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Other References
43 FoldersGetting Things Done Mead Motorola H300 November 20, 2006 Palm Pilot productivity tools Skype Community Space
NSA WatchKeeping an eye on the National Security Agency Playa del Fuego Mid-Atlantic Regional Burn FOOSBALL camp Baltimore interactive ad-hoc technology teach-in Blogosphere
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November 20, 2006 Over the past vacation week I have made three major changes to my productivity tools that have made all the difference in my productivity. The first is a $.99 Mead memo pad and $2 mechanical pencil. I used to use my Palm Pilot for memos and to-dos, but when I switched to a Palm with an internal battery and a charger I had to remember to plug in at home instead of two AA batteries, I got more reluctant to use it on a whim. It makes a fantastic portable e-mail and web surfing device, and there's no way I could carry around 2,500 phone numbers and addresses, but it makes a lousy "brain dump" device for spur of the moment thoughts. The notebook has taken over the role of todo list, and in 7 days is already half filled with scribbled reminders and interesting tidbits. Most of these are already currently crossed off because it takes almost zero effort to flip out this weightless little stack of paper, thumb through the pages, and draw out a plan without navigating a menu or fighting with graffiti or a tap keyboard on my screen. You may have noticed my vacation entry was particularly filled with names, dates, and interesting items from our museum tour. That's because as I heard them, I had no shame pulling out my little notebook and jotting them down for later research. It was so rewarding to hop on Wikipedia when we got home and look up everything from downed U2 bombers and British spies to fallen meteorites and new dinosaurs. The second is 43 folders in their own portable file box. I've been meaning to do this for a while. It's the essential tickler file that lets me collect necessary papers for the next business day or meeting where I can get to them quickly. I have a manilla folder on the desk next to me with a "20" in black magic marker, filled with all the supporting documents I need to bitch out my bank, cell phone company, and insurance company today. Which brings us to the third item, my shiny new Motorola H300 Bluetooth headset. Now that I can make free calls from the laptop during business hours on Skype, I have no hesitation to take care of any business I need to. Most of the time I can write and debug code just as fast with both hands on the keyboard and a bureaucrat in my ear as I can in total silence. It also works great with my cell phone and makes driving safer since I don't have to fumble around my bag when the phone rings. There are better, smaller, cheaper, and sexier headsets out there on the Internet. I bought this one because it was the only one I found that uses a single field-replacable AAA battery. It gets about 30 hours of talk time on a single battery and if I keep a spare in my coat pocket or glove box, I have no worries about keeping it charged up or not wanting to drain the rechargable cell in it in case I might need it later in the day.
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ghostdawg wrote:
technically, the lockheed U2 was an unarmed subsonic high altitude spy plane. There hasn't been any crashes of the B2 "stealth" bomber, afaik. however, there have been multiple crashes of the sr71 related aircraft, including the armed A17 attack aircraft (which have the distinction of being piloted by not the air force, but the cia), and the F12 (there is footage online of one of them comming apart at mach 2, launching a pilotless drone . there was also the XB71 valkire, which was a large experimental bomber which could ride on it's own shock wave at mach 3. One of those went down when it's chase aircraft got too close to said shock wave, and ran into the aircraft.
but yeah, i carry a notepad and pencil with me, as a PDA could get messed up on the bus on the way home, but analog data tracking equipment won't.
Posted on 2006-11-20 17:49:12
Steve Killen wrote:
Rob, you are the epitome of the hot uber-geek. If I were a woman I'd want to wax your Honda. In full daylight. On the street, even.
If only I had a job that could bring me this kind of money...but then I'd get stuff like that and never use it.
remembers he's a Classicist and cuddles up with Virgil
Posted on 2006-11-20 18:11:56