e v i l _ b l e n d e r

BlackCoat AirGo - Specs

Now _that_ is a handsome looking jacket!

Posted by vashremix at 09:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have enjoyed reading 43 Folders off and on ever since I 'discovered' it. (only a few months now) There's an article up there about the 'good' parts of getting things done, and I think he's right on the money.

43 Folders: A Year of Getting Things Done: Part 1, The Good Stuff

In the end, I think it boils down to learning to watch for what a “done” project starts to look like, so you can ask interesting questions at the right time:

43 folders inspired me to check out the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. It's funny this book was the first one I'd ever purchased as an audio book from itunes - and in fact might have been the first thing I'd ever purchased for myself at itunes. I'd bought songs I needed for work, and some for my brother's school report - but nothing for me - until one day Jason gave me some iTunes gift certificates.
So I splurged and bought myself an audio book. After listening to it at least twice at this point - I'm still amazed at how much I can still learn from it. It's rather like they used to tell me at church, that the bible could be read and re-read, and you'd always find a 'new' idea in there that you hadn't noticed before. Perhaps it sounds anti-religious to say that I think "Getting Things Done," or GTD as it seems to be referred to, may indeed be some sort of significant book. For me, it has indeed become a sort of bible.
It's really amazing how things can connect themselves in such strange and abstract ways. I was just mentally tracing back in my head how I'd even found out about the book, and it turns out that 43 folders had been my introduction to it. And that Quicksilver had been my introduction to 43 folders... and a LaunchBar update on macupdate had been my link to that! From launching programs quicker on my mac, to getting more tasks done in my life. Not a bad progression! :)

Posted by vashremix at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow, more dreams. Very weird ones last night. I'm not sure how to describe them. Some kind of capture the flag game that was done vertically up a cliff between my team and the football team from high school - who showed up at the prom in their football jackets and greasy hair.
The antagonist was Josh Davis - I think that's what his name was. It's funny to see someone from 13 years ago in a dream, and suddenly be every bit as intimidated as if you were back in High School again.
I did mock his hair cut though. That was unlike anything I would have done in high school! :) He had a greasy mullet going. pretty funny now to look back and see how silly he looked.
He was the bees knees for the girlies though. They thought he was something else. He was always mean to me though. So I never much cared for him.
I wonder what he's up to now. Wonder if being the star basketball player paid off big for him? Somehow I doubt it. Bullies seem to make great cops though. Or criminals. Maybe he sells stocks on Wall Street. Truth is though - I don't really care what he does now.
I just find it interesting that he was in my dream last night. And of all things - cheating.
Perhaps it was the book I was looking at yesterday in the bookstore - explaining the abundance of cheating in American society. Showing how our American 'have it all' culture essentially expects us to cheat in order to get ahead. A pretty interesting read. Perhaps I should have bought it to spend more time with the idea.
It did manage to make sense some of the experiences I'd been through. So for that it was useful.
A cliff? at a prom? with guns? What in the world was I thinking about last night?!

Posted by vashremix at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ChangeThis :: How To Be Creative

Hugh MacLeod MacLeod, an advertising executive and popular blogger with a flair for the creative, gives his 26 tried-and-true tips for being truly creative. Each point illustrated by a cartoon drawn by the author himself.

If you've ever felt the draw to do something creative but just haven't been able to pull it together, you'll love this manifesto.

Yeah, I've been there - I would imagine everyone has at one time or another. I think if you don't find yourself there at times, you're not really alive.

I enjoy reading things that explain abstract ideas. How to be creative. How to feel better about yourself. Am I a self-help junkie? Perhaps at times I am. But you'd be missing out if you don't take a look at the above "book". Hey, it's a FREE pdf file for crying out loud. There's no excuse!

Besides his blog is one I really admire. I know he works in the same industry as me! :)

Posted by vashremix at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From
1UP.COM!

Donkey Kong is "lame." Tetris is "boring." Space Invaders "needs a superbomb or something." And why play Pong when it's more fun to "jump up and down on one foot"?

Have these kids lost their MIND?!

I guess I'm showing my age now when I say I get lost playing these stupid 1st person 3D games now. I've got better things to do with my time than memorize a map to a place that doesn't exist!

I'll admit - pong is pretty boring now days. And some of those atari classics are a little long in the tooth. However, I still think there's some use to the side-scroller game. I can't get enough of Mega-man - although I do think it started getting crazy complicated around X-10 days (possibly before too!)

Maybe once again, it's just my memories of playing the games themselves. But I've got other memories too. Doing stuff other than playing video games. How shocking! Can kids even imagine what it must be like to actually play a game that doesn't require a controller in your hand. Instead we held actual balls! (We had 'em too! yeah!)

I played some video games in college too mind you. Liked pinball better though. Liked skating even better. Liked making out most of all. So come on kids - get those priorities straight! Well, on second thought - guess we don't need 10 year old kids making out... so forget that last part kiddies. But do find something to do other than just play video games please. please.

