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My latest and greatest purchase....a sub $15 Keyboard, Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600, because the keyboard on my Dell Mini Netbook is completely unusable. I know Dell that you want to make the Netbook small, but making the keys smaller, the shift key half size, and moving the apostrophe key, makes it impossible to type.
What a pleasure to have this quiet, fully functional keyboard, with media buttons, El Cheapo. I'll be typing for hours.
WoW! I was listening to David Tennant’s (Dr Who) music choice on Desert Island Discs, and it almost perfectly matches my own choice, such that anything David Tennant recommends or additionally listens to I’d give a go. I’m sure there are music sites and Amazon where I can find accurate recommendations, but I’ve never found one as close as Dr Who!
I’ve always loved Desert Island Discs. It’s one of the longest running radio programmes in the UK. A simple format, a celebrity guest is alone on a desert island, what 8 pieces of music would they take with them, which one would they choose, which luxury item would they choose, which book to go along with The Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare.
It’s really moving when someone David Tennant gets it with your own musical choice.
The Proclaimers – Love ‘em
Elvis Costello – Not my absolute favourite but mostly love
The Housemartins – Love ‘em
Deacon Blue – I’ll take Dr Who’s word for it
Eddie Izzard – Love Him
Kaiser Chiefs – Don’t know that well but I’m now listening
Tim Minchin – Great song
Billy Bragg – Like Elvis Costello, like most of his stuff
Oh and Kirsty Young is fantastic as the host, and I found her in Room 101. A Desert Island Discs interview with Michael Caine last week threw up something I thought only I knew…that the song My Way by Frank Sinatra, though written by Paul Anka, is in fact Comme D’Habitude by Claude François.
Actually, what are my Desert Island Disc 8 songs;
Father and Son – Cat Stevens
The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkel
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding – Elton John
Living Years – Mike and The Mechanics
Paradise by the Dashboard – Meatloaf
Lying Eyes – The Eagles
The Promised Land – Bruce Springsteen
Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy
I love the Sansa Clip+ mp3 player.
Just one problem, that is proving a bit painful. The Clip is automatically putting podcasts that are tagged “podcast” into the Clip’s “podcasts” folder. Nice idea. It means that each podcast in the folder can be paused independently and I can return to several podcast that I’ve part played.
However, that’s not how I play podcasts. I create an order of podcast listening on Windows Media Player 11 and then upload. The order is very important to me, because the first few podcasts are those that are relevant to this week, such as sport, I.T, news, so they lose their relevance if listened to next week, but are great in their context. Others such as Napoleon, Henry V, people interviews, don’t have an immediate time context, so I can listen to at a later time.
So playing order is very important, especially when I’m cycling and don’t want to stop and fiddle around and it’s very sunny and I can’t see the screen. It also helps me know which podcasts I’ve played. The only work around I’ve found so far, is to edit the “Genre” tag away from “Podcast” to anything else, using a tag editor or WMP11, but this takes up additional time, and for some reason not all tags can be edited in Window Media Player.
It’s not at all clear from the documentation, or maybe not possible to switch off the auto podcast folder on the Clip+. So c’mon Sansa, nice idea, but you can do better on this. Give me the choice and document it.
My productivity for 2009 has been shocking!
Partly because I have some very big issues to sort out, which can be kinda distracting, and it makes it very difficult for me to concentrate at times. Consequently, most of my good productivity systems collapsed in 2009. My MindManager mindmaps, my Weekly Review, my capture tools and filing (not that my filing was ever any good!).
What I’m most struck by is the difficulty in planning and setting aside time for the thing I most want to do, Podcast. Why is it, we have our dreams and we don’t fulfil them, even when we are able to. I had a good crack at my dreams in 2009, but just couldn’t seem to keep them going. Also, there are some things which happened, including work, which just needed complete narrow focus, to the exclusion of everything else, and sometimes, no time or energy for anything else. And in the latter part of 2009, I really enjoyed my work.
And so to 2010, loaded with my iPhone, my Sansa Clip+ mp3 player, and my Dell Netbook. I’ve stopped using my thin leather pocket Filofax for note capture and diary/calendar. I’m currently using a cheapo spiral A4 book for capture, and no diary system, because my time has been in blocks of months.
Given that I’m on Gmail and iPhone, I think Google calendar and some kind of iPhone note capture would be nice. Today, I’ve just created a simple shopping list on a Google Docs spreadsheet, and my Actions in columns, on another Google Docs spreadsheet, so that I can view them easily from my iPhone. I’m having a play with a few iPhone productivity Apps but nothing has hooked me yet. Dan Bricklin’s Note Taker to finger write notes on the iPhone, Evernote, iThought mindmaps, and gCalWall which produces a photo of your Google calendar and puts it up as the wallpaper. Not long before that will be automatic.
