43 Folders

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Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

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”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Vox Populi

Open thread: Favorite spam blocker service?

I've been relatively fortunate with filtering spam over the past couple years (knock on wood). But despite a kickass three-tiered system that includes the world-beating server-side Sieve, plus Mail.app's pretty good client filtering, it's inevitable that even my best-loved private email addresses would find their way into the wrong hands (it's why I recently created "ThanksNo.com" -- an experiment in social re-engineering that you are free to use as well).

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TOPICS: Email, Vox Populi

Open Thread: What's your favorite minimalist wallet?

Like most 43F articles on economical carriage and stowage, the Jimi post attracted a lot of interest. Makes me think it's time for an open thread: What's your favorite minimalist wallet? Jimi? Slimmy? Moneyclip? Coin purse? Goin' commando? Spill in comments (and feel free to link to canonical product pages or price compar-i-nators like Froogle).

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Inbox Zero: Wrapup + Open Thread

43 Folders Series: Inbox Zero

So, that's a wrap for Inbox Zero. I hope you've found stuff to make your journey to zero a bit easier and less stressful, and that you've discovered the resolve to parlay your newfound inbox emptitude into an ongoing quest for email fu.

Doubtless I've missed things or neglected to mention one of your favorite tricks. Got a good tool, trick, or attitude change that has helped you keep your inbox empty? Share it in comments.

And in case you got to the party late, here are summaries and links to all the Inbox Zero articles from the entire series:

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Open Thread: The "43 Folders" of health and fitness sites?

Over the last six months or so, I've gotten a lot of requests via email from people looking for (yes, thanks, more than one person called it this) "the 43 Folders of (health|exercise|fitness) sites."

Naturally I set my Google fu in motion, fully expecting to turn up dozens of excellent sites on how to stay motivated about workouts, how to eat properly, and how to psych (or "hack," if you prefer) yourself into straightening out, losing weight, and getting that fat ass in motion.

Funny thing: I came up pretty thin -- and not in that good, healthy, slender kind of thin way. In at least three sittings of searching over the past few months, I just did not turn up more than a couple of independent sites that really blew me away. Really surprising, and maybe I was just looking in the wrong places. Like under a 12-pack of beer and a rib roast.

BUT. I'm sure they're out there, and I can't think of smarter people to ask than you, so you tell me: what's your favorite website or blog about getting healthy? What are your favorite apps for tracking progress and watching a diet? Who's got the best "health hacks?"

Post your faves in comments and help your geeky friends get as theoretically fit as they are theoretically organized.

TOPICS: Links, Vox Populi

SFGate talks with the father of "patterns"

To be a good builder, you need a feel for what surrounds you. Christopher Alexander knows. [SFGate.com]

Berkeley's Christopher Alexander -- author of A Pattern Language -- talks with Chron art critic Kenneth Baker in a 2-part feature discussing his career and his 4-volume collection, The Nature of Order (official book site)

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Looking back at our fresh starts & modest changes

Fresh Starts & Modest Changes

Henry David ThoreauEarlier this month I began a short series of posts and podcasts called "Fresh Starts & Modest Changes." It was meant as an antidote to the pressure that many of us feel to upend our lives with poorly thought-out new year's resolutions. The idea was to get you thinking less about the unlikelihood of success in mounting sudden, ginormous change, and more to suggest some subtle adjustments for making life just a bit more pleasant, productive, and your own. Tweaking as you go, instead of trying to treat your mind like some kind of a microwavable corn dog.

We're getting to the end of the month now, so I wanted to wrap up with a few thoughts on the value of small changes, but I'd also love to hear about any of your own fresh starts and modest changes -- particularly hoping you'll share the ways you've had the best success keeping on track with the adjustments you've chosen to make.

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Open Thread: Developing for Full Screen Mode?

So my question, for you Mac developers in the house: I'm curious to learn more about Full Screen mode and how hard it is to make it a part of Cocoa applications. I've gotten the impression that Cocoa has "hooks" in place to hide the Menu Bar and claim all the screen space with a given document's front window, so I'm curious whether it's something that's difficult to implement. I'd love to request it in some favorite applications of mine (Hi, again, Allan!). _What do you guys say? Piece of cake or pony? _

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MacWorld SF 06: What's not to miss?

My question to you: what's exciting on the show floor this year? Anything I shouldn't miss? Any exhibitors want to make a case to the Bay Area (and out-of-toen) geeks reading this? Beckon us unto your booth (and do feel free to offer free schwag and discounts to 43F Geeks in the bargain :)). NB: the usual admonitions on self-linking are lifted for this one -- provided they're tasteful and do indeed point to info on your exhibiting company (yes, I'll check).

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Open Thread: Whither Blackberry? What's your fallback plan?

BlackBerry shutdown closer after ruling - U.S. Business - MSNBC.com

RICHMOND, Va. - A federal judge has rejected an effort by BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. to settle a patent case and moved a step closer to reissuing an injunction that threatens the device’s e-mail service in the United States.

RIM said in a statement that it has been preparing technology that would keep its service running in the U.S., where most of its 3.65 million BlackBerry customers are based.

[ via Slashdot ]


Damn, this could be pretty big stuff, eh?

I'm guessing at least a few of you out there are rabid Blackberry users -- I've never even used one myself, but I have friends who live on theirs. So, I'm curious: How do you feel about the possibility of losing Blackberry service? If it went away today, what would you use instead? Do you have a fallback plan?

Open Thread: The value and quality of email at work

How much time are you spending on email at work? Is it bringing the company and you lots of value?

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Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »