Category Archives: uncategorized

We’ve been having some strange weather this year. One minute it is partly cloudy with lots of sun, and just a few minutes later it is a pouring deluge. Lots of very windy days too. You just never know what the weather is going to hold.

Thankfully, this spring I bought a Patagonia Houdini Jacket. It has really been nice to have. It’s super lightweight and breathable. When on, it feels like you are wearing nothing extra but it does a great job protecting one against a chilly wind or most light drizzles. And, thanks to its light and breathable nature, a good run or other athletic activity is not out of the question (in fact, it is designed for such).

But perhaps the best part is that it packs into its own chest pocket resulting in a package about the size of a frozen burrito. Easy to throw into a bag or even a side pocket of your chinos. Mine pretty much stays with me in recent days. You just don’t know what surprises the weather now holds.

I’ve |yirnf|referrer|hfzkr
been a bit busy and all over the place lately. Thought I would do a quick post to share few things I have been up to lately:

• Since my own long lived podcast came to an end, I have been missing having a place in that medium. Therefore, I’m always happy when someone asks me to be a guest on theirs. So, when Levi Weinhagen approached me to be a guest on his Pratfalls of Parenting podcast I jumped at the chance. I had hoped to talk a lot more about parenting but, instead, we discussed many of my thoughts about the intersections of humanity and technology and finding a balance there. It still turned out really well.

• Mike Dariano asked me to contribute to his Three Things To Read, Watch, and Use series at 27goodthings.com. I’m still trying to figure out how 9 adds up to 27. I’m bad at math. It doesn’t matter. You should still check out what I had to recommend anyway. It was a lot of fun to do.

• Oh, I also have started a new project about my obsession with analog writing tools (pens, paper, typewriters, etc.). As I was describing it to a friend, I said, “Think MinimalMac… But with pencils and paper…. Except the opposite of minimal. ” It’s called — The Cramped

Another fun collection of things I’ve come across in my Internet travels…

• If you are a Field Notes fan, or even just a fan of the stories behind products (as I am), you are going to love these “behind the scenes” videos of every Field Notes seasonal release.

• A great post from Seth Godin regarding the things you should steal instead of inventing. More often than not, there’s no sense in inventing something that someone else has already done pretty well.

• Sara Benincasa reminds all artists that even if you have a day job, you are still a “real” artist. A must read for any artist — day job or not.

• That said, a “real” artist makes art. As my dear friend Randy Murray reminds us, “Make writing your default. It’s what you do. That’s when you’ll know that you’re a writer and how you’ll know—you’re a writer because writing is what you do.”

• I’ve recently had a renewed love and obsession with literary journals. The Fog Horn is an iOS based one that looks great.

• Petrolicious has quickly become one of those sites I check in on several times a week. In fact, what it really is is a love affair with the classic automobile that we readers have the pleasure of voyeuristically watching. It is beautifully designed all around but I’m really deep in it for [the videos]. The videos are great stories about cars and the people that love them. All are well produced, shot, and edited. I’m always up for seeing stories about people passionate about, well, anything. But especially craftsmanship and preservation.

• Nick Wynja reminds us that our tasks list should be about something greater than that tasks themselves. As he puts it, “The Work is important but what are you working towards? What’s the point of your work?”. I agree so much with this.

• I’m currently reading Choose Yourself by James Altucher and it’s fantastic so far. I’ll have a longer review forthcoming (actually, a whole series of related books and tools like it). But, don’t wait. Get and read this now. Seriously.

OK, That’s all for now. Happy trails.