In no particular order, here are five products/sites/services that I really enjoyed having/using this year. I could have written about more, but I’m lazy.
Feedbin
I am an RSS apex consumer, subscribing to about 500 sites' RSS feeds. I was in a complete panic earlier this year when Google Reader was going away. NetNewsWire and Reeder, synced with Google Reader, were mainstays of my way of staying informed. I used them every day, and rarely declared RSS bankruptcy. Feedbin saved my ass in 2013.
With Google Reader going away, there were a few choices out there, but most of them were free services. That’s not what I wanted to use though. I wanted something that I could pay an honest fee for, that probably wouldn’t be co-opted by other business motives, and I evaluated the options out there and picked Feedbin.
This service hasn’t disappointed me one bit. It’s been consistently improved throughout the year, and client support for it is fantastic. Best of all, their web app, through one of those updates, supports many of the keyboard commands from the legacy RSS reader I used for so long. I read my feeds on every device I carry using this service, using Reeder on iOS, Press on Android, and the Feedbin Web interface on desktop. (Press is awesome, and probably the best RSS Reader app on any platform in my opinion.)
Cool Hunting T-Tech by Tumi Backpack
I own a lot of gear bags because I carry a lot of gear on a daily basis, and I am always looking for the perfect system for carrying things. At work, we support a lot of devices, and I need to have a few with me wherever I am to make sure that I can cover the support from where I happen to be.
I should probably do a post about what’s in my bag when I head out to CES next week. On top of that, I usually carry a camera system of some kind, and then a myriad of chargers etc. Suffice it say, this bag is really really nice, well made, and can hold a lot of stuff. There are a lot of great bags out there, but this has been my mainstay since the day I got it in the first half of 2013. Since it’s made by Tumi, I know that I can count on it. I have had some Tumi luggage for as long as fifteen years under a lot of travel, and it’s held up remarkably well. If you need to carry a lot of stuff, and like the backpack form factor, I highly recommend this bag.
Unfortunately, it seems to be sold out at this point. I’ll be watching Cool Hunting for future product releases, they have great taste and attention to detail.
Apple TV
Not new to this year, but this small device has really become the center of our living room in 2013. It already had a strong lineup of content, and AirPlay from our various iOS devices (my wife and I both have iPhones and iPads) has become a stock way we listen to music. Having a device at the center of our living room that is synced with our ever growing library of content in iTunes helps a lot. Integration with Flickr means that there’s a scrolling slideshow of my most recent Flickr posts happening while we’re listening to music.
I think, however, that there was a major shift that occurred in our home over the summer. This shift was caused by two things. June 19th, 2013, HBO Go came to Apple TV. We have DirecTV, and this meant it was like someone had bought us the boxed set of every single HBO show. The second event was Orange is the New Black coming to Netflix in July. Long time fans of Weeds, we loved this show produced by the same team, and we binge watched until they were all gone. Can’t wait until there are more, but we’re currently binging through Breaking Bad. We’re not going to be canceling our DirecTV service any time soon, but more and more, we’re watching stuff via this device. When we’re not watching, this device is what’s powering other living room entertainment.
Evernote Smart Notebooks
As evidenced by my post a couple of days ago, Evernote Smart Notebooks, in the linked configuration, have been a staple of my productivity regimen in 2013. They come with a three month extension to your Evernote Pro service. At the rate I use them, this means I won’t be paying discretely for Evernote any time soon. It’s that simple. I don’t really use the stickers, but I do take a picture of every page. Just works. I was already hooked on Evernote long before these appeared.
The Wirecutter
It’s rare that I trust a site’s advice completely, but The Wirecutter has earned that trust. Their exhaustive work in specific product categories has led to well informed purchases time and again throughout 2013. They are relentless in keeping their site and reviews up to date. I read through their deals very carefully. Some notable example purchases are our WiFi Router, the pens I use, and the cards in my cameras. I highly recommend that you check at The Wirecutter before any consumer electronic or personal technology related purchase. Here’s their guide on how to use their site.
