Brandon Pope

I will just come out and say it: I LOVE whiskey.  It is my drink of choice most days of the week.  Some people come home from a long day and pine for a nice cold beer or a cute cocktail.  Bourbon neat for me please.  Scotch if we’re celebrating.

Something interesting came across my desk this afternoon (courtesy of my wife).  She has been attending the Kansas City fashion shows this week and one of the sponsors of the event is this relatively new (founded in 2011) Kansas Clean Distilled Whiskey.

When you visit the website you are greeted with the following sentiment:

The problem with whiskey is that it’s aged

Now, I dont particularly agree with that, in fact I think it’s downright incorrect, but that’s fine because I am sure the makers of this new distillate don’t particularly care.

See, they are going after a different kind of market.

Kansas is a new whiskey for new whiskey drinkers. It’s clean distilled to be light with a crisp finish, so it’s incredibly easy to enjoy. It is the only whiskey in existence that appeals in style and taste to women who would otherwise order vodka. And to men who wish to order something far more interesting than vodka with all the attitude of whiskey.

Kansas is made from steel roller milled amber winter wheat. Wheat is, of course, the grain of choice in this great state. By going with the lighter grain, as opposed to other varieties of whiskey that opt for corn or barley, the end result should be a liquor with a lighter and cleaner finish. In addition, this brand uses column still as opposed to the more classic pot stills used for most whiskey.  Again, trying to extract the purest distillate possible. The whiskey is not aged in oak barrels, but the pure distillate is bottled immediately.

Are you beginning to see a trend here?

All of that consideration come through in the final product.  This is one extremely smooth whiskey.  You pick up some light citrus notes, with some apple and pear on the nose.  However, the bouquet is faint at best given the pureness of the spirit. It is, as expected, overpower by the alcohol. On the palate this whiskey is sweet with, again, some green apple and grapes coming through along with vanilla.  The finish is very fresh and clean.  This ia a very vodka-like drinking experience.

From the distilling process to the merchandising, Kansas is going for the simple and sophisticated look and associated appeal.  They attempt to separate their product from the common misconceptions associated with “your old man’s whiskey” and try to sneak this spirit into the conversation at your local beach or thumping night club. Kansas is another manufacturer trying to capitalize on the reinvigorated interest in American-made whiskey.  It attempts to be a whiskey that might be vodka enough for women who want vodka and whiskey enough for men who drink vodka but want to drink whiskey.

What this un-aged white whiskey ends up delivering is a fairly confused drinking experience. If you come to the table hoping for the rich and robust whiskey you know and love you are not going to find it.  However, if you come to the table looking for something like vodka, but with a twist? Well, you may be pleased.  This whiskey does add something to the traditional white spirit drinking experience and at under $30, you wont break the bank in order to acquire that flair. That being said, unique premium vodkas can be had for around the same price and if you get up into the $40 range then you are really cooking.

Kansas Clean Distilled Whiskey may have the heart of whiskey, but it lacks the soul.

Over the past few months I have spent a considerable amount of time examining my daily carry, meaning the items I take with me every single day when I leave the house, pretty much regardless of where I am going.  I include in my daily carry definition the things that reside in my pockets and pack.

Like me, many of you might tend towards carrying too much stuff on a daily basis. Aside from this making your clothes look frumpy, it is bad for your back and bad for your sanity.  I find that I simply feel better when I have less with me all of the time.  On the flip side, I like to have what I need and I am willing to add a few ounces here and there to make sure I can get through the day without thinking, “I wish I had brought that.”

That can be a slippery slope however.  I, like many others, am prone to fall victim to what I like to call “Just-in-case Syndrome”.  Meaning, I have a tendency to look over my things and think to myself, “I can see myself using that”. Then I find a spot for the miscellaneous item in my bag or pocket and away I go.  The problem is that those little additions can add up fast, leaving you with a 30 pound work bag and a bad back.

There are two straightforward ways to consolidate this mess into a sleek, light and functional daily carry.  Which method you choose depends on you level of experience traveling with your gear.

1. Plan for the best case scenario and then correct for disasters later should they occur

This method takes a top down approach to consolidating down to your carry essentials.  Basically, eliminate everything that is not absolutely necessary to make it through your day, and then add things back to you bag over time IF not having them has been a considerable inconvenience more than once recently. This method will allow you to lighten up your load immediately and then slowly fill it in over time (hopefully resulting in an overall much simpler assortment of items in the end.)

2. Keep a record of what you actually pull from your bag each day.

The second way to trim down your daily carry is to keep a record of what you actually use out of your bag each day and then at the end of the week eliminate any items that you didn’t use.  This is the bottom up approach which will see your bag lighten over time as you decide which items are truly necessary.

Using Electronics to Help Consolidate Your Daily Carry

The overwhelming ubiquity of smartphones, tablets, notebooks and the like along with the apps that power them have been nothing short of a miracle for those parties interested in carry less stuff around all the time.  I made a list of all of the things I can now leave at home as a direct consequence of my being loaded with an iPhone, iPad and Mac daily.

1. Bible
2. Extra paper
3. Textbooks
4. Binder
5. Newspaper/magazines
6. Maps
7. Media player
8. Camera
9. Personal gaming system
10. Novel

And these are just the things I can think of off the top of my head.  I am sure I am missing other things that technology has replaced.  I do still carry a couple of moleskine notebooks, so I am not entirely paperless.  Look for a post soon an the benefits of carrying a proper pocket notebook in the digital age.

