. Career politicians are entrenched in a broken and stale corporate-government complex that I don't believe I can affect from the outside. And I can't afford (the money or the time) to be a politician, so what should I do? How can I be part of a civic society without it being a second job? Maybe it needs to be second job. Err – back to the point – it was neat to see the Founders in a humanizing light.
I found evidence to support my extant questions and even some new ones, but no answers. Hmm? What's that you say? Well, how am I suppose to know what you'll get from it? Ha!
(Tidbit: I shake with frustration at the utterance of the price of freedom. I much prefer this line by Wolf, though it trips me up without any prosody.
The price of liberty, the generation that debated and created the Constitution understood, is eternal vigilance.)
I'm taking applications
When I adopt a world view and select an elite team to impart it on other continents, I will found
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