• Firefox
  On my Mac, I tend to use Safari, but at work and on any PC I’m on, I use Firefox. Safari pissed me off a couple of days ago (Flash crashed it again again again), so I set Firefox as my default browser (I’m using it to write this, in fact). It seems that even the worst AJAX-abusing web sites work in Firefox, it’s pretty standard across all platforms, and it wraps plugins well enough that when certain Adobe products explode, the browser just displays “Sorry, the flash plugin has crashed” or similar, instead of crashing itself. Firefox pre-3.6 was frickin’ slow, but 3.6 is about as fast as Safari. Of course, I do lose syncing of bookmarks to my iPhone, but honestly I almost never use bookmarks on my iPhone.
• Lastpass
  I used to use 1Password, but Lastpass took over because 1Password didn’t work on Linux (it may now, I don’t know). I still run 1Password (Pro) on my iPhone, but that’s mainly to look up passwords that aren’t in Lastpass yet. Lastpass is web based, which makes it really convenient if you end up on a hotel computer and need to log into a web site, and may not have your iPhone handy. Of course, there’s also an iPhone app, but I haven’t gotten that yet. 1Password also requires too much setup: you need to store your password file somewhere and sync it yourself (via Dropbox, iDisk, whatever), and the iPhone sync requires you to manually run the program on your Mac and phone at the same time. See, Winbloz users just went away. Lastpass just lets you store passwords. It handles the syncing (to their servers), and is still secure, because they’re just storing encrypted information.
• WordPress
  I’ve used a lot of blogging products over the years, starting with straight HTML in a text editor. WordPress has great features, and is the standard for setting up a blog. I use the installed version, which is conveniently a 1-click install through Simplescripts on my current web host. Before this host, I installed it myself (and even wrote scripts to do installs/upgrades automatically before that was built in). Current wordpress is stable, feature-rich, and very easy to use. Themes and plugins usually work with little modification (you used to have to tweak the heck out of things to make a new theme work – “Widgets” fixed that). Updates are automatic like most desktop software these days. The Askimet plugin combined with the “Bad Behavior” plugin stop 99% of my comment spam (which is a huge problem and time sucker if you’re setting up a blog these days). WordPress lets you set up a blog very quickly and easily, and add/change features as you go. In short, it’s quite flexible, but easy to get started with. Although you can use it as a CMS to set up web sites (and I have), it’s really designed as a blog platform, so I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re trying to find a web site builder. If your web site is a blog with some extra pages, however, WordPress is fine.
• Dropbox
  This is a must on all my computers now. Dropbox’s syncing is impeccably handled, it works on all platforms, and it allows 1-click sharing of folders. I have an “Assistant Share” folder (shared with my assistant and girlfriend), a “Bookkeeping” folder (shared with my bookkeeper), and an “Accounting” folder (shared with my accountant). If I need to get tax documents to my accountant, I just drop them into my Accounting folder, and they’re on her computer immediately. Need to update some procedures for my assistant – I update the document in my “Assistant Share” folder. The syncing is immediate and I have never had a problem with file conflicts (well, I did once, but my girlfriend was copying files into her Dropbox folder and I moved them on mine while they were syncing. Even then, cleanup was pretty quick, and Dropbox didn’t break anything – just moved the files I said to move, while leaving others in place because she’d just put them there). To share a folder, you control-click (or right-click) and select “Share” (the option varies slightly depending on the OS you’re running). Works on Linux, Mac, and Winblows.
• Ubuntu
  
  
  I had to use a PC for work, and I tolerated Windows for a couple days of instability on it before I borrowed my friend’s Ubuntu CD. I still prefer MacOS X, but if I can’t use it for some reason, Ubuntu’s next in line. In some ways I even prefer it to MacOS. Software updates (for all software) are built in. You can customize the desktop to behave like Windows or MacOS X, or some weird hybrid if you want. It’s almost as stable as MacOS X (although I do run into occasional glitches that require a Google search to remedy). It’s got a good user base, so most issues you run into can be solved by Googling and following the instructions someone’s spelled out. It’s 99% an end-user-friendly OS now, including Firefox, OpenOffice, an iTunes-like music player/store (which even has Last.fm built in), and a host of other applications pre-installed. Getting new software is unique – you go to the “Software Center” menu item and search (or browse by categories such as Office, Entertainment, etc). Most software is free (open-source). Software updates are usually automatic, as when you “download” software, you’re not actually downloading an application, but installing a package description, which then tells the software update tool (“package manager”) to include that software in its updates. Fancy. To the end user, that means that the software just magically stays up to date. Plus, it’s free, and in many cases better than certain commercial equivalents. (I don’t bother with MS Office any more, as OpenOffice runs on PC/Mac/Linux).
• Netflix
  I don’t know anyone who isn’t a Netflix subscriber, but I figured I’d mention it anyway. I use it both for DVDs and to Watch Instantly on my Mac and the PS3. Netflix jumped in as part of the beginning of the switch from broadcast to on-demand content. (Tivo was the other part).