My Daily Carry Consolidation Project

It just wouldn’t be right for me to preach on the benefits of consolidating this stuff without putting it into action.  Over the last two months I have been spent a considerable amount of time getting my daily carry down to just the essentials.  I am also in the process of downsizing my main laptop from a 13″ MacBook (Late 2008, unibody) to a new 11″ MacBook Air.  Due to the smaller sized machine, I am also downsizing my bag from my current BBP Hamptons Hybrid

to the Tom Bihn Ristretto for the 11″ Air.

The smaller size should help me avoid filling space with unenceccary items therefore adding extra weight.  I will be updating the blog with the results of this project once I have had a couple of weeks with the new bag.

I have been admiring the products that Saddleback Leather makes for a while now.  I first discovered the company when they were giving away one of their briefcases through a contest on Art of Manliness.  Since then I have been hooked.  Not only do they make beautiful leather products, but the culture and story surrounding the brand is just so compelling it is hard not to get sucked in.

Up until recently, I was only a fan.  As of last week, I finally have a little piece of Saddleback Leather for my very own… a very little piece.  I am talking about Saddleback Leather’s Small Gadget Pouch.  I got it to replace my ailing iPhone 4 case.  The gadget pouch tells its friends that it is non-denominational, but secretly goes to the church of Apple across town.  It is really designed to fit the iPhone perfectly.

At $31 it is not all that much more expensive than something you would pick up in the Apple Store to wrap your gadget in, but since it is just a pouch, you cannot use the device while it is in the case.  This may be a turn-off for some people.  I actually prefer this situation because I am not really worried about a case when I have the device in my hand.  In fact, I prefer to touch and feel the original design of the product I paid so much for when I use it.  However, I am concerned when I toss my phone down on my desk or in the car or in my bag.  That is when I want the extra protection, and Saddleback’s Pouch offers a lot of that.

Constructed from 100% stout 4 to 5 oz thick Full Grain leather.  This stuff is thicker than what most cowboy boots are made from and the stitching and construction are just as robust.  It is small, but it feels great.  The interior is lined with pigskin and wont scratch your device’s glass screen.  The pouch measures 3 1/2″ x 5″ when it is flat.  However, leather is great in that over time it will stretch in the right places to accommodate for the contents.  It is skin after all, and skin has an uncanny ability to adapt to its environment.

Saddleback Leather says:

Since leather stretches with use, if you use a case with your iPhone, it’ll form to fit like a gun in a holster

The also bring up a great point about their concept for this case.

Gadget specific sleeves, pouches and cases end up in garage sales.  40 years from now, with your gadget hanging above the mantle, you’ll still be using the pouch. Gadgets aren’t timeless, but this pouch is.

And they are willing to back that up.  Just like the rest of their products, this pouch comes with a 100 year warranty.  As the company states in their tagline: “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead”.

This is a great case for your iPhone (or other phone).  From the over-engineered construction to the beautiful texture and even the fabulous rustic smell.  Owning this case is a truly visceral experience.  You just want to handle it.  Better yet, it will only look better the longer you use and abuse it.  It comes in four colors: Dark Coffee Brown (mine), Carbon Black, Tobacco and Chestnut.  It also comes in different sizes.

I highly recommend this case to anyone looking for an upgrade over their generic poly-plastic case currently wrapping their favorite device.  Careful though, Saddleback themselves call this little guy their “gateway drug”.  Own one Saddleback Leather product and you might just find your wallet a few hundred dollars lighter soon after.

The rest of the pictures I took can be found below:

Benjamin Franklin is one of my favorite male figures in history.  He is such an interesting character.  When he wasn’t busy founding a nation, Franklin was an author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, investor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat.  ”The First American”, he was an early example of the promise of the ‘American Dream’.  He proved that if you work hard and stay true to your virtues you can make yourself into almost anything.

A quote from the wikipedia:

Like the other advocates of republicanism Franklin emphasized that the new republic could survive only if the people were virtuous. All his life he explored the role of civic and personal virtue, as expressed in Poor Richard’s aphorisms. Franklin felt that organized religion was necessary to keep men good to their fellow men, but rarely attended religious services himself.

Franklin, from an early age, respected and explored the virtues set for him by his parents’ puritan religious beliefs.  Although not strictly puritan himself, he believed that living a virtuous life was independent of any one religion, and was more of a human obligation.  In an attempt to cultivate his own character, Franklin developed thirteen virtues (at the age of 20 in 1726) that he was to follow his quest for moral perfection.

I know that readers of this post will come from all walks of life, and I am not here to try and sell you some particular religion or belief system, but I think there is a lot we can learn about ourselves by examining the simple formula that Franklin developed.  There is something to be said for monitoring our actions, thoughts and attitudes on a daily basis.

Franklin would carry a notebook with a list of these virtues.  At the end of the day, he would mark which ones he violated and which ones he upheld.  Also, each week a different one of the thirteen virtues would be higlighted as the focus of that week.  The others would still be recorded every day.

Below we will explore a few of the thirteen virtues and how we might use them to improve our life.

Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Have you ever sat down to a meal and shoveled your food mindlessly until your plate was clean?  Have you ever gone out with some friends, had to much to drink and then made some poor decisions that not only did you regret, but that might have hurt others?  This virtue calls us to follow a couple simple rules.  Eat when hungry, stop when full.  Make sure to eat slowly and mindfully, enjoying the food that you are putting into your mouth one bite at a time.  The second calls us to limit the drink so as to avoid a change of consciousness.  A man (or woman) should never be out of control of his or her own thoughts and actions.  Blaming your mistakes on the alcohol is irresponsible and very poor form.

Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or youself; avoid trifling conversation.

In the fast paced, information driven era in which we live in, sometimes the loudest man wins.  If you have ever been in a heated coversation you may have notices those individuals who seem to drive the dialogue, sometimes with their long, drawn out monologs and other times with the volume of their speech.  It is best to learn when to keep ones mouth shut and listen for a change, interjecting only when you have something productive to say.  Let the attention hungry motor-mouths have their time in the spotlight, people will remember you for your solemn insigntful contribition more.

Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business had its time.

I feel like this one’s particularly important. It’s not easy to improve upon other areas of your life, such as these 13 virtues, unless you have your personal life in order. This could be as simple as organizing your desk or as complicated as getting all of your personal relationships back in shape. Order  in one’s life demonstrates the ability to battle the natural movement towards disorder.  It takes time, self-discipline, and perseverance to maintain the order that you create.

The Rest of the Thirteen Virtues

Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

Industry. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

A Modern Aproach to Adopting the Thirteen Virtues

One way to approach adpoting this habit is with one of the many “habit forming” mobile applications on the market.  I recommend ‘Way of Life’ on iOS which is free for three habits (but you would need to unlock it to follow all thirteen of these virtues.  Way of Life will remind you every day at a specified time to reflect on the day and choose whether you did or did not follow through on each of your virtues.  It then keeps a history and presents your progress graphically.

You could also just use a paper chart like Benji himself.

Since I dove pretty much head first into the uncharted waters of iOS 5, Lion and iCloud by installing all three in one sitting about a week ago, I have been faced with the same question over and over again.  Will ‘Feature X’ that Apple has released replace ‘Favorite App Y’ for me going forward?  In the last post I took a look at the new Reminders app and what part it has to play in the to-do list market.  Today, I want to take a look at the new Safari feature ‘Reading List’ and what it means for services like Instapaper.

Marco Arment, the creator of Instapaper, has already discussed this topic on his blog, and he later published a FAQ about the matter.  I can pretty much sum his sentiments up in two words: not likely. Whether or not I agree with him, it must be said that it is in his best interest that Reading List not replace Instapaper, so his opinion on the matter is somewhat moot. I would recommend taking a look at the FAQ though, as it does highlight some of the technical differences.

What are all these services trying to accomplish?

At the core of all of these services is the idea that users come across web pages all the time that they would like to read, but haven’t the time for at the moment.  Enter Instapaper or Reading List.  You hit a button and that page is saved for reading later on when you have more time.

This is great for those of us who use the internet for more than Facebook stalking or Failblog.  There is such a wealth of information out there waiting to help us expand our minds.  However, many of the articles worth reading do not come as a single paragraph with lots of pictures.  They require reading, and that requires a certain time commitment to the article.  These types of ‘read later’ services allow us to better take advantage of all of the information available to us.

Using Reading List

I have been using reading list for the last week or so and my initial impressions are pretty good.  Despite a brief syncing issue which was corrected by turning bookmark syncing off and back on, the service has been fast, stable and has worked well across my devices.  You simply click the little plus sign next to the URL of the page you are currently viewing and you can add it to your list.

By clicking the eyeglasses icon int he top left of Safari, a drawer slides in from the left which contains all of your listed pages, sorting them into ‘All’ and ‘Unread”.  By clicking on a link you are taken to the page and then you (should) have the option to hit the Reader button to the right of the URL to clean the page up a but should you choose.

Using Instapaper

Instapaper is not built into the browser, but you can simply visit Instapaper.com and drag a little bookmarklet to the bookmarks bar.  This will give you once click saving to you Instapaper queue.  Once an article is listed in Instapaper, it will be available to you in the web app, as well as on supported mobile platforms like iOS, Kindle, etc.

I could do a whole review of the Instapaper apps themselves with all of their customization features but suffice it to say you have a TON of control of how your content is displayed as well as sharing and archiving options.

FIGHT!

So, which is the better option?

Let me preface my answer with this thought: for most Apple users, it is typically beneficial to keep all of your eggs in their basket.  What I mean is that, in general, the more of Apple’s products you can use, the better your overall experience tends to be.  Now, this rule has exceptions (I’m looking at you MobileMe), but it holds true most of the time.  It is for this reason that I have had to make these decisions.  I LOVE Instapaper, but if Apple releases a competing product, I need to look at it because there is usually a good chance that it will simplify things for me and help me to get more done in the process. Reading List is built in, but does it cut it.

Simply put: not really.  What Reading List is, really, is a glorified bookmarks folder.  Of course, that’s what Instapaper is too I suppose, but there are key differences.  For one, Instapaper actually downloads the pages for offline reading which is HUGE for a service like this.  Instapaper is also cross-platform and has a web interface.  As far as we know, Reading List will not have a web interface.

There is one thing that Reading List does have over Instapaper and that is its reliance on iCloud.  I have been so impressed with the speed of iCloud over the last week.  Reading List plugs right into that system so these bookmarks are ready on all of your iCloud devices almost instantly.  Instapaper cannot access background downloading so you have to wait for it to pull all of your articles down when you launch the app.  That means that offline reading doesn’t do you a whole lot of good if you haven’t, at some point since saving the article, launched Instapaper.

What I would like to see if Instapaper offered as a Newstand app so that it could access background downloading (although i don’t know if it is technically possible, the developer says he will look into it).

However, there is one killer feature I have neglected to mention.  Instapaper works with EVERYTHING!  Sorry Read It Later, but Instapaper has become the de facto reading app for the web.

With it’s open API for developers, there is not a new app, RSS reader or Twitter client that doesn’t let you send a link or article to your Instapaper queue.  For Reading List you have to manage to get the article opened in Safari so you can save it out.  Apple has not indicated they will release an API for this feature, and without one I think Reading List is DOA for most users.

Sure, Reading List will be a great feature to point out to your grandma at the Apple Store, but for MOST users (and I don’t even mean just power users) Reading List will not cut it.  Which means now I have to look at that nice reading glasses icon and wish I could use it for something.

Unless Apple plans to substantially expand on its Reading List feature, I feel it will remain half baked and an expection to the one-basket rule.  There is a silver lining, though.  If you use Safari (or are planning to start again like me), the Reader view for websites works very well.  I would recommend hitting that whenever you are reading an article in the present, or fire it off to Instapaper if you want to revisit it in the future.

Things, OmniFocus, Wunderlist, Todo, 2do, Alarms, Toodledo ReQall.  This is the list of to-do list managers I have used in the past couple of years and I am sure that I have left a few out.

With its upcoming update to it’s extremely popular mobile operating system, iOS 5, and its partner in crime, iCloud, it seems that some people at Apple sat down with a white board, listed any app categories that have spawned mini industries of their own and decided to implement a 1st party solution for each of them.  Cloud syncing, “read later” services, Twitter integration, to-do lists and the list goes on.  While this may turn out great for iOS customers, it hasn’t sat too well with many developers.  And who can blame them?  This tactic has the appearance of Apple letting the children play in their workshop, only to take credit for the best ideas produced.

to-do lists plague the App Store, but in a good way.  There is a lot of crap out there, but there are also a TON of extremely elegant and useful solutions to help you keep your tasks organized and hopefully aid you in getting them accomplished.  In many ways I am not surprised of the explosion of these reminder applications.  Smartphones seem the perfect medium for keeping your daily tasks stored because you always have it with you unlike that post-it note you left stuck on your monitor back at the office.  And since they are connected to the network, the hope is that your tasks are updated across all supported platforms as soon as you need them to be.

However, things do not always work out that nicely.  Despite the overwhelming number of to-do applications out there, and their deep market penetrations, syncing tasks between your devices remains frustratingly ineffective for most of the apps.  Some are still operating in the stone age of wifi transfer only, while others use unreliable 3rd party solutions or janky proprietary sync options.  Inevitably, the major flaw of the majority of the good to-do apps is their syncing solution.

Enter Reminders.  This simple to-do list application is positioned to fix all of that.  Why? iCloud.  Why else? It comes standard on every iOS device.  iCloud, even in its beta form is extremely powerful and reliable (go figure).  I have been using iCloud with Lion and iOS 5 for about a week now and I have been extremely impressed.  Despite the few syncing glitches here or there, Reminders has served me admirably thus far.

I make a task on my iPhone and instantly it shows up in iCal on the Mac and in Reminders on the iPad (it remains to be see if it will also have a web interface from which it can be accessed once iCloud’s web offerings are finalized).  It just work, and for an early beta, it works pretty darn well.

And we can’t overlook the fact that once iOS 5 ships, every new iPhone will have a robust reminder application smack dap on the home screen.  Many users won’t even think to search the App store for anything else.  Just like most users don’t think twice about searching for an alternative calendar app.  It’s there, it works, why mess with that?

Using Reminders

On Apple’s site they describe reminders like so:

Next time you think to yourself, “Don’t forget to…,” just pull out your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and jot it down. Reminders lets you organize your life in to-do lists — complete with due dates and locations. Say you need to remember to pick up milk during your next grocery trip. Since Reminders can be location based, you’ll get an alert as soon as you pull into the supermarket parking lot. Reminders also works with iCal, Outlook, and iCloud, so changes you make update automatically on all your devices and calendars.

And that pretty much sums it up.  You can’t very well implement your extensive GTD system using the app.  But many users don’t want to create so much extra metawork for themselves anyway.  What you can do is set up lists, add tasks by date, get alerts (with some awesome location based stuff) as well as prioritize.  For most people, that is just about enough functionality as is evident by the wild success of apps like Wunderlist.

Best of all, through iCloud (which will be ready when the general public gets their hands on Reminders), it is all synced to your Mac, PC and other iOS devices.

The default view in Reminders shows you your default list which can be selected in the settings (you can rearrange your lists and the default list is the one at the top.

You can easily swipe between lists (this was a little buggy at times, but I am sure it will be polished up by the time iOS launches).  The can also switch to the useful “Date” view which shows you your tasks due by day for all lists you created.

As you can see, in this version some tasks are showing up in the wrong day.  It eventually sorts itself out and I have to suspect the problem is iCloud syncing.  It doesn’t worry me too much since there is a lot of time to iron these things out.

There is also a very nice calendar view for selecting a date more quickly than the strip at the bottom on the normal view.  I would like to see some kind of indication of which days have due tasks on this screen, but for now you have to tap on a day to see those listed out.  Perhaps even adopting the new “Heat Map” view from the OS X 10.7 Lion version of iCal makes sense here.  That way you can, at a glance, see which days may be more open for new tasks.