My main obsession right now is listening to podcasts and audio books rather than producing podcasts and audio books! One may lead to the other.
Every decade for me has been significant in terms of moving onto the next decade, but this time, 2009 feels like it’s dribbling into 2010!! Is it just me or did decade ends used to me more exciting! And so, my productivity is dribbling into 2010!!
Just got a Sansa Clip+ 4GB mp3 player via eBay, and it set me thinking what my favourite purchases of 2009 are. I’m not a big consumer of goods, not a big shopper, brick or online, so there’s not much to choose from. I tend to choose well, and hence my goods last a long time, if I use them!
1. Hush Puppies – Zinc classic formal shoes
You wouldn’t think there would be a pair of formal shoes I’d actually look forward to wearing. Given that I’m on my feet, training groups a lot, I thought I’d treat myself and spend a bit more. Well worth it. Comfortable, “Extra Wide”, “Bounce Technology”.
2. Apple iPhone 3GS
So, I claim I’m not a typical consumer! Well I am with this one. Never fallen for the Apple hype, but I have to say, the iPhone is fantastic. Easy to use, beautiful usability, great as a phone, and of course the Apps.
pUniverse – See the stars as you move around the night sky, find the planets.
AlarmT Lite – Alarm Clock which enables me to wake to my MP3s
Games – FreeCell, Sudoku, Action Blox, Touch4, Labyrinth 3D, Racer Free
tramTracker and Metlink for Melbourne transport
Getting Things Done – Notes, Google Apps (inc Gmail), Guitar Tuner, Laptop Cafe, Evernote, Note Taker (finger write), iThoughts (MindMaps)
3. Sansa Clip+ MP3 player
See, I don’t fall for the Apple hype. I’m sure iPods are fantastic, but are they value for money? I reckon the Sansa Clip+ is the best player, depending on how you use an MP3 player. It’s small and it clips on! If you cycle, walk around a lot, and go on public transport, it fantastic. Also the Clip+ has more sound options than the Clip. Volume/Equalizer adjustments, Audio Book options for double play speed, and micro SD slot for an extra 16GB.
4. Audible Audio Books
I’ve been an Audible user since 2006 for the Ricky Gervais podcasts, but only recently started listening to audio books. My first book was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which was a bit dire as a book, but I persisted, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers read by Malcolm Gladwell, is unbelievably good. Just listened to some other Ricky Gervais podcasts and more to come. I was crying with laughter. And currently listening to Scott Adams’ (Dilbert) God’s Debris.
Just one product I wouldn’t buy again, the Dell Mini Netbook, on the Vodafone plan. The keyboard is too small to enjoy using and they’ve moved the apostrophe ‘ key and made the right hand shift key smaller, which makes it a pain in the arse to try typing with. It’s still a good data plan, but would I buy this netbook again? I don’t think so. I’ve seen better netbook keyboards.
I’m loving audio! I’m listening to more and more podcasts, and I’ve just signed up to an Audible Gold Account, which gives me 1 audio book per month. I’ve been with Audible since 2006, originally to listen to the Ricky Gervais podcasts when they moved from Series 1 on The Guardian, to a Series 2 pay version on Audible.
All those Audible ads on the podcasts I listen to must be having an effect on me, because I thought I’d try some audio books. The first book was a bit difficult. I was finding Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas unreadable in the printed form. Heavy Going. So I thought I’d give the audio version a go. Slightly better, and even better on double speed!! I got through it.
Initially I’d tried loading the audio book on to a Sansa Clip mp3 player, which I love to use when I’m moving around, the iPhone is a bit heavy to carry, and of course doesn’t “Clip” on. However, the Sansa player kept jamming with the audio book loaded, so I gave the iPhone a go. Much better usability, easy to bookmark, with chapters, and double speed reading. which works really well.
So having signed for a Gold Audible account, my first book to listen to is Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers which I’ve been meaning to read for a while. Really loving listening to Malcolm Gladwell reading his own book.
And whilst I’m at it, I’ve just updated my list of podcasts I listen to. There are some unbelievably good podcasts. My favourites right now that I’ve recently added;
The Christian O’Connell Solution – Very funny solutions to life
The Adam Carolla Podcast – The meaning of life
Desert Island Discs – At last
The Danny Baker Show – Quirky Football
Murray Lovejoy’s Sports Express – More Quirky Football
Liquid Courage Podcast – Drunk men talking shit!
More or Less – Understanding the Stats behind the headline