Thoughts From the Train Station

Wow - a lot has happened since my last entry and it’s hard to believe that was back in February. The one thing about blogging is that it’s easy to get off track with life unless you make the exercise part of your day. I’ve learned that I really don’t like posting “public journal entries” and much prefer referencing cool things I find than writing out a play-by-play of my otherwise personal life.

You know what I need? A topic!

Anyone care to have me expound on a topic or two or three? It would be fun to tackle larger issues…even if it progresses into multiple part entries.

Leave your idea(s) in the comment section…please.

I came across this site through a friend [ Brian Welsh ] and it’s a great little piece of software (Mac or PC) that creates a calendar of concert events based on the artists it finds in your iTunes library.

Nifty! [ iConcertCal ]

I’ve seen more than a few movies in my lifetime and I’m not sure whether or not that is something to be proud of. Tonight was a moment…an experience…of a piece of film that has me still feeling tingles. I received this movie knowing very little about the film except that it was a musical film of sorts. In fact, I didn’t even know it won as Oscar for best song until after I finished the movie and was curious to read more about it.

Suffice it to say - this was a thoroughly enjoyable film from start to finish. For me there were so many things that were moments that I could relate to. When the studio engineer talked about a “car test” I pumped my fist in the air as I remembered that exact same thing happening back in the day when I had similar studio sessions. Completely true - and the engineer’s reason for doing so was exactly what my best friend Chris would say.

This movie rang true on so many levels. I loved the simplicity of the whole thing from the shaky camera to the seemingly made-up songs like “Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy”. Classic.

This isn’t a complete shock but is good news that hopefully the people of Cuba will eventually be able to operate under a free and democratic society.  As the article states - we shouldn’t expect sweeping reforms but the departure of Fidel Castro is a spark of hope to the Cuban exiles and those in Cuba who desire a free and open society.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro stepped down on Tuesday 49 years after taking power in an armed revolution, closing the book on a Cold War career that turned him into a leftist icon and a tyrant to his foes.

Fidel Castro retires after 49 years in power | Reuters

This may sound strange coming from someone who loves techy gadgets and the like but I must confess that I love the more archaic notion of having something physical around to write in. To be honest, my journal is actually through a nifty program on my Mac called Journler that I use to track my thoughts and various bits of information that I come across throughout my day.

BUT - for some reason of late, I have enjoyed toting around an old-school notebook to write in. The one I had was until recently was the good old-fashioned Composition Book that you’ve all seen at some point. Well, I recently made a bit of an impulsive purchase and bought two notebooks (one large and one pocket-sized) from Moleskine. I love them! They have a nifty elastic band and fit nicely into my laptop bag.

More reason to doodle my thoughts wherever I find myself. The advantage of these over a laptop is that they work without batteries or the need for Wifi connectivity and are a great way to get thoughts from the head onto paper before those thoughts float off to never-land.

As someone who loves the workflow ideals of the GTD system by David Allen (I know, I’m hardly alone in this one), I’ve been on the hunt for a great system of managing my workflow. I gave the iGTD program a good run for a time but could never quite feel comfortable using it.

So, when I came across Things designed by the folks at CulturedCode I gave it a good run and I must confess that iGTD is a thing of the past. I love the relative simplicity of Things.

So, if you’re looking for a streamlined method to manage tasks, then I suggest giving Things a try. It’s a free Preview download since it’s still in Beta with an official release sometime in the spring of 2008. The cost will be $49 but if you signup to their newsletter, you can knock the cost down to $39 when it’s officially released.

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GTD, Things, Productivity