Making a new event is pretty straight forward.  You simply tap the ‘+’ button in the top right of the screen or you can even just tap on an open line on your list.  You will then type the name of the task and you are done.  This makes adding tasks as easy as adding a line of notes in the iOS Notes app.

If you want to add more information to the task like due dates or the like, simply tap the new event and you are taken to the even edit screen.

This screen will allow you to add a reminder or delete the task.  By pressing “Show More…” you get the option to change the list, set priority, etc.

The location options for Reminders is very cool.  If you have ever told yourself, “make sure to call home when you leave the office” and then gotten nearly home before realizing you forgot to mention to the wife that the guys are coming over for the big game then you will love this.  Simply tell Reminders to remind you to complete the task when you leave you current location. Problem solved.  You can also asked to be reminded when you arrive at a certain location.  It works really well.  Usually within a few seconds of entering or leaving the location gate you set up, the reminder shows up in the Notification Center.

Best of all, when people get this along with OS X Lion, all of these reminders will show up instantaneously in the redesigned iCal.  You can’t set up location for reminder yet from within iCal, but you can add tasks nonetheless.

So Does Reminders Kill the 3rd Party To-Do App Market?

No, I don’t think so.  There are still going to be people who want a more robust system of managing their tasks.  I am sure there are tons of die hard fans of something complex like OmniFocus who look at Reminders and twinge at the thought of using it for their GTD system.

What Reminders does do is make it incredibly difficult in the more minimalist segment of the to-do market.  Apps like Todo and Wunderlist have a lot to be afraid off.  Like I said before, they are at the huge disadvantage of not coming preinstalled on every iOS device sold.  If anyone who aims to capture that (probably largest) segment of the market is going to have to come up with a much better story for their app than just “it makes lists and syncs mostly”, which is what most of them have going right now.

For now, I am going to be using Reminders for my to-do list needs, and I will recommend it to anyone who asks once the bugs are squashed and it launches with iCloud in the fall.  Also, I don’t want people like OmniGroup to think they are out of the woods on this one.  Take it from someone who has used both complex and minimalistic solutions on this one.  If it does what people need 90% of the time, and it’s free, and it syncs flawlessly, and it is on all their devices by default, they may just be willing to drop the extra features for simplicity and ease of use.  I sure was.

At the end of the day, every to-do list app developer will have to take a good hard look at their product and figure out if the story is good enough.  They will have to innovate and put out better products that are worth $.99 and a trip to the App Store.  And that is good for everyone.

Myfav.es is a browser start page that creates a graphical list of links to your most visited sites.  After you log in and set it up you are presented with a polished homepage fileld with big buttons and a search field that will search your predefined engine of choice.  Setup is pretty simple.  They support a fixed number of popular sites for you to choose from.  After that you can enter the settings to decide how you want them to be presented.

Setup and Use

You get to choose the style of the grid, the style of the icons themselves, the background and so on.  Once that is done, just point your browser to Myfav.es and you will be taken to your grid of favorites immediately.  Its fast, fluid and it works as advertised.  Click on an icon and off you go. Some of the icons have nice little animations, and all of the icons (save maybe the Google app ones… shocker) are great to look at.  It provides a very clean way to start your browsing session.  Simple as that.  I particulalry like the setting that causes the rows of icons to scroll by with your mouse movement so you can get to all of your icons without haveing to drag a scroll bar. Nice.

You can even add sites they don’t directly support by assinging one of their generic icons to a URL of your choosing or you can upload and icon of your own.

The Problem

I really like the idea behind Myfav.es, and I think that as far as the start page options out there, it has to be high on the list.  The problem? Who really needs a customized start page anymore?  As we move more and more towards an app-centric view of the web (sorry chromebooks), I find that I rarely launch a browser in order to type in a URL (or click a pretty icon).  More likely, I have reached a point within some native app where I am forced out into the browser to finish a task and it will launch to the correct page on its own.  Couple this with my use of Quicksilver-style launcher Alfred, and I am just not sure something like Myfav.es is needed.

I can’t actually remember the last time I actually clicked on one of those pretty buttons, even though I see the page quite often. It is simply faster to get to web content in other ways.

I think that as we move further and further from the browser, and start treating the internet more like the copper cable and less like the television, we loose our need to have start pages like this, no matter how well done they are.  Especially on the iPhone and iPad (which Myfav.es supports), users are using applications that access data from the inetrnet, rather than accessing the internet through a browser window.  That leads to a better experience which it is clear by the overwhelming popularity of app stores on multiple platforms.

Side note: One useability gripe is that when using Chrome, Myfav.es will not load up with the curson in the Omnibar which is super annoying.

Conclusion

Don’t get me wrong.  Myfav.es is still my browser homepage and will continue to be for the forseable future.  It is just a very pleasing page to see when I first start yp Safari or Chrome.  However, I can’t say that it is all the useful for me personally.  If you are always firing up your browser to type in URLs and that practice has gotten old, this may be perfect for you, and the fact that I leave on there even though I hardly use it says something for the sheer looks of the service.

I am constantly looking at new applications that might help me enhance my workflow, but there is always one question I have to ask myself before I finally replace my current method with a new method: “Is this just new, or does it actually do something better?”  Sadly, many applications fail this test.  Sure they are pretty and new, but at the end of the day, they don’t really add anything substantial to the way I am already doing things.  They haven’t solved any of the old problems.

Reeder for Mac certainly is pretty and new, but it brings something else to the table: it makes the news triage process blazingly fast.

