Things I Read - April 14, 2014

Interesting stuff happens on the web occasionally. Also, some useless stuff. Since I read some of the most random things on the interwebs throughout the week, I figure it best to share.

• Tails is the sneaky operating system used by Snowden to anonymously handle his nefarious dealings. It’s very fascinating idea - anonymous OS in simple thumb drive. (From Wired)
• Kristina Halvorson shares a lovely post on The Pastry Box telling everyone who shares ideas on the web to do so fearlessly, even there’s a chance you’ll be wrong or have to change your mind later. It’s okay to be wrong, she says. Why? “Because the Internet”
• I made an animated GIF of a guy dancing that made me laugh a bunch after I watched this excellent video of the A-Zs of Dance.
• Are you surrounded by people who say they’re too busy all the time? Are you one of those people, totally overwhelmed with work to the point you’re constantly frustrated? There’s a chance you’re not as busy as you think you are, according to a Slate.com article.

Feel free to send me interesting stuff if you feel so inclined. Either way, keep being curious out there on the web.

February 1

As Was Written is back once again, on February 1, at the historic Lyceum in Alexandria, Virginia, for what’s going to be a grand ol’ time.

The lineup is set:

• Eef Barzelay, from the band Clem Snide
• Adele Hampton
• Elahe Izadi
• Jason Pittman
• David Tveite
• John-Mark
• Me

After sitting out the last show, John-Mark and I are back on stage, reading short stories along with an amazing lineup of writers and performers. Believe you me, it’s very exciting to be back in on the fun.

Thanks to the early support (we sold 80 tickets in the first 48 hours), we’ll be sold out well before the show. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. JMD and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Doors open at 8pm. Show starts at 8:30pm. Can’t freakin’ wait.

Sometimes Laptops Take Dives

My laptop took a dive early last year. That HP Pavilion was the most durable machine I’d owned in recent memory. But as it turns out, the term “durable” has its limits.

The laptop contained the complete works – all my files, including web projects, short stories, music and ebooks. Losing those things was a major pain in the behind. I could’ve easily lost my mind and sworn off recreating newer, better versions of those things. But I didn’t. I took advantage of the trusty interwebs for some files and set out for a year in backups galore. Particularly in cloud-based places I could access from my main three devices: laptop, tablet and smartphone.

I summoned a few services I highly recommend:

Evernote

I took to Evernote for taking and sharing notes. I can do it all from any of my devices. Styling is basic and different Notebooks can be set up for full-time work, side projects, and even a separate area for journaling. I do short lists for shopping as well as set-up to-do lists for long-term projects. It’s available from browsers, as well as in native device app stores. Device agnostic services like these play a key part in forward-thinking organization. Also, there’s an easy way to back it all up.

Google Drive

I purchased an Acer laptop with Windows 8 a few months ago. It came with a trial of Microsoft Office, but I decided to forego paid programs to stick with the versatile free ones as long as I could. Google Drive (with its Docs options) fulfilled this role. Instead of MS Word or Excel, I could use Google Document or Spreadsheet. And it saves to Google Drive. And for that trusty backup? Options are readily available and pretty easy to pull off.

Dropbox

Lastly, photos taken from the phone and typically stored on the PC are sent off to Dropbox, along with other documents, so as to keep another backup to the backups. Dropbox is available from most devices, so you can access everything from anywhere if you have an internet connection and your password. Sure, I could stick with just Google Drive for this same storage but the photo backup automation really makes this essential for me, right now. Perhaps in the future I’ll try it differently if I find a better way. And, for the finale, you can sync your files with an external drive.

The Rest

I have a 500GB external drive I use to backup all the web stuff, in case the internet breaks one day and I need to disappear like a thief in the night but maintain my livelihood and sanity. I’m using Spotify for music and playlists on the go right now. Until I switch back into buying albums on my own again (I go support a few artists if I’m a big fan, but mostly it’s all Spotify), the service takes care of most of my needs there.

That’s All, For Now

These are just the methods I’ve used to live in the cloud and keep backups of all my things. If you have tips on improving what I’m doing, please share.

Sometimes laptops take dives, folks. And it’s good to have a backup plan in place. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

I Used To Eat Books

I didn’t always know how to read. When I was a one-year-old, I just wanted to eat books and magazines. But now, the slightly older version of me can’t get enough of reading them. Perhaps in my older years (40s?) I’ll go back to eating them. I’ll keep you updated on that.

In the meantime, here are a few articles I’ve read and enjoyed lately. Feel free to read or eat them as you may.

• Seth Godin explains how you can use fear as fuel for getting things accomplished.
• A very smart, funny and impactful fellow by the name of Baratunde Thurston, is interviewed by The Great Discontent and hilarity and throughtfulness ensue.
• Lifehacker takes quotes from Jay-Z and turns them into productivity lessons.
• An INC.com interview where Michael Bloomberg shares how fiercely loyal (and cold) he can be, and how he may take the “hit by a truck” theory a bit too serious.
• Kurt Vonnegut’s daily routine, in which he shares something I can especially relate to in my older years: “…sleep and hunger and work arrange themselves to suit themselves, without consulting me.”
• You’re going to hear a lot of buzz around the new Spike Jonze film, “Her,” so here’s a great article profiling the indie director, and how this particular idea came about.

More link roundups to come. I enjoy reading what others are reading so I’m paying it forward.