Minimal

Kill Flash Cookies. It was originally one of my Simple Software...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:28:05 -0500

It was originally one of my Simple Software apps, it will delete the annoying Flash cookies.

The son of an analogue and digital world. That’s what I...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:06:00 -0500

The son of an analogue and digital world. That’s what I am.

I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. Back then computers as we know them today didn’t exist - although I did get my first one back in the early 80’s, a Texas Instruments TI 99/4A.

Back then my father and grandfathers have certain items that defined men back then, during those years. Items such as the shaving kit, a mechanical watch, a pocket knife, a handkerchief or a small radio transistor.
I still remember fondly my grandfather boiling water to shave every morning, then applying a new razor to the butterfly opening shaving razor, then applying the soap with a shaving brush and finally shaving carefully. It was done with purpose and with quality tools that lasted. I remember the shaving kit my father gave me.

I still find myself valuing those tools more than their modern counterparts. Yes, you have better razors, shaving gels and aftershaves. Yes, you have better watches that those built back in the 30’s and 40’s. Yes, we have a better quality of living thanks to the digital age with computers, iPhones, the Internet and the always being in touch.

Still, there is something so pure, so good, so… analogue in those quality items that still holds a huge part of my analogue/digital heart.

Often I find myself longing for a simpler life, a life that might be harder - like those of my grandparents and parents - but a life that was simpler. People didn’t buy disposable, people bought quality when possible.

People bought quality when possible.

Just a thought.

"If you don’t know what to do with many of the papers piled on your desk, stick a dozen..."

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:36:53 -0500

“If you don’t know what to do with many of the papers piled on your desk, stick a dozen colleagues initials on them and pass them along. When in doubt, route.”

- Malcolm Forbes

(via)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:32:31 -0500

(via)

Rant

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:33:00 -0500

My neighbor moved and forgot to cancel or move his subscription to GQ magazine. I found several issues on his former mailbox and since no one is living in this house and I don’t have a way to contact him I grabbed one and decided to read it. This is what I found.

Out of the 192 pages the magazine has, only 22 are content. The rest? Ads. The first 72 pages are ads, then an index for the articles inside the magazine, the more ads for another 30 or so pages. Then finally an article, mainly pictures and no text, sort of like more ads.

What the fuck? People pay for this?

Personally I hate ads. I hate commercials and I hate anything that is keeping me from reading, viewing or enjoying the content. That’s why whenever I have the choice between a free, ad-supported site and one I payed for and ad free, I pay.

Why would people agree to pay for a subscription to a magazine or buy each issue separately and get 170 pages of ads? Worse, this is becoming the standard, in EVERYTHING. Today more and more you are paying for subscriptions to news sites, blogs, etc and STILL you get a page full of ads.

That’s why the first thing I do when I install a new OS is to install ad blocking plugins for the browser, along with script blocking and flash blocking. I know this might hurt the site’s owner, but fuck it. If I am paying for content I want content, not fucking ads.

That’s why I also got rid of cable. Most of the channels have commercials. I can buy a full series out of iTunes and get it commercial free. Moreover buying all the season on all the series my wife and I watch over the year on iTunes cost us less than paying for cable AND it’s commercial free.

So, magazine publishers, blog writters, newspaper editors: please do something about it or soon you’ll find yourself with less and less customers.

Fuck all the ads and commercials. And if you don’t like the fact that I am saying FUCK, here it is again: FUCK!

Photo

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:00:05 -0500

mnmlist: Be able to walk away

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:58:31 -0500

mnmlist: Be able to walk away:

Those who can walk away from the negotiation — legitimately walk away, not just make a show of it — are in the strongest position. Those who are convinced they need to make the deal are in the weakest position.

Photo

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:51:25 -0500

hobanpress: They say, the carpenter’s house is never finished....

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:49:59 -0500

hobanpress:

They say, the carpenter’s house is never finished. Similarly, the letterpress printer never has any business cards. I’ve recently been embarrassed after explaining to friends an family how I make business cards for folks all over the world and I’m not able to provide them a card of my own!

To remedy this, I’ve designed and printed a simple, one color card. I think it turned out well and exemplifies the simplicity and elegance that I’m trying to promote with my letterpress printed business and calling cards.

"Do not regret what you have done."

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:26:13 -0500

“Do not regret what you have done.”

- Miyamoto Musashi, Book of Five Rings (via muddybadger)

Photo

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:52:29 -0500

packlite: CC Chapman from Passion Hit TV interviewing Jason...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:30:08 -0500

packlite:

CC Chapman from Passion Hit TV interviewing Jason McCarthy, GORUCK founder.

The goal with GORUCK is to create something that is timeless, a classic. And… There is no way to do that that doesn’t involve extreme amounts of quality. We want something that is going to last forever.

"The further we go And older we grow The more we know The less we show"

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:51:42 -0500

“The further we go
And older we grow
The more we know
The less we show”

- The Cure - Primary

The Antikythera Mechanism - made with Legos

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:54:30 -0500

The Antikythera Mechanism - made with Legos

A story for tomorrow. Get out there. Explore.

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:46:35 -0500

A story for tomorrow.

Get out there. Explore.

Clear. After reading Ben Brooks review on this task manager for...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:54:04 -0500

Clear.

After reading Ben Brooks review on this task manager for iPhone, I had to try it.

Love it.

I usually jot down my tasks using SimpleNote but Clear with its lack of chrome or any other form of unnecessary UI makes it really simple to just enter information, select it, act on it and delete it once done.

It’s a really neat app.

One of the readers I met in DC a while ago asked me recently...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:20:00 -0500

One of the readers I met in DC a while ago asked me recently about my current desktop. Here it is, both the physical and digital desktops.

I am currently working with a MacBook Pro 13” or a MacBook Air 11”, it depends of what I’m doing. The OS on the 13” is still Snow Leopard (I need it for coding) and the 11” has Lion.

The physical desk remains uncluttered most of the time. If for whatever reason some clutter did built on top of it, I clean it at the end of the day.

The laptop’s desktop, much like the physical counterpart, remains clean most of the time. Occasionally some files might be saved on the desktop, but those are clean by the end of the day as well.

As a side note, yes that’s a french press, one of the three ways to make coffee. Coffee is good, coffee is friendly.

The photo you see on top is a picture of one of Simple’s developers. Here’s another great shot.

Photo

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:04:59 -0500

"If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:03:35 -0500

“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

- Dale Carnegie (via muddybadger)

coffeenotes: coffee by zsoltKudar on Flickr.

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:06:20 -0500

coffeenotes:

coffee by zsoltKudar on Flickr.