I have been using Reeder for the iPhone and iPad since it first hit the App store.  When I heard the developer was bringing the app to the Mac platform I was thrilled, although I had my doubts about how well  the iOS interface would translate to the Mac.  This is actually the first applications I have used that made the transition from a purely touch interface of iOS to the mouse and trackpad world of the Macintosh.  Nevertheless, I signed up for the beta versions and I have been using them every since.  Now, Reeder is in the Mac App Store, so lets take a look.

The Interface

Reader is georgeous.  It does what so many apps aim to do in that it manages to retain its simplicity while offering just the right amout  power and options in all the right areas. Following a recent trent of minamalistic UIs (think Sparrow, Twitter for Mac), Reeder provides a visual list of your Google Reader feeds (you can add feeds manually if you don’t use Google Reader) on the left pane.  The center pane shows the feeds contained in the selected folder.  There is also the big right pane or reading pane.  If you slide the left pane over further the feed folders collapse into a favicon view, or you can expand that segment to get a more tradfitional folder view.

At the top there is a slider to move between your unread news, starred news and a list of all news read or unread.  Once you select a feed from the list it appears in the collapsable third pane on the right.  Reeder displays the text and images beautifully.  Click on the title and Reeder will open the page in the pane, so there is no switching back and fourth between the browser and Reeder (however I prefer to have my feeds sent to tabs in a browser so that when I am done scanning my news I have a browser window filled with the stories I wanted to take a look at).

What does Reeder bring to the table?

So, Reeder is a RSS news reader that syncs with Google Reader.  There are only about 50 of those available on the Mac platform. So besides being a pretty face, what does Reeder have to offer?  I can think of two things that really set Reeder apart from the pack.

1. Sharing Options

Reeder allows you to share links to stories via a number of popular platforms, and you can customize the top bar of the large pane with those sharing options you use most often.  I keep the Instapaper, Twitter, Zootool and “open in browser” buttons up there, while the rest collapse into the classic sharing icon seen in iOS.  Also, you can mark your article as read or starred from the same area.

You can customize these settings in the preferences.

Sharing with these buttons is incredibly fast and easy.  The services keep you logged in so all you have to do is hit the button and off it goes.  This makes sending articles to services like Instapaper super fast (so fast that I have quite a “pile” of reading building up).  Also, the app comes with built-in interfaces for sending tweets, or lassoing into Zootool so there is no kicking out to a web page or clunky Login with Facebook-esque window inside the app to deal with.  Plus, the magic will happen in the backhgrouynd so you don’t have to sit and wait for the tweet to send before you are on to the next article. It is simply fast.

2. Readability Support

Readability, if you aren’t famillar is an Instapaper-like service that allows you to send articles from around the web.  It will clean them up and then present them to you in a clean format, sans the ads.  Like Instapaper, readability has a mobilizer which you can access for free (the rest of the service is paid, unlike Instapaper).  Reeder has this function built in, so if you come across a feed that only send you a summary, hit the readability button on the bottom of the reading pane and, lickity split, Reeder with fetch the article for you, clean it up and present it in the reading pane ready to be enjoyed minus all the clutter of the actual webpage.  So far I have only ran into one of my feeds that does not play nice with the readability support which is Lifehacker (grr).

Before Readability:

After Readability:

Conclusions

Reeder is quite simply the best Google Reader app on iOS, and now, it is the best Google Reader app on the Mac.  It is streamlined, beautiful and makes filtering through all of your feeds fast and fun.  Throw in the support for many popular services and the pretty thourough gesture support (Lion-ready), and it is clear that the designer of Reeder has his eye on the future.  I highly recommend Reeder for any Google Reader user.  At $9.99, it is not cheap, especially if you buy the iPhone and iPad versions along side of it, but I use all three several times a day and love every second of it.  Bravo.

• Reeder

So, the first few weeks of the summer have been crazy. I was on a three week adventure from Kansas City to California to Mexico and back as part of my summer kick-off.  Then it was back to KC to begin my summer research project at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at KUMC.

That being said, I have been away for a while and had some time to think about this blog and where I want to take it.  In the first few articles I tried to lay down a sort of general framework that has shaped my thought and actions recently.  While there is still a lot of that I am still exploring, I have to admit that my true passion is less about these ideas in theory and more about the ideas in practice (hence the Practice of Improvement).

For me, the “practice” part means simply the constant application of new ideas in ones life so as to better his or her outcomes. In medicine we call it our practice because we can always improve in our work (art?).  There is always more to learn, new skills to apply and new avenues to explore.  It is one of the reasons I have chosen to go into that profession.  I need to be constantly changing the way I work.  I like to dive head first into new ideas and see what I come back to the surface with.

Now, I have to be honest again.  I spend an inordinate amount of time discovering new ways that technology can be used to enhance the way I work (and play).  I love to write and talk about technology, but more specifically, about technology that solves real problems in my life, small as they may be. I truly believe that you should never take for granted that you have ever discovered the “optimal” way of doing something. There are always new solutions to consider.  For me, many times those solutions present as new tech (hardware or software) solutions.  I  want to write about and review such things here.

In additional, I want to pass along new discoveries in the other industry that occupies my time: Health.  And what better way to work on improving yourself than to focus on your health and new ways to modify it?  I think that by allowing myself to incorporate these two areas that consume my life, I will be able to more consistently release content that is both passionate and meaningful for you, the reader.