So that’s a few of my favorite non-obvious tools. I also use the iPhone, running Shazam, Omnifocus, Now Playing and Siri on my home screen. (Now Playing is there to add movies to my Netflix queue when I see cool previews). Shazam is awesome for figuring out “what’s that song”, and Omnifocus is the best GTD-based organization software for Mac/iPhone (although the lack of a Linux version is problematic for me – if there was an equivalent web-based tool with an iPhone app I’d use that instead).

The truth is, it’s not a flaw at all, but a life-saving feature. The media seems to have forgotten the research stating that cell phone radiation causes cancer. The iPhone 4 features a new sensor that detects how tightly you’re gripping the phone/antenna. If your hand is covering a sufficient enough portion of the phone/antenna, or most noticeably bridging the break between the two antennas, the phone automatically decreases the signal strength to protect you. If you release your gorilla-grip on the phone and hold it with safe, minimal contact, or add a buffer between you and the antennas, the phone can continue at standard strength.

Obviously Apple cannot advertise this feature to the public, as tag lines such as “kills you slower than the Droid” and “Now with less cancer!” perform poorly in focus groups. As a result, Apple must deal with unfair bad publicity. But, in the end, it’s a strategic business move, because the iPhone 4 customers will live longer than Apple’s competitors’ customers, allowing them to buy more phones in the future.

I’d like to get his basic principle out there. Please repeat it, remember it, email it to your bank (through their “secure” messaging feature…), etc:
Less Convenient Does Not Equal More Secure!

In fact, the best security is transparent to the person who is allowed to do something, and completely impossible for the person who isn’t.

Faux security is dangerous. Because it’s so complicated for you to, say, log in, you feel that it must be difficult for anyone to log in. However, the complexity frequently opens up gaping security holes.

Some examples I’ve seen:

1. A “secure” apartment building in which I used to live.
   Ooh, it was so secure. Call box, elevator key, cameras, alarms in the units, the works. Big deal. Even if there wasn’t someone to follow in, there was an easy-to-climb fence into a hallway about 20 feet to the right of the main door. My friend used to make it a point to get to my door without me letting him in every time he’d come over. The alarm in the unit was only triggered by the front door, and even then I don’t think anyone actually responded. It was all designed to look secure. All it did was add inconvenience. If you were going in the “right way”, you had to use your garage opener, then your key in the garage door, then your key again in the elevator, then again in your door, then turn off your alarm. The wrong way: jump the fence or follow someone in, go up the staircase to the roof (unlocked for fire safety), jump down onto the balcony (made easy by the stepped/sloping roof), and slide open the balcony door (probably not locked due to the false sense of security).
2. Your bank
   This one frequently pisses me off – bank’s “secure” login requirements. I generate extremely secure passwords. But when a bank requires me to follow stupid, random password requirements (or use a simple pin but have to click it on my screen, verify a picture, remember my customer ID, etc), it creates a scenario in which I can’t remember how to log in. That means I need an alternate way of remembering this information. Therefore, somewhere outside of my well-secured (and convenient) method of storing login info, I have to store my bank’s stupid login requirements. Less convenient, probably less secure. Because really, if you store your logins in your browser and lock your computer, what are you going to do with login information that you can’t store in your browser? It’s probably going to end up on a post-it note… (note: products like LastPass and 1Password provide alternate ways of securely storing this information, but you frequently still need manual interaction with them, causing you to display your login information on your screen for everyone in Starbucks to see…)
3. The airport
   This is my biggest pet peeve. I understand that they need to react to events to make people feel secure, but the real thing stopping something like 9/11 from happening again is the passengers, not the TSA. (i.e. someone rushes the cockpit these days, they get tackled by passengers). Securing the cockpit is a good idea, and the security screening is partly secure, but mostly faux-secure. Think about it for two seconds and I bet you can find a menacing instrument you can bring on a plane with which to threaten passengers. That’s all the 9/11 terrorists reportedly did. And none of the TSA’s current inconvenient restrictions prevent that. In fact, since “terrorism”‘s purpose is to cause governments to change things (i.e. cripple the airline industry), one could argue that it worked. And that pisses me off. I just hope that behind the scenes, they actually know what they’re doing and just aren’t telling us (which would be secure…).

