Remainders: The Multiple Self, OS X plugs, a year of 43F, and Grandpa's crappy art
Merlin Mann | Sep 9 2005
- The Multiple Self - This is a post by Phillip J. Eby that I’ve read at least 5 times now, and I can’t stop thinking about it. For some reason, it really resonates with me. I’ve been struggling to put together some thoughts on the Linux stream metaphor (and how it relates to a bunch of related stuff I’ve been thinking about), but I haven’t done it justice yet. Until I do, check out the article, and see what you think. More soon.
Minuteur - Linked via del.icio.us, but this is too cool not to re-mention. Ready to kick procrastination’s ass, but don’t want to shell out for a kitchen timer? No sweat. Minuteur is an amazing and very flexible little timer app for OS X. Lots of control via the keyboard and control keys. Countup, countdown, or set a HH:MM alarm. Definitely read the “Minuteur help” menu for usage details. There are many non-obvious features in that weird little window. And it’s free. Mais oui! [Thanks, J|RSHAW]
- Painless disk cloning - Just a quick plug for SuperDuper which may end up joining DiskWarrior as my must-have Mac utility. It does exactly two things very well: a) it creates bootable DMG clones of Mac disks and b) it lets you very easily update the disk images using boilerplate or customized scripts. Part 1 has historically been the domain of Carbon Copy Cloner—a great little app. One thing SuperDuper adds is a simple interface for scripting the items/folders you do and don’t want to clone as well as how you want them to behave (new vs. changed, etc.). This basically means you now have a perfect copy of your drive that can be restored very easily in case of calamity. Ditto for doing a “safety clone” before you install a bunch of dicey system upgrades. Highly recommended utility.
- Good widgets - Dashboard developers keep coming up with useful widgets that defy my original impression of “whizzy eye candy.” Right now I’m loving Oblique Strategies (cards from Eno & Schmidt’s oracle-like card deck), Gas (cheapest petrol in your ‘hood), Azureus (monitor and control Azureus torrents on a remote box), and BART (a really slick trip planner and schedule viewer for BART trains).
- HPDA on the Wiki - Hipster PDA Hacks, on the wiki, has some cool tips and links collected from the web.
- Coming Monday: A better to-do list - Be sure to drop back by on Monday morning (2005-
08 09-12) for the first of a two-part series called “Building a Smarter To-do List” (part 2 runs on Tuesday, natch). Given the new folks arriving here every day, I thought it would be useful to collect and expand on a few favorite tips behind developing a lean, actionable, unintimidating to-do list. Don’t miss it.
- Happy birthday to us - I would note in passing that this week marks the anniversary of 43 Folders (thanks for kicking things off with a bang, Andy). I send you all horns of rock for visiting, linking, supporting, and for telling your pals. Thanks also to the 43F posse for guidance, and encouragement. You all rock. But you knew that.
- Quote of the week - “Someone could appreciate it; it wasn’t a total disaster.” — My Mom, commenting on the dubiously executed paintings of Grandpa Mann.
|
|
|
Drowning in email? Try Inbox Zero to learn sane tips for dealing with high-volume email. And don’t miss the free Inbox Zero video. » 
With regards to countdown timers...
With regards to countdown timers … if you use a Palm, consider adding BigClock (search Google). It has many alarm features, including a count-down timer mode. I didn’t think it would be that important when I installed it, but after using it for more than a year, it is EASILY my most used application. It is great for working in a ‘dash’ mode as described here (and for taking short breaks during the work day :-).
Re: The Multiple self Holy hell......
Re: The Multiple self
Holy hell… 700 faulty analogies and bad metaphors are now fighting it out in my brain. Hopefully I can redirect that overwritten piece to my operating system’s /dev/null before too long.
I don’t know… there may have been some good points in there somewhere, but I’ll be damned if I could find them under all the mountains of twaddle. Anybody have a sensibly edited summary they’d care to present?
If you like The Multiple...
If you like The Multiple Self, you might want to read some of Alan Watts’ books, since they cover similar ground. “The Wisdom of Insecurity” is one of my favorites.
The Multiple Self harkens to...
The Multiple Self harkens to Maxwell Maltz’s ‘Psycho Cybernetics’. It’s a great self-help pop-psychology book that’s been around since the 60’s. It basically says that what you really believe (i.e. what you are ‘programmed’ with) is what really drives you, and the key to changing yourself is to change these beliefs.
Happy Birthday!...
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Tea Timer is a...
Happy Birthday!
Tea Timer is a good, simple OS X countdown timer.
Another great timer (useful if...
Another great timer (useful if you have no neighbors) is a darkroom timer, like this Gralab (http://www.2spi.com/catalog/photo/gralab.shtml). Useful for up to 60 minutes, has an outlet that is controlled by the timer, but is LOUD AS HELL. hehehhee. my daughter is terrified of mine.
Monday morning is 9/12, right?...
Monday morning is 9/12, right? :)
(BTW, I’ve been reading 43F for a couple of months now, and I love it — thanks for all the helpful tips and pointers!)
Thanks, Ellen! I was thinking...
Thanks, Ellen! I was thinking of the metric system or something. :)
Quote of the week -...
Remind me of what my aunty said.. :)
I know I'm getting this...
I know I’m getting this in late, but what the hell: Does anyone know of a good Minuteur-esque app for those of us chained to a Windows desktop?
I want to see the...
I want to see the paintings! (-:
43 Folders Gets Things Done...
43 Folders Gets Things Done with SuperDuper!
Just noticed this: Painless disk cloning Just a quick plug for SuperDuper which may end up joining DiskWarrior as my musthave Mac utility. It does exactly two things very well: a) it creates bootable DMG clones of Mac disks and b) it lets…
Lifehacking Ones Selves I, along with...
Lifehacking Ones Selves
I, along with half the prod-pr0n nerds of the world, was sent over to read about The Multiple Self by Merlin Manns 43Folders. Me, Im good with one of the early comments left on 43F: Holy hell 700 faulty analogies and bad m…