This is the second post in the series entitled “Mind Your Verbs.”  We are exploring tasks that are common to all of us, yet they are not commonly considered beyond the superficial level required for their completion. In the last post we established the idea of giving our menial tasks more meaning by mindfully considering the way we perform them.

It is important to realize that there is no one right way to mindfully approach a task. It is not important exactly how you perform the task, just that you get more involved with the process. By considering the your actions in such a way, they will seem far less meaningless and wasteful, and you will achieve your goals more quickly.  The first common-place task we will explore is travel.

Business Trip

Businesses spend thousands of dollars every year sending their employees all over the country and world in the name of furthering the business.  While many individuals would agree that traveling an be a very enjoyable experience, most would also agree that business travel does not usually fall into this category. Sure, your first business trip as a newly hired employee might be exhilarating, but living in a sterile Marriott hotel room and eating out for every meal wears you down quickly.  Soon, the business traveler find him or herself coasting through these excursions like a zombie.

Early drive to the airport, wait in security lines, wait in security lines more, barely make it to the gate, sit in a cramped seat for a few hours, stare at the luggage carrousel, take a cab to the meeting, try not to sleep through the meeting, dinner in the hotel bar, sleep on hard white sheets, early drive to the airport.

Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about the smelly cab and the sterile hotel room, but we can attempt to augment the overarching travel experience.  By carefully considering the steps that make a trip like this into a productive (or not) endeavor, we can streamline the process, cut down on wait times, enjoy the destination more and stress less.

Whether it is a 2 day trip to Albuquerque for a business meeting or a two month Italian adventure, let’s perfect the process.  A process that has been given forethought and careful consideration, becomes less torturous because successfully implementing the plan and seeing the work pay of is an achievement. It will make you want to get better with time.  You will give the action meaning through your consideration.

Again, I am going to present one method for augmenting this process to give it meaning, but this is by no means the only way to mindfully approach your travel experience.  It just happens to be how I approach travel and it has made traveling one of my favorite activities because I am meeting personal goals and testing new ideas each time I hit the road or skys.

By all means, choose something that works for you.

One Bag

Many travelers have already discovered the freedom and joy that comes with one-bag travel.  I have been a dedicated one-bag traveler for over two years now and it has really changed the way I think about the whole affair.

As you might have already guessed, I travel with one bag and nothing else.  Think about that for a second.  If you are the person that brings along a small closet when your travel, this might seem ludicrous to you. Maybe you already travel with a wheeled carryon bag, but you also bring your briefcase along. Sorry, thats too much stuff.

The idea is to pick one carryon bag that meets international carryon limits (9″ x 21″ x 14″; 10 kilograms) and travel with nothing but what you can fit into that bag, regardless of how long you will be traveling, and regardless of what you will be doing at your destination.  Now, you might have to make an exception if you need to bring your golf clubs or something, but there are usually alternatives to any situation (like renting clubs rather than dragging yours through security).

The Principles of One-Bag Travel (Why Go Light?)

Since I obviously didn’t invent this concept, it is time to give credit where it is due.  The guru of light travel is none other than Doug Dyment. He is the one who really put this idea on the map and spawned somewhat of an industry and devout community of people looking to simplify the way they travel.

I am going to borrow from him in explaining the reasons you should consider traveling light in the following few paragraphs.

1. It’s More Secure

Since you brought just one carry-on sized bag and it is either on your back (yes no wheels unless you must – more on this later) or it is secured in your hotel room or locker somewhere, you have less to manage and less to keep safe. Since you don’t have to check your bag, you are less likely to have it misplaced along the way. Overall, this approach ensures that you are in more control of your personal belongings than if you were juggling multiple bags through bag check.

1. It’s Cheaper

One-bagging is the more economical way to travel.  Most airlines are struggling more than ever and they are find new and interesting way to make money off of their customers. A recent trend is a more expensive price tag for checking your bags.  Some airlines charge more than $100 per bag.  It is outrageous but you can avoid the whole problem because your bag will be traveling securely over your head.

Not only does it save you at the airport, but you will easily be able to take advantage of public transport because your bag will be hanging out on your back making you a mobile machine. In fact, if the hotel isn’t too far, why not walk?

3. It’s more flexible.

Having fewer things with you means you are free to seize opportunities as they present themselves along the way. You can arrive later to catch you flight and you will be one of the first on the plane to leave the airport rather than standing in line to retrieve you luggage (assuming it would have made it at all). Once free of the confines of the TSA you will have little trouble jumping onto and off of trains, subways, buses and whatever other transportation method best suits you needs.

What to Pack

Have I sold you yet? I hope you are at least interested in the prospect of traveling light.  I have to be honest, though. One-bag travel is not without its drawbacks. Namely, since you have space, you have to be selective regarding what you will bring, and in some cases, leave behind items you really wanted with you.  However, with the right mindset and the right gear, these negatives can be minimized and outweighed by all of the positives.  The secret is to carefully consider everything you “need” for the trip.  Analyze each item.  If you can’t justify carrying it around on you back or shoulder for the entirety of your trip, leave it.  Rick Steves (European travel guru) suggests that you pack everything up in your bag and then go downtown and window show for a couple of hours.  If by the end you are gasping for air an drenched with sweat, go home, lay everything out on the floor and start considering each item. Be ruthless.

Here are some good guidelines to follow when deciding what to bring.

1. Plan for the best case scenario and pick up things along the way when trouble presents itself. Sure, an umbrella seems like a good idea but save the space and if rain does present itself, pick up a $5 umbrella from Walgreens.

