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- 8 Ninja Uses for Binder Clips
- Reasons to Get a Tattoo (and Reasons Not To)
- Getting Things Done with 37signals’ Backpack - Why I’m Switching Back
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- Keep Your Notes in Order with the Daily Scratchpad
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- Happy Monday: Odds, Ends and other Minutiae
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The Definitive Guide to Covering Your Ass
Doing the kind of work I do, I’m often asked questions like “Do you know if the changes to suchandsuch.com were pushed to the live site?” or “Did Timmy get those edits done?”. Hell, even in my own house: “Did [mother-in-law] give [son] a bath?”. Questions to which, most of the time, I don’t have concrete answers. So, I answer in a non-concrete fashion.
It always slays me when people answer categorically “No” or “Yes” to a question when they don’t even know, for a fact, that their answer is correct. Not to get too geeky, but a former coworker of mine once asked another former coworker “Does C# support multiple inheritance?”. The latter coworker, without batting an eye, said “Yes”. He was wrong. (The meaning of the question is unimportant - so don’t spend too much time trying to figure it out - just an example). His problem? He didn’t cover his freakin’ ass.
Why Digg and Reddit are Doomed (and Metafilter Isn’t)
I’d hardly call myself an internet journeyman or anything, but I’ve been around “the cloud” for several years now. In that time, I’ve learned a few things about people, specifically how they act on said web. Frankly, the Internet has a way of unraveling some of the best and brightest (as well as some of the medium-est and lackluster) minds putzing around today.
This is specifically evident in the “social news” arena. Speaking specifically regarding Digg and Reddit, arguably the two most popular sites in this space. Just to be fair, I’ve spent the majority of my time on Reddit, but I’ve also been known to poke around Digg on occasion (if there’s grass-growing nearby that needs supervision). At it’s outset, the Reddit community prided itself on being more intelligent and discriminating than that of Digg - and if you ask me, this was true for awhile. But, as Reddit grew in popularity and was acquired, the site’s users quickly went from a relatively small group of smarties to an ocean of raving dumbasses.
You’ll be thrilled to know that I have identified (and, judging by my completely subjective criteria, correctly so) the solution to this problem. It’s so simple, so elegant. Ready?
6 Simple Ways to be a Nicer Person
I consider myself to be pretty easy-going most of the time. I tend to get along well with people and I find it pretty easy to talk to most folks that I come in contact with.
As to why I’m a nice guy, that you can attribute to my parents. My father was a hardass and my mother is pretty much the sweetest lady ever. My father went out of his way to make sure that I did certain things when dealing with other people that are pretty much reflex now.
Not saying that I’m an authority on “nice” or anything, but I’ve certainly picked up a few nuggets in my young life. It’s surprisingly easy, actually - even for people who tend to be on the shy side.
So I Got a New Tattoo…
Nothing productivity-related here, kids. But I got a new tattoo last night (first one in about 10 months or so):
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Nora, for those of you who don’t know, is my little girl (almost 4 months old already - sheesh).
And if you want to see a nearly-exhaustive gallery of my tattoos, you can do so by looking at my tattoo set on flickr.
Alright, get back to work - more lifehackery to come!
Technorati Tags: tattoos
Tips for Environmentally Friendly GTD
As many of you probably already know, today is Blog Action Day! Today, we’re charged with discussing the environment…
I have a confession to make - I’m not what you’d call “environmentally conscious”. I don’t recycle. I drive an old, gas-guzzling car. I go through index cards like there’s no tomorrow. I don’t go out of my way to save water or electricity (though, I don’t think I’m particularly gluttonous with these things). So, of all the ways one could describe me and how I live, “green” wouldn’t be accurate.
When There’s No Toilet Paper: Avoiding a Descent into Savagery
A word of warning: This post is about going to the bathroom. Some of the more intimate details of the activity are discussed in detail. Despite my attempt to veil some of the more colorful aspects of using the can, this post really is a bit gross. Continue at your own risk, as you’ve been warned.
Hopefully, this has never happened to you. It can be among the scariest situations in which you’ll find yourself - parked on the throne only to discover that, yes, there’s no toilet paper.
State of the Blog
When I started this blog all those months ago, I really had no idea it would do as well as it has. We have a pretty respectable number of feed subscribers and page views and consistently high-quality comments. Among all of the fantastic productivity-themed blogs out there, I like to think we’ve carved out a nice little niche for ourselves here at CW.
So, what’s to come? Well, I’ve got several things in the works…
New Look - (one that I’ll be designing and implementing from scratch). Much of my discretionary time is currently occupied with other obligations, primarily my family, so this will be done reasonably soon (but not tomorrow). But I’m definitely going to clear up some of the clutter that has worked it’s way into the nooks and crannies of the current layout.
Blog Review Contest Winner!
Well, better late than never, I suppose 
Thanks to all of you folks who submitted reviews for the contest. The response wasn’t as overwhelming as I’d hoped, but that’s just good news for the people who did participate!
As promised, the winner would be chosen completely at random using a home-grown program that I said I’d post. Most of you can safely skip this next bit, and any programmers reading this should know that I was pretty tired when I wrote it 
Ask the Readers: How do you Handle Time-Based Reminders?
Throughout the many iterations of my personal GTD system (from all-digital to purely analog to a hybrid of the two), the handling reminders has been the one component that’s been the most prone to drastic change and restructuring. There are several ways one might deal with this problem, with each one’s success depending heavily on the habits and lifestyle of the user.
12 Easy Ways to Spice Up Your Weekend
It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race. Weeks turn into weekends and, before you know it, it’s back to work. You could swear that you just left the office as you’re pulling into the parking lot on Monday morning. It can be downright depressing.
The good news is there are things you can do to make your weekend more enjoyable. If nothing else, you’ll at least make a few people wonder what types of medications you should be taking. A word of warning, though: most of these items (the ones that involve other people) are best perpetrated with strangers instead of friends or family. Keep reading and you’ll understand why…