I’ve had one iPad from every release generation so far. I ordered the original iPad from the hospital on the day my first son was born. In many ways, and most of them that count, my iPad is my primary computer at this point. It travels with me, attends every meeting I attend, and is my constant companion at home. I read my news feeds on it using the newest generation of Reeder. I answer most of the email that I actually answer on it. It’s a work tool, and a personal tool, and, as a result, the yearly release of the new iPads is an assumption of upgrade.
For the last year, I have had two iPads that have seen some amount of use. An iPad 3, only 18 months or so old at this point, and the iPad Mini, which was purchased/provided by my employer. As the year went on, I used the iPad 3 less and less. I love the iPad Mini’s weight, despite the obvious tradeoffs that came with, these are well covered on the web already, and old news, I won’t cover them here. When this year’s iPads were released, it seemed like a slam dunk that I would wait for the Retina iPad Mini, and that would be the penultimate iPad for me.
Oddly, that’s not the way that I went. I purchased a 64Gb Verizon iPad Air, and I couldn’t be happier with it. It weighs about what the Mini weighed, and it’s just so much better for typing. As I have started using the device more and more as my personal computer, the size of the on screen keyboards touch targets has become important to me, I have meaty brawler hands. I’m sure that I could have been happy with the Mini as well.
Over the last week, first my wife’s parents were here, and then mine. It’s one of the most rewarding thing as a parent getting to see your kids interact with your parents. Unfortunately for us, we live in Georgia, and both sets of grandparents live in New England, so the kids don’t get the amount of time with the grandparents that I would like. I guess the other side of that is that the time they do get to spend with each other is that much more special.
Over the years, I have tried all sorts of methods for managing my day to day, both analog and digital. I’d go so far as to call it a never ending process of trial and error, ever trying to find something that works for me, helps me prioritize things the right way, and helps me not forget something important. Unfortunately, I tend to find a system, use it for some period of time, then decay from using that system back to using my email inbox as my task management system. I then realize that that doesn’t work and I am not prioritizing work the right way, I then try a new system, then begin to decay again after a couple of weeks. Rarely has any system stuck for very long.
Over the summer, while on a business trip to Manhattan, I read this blog post over at Simplicity Bliss about a newish productivity method called Bullet Journal. It struck a chord with me, and so I decided to give it a try for a couple of months and see if it worked for me. I ran out and picked up a Moleskine Evernote Smart Notebook, thinking that I would combine this with Evernote for a longer term searchable archive of my daily productivity notes. This method of managing my todo list, and my notes from the various meetings and calls from each day has proved to work really well for me. I won’t spend any time trying to explain how the system works here, watch the video and head over to the well designed Bullet Journal site for more information. What I will say is that I have made some changes in the way that I use the system, and that I still also use Trello for managing my longer term to do list, while I use Bullet Journal to manage my day to day to do list and notes from meetings/calls. I’ve filled one of the Evernote notebooks above, and have moved on to my second. That size of notebook works really well for this. (I am going to experiment with a combination of Bullet Journal and a Hobonichi Techo in the new year.)
I think the reason that this journaling productivity technique works well for me is that it forces a routine each morning, where I am move the undone items from previous days to today’s page. This routine makes me think my day through with a more metered approach in mind. This coupled with the task of physically writing the items down each day engrains the list in my mind as I move through my day. There’s a huge difference for me mentally between typing something and writing it down, and my retention of things I write down seems to be much higher. What I found, after using it for a month or two is that the results in productivity were definitely tangible, and the results in a more peaceful work mind were even more useful. There will always be change to adapt to in the work day, but it’s a lot easier to adapt to change when you have a plan.
The achilles heel of this system, for me anyway, is that my handwriting is not neat, or aesthetically pleasing to me. I have tried to find a better pen, and that helped some. I am now, however, starting the process of trying to teach myself neater handwriting. It will end up being one of my New Year’s resolutions at the very top of my list. If there’s something you don’t like about yourself, you more than likely can change it, it just takes hard work and mental flexibility.
Basically, I will be using some variant of the Bullet Journal system for the foreseeable future. It hits the sweet spot for me between the efficiency of my digital toolset and the flexibility and retention of a completely analog system. Were I using it purely, I don’t think it would be as effective for me, it’s the hybrid of using it with Trello and Evernote that makes it a success for me. Huge thanks to Ryder Carrol for coming up with this concept and the video/site.