Posted by vashremix at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'll admit it... I have no idea why this is the case. I have so many dreams about trains. I'll often be riding on a train - one that's got 'issues' and people can't get to where they are going as quickly as they want to. But the trains never look like the subways I ride or the commuter trains I ride. They're nicer inside. The stations are places I've never been. The tracks are often under construction, or falling apart.
Last night I was taking pictures out the window - and the window actually opened so I was able to get great views of stations and buildings and factories as we rode by. I took tons of pictures with my lomo cameras. I even dropped the film off for development. I tried to purchase a peppermint patty 'fun size' for 15 cents but it was 16 and I didn't have the extra penny.
But what about these trains?
Why am I always traveling? Why do I get 'lost'? and why can't I find my way around some of the bigger stations? the tracks change and trains arrive on different ones than they seem like they should.
The views are beautiful on the train. Of course, beautiful to me is often rather industrial. I love seeing the beams that hold structures together. Like bridges. They fascinate me in real life. In my dreams they don't cease their fascination.
I know that I've been thinking about my lomo cameras lately - and wishing I was taking more pictures with them. I think they're incredibly cool. I figure that is why they were in the dream... but the train...
always different trains, and different train rides, and different locations, and places I've never been, but am somehow expected to know, and when I don't think about where I am I just get to where I'm trying to go - but when I stop and think, I realize I have no idea where I am.
I'm usually with someone else. Sometimes it's Julia, sometimes it's people I don't know in my real life - but I'm clearly good friends with them in my dream.
I wonder who they are?
Why the trains? What do trains mean?
They take me from one place to another... that seems far too simple though. A journey - but I wonder why my internal fascination with them is. Dreams are either my brain trying to tell me something, or a piece to a puzzle I'm currently trying to figure out usually. Sometimes I've thought they were some form of inspiration - but I'm having trouble believing that lately. Of course, that doesn't mean it's not true... It's just not something I'll look to first for the answer.
In my real life - I would like to go to where theese trains take me.
I'd like to see these places, and wander around like I am in the dream. The cities are marvelous and enormous. Full of life and vibrancy. Full of life.

Posted by vashremix at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Firefox Extensions :: Apple-X.net :: Alternative Mac Tech News, Analysis, Reviews, and Opinion.

OK - I finally made it official. I've switched my default browser from safari over to firefox.

ONLY because of the extensions.

Go grab firefox - and tell a friend!

Posted by vashremix at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks for the heads up engadget... I've wanted to have something like this for a LONG time!
Connect those nintendo hand-helds over the internet instead of just with link cables.
I guess now that they are wireless maybe it will be easier to do!
I just know I still want to be able to watch Julia play pokemon over the internet! I know she'd dig it for sure.

Posted by vashremix at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I guess it makes sense... about time that there's a hello kitty cell phone!
I happen to know a little girl who would KILL for one of these. :)
No Ivy, you're not getting one of these for Christmas.

Pay as you go from Cingular. Maybe I can get one... it might cause some funny looks on the train though.

Posted by vashremix at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK - how could I _not_ post this link! Before you do anything else, you've got to take a look at possibly the world's best stereo... ever.
I don't know how I can live knowing that it exists somewhere not near me.
Perhaps something about the 50's, 60's sci-fi look of things just looks like the future to me.
On another note I'm now officially addicted to listening to audio blogs.
For a couple of weeks I was addicted to NewsFire for a while now. It's a fantastic RSS reader for the mac. I know there's also Net News Wire, and some others, but I just like how NewsFire looks. One thing it doesn't seem to do though is deal with podcasts well.
What's a podcast? Just a short audio message attached to the RSS feed.
At first I thought this was fluffy, silly stuff. Turns out though, now I really enjoy listening to some of the feeds. Engadget has a good cast about every week or so. And I was just listening to some iTunes Apple Scripts casts and totally dug it. Which surprised me, because I thought -- why on earth would I want to _listen_ about something technical. Turns out it's even easier for me to understand something when I hear it than when I read it.
Not sure why... just seems to work that way.
So, now I think I can't get enough pod casts. More funny please! that's the important part - enought ranting and raving and hating is on regular radio. I'm sick of that crap. Hook me up with funny please. Not morning show-stupid humor, just funny. I don't need to be shocked - hit me with a funny story, and I'll be very quick to laugh.

Posted by vashremix at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK kiddies

It's remix time.

Get to it!

Posted by vashremix at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow---
Thank goodness for enterprising, tweaking, breaking, and fun-loving coders. Check out Ipod Hacks. There's a fellow there (the wizard) who's managed to not only grab all of the images out of the Ipod - but with some tweaking on your part, and a willingness to reformat the harddrive of the ipod - load your own images back inside!
Right now the program is windows only - so either I suck it up, and start my mandrake box back up in windows, or wait until an enterprising young mac hacker ports it to the mac. (It won't take that long will it? :) )
Can't wait to see the ipod skinning that will go on next!

Posted by vashremix at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dear Santa,

I know what I want for Christmas.
A new PDA. 4 gig harddrive, linux OS, built in keyboard, works as a tablet, works as a tiny laptop... what's not to love.
And love I shall.
So santa, treat me right OK?

Posted by vashremix at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have seen the future, and it is Madagascar Institute. Check out the Broadway style movie... sheer brilliance.
I often sit around and wonder why people don't do this kind of thing - and then I go and find someone who indeed does just this.
WOW.
All I can say is wow.

I think I need to join the institute.
Besides, the danger level looks extrordinarily fun.

Posted by vashremix at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)