Category Archives: technology

Listen to What You Love

I’ve been meaning to speak about this for a while. Namely, this: If you have music you don’t enjoy in your iTunes library, why?

Is it that you bought it before you realized it was not your thing and now feel like deleting it would be throwing money away?

Is it because it was a gift and you feel like deleting it would somehow dishonor the thought?

Do you have your music on a shared system with your spouse/significant other/family/roommate and you have different or only slightly overlapping musical tastes?

I don’t claim to have the answers to any of these. In fact, I’m likely just a guilty as anyone else. Especially if you have a large music library, it can take a while to go through it all and decide what to keep and what to delete.

That said, this is even more of a reason to turn on shuffle from time to time and let the random happen. And, while the random is happening, take the time to rate each song as you hear it. It only takes a few seconds and can prove invaluable for separating the wheat from the chaff. That way, even if you don’t or can’t delete the music you don’t like, you can at least focus in on the stuff you do. How? Well, with Smart Playlists of course. Here are a few that I use:

Here is the stuff that has never been played in your library. Start here. I limit mine to a manageable and not overwhelming amount. I play these and rate them as I go along.

Here is new stuff I have added and not yet played. Once again, I take pains to rate this stuff as I listen to it so that I can do the work up front.

Once again, a manageable chunk. No need to give yourself more pressure. Rate a few and a few more will be there when you are ready to get back to it. Do it enough and you will know where everything in your library stands.

Because then… Then… You can do stuff like this:

Boom! 

You now have the greatest playlist in the world filled with stuff you at least like more than average. Every single song will be great.

You can also do this:

These are the things you should ask questions about. 

Keeping It Straight – You, Me, & Everything Else

Sometimes, you don’t even know you are writing a book until you have done so. A writer who writes primarily for online publishing, who is used to publishing in essay form, does not always see the individual items emerging into a meaningful whole. Then, one day, you look up and realize that you have something. That this thing belongs with another thing. That, perhaps, all of these things want to be together and live on as a collected body of work. This is a core of a book.

It is with great pride (and a certain sense of relief) that I release my very first book. It’s titled Keeping It Straight – You, Me, & Everything Else. It’s available today in both paperback and eBook form. I would be humbled and honored if you would consider buying a copy.

Keeping It Straight is a collection of short essays that explore topics such as mindfulness, compassion, truth, and living a purposeful and productive life. There’s plenty of practical advice to take away as well. For instance, how to deal with email overload and sensible task management.

Here is what some others have already had to say about it:

“Patrick’s writing is like warm butter on dry toast. Each page is full of musings and personal discoveries from Patrick’s life that will make you think about how you’re spending your time and energy, and, more importantly, it will make you think about what priorities are most important in your own life.” – Shawn Blanc

“Fans of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ will instantly embrace Patrick Rhone’s work. Patrick offers the “Why” to GTD’s “How.” – Randy Murray

“Patrick is a wonderful writer and many of the thoughts he conveys in this book compel you to put the book down right where you are in order to make some real changes in your life.” – Ben Brooks

Keeping It Straight is a delightful mixture of advice, reflection and exploration that reads like a poem. Patrick’s honest, genuine approach to a iety of topics from happiness to efficiency make this book a joy to read. Highly recommended. – Brett Kelly

Most of this book has been written over the past few years, originally published online in ious forms, for ious projects and in many locations. While most of these ideas are out there, somewhere amongst my uncollected works on the internet, and available for free, everything in this book is different from the original. These are now collected, professionally edited, and presented in the way these ideas seem destined to live on – together. Also, I believe you will find that many take on a new life in this form.

Finally, I’d like to thank all who have helped make this possible especially Randy (and Penny) at First Today Press, Aaron at Wet Frog Studios, and Pat Dryburgh for designing the book website.

Buy it today:

When Less is More is More Than Less : fiftyfootshadows.net

When Less is More is More Than Less : fiftyfootshadows.net

This is all well and good and I enjoy reading through different ideas and opinions but at what point is enough enough. When does minimalism start to become cluttered and excessive in itself.

You are simply not allowed to read any of the rest of this site until you read the link above. Go. Now. See you back here in a few minutes…

Are you back now? Good. Now, stop dinking around on the Internet! Go get something done. Make something. Anything. 

I could show you a pizza and beer joint with better tips, tricks, and lifehacks than anything you can read online, carved into the 150 year old wooden booths, written long before the Internet was a thing. Do you know how they got that way? Well, every day it fills up with people. Some of these people have something to say, especially after a pint or two. Then, they use whatever sharp object at their disposal to say it as quickly and clearly as possible on any available semi-soft surface.

So, why am I here doing this? 

Hmmm… Fair question…

This is my booth at the pizza joint. I come here all the time with something to say. My Mac is nothing more than a overpriced pocket knife for me to scrawl stuff into it. And if I did not have that I would find a way. Because I have something to say. It’s what I do.

Find that thing that you do and do it. If it is, in fact, what you do, no tool will make you and no tool will stop you.