Some additional recommended Bullet Journal related links:
I got a DDC-101 “DDC Stuff Sheath” because I have been looking for a more flexible cover for my massive and constant usage of Field Notes. It is, in Draplin’s own words “Just a simple little leather sheath to protect yer Field Notes, and whatever else your might have in yer pocket.” The simplicity of it made a lot of sense to me, and at $39.99, it didn’t seem like too much of a gamble.
I’ve found that it works much better for me than the cover style Field Notes holders I have used, mainly because it’s also a good catch-all for the other things that are knocking around in my pockets. Mine currently contains a Field Notes notebook, some cash, my frequent shopper card for Octane, a printed recipe that I picked up somewhere, a couple of blank index cards and some Delta airlines coupons for free cocktails.
I’ve been using it every day since it came in the mail, and, if anything, it’s getting more attractive looking with continued use. The Stuff Sheath is very well made and durable, and I think I will more than likely get bored of it long before I wear it out or destroy it. This thing feels like I could end up passing it on to my kids. Granted, not everyone enjoys the orange, but I do. I find the orange color to be visually striking, and a nice respite from the mostly black gear and covers that I tend to be attracted to.
I’ve carried it in both my front and back pockets comfortably, although with a phone in my front pocket, it’s a little tight. It’s capable of holding quite a bit of stuff, and in my quick testing, the combination of everything I already mentioned plus my passport fit comfortably.
The simplicity and flexibility of this little holder are going to make it a part of my everyday carry for a while. I recommend it. It seems really simple, because it is.
I picked up a Hario V60 and some filters a couple of weeks ago, and I am now hooked on the simplicity of this style of brewing. I looked around a little, and I have found a few recipes that are worth checking out if you want to pursue this style of brewing. I am completely sold on both the results and the process of brewing coffee this way.
Blue Bottle, whose shops are a must visit for me when in San Francisco, has this great guide. This was actually where I started, and it’s still the one that I favor even after trying some of the others. Some this is subjective taste, and what you might like may be different.
Mistobox has this guide. It’s a little bit more involved, and comes with the video that I have embedded below. I thought it made a nice cup of coffee, but I like the more concentrated result of the Blue Bottle recipe slightly more.
I’m also still working through Prima Coffee’s exhaustive list of recipes. They vary a bunch. I’ll update this entry if I find something I like better than the Blue Bottle recipe I linked to above.
I’ve been a huge fan of Jose since 2006 or so. One of his songs was our first dance at our wedding. Lately, he’s been more focused on Junip, a band he is in, than his solo projects. Finally, after a few years, we have a new solo song that is a part of the Secret Life of Walter Mitty soundtrack.
This may not be the best picture I took in 2013, but there’s something about it that has stuck with me. I am using it as the wallpaper on most of my computers, and probably should do a wallpaper post so others can do the same.
I took it in a graveyard in Noank, Connecticut while visiting my parents over the summer.
John's post on Hypercritical: Fill Your TV points out that most people don't know to check the most basic settings on their advanced flat screen televisions. We had ours set up for us by some professionals, so they did all of this stuff, and at the time I thought some of it was overkill, but I am not regretting it at all at this point. Totally worth doing while you are home and hopefully a little bored, over the holidays.
Just got an email this morning that I managed to get myself on the list for one of the first 1000 Sugru + Magnets kits. I’ve been very enamored with Sugru since the 99u Conference this year, where the talk by the founder of the company was one of the conference high points. (You should really watch that talk, it’s great.)
Seems like the possibilities for combining Sugru with magnets are endless.
I’m terribly biased on this one. I’m a lifelong Beastie Boys fan, and so I cannot have a take that would be rational and fair. Andy’s article on this is excellent, even handed, and comes from a lot of experience and knowledge with these matters.
I’d say, if you’re at all interested in a knowledgable opinion on this argument, that this is the single article that I suggest you read.
