The Cranking Widgets Blog

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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):

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

10 Ways You Will Change When You Become a Parent

My Wife and Daughter
Just about every Thursday of every week, I get together with my brother to roast coffee, drink beer and have a few laughs. We hang out his house, are accosted by his two Bassett hounds and just sorta chew the fat and hang out. We always have a good time, [...]