Some things implement security well, such as:

1. MacOS X
   Secure keychain coupled with secure login. Easy to use if you’re you, near impossible if you’re not. It’s also simple, which means things don’t fall through the cracks (like the jumpable fence…). Ubuntu Gnome has a similar keychain. You can also generate truly secure passwords (long, with special characters).
2. LastPass and 1Password
   1Password adds a bit of inconvenience, at least in the iPhone app (2 passwords required to get to items), but overall is well designed. LastPass is also simple, and lets you fill in those stupid bank password fields, so you can use real passwords and not write them on a post-it.
3. Office tap cards
   Lots of secure office environments use simple transponder cards. Tap it on a pad, and you’re in. Simple if you have the card. Hard if you don’t. (Better would be a fingerprint scan, but hey, there’s always “better”).

So, start complaining when you see faux security and remind them:
Less Convenient Does Not Equal More Secure.

Buffers.

People aren’t precise. Everything we do has a margin of error. It’s cool and movie-like to drive as fast as your mind, and car, can handle, or run in the door just in the nick of time for something important; but in the real world, chances are that you’ll get pulled over, or hit something, or arrive at the important event just after it started (or 30 minutes late).

There are natural limits in the world: the fastest your car can go, the fastest your mind can process information, the actual time the meeting starts, the actual amount of toothpaste in the tube. If you pass those limits, it’s too late: your car breaks down, you hit something you didn’t expect because you didn’t see it, you’re late for your friend’s performance, or you run out of toothpaste.

There’s an easy way to have those things almost never happen: set a different limit, and treat it as your actual
limit. Drive around the speed limit (you’ll notice other people are doing it too). Stay 2-3 seconds behind the car in front of you. Stop at the yellow light (it’s a buffer, btw). Have an unopened tube of toothpaste in a drawer. (When you need to open it, add “toothpaste” to your shopping list.)

The difference between your limit and the “hard” limit is a “buffer”, or a layer that protects you from the hard limit (just like those yellow barrels on the freeway stop you before you hit the hard cement wall). The buffer means you won’t get a red light ticket (or accident), or a speeding ticket, or run out of stuff.

You can also apply it to car maintenance (avoid breakdowns), your checking account balance (avoid overdrafts), and on and on.

You’ll find that once you’ve relieved the pressures of pushing the limits in mundane areas, you’ll suddenly have time, and mental freedom, to spend on more exciting things. This might take some getting used to, as you’ll have a void of time and thought to fill. Then you can push the important limits: your fears, your comfort zone, and why you’re spending time on this earth.

The net result of this is the location-aware, bookmarkable Metro Trip Planner mobile site, which, unlike Google Maps, includes ALL the LA area busses and trains, and calculates fares. Works on iPhone and Android phones (2.1 or higher). Should work on any phone with a decent JavaScript implementation and GeoLocation integrated into the browser. (Not sure if your phone has it? Try the link…). On the iPhone, click the “+” button at the bottom of your screen and “Save to Home Page” to make it accessible as an app. I think the Android has a similar capability.

The site is simply Metro.net’s mobile trip planner with a bunch of JavaScript that gets your current location and lets you add bookmarks (which are stored in your phone using a cookie – never sent anywhere).

I wrote it because I got tired of having to choose between the speed and convenience of Google Maps and the accuracy of the Metro Trip Planner. Now you can access the Metro Trip Planner fast, find out where you are, and how to get where you want to go in a few taps.

Hint: The trip planner accepts major landmarks, including “disneyland”, various shopping malls, etc. Try entering one as your destination.

Enjoy!

With 255 levels, 2 player mode (click “insert coin”), and a statement that the game will NOT be archived, offices across the world have seen a dramatic drop in productivity.

When asked about the game’s effect on his department, a manager at a well-known dot com company, who wished to remain anonymous, stated “What? No, wait a minute I just. Dammit! Why did you interrupt me? I was on level 15! Get out of my office!”.

Similar responses have been heard at all levels of management in many corporations around the world.

“Using the IP address of the player and data such as the length of time playing the game, level achieved, etc, we can not only determine the immediate effect on office productivity to our competitors, but also gather information regarding the problem solving skills of their employees. Using the Google cookies already stored on the employee’s computer, we can make intelligent hiring decisions, stealing our competitor’s top talent.” *

So, there you have it. Innocent game? I think not.

* Nobody was interviewed at any company in the writing of this article. Were they too busy playing Pac Man to talk to us? Maybe.

