Managing my digital life

Over the past couple of years, I’ve gathered a set of tools for managing my digital life.  Most of the tools were discovered by reading feeds from Lifehacker, gHacks, Download Squad, and Tech Crunch using a Netvibes start page in Firefox.

For managing my passwords, keeping encrypted notes about accounts, and automatically filling web based forms, I use RoboForm.  It is by far, the best password manager and form filler out there.  I just wish they had a mac version for my macbook.

For keeping general notes that sync across my multiple machines, I use EverNote.  If you install the desktop app, you can clip any part of a web page (or any other document, for that matter) and include it in your note with a picture and a link.  The notes are accessible via the desktop app, or the web interface from any computer.  You can make multiple notebooks to organize things and can tag each of the notes.

For taking notes on the road, or when I can’t get to a computer, I use ReQall.  If you call ReQall from a phone, you can add a note by just talking into the phone.  ReQall will transcribe the note and email it to you.  Right now, I just use ReQall for this purpose, but this only scratches the surface of what this free service can do.

To keep certain documents in sync across machines, I use the free version of Dropbox.  It sets up a Dropbox folder on each local computer onto which you install the app.  Whatever you place in the dropbox will be synced on all of the machines. The size limit for the free account is 2 GB.

Since I have many photos and other irreplaceable files, I perform daily backups using SyncBack SE.  It is a great program for syncing local folders or doing backups.  The free version is great for most things, but I liked the advanced features that were only available in the SE version.  I prefer using SyncBack to the Windows backup utility because I like to have the actual files on the backup drive, not some compressed version of them.  If I need to go back to get an old version of a file, I just browse the directory structure of the backup drive and pull out the file.  I have SyncBack scheduled for daily and weekly backups in different locations.

To raise the paranoia level even higher, I think of the case where a fire takes out both my main machine and the backup drives.  To avoid this kind of data disaster, I backup to a remote site using Jungle Disk.  For large amounts of data, Jungle Disk is a bit more expensive than Mozy or Carbonite, but since it uses Amazon S3 and Rackspace servers, I think it might be more reliable.  I have also found that upload/download speeds are better with Jungle Disk. Another nice thing about Jungle Disk is that your files are available via a web interface if you need to access them from another machine.  If you are concerned about privacy, Jungle Disk gives you the option of encrypting the files with a private key that only you know (the upload/download stream is encrypted automatically using keys stored by Jungle Disk) .

Whenever I come across a site I like, or think I need to visit later, I use del.icio.us to bookmark it.  I LOVE del.icio.us.  I have about 1200 bookmarked sites right now.  You can tag the bookmarks with categories, so you can find stuff related to a certain topic.  You can share bookmarks with other del.icio.us users by just tagging it with for:username.  You can choose which bookmarks are public and which are private.  Most of my bookmarks are public, so I can easily share them with others by just linking to my page.

Well, that’s it for now.  I’ll post again with some other ideas for streamlining you life online.

Firefox keyboard shortcuts

Since my short term memory is totally shot, every time I learn something new, I have to write it down.  Since some of the stuff I learn may be useful to others, I sometimes write it here.

Being that I’m remarkably lazy, I don’t like making making the extra effort required to move my arm 8 inches from my keyboard to my mouse to perform tasks while in Firefox.  This is where keyboard shortcuts come in.  There is a great list of Firefox keyboard shortcuts on the mozilla site.  Some highlights:

• Open a new tab: Ctrl-T
• Close the active tab: Ctrl-W
• Undo close tab: Ctrl-Shift-T
• Next tab: Ctrl-Tab
• Previous tab: Ctrl-Shift-Tab
• Select the location bar: Alt-D or Ctrl-L

That last one is pretty useful when combined with Firefox quick searches.  A quick search can be defined by right-clicking inside a search box and choosing “Add a Keyword for this Search…” from the context menu.  You then get the bookmark dialog that looks like this:

You type in a name for the quick search and a keyword.  Once this is out of the way, if you go to the location bar, type your keyword then a space followed by search terms, the search will be performed.