2. If you haven’t used an item on the last two trips where it was with you, leave it, even if you always take it along.

3. If an article of clothing isn’t versatile, meaning it can’t be worn with almost everything else you packed, trade it out for something that can or cut it all together.

4. Consolidate as many functions into single items as possible. Smart phones are a great example of how to consolidate many functions into one item that takes up hardly any space.  Another example is the kind of jacket you pack.  Find a jacket that will keep you warm, dry and presentable all at the same time.  I prefer the Alchemy jacket (aff. link) from Mountain Hardwear for this purpose.

Packing methodology

There are so many ways to get you materials into your bag it will make your head spin. Many One-baggers have their own way of organizing and securing their items that they will swear by.  I personally subscribe to the bundling method.  The principle is that you wrap your clothes around a core and in a specific order to minimize wrinkling. Here is a PDF that explains this further.

I usually take my bundles and put them in the proper sized packing squares. The packing cubes are more for organization and compartmentalization than anything else, especially if you have already bundled. Some leave these out entirely if they have already formed their bundles.

The Gear

For many, the part of converting to one-bag travel that is the most fun is the research and selection of the best gear to meet these new travel needs. This part can be relatively inexpensive or you can spend a small fortune depending on what brands and quality of travel wares you are in the market for.

I try to stay on the frugal side of things without sacrificing too much in the quality department. The main item you will purchase, and the one that will likely cost the most is your bag.  You may consider packing cubes, a day bag, and other travel accessories (clothes line, hanging toiletry kit) to facilitate this type of travel, but the bag is the key.

The first decision is whether you will get a wheeled bag or not. I would highly recommend that if you are still physically able to carry your bag that you do so. Rolling bags loose interior space due to the mechanical components.  These components also add weight and rigidity that can be a problem for checked bags. Also, wheeled bags are fine on the tiles floor at the airport, but get them on a cobblestone road in Europe and see how those wheels hold up. Even though it seems every businessperson who is power walking through the terminal pulls a wheelie bag with his or her briefcase on top, resist the temptation to mirror those folks and get a bag you can carry.

If you have settled on a carry bag (congratulations!), you need to decide if you will get a bag that converts to a backpack.  These are my personal favorite.  While I tend not to use the backpack function when I am making short jaunts with my stuff, if I am walking 5 miles from a train station to my hotel in some European town, the ability to quickly convert my shoulder bag into a backpack with support straps makes a world of difference.

I am not going to go too deep into the bag frontier here, although I would like to post some reviews of bags I have used for this purpose in the future. I will say that my personal bag is the eBags TLC Motherlode Weekender Convertible (with a Patagonia Lightweight Courier for a day bag).  Also RedOxx makes what seems to be the consensus “best bag” for this purpose, the Sky Train (but it is expensive).  Also, if you want another convertible option, Rick Steves convertible (aff. link) is a great option (I lived out of this bag for two months once) and usually cheaper than the eBags model.

Brandon’s Packing List

It’s hard to know just how much a bag like this can hold, or what 20 pounds of materials looks like.  Rather than trying to explain this, I figured the best way would be to just show you my packing list.  I have a base list that I always start with and then I modify it depending on what I will be doing while away.  It usually comes in sub 20 pounds, which is under that 10kg. (22 pound) restriction.

This list has been modified for a 3 week trip taking me to Chicago, Wichita, Sacramento and Cabo.  This is a diverse set of requirements, so this list took some thought. Also, there are plenty of things that I cut out that I would normally take along were I going to Europe as a tourist or some 3rd world country for medical outreach (such as materials for doing laundry, money-belt, etc.)  It’s all about finding the right balance for the anticipated circumstances and then picking things up along the way if needed.

Gear:

Tls motherlode bag

Patagonia Courier

Stuff sacks

Packing cubes

Inflatable pillow

LED Flashlight

TSA Locks

Tech:

iPhone

MacBook

iPad

Charger for MacBook

Charger for iPhone

Charger for iPad

Headphones

Mouse

Clothing:

2 Khaki Shorts

1 toe socks (black)

3 white socks

3 casual socks

5 underwear

2 undershirt light

3 tees

2 polo shirts

1 dress shirt

1 knit tie (casual)

1 swim trunks

1 athletic short

1 flip-flops (havianas white)

1 vibrams

1 sneakers

1 leather slip-on loafers

1 hat

1 501s jeans

1 chino pant

1 sport coat

1 mhw jacket

Wear on the plane (these items are included above): 

Dress shirt

Chino pants

Slip-on shoes

Socks

Underwear

Sport coat

Toiletries:

Leather Dopp kit

3-1-1 bag (with liquids, gels)

Toothbrush

Body powder in a baggie

Wet shaving kit

Deodorant

Miscellaneous:

Cash

Moleskine Notebook

Pen

Multipurpose soap

Chapstick

Vitamins

Sinus medication

Tylenol

Hand sanitizer

Sunglasses

Sewing kit

First aid

Stain remover stick

Ziplock bags

Mind Your Verbs

Remember that the whole point of traveling this way (aside from the short and long term benefits for your travel experience) was to offer up a way to be more mindful of a menial task in your life. Own the way you travel, and it becomes a skill rather than a boring and tiresome task.  Acquire different skills like these over time, and you will be living and acting more purposefully and mindfully. This is what separates you from the average Joe who hasn’t given an ounce of thought to something as fundamental as travel practice.

By going above and beyond in you everyday life you move one step closer to becoming a superhuman.