For my money, this whole thing reads like a PR stunt, and, forgetting the legal matter, it’s not the classiest move in the world to do this knowing that Adam Yauch explicitly wanted no part of the use of his works, of which this composition was one, in commercials. If I had a daughter, she wouldn’t be getting anything from Goldieblox.
I’ve been using Chrome as my primary browser for quite a while. One of my favorite advantages of Chrome is the ability to change your default tab. I’ve used quite a few different ones, but for the last week, I have been using Momentum after reading a Lifehacker post, and liking the screenshot. I think I am going to stick with it.
I like it because I like the visual appeal of the photography that they choose, the simple access to weather, and a quick persistent todo list that it offers. (I use a paper to do list for my primary.) The idea of the main focus, which is a question is asks you each day, makes you contemplate that for a few moments each morning.
The previous generation Glif has been a constant part of my iPhone photo setup with a small tripod and the headphones as an off phone shutter release. Of course I ordered the new, adjustable Studio Neat — Glif today when it was released. It’s a nice combination of stand and tripod adaptor, and now it will work with all my phones.
I carry camera gear with me, in my backpack, just about everywhere I go. I’ve almost always had a DSLR, a point and shoot, and some kind of phone camera, and I bring some version of this set of gear with me when I go out of town, or out on the town. Sometimes, it’s a hard decision on which version of this set of gear I should bring. I mainly use my Sony NEX-7, which I absolutely love as my point and shoot now, but it’s too big to fit in my pocket comfortably, meaning that I leave it home when I would sometimes like to bring it. A lot of the time, I am just carrying my phones, and I take about half the photos I take with my iPhone 5.
I’m intrigued by the new Sony QX10 and QX100 smartphone attachments that are compatible with the iPhone. This attachment approach seems a little fiddly to me at first glance, but also seems like the next step that makes sense in the evolution of pocket camera gear. I already carry a small pack of extras for iPhone photography including a Glif, a small tripod, and the stock headphones to use as an off phone shutter trigger. This would be a natural extension of that kit, assuming it fits in my pocket comfortably. I suspect that they should have designed it with the average pocket size in mind, and doubt that they did. I’m going to take a flyer on the cheaper one and see if it fits my gear profile somewhere between just the iPhone 5 and the step up to the Sony NEX-7. As always, Digital Photography Review has a pretty thorough overview post with a lot more detail.
I’m pretty excited to be going to XOXO again this year, last year’s conference really gave me a shot of creative energy. Yesterday, they released the full attendee list, and I made a twitter list of all attendees, like the one that I made last year. I found that it was a great way to experience more of the thoughts and conversation as the conference went on. Seems like other people found it handy too. If you are on the list, and your Twitter name is not right, or you do not want to be included, feel free to hit me up on Twitter.
I’ve been meaning to get around to doing this for a while. Here’s the first of many wallpaper posts. It’s a rainy window shot that I took of my office window this week.
I’ve created versions of it that should look good on iPad, iPhone 5, Retina MacBooks, and a standard desktop resolution. If you want all of them, grab the zip. I’ve also provided direct download links for iPhone and iPad. Looks really great with iOS7, and its new effects, by the way.
It’s been hard for me to be analytical about this shutdown because it made me pretty mad at Google, even though I don’t really have a right to be mad. I used Reader for years, and harder than most people who used it daily. I read my stories mainly via the various apps I used to read news hooked to the API, and hardly ever logged on to the web interface. I got a ton of value out of the Google Reader ecosystem over the years, and I never paid even a single dime to Google. (I have paid a fair amount of money to RSS Reader developers over the years, but that’s unrelated.)
I’ve found “good enough” replacements for the tools I was already using, and I am purposely using a backend rss service that I can pay for. (Feedbin) The crux of the point that Marco makes, that we should keep moving in spite of Google, is an important takeaway. The threat here is bigger than this single shutdown, and Marco actually does a great job of summing it up when he says, “Google Reader is just the latest casualty of the war that Facebook started, seemingly accidentally: the battle to own everything.” The anger I felt as a result of the shutdown was a reaction to having something I value greatly seemingly snatched away for no reason, and having no control over this result. This feeling of lack of control is actually the right motivation to support, as Marco calls it, “the antithesis of this new world.”