I love Mint (and hopefully Intuit won’t kill it). The automatic view of your finances is great because it’s so easy, the reporting and tracking is decent, the budgeting has “rollover”, and it has a personal financial management tutor built right in.

I like “rollover” because it lets you set up buckets of money for certain things, versus unrealistic hard-set monthly budgets that you’ll never really keep to (because some months you’ll spend more, some less).

By far the best feature is the Fitness tab. Mint makes money by making you money. Good system. The Fitness tab gives you step by step tasks (with points!) to do to make money, complete with a “why do this?” button for each. If things like checking your transactions weekly, spending less than you earn, getting an interest-earning checking account, saving for emergencies, and putting money into a retirement fund aren’t obvious for you (and even if they are), Mint’s Fitness tab will make you money. If you do all of them, no matter what your income is, you will probably become quite wealthy. I’d guarantee it if I were a betting man, but betting men rarely get wealthy.

Step 2: Figure out what that’s called in jobland.
For each “keyword” you’ve written down, go on monster.com and search for it. Monster.com may not be the best place for all your keywords, so go to industry-specific job sites if you know them. (i.e. if you wrote “program web scripts in Perl”, go to dice.com). Try googling your keyword phrase with “jobs” in front of it. i.e. “jobs surfing”. Really – you might be surprised.

You are NOT looking for a job yet. If you get excited about a position you see, great – write down what the position is called.

You’re looking for job descriptions that define you. Look in particular at the “qualifications” sections. Those describe the person that defines that job title. Is it you? If so, write down the job title (i.e. “Perl Software Developer”, “Video Game Tester”, etc). Hints: If you don’t know what they’re talking about, move on to the next ad – it’s not you. If you get excited and want to apply right now, that’s you, write down the job title. (don’t apply – you’re not ready and you’ll blow the opportunity)

Step 3: Update your resume
Your resume tells the employer who you are. You are NOT going to change this for each job you apply for, like some people recommend. Why? Because you’re not going to change who you are, you’re going to find the right job. It’s faster and you’ll be happier with the job you get.
So pick the job title that best described you from Step 2. There may be more than 1. You’ve seen job descriptions – pick the one that you like best and pays well enough. It doesn’t have to be the best paying job – you’re looking for what I call “easy money”. That is, stuff you enjoy doing makes work easy. If you go to work and have fun, AND get paid, that’s much easier than going to do something you don’t like and getting paid a bit more (hard money).

Your resume should have your name and address, job title (the one you picked from step 2), a brief description of that title (1-2 sentences), your skills in that area, your work experience in that area, and your education. Keep it very focused. Did you play in a band? Don’t include that on your surf instructor or CEO resume. You can mention it in the interview.

Step 4: Apply for jobs.
Now, figure out which web site is the best for the jobs you’re applying for. Upload your resume on it, and ONLY on it. For any industry there’s usually one place everyone looks and posts, and some other places they look and post too. It takes lots of time to create your profile, upload your resume, and look for jobs. Do it once, well, on the site everyone looks at, and look for jobs on that site. You don’t have time to waste – so focus your efforts here.

Search for jobs – search for the position title and limit your search to “job title only”. While having 10 pages of job offers might seem like you have lots of opportunities, it really just means you have lots of crap to go through. It’s better to weed out a few mis-titled positions than to wade through 10 pages of completely inappropriate ads. Remember: you’re not looking for 100 jobs, you’re looking for 1.

The site might let you save your search. Do it. Have it email you matching jobs. Make sure you set your location restrictions too. Do you really want to move 1000 miles away? No? Then set the search to within 10-20 miles from your house to get a short commute.

Don’t be discouraged if there are only 5-10 jobs that show up that match your description. Apply for them. You can change the job title on your resume to match their job title. i.e. if they say “Surf Trainer”, change “Surf Instructor” on your resume to “Surf Trainer”. “Software Developer” might be “Software Engineer”, “Salesman” might be “Account Manager”, etc. That’s all you should change. You might also get some ideas of things that’d be good to add – as long as they accurately describe your experience or skills and apply to the job title in general, not just to this company, add them (and update your profile!).

Your cover letter is where you’ll spell out things that apply specifically to each position.
Use a template like the one below. Read through the bullet points in the job posting and address each one in the “experience” paragraph and in the “skills” paragraph. If they say they want 5 years sales experience in the computer industry and you have that on your resume, add “over 5 years experience selling with clients including cisco, apple, and Sun Microsystrms” in the “experience” paragraph.

Dear [hiring manager name],
(or, if you don’t know it)
Dear Hiring Manager,

I saw you posting for [job title] and am interested in learning more about this opportunity.