For example, if I associate a “g” keyword with a google search, I can hit Alt-D to get to the location bar, type “g tony triolo” and I get a google results page with results about me (and a bunch of other Tony Triolos).

If you have the google toolbar installed, you can get to the search box on the toolbar by hitting Alt-G.  This keyboard shortcut for the google toolbar is not one that is easily found elsewhere on the interwebs.  If you don’t have google toolbar, or you prefer using the built in Firefox search bar (at the upper right), you can hit Ctrl-K to put the cursor in there.

Seven Productivity Tips For People That Hate GTD | Zen Habits

Seven Productivity Tips For People That Hate GTD | Zen Habits

For some reason, I’ve always shied away from the GTD system.  It just seems to regimented for me.  I’m much more of a “go with the flow,” creative kind of person, and GTD seems like too much of a creativity killer.  I could be wrong. I haven’t wholeheartedly tried to implement the GTD system, but what fun would it be criticizing something with full knowledge.  I much prefer to make snap judgments without being fully informed.

I like the tips put forward by Jonathan Mead in the article above.  I especially like tip 4 “Allow yourself to suck.”  I think that one really hit home for me.  So much of what I do (or don’t do) is motivated by the fear of failure, or the fear of exposing myself as not being as smart as people think I am.  I really need to suck more (since I am oh-so-perfect right now).

Choice

I was just listening to the latest Radio Lab podcast -- which is a great show, by the way -- about choice. There was an interesting section about a man, call him Elliot, who had a section of his brain removed during a procedure to remove a tumor. After the surgery, Elliot could not make a decision, even about the most inconsequential things -- like which color pen to write with. After performing some tests, psychologists determined that Elliot had lost the ability to have emotion. They would show him pictures of scenes that would cause normal people to have an emotional reaction -- severed limbs, etc. He had no emotional, or even physiological reaction.

What psychologists learned from this case is that, contrary to what conventional wisdom says about using logic to make better decisions, logic alone does not allow us to make decisions that will make us happier. Even more controversially, maybe we should not make decisions at all using logic. We need emotion to make choices. Which is why some people say your gut reaction is usually the best one.

One of the Radio Lab hosts, Jad Abumrad said something that seemed very profound and accurate. He said that our emotions are a sort of shorthand for the average of our past experiences and wisdom. I guess when you think of it in terms of the evolution of our species, it makes some sense. How could we have survived this long if we didn't have these "gut" reactions. You need a kind of quick warning mechanism based on your past experiences to perform instinctual actions. You wouldn't have time to think about your possible choices in a life-or-death scenario. You would just need to react.

All of this is not to say that your emotional brain makes the best choices, though. In an earlier part of the show, they discuss the results of an experiement that showed how when experimental subjects had their reasoning center distracted with another action, like memorizing a 7 digit number, they made bad choices concerning unhealthy vs. healthy food.

Like everything else in life, you can't go to extremes when it comes to making choices either. You should use a balance of emotion and logic to make your like decisions.

Vocabulary Memorization Method

Here is a method that I came up with for my daughter, who was having a hard time memorizing new vocabulary words.  On the vocabulary test she took before using this method she got a grade of 11% on the test.  After using this method to learn 20 words in 2 days, she got a score of 102% on the next test (there was some extra credit).

Here's the method that I came up with to help with the memorization. I'm sure it is similar to others out there, but I've never seen something like this laid out in a step-by-step method.