I have extensive experience as a [job title], including [list experience you have that matches their bullet points in "qualifications" and "job description"].

I feel that my [skills you have that match their qualifications and job description] skills are a good match for this position.

I look forward to discussing this position with you further.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Notes:
- I’ve simplified the steps, but there’s a lot to do. Break this into chunks. Do one step per day.
- Don’t apply to jobs you’re not thoroughly qualified for. You’re wasting your time and theirs. Plus, you’re spending energy and will be discouraged by being rejected. Better to apply for 5 jobs and get 1 than apply for 100 jobs and still get 1, and take longer doing it.
- Keep neutral. This is just a process. Schedule a few hours a day and do the work.
- Avoid getting excited about certain positions and adding things like “I really want this job”, or similar, to your cover letter or tweaking your resume to fit the job. It wastes time, and makes it *less* likely that you’ll get the job.
- No resume tweaking! Update the job title only. If you have to change your resume for a job, it either means you didn’t accurately describe your experience and skills, or you’re not really qualified for this job.

1. write a list of stuff you use
2. tag it (use post-its, sticky dots, whatever). This makes it easy for you to identify what you need without taxing your brain, and lets you tell friends, 1-800-get-junk, etc, “don’t touch anything with a dot”.
3. get rid of everything else
   • categorize into sell, give away, trash, and keepsake
     • sell stuff worth more than $10-$20
     • set your own threshold here – what’s your time worth to sort, list, ship (or meet someone who is picking it up)?
     • give away anything that’s decent or useful to anyone else
     • anything you don’t use but can’t bear to get rid of is a “keepsake”. Arrange to store it somewhere (in a storage area, not in bookshelves, the floor, etc – get it out of your way). After your first few purges, you’ll want to revisit your keepsakes, because lots of it is probably really stuff you need to purge but have an emotional attachment to.
     • “throw away” anything that’s left. 1-800-got-junk is good if you have a lot of stuff, as it’s fast and they’ll try to recycle or donate anything they can (so you don’t have to feel bad about getting rid of things that could be useful to someone). Or, toss it yourself.

Why

You don’t realize how much that clutter is distracting you. Every item you have is a weight of some sort: mental, emotional, physical, etc.

For example:

• A friend gave you that planting pot. You haven’t put a plant in it in years, and you don’t do well with plants anyway. It takes up space on the coffee table, so it uses attention, because you see it and it takes up space (mental weight). You can’t just throw it out because you’d feel bad, both because it was a gift and because someone might be able to use it (emotional weight).
• your couch is in daily use, but if you wanted to, say, move downtown, you’d have to move it (physical weight).

Multiply that by all the items in your house (every book, every piece of paper, every plate, every towel, every piece of furniture, etc) and you have a lot of weight that you feel, but are so used to that you don’t even realize you’re carrying it.

Consider:
What if you wanted to travel through Europe and Asia for 2 months. You’d have to pay your rent at home, adding say $3000 to your costs (assuming $1500/month rent). You say “of course, I need a place to live”. But you’re not living there, your stuff is. You’re paying $3000 so you don’t have to move your stuff. You’re used to that limitation, because you’re used to carrying the weight.

Once you start getting of stuff you really don’t need, several things happen:

1. You feel “lighter”. You’ll see the open space in your house. Clear surfaces, room to move across the floor, etc. You’ll notice the decrease in mental distractions.
2. You want stuff less. Once you realize that the smallest item requires maintenance, a place to be, a purpose, and to be disposed of at some point, you won’t want to even take the free pen some comapny offers as swag.
3. You become free. You’ll want to purge everything you can, because without the stuff to maintain, you’re free to do what you want, where you want.
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]]> http://www.grantgrueninger.com/2010/01/14/how-and-why-to-purge-your-extra-stuff/feed/ 0 http://www.grantgrueninger.com/2009/07/27/best-boba-places-los-angeles-and-hong-kong/ http://www.grantgrueninger.com/2009/07/27/best-boba-places-los-angeles-and-hong-kong/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:17:55 +0000 grant http://static.grantgrueninger.com/2009/07/27/best-boba-places-los-angeles-and-hong-kong/ Yes, I’ve literally been all over the world looking for Boba (and other things).

Best Boba Milk Tea in Los Angeles is at Boba Time. It’s a chain, but the one at 701 S Vermont Ave is open until Midnight.



Best Boba Milk Tea in Hong Kong is at Baby Mango. Take the subway to the Fortress Hill station, go to the Oil Street exit, cross the street and turn left. It’s a few doors down, past the McDonald’s, right near the bus stop. Tell them where you heard about them – I told them I’d blog about ‘em.

Enjoy!

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