• Create a note card for each word.  We used 3"x5" standard index cards.
• On the front of the note card, write the vocabulary word in standard spelling and, optionally, its phonetic spelling.
• On the back, write the part of speech, followed by the word definition.
• Also on the back, write a sample sentence using the word in a way that shows you know its meaning.  For instance, for the word "glutton", you could write "Jim felt like a glutton after eating that meal because he thought he ate way too much."
• Come up with a funny cartoon picture to go along with the word and draw it on the front of the card.  The picture should have something to do with the definition and should also have something to do with a common word that rhymes with it.  For example, using the word "glutton" again, you could draw a big fat cartoon button stuffing its face with food.  The button will remind you of the original word that rhymes and the button stuffing its cartoon face will be a silly way to remind you of the definition.  The sillier the picture, the more memorable it will be.
• Create a deck of these cards for all the words you need to memorize and go through them one by one.  Look at the front  of the card and try to repeat the definition out loud without turning over the card.  Then, try to come up with an example sentence using the word.  Turn over the card and check your definition.
• Once you feel confident about the words, have someone else quiz you on them without letting you see the picture.

Here's why I think it works: Spending all the effort to come up with these pictures (it's not that easy for some words) forces you to really think hard about the words in the short term.  The pictures help you to remember them over the long term.  For some reason, funny, incongruous pictures stick in your head.  I can still picture some of the ones I used to memorize things when I was a kid almost 30 years ago.

It may not work fore everyone, but it is worth a try.

Affluenza

After writing the post on wealth equivalence I started to think: "What is fundamentally wrong with spending money on lots of stuff? What is wrong with making you house look nice? What is wrong with having a fancy car and the best of everything?"

I think it comes down to this: When you are spending money for outward appearances, you are no longer satisfying your basic needs as a human anymore. You think buying things will make you happier, but why? Once you get beyond the basics, food, a shelter that comfortably accommodates you family, retirement savings that will allow you to live when you can no longer work, and maybe basic things that allow you to do activities that nourish your soul (music, art, writing, etc.), you are only buying things to impress others. Keep up, or surpass the Joneses.

Here's a definition of Affluenza from the website for the PBS TV series (which I haven't seen yet):

Af-flu-en-za n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream.

I think the first definition hits it on the head. You think you will be more fulfilled by buying more stuff, remodeling you kitchen, putting in a new deck, but will you really? Probably not. You'll just move on to the next "need"; be it a new pool, a new car, an addition to your house, whatever will give you greater status.

I am also guilty when it comes to this type of behavior. My house is probably too big, I have too much property, I have too many books, and too many guitars. I am taking the first step toward a cure, though. I am admitting I have a problem. The second step toward a cure is to realize that I can be fulfilled in ways other than by spending money. My first attempt at this is to start a practice of mindful meditation. I am currently reading Full Catastrophe Living and have read Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn in an attempt to gain more self-awareness. Dr. Kabat-Zinn also gave a good talk about mindfulness at the google campus that started me on this mindfulness path. I'll post about how it is going soon.

More Happiness Project

I learned last night that I still have a long way to go toward achieving the goals of my happiness project.  The dogs seem to be a constant test of how well I am following the principles of happiness I laid out.  They chewed the leg of the brand new kitchen table and I ranted and raved for a good couple of hours.

We had our previous table since before we were married, so a bit over 15 years.  It was not a great table and was much too small for the 6 of us.  Maria finally found a new one, and it is very nice (all wood).  The dogs chewed the foot of the table and destroyed the routed design on the edges.  I had to spend about a 1/2 hour fixing it with wood filler and trying to make it look like it used to.  It never will, since the grain can't be recreated with filler.

The damaged piece is near the floor and not that visible.  I repaired it pretty well, if I do say so myself.  However, the perfectionist in me comes out and I want to redo it to try to make it better and spend even more time obsessing.  I must resist, though.  I need to obey rules numbers 3 and 6 (as Maria kept reminding me): Let it go and Forgive

As a result of this and other things over the past couple of months, I think I need to add more happiness rules.

8. It's just stuff (to remind me that things don't matter, people do)

9. Don't take criticism personally

10.  Learn from mistakes, don't dwell on them

I am going to try to put this list in the right column of the blog using the page elements tools on bloger so that it serves as a constant reminder.