A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a video showing how to setup a scanner and Evernote to create a paperless office. The results were impressive and I shared the video with Sibylle. We’ve talked about it on and off since then and finally decided to take the plunge.
Like all families we collect a surprising amount of paper in the normal course of events. Bills, insurance statements, pages from catalogs or magazines, flyers, pictures, business cards, et cetera. The problem with trying to keep these pieces of paper is that they take up a lot of space and, once misfiled or misplaced, are lost. The idea of scanning them, and cataloging them is intriguing, but getting the parts of that process all lined up and working was the barrier.
With the Fujitsu SnapScan S1300 and Evernote it seems that the barrier as been lowered if not completely eliminated. The software that comes with the scanner allows you to setup some predefined actions that occur whenever something is scanned. In the video below John Chow demonstrates that two copies of the PDF are created. One is stored on an external hard drive and the other linked to his Evernote account. The Evernote dialog allows him to quickly label and tag the document. Evernote syncs to all his other devices and provides a web interface, so he has access to everything he’s scanned from virtually anywhere.
Tonight we ordered a SnapScan S1300 from Amazon, which should arrive on Monday thanks to a free Amazon Prime membership due to my status as a university student. I’m sure it’ll take a little while before we have our document tagging system sorted out, but we are looking forward to digitizing lots and lots of documents.
One of the things you discover with a new house is that it isn’t perfect. In this instance when I say new I mean a brand new house that no one has ever lived in.
Everything in the house is new, the appliances, the paint, the floor coverings, the mechanicals, …, everything. But there are places where it isn’t perfect. The one square of trim in the master bath that is held in place by friction only. Or the water dispenser on the fridge that won’t dispense when the dispenser area light is on. (Must be shy, I guess.)
I’m not complaining about any of these things, but I am surprised to discover the distinction between “new” and “perfect.” Nothing, it seems, is truly perfect, even when it is new. But then a strict definition of “perfect” may not itself be perfect. The imperfections here are ours, lock, stock, and barrel. (Got the official recording of the deed in the mail today - it’s ours!)
They say when you buy a new car you should open the trunk and in an obscure location scratch the paint with the key to firmly move it from the “new and perfect” stage to the “not new anymore” stage. Finding the little things that aren’t perfect here are a way of adding a little scratch to a new car.
Sorting out the difference between new and perfect has helped me to see that neither new nor perfect is really the key here. “Ours” is the key. This house, this property, with all its wonderfulness and whatever blemishes there are, is ours.
One of the exciting things about moving is getting new neighbors. You never know just what to expect. Last night, around nine-thirty we got a chance to observe some of our neighborhood’s residents while they were out for an evening stroll.
On Sunday afternoon we shoveled the snow off one of our neighbor’s driveway. She had been gone for much of the semester break and all the snow the fell around Christmas was still piled up on her drive. I like the idea of random acts of kindness and so I told Sibylle I wanted to shovel her driveway for her. We went over together and took turns shoveling snow. While we were there we saw evidence of other residents - tracks in the snow - and wondered when we might see them in person. At the time we commented that they must be walking at night.
So when Sibylle called to me that she could see them I came running. Four residents were milling around in one of the yards behind us, enjoying the cold night air and relative privacy of the dark. While it was a bit hard to see in the dark it appeared to be a family, with adults and children. My camera wasn’t up to the low-light situation, so you’ll have to take my word for it that there were four deer in the neighbor’s yard having dinner.
With an iPad at my disposal I have been exploring some of the available applications. Apple is quick to tout the number of apps available from the App Store, but as it turns out, quantity isn’t the same as quality.
One of the apps I’ve tried is the WordPress for iPad tool. In theory this application allows you to interface with the administration side of your WordPress.com or self-hosted WordPress site. In actuality I have had trouble with it. Yesterday I posted a new entry about having lived in our house for one month now. Somehow the app decided that I really meant to post this on January 8th. I had to edit the post date/time this morning to properly position the entry on my site.
Once you start an entry on the iPad there is no obvious way to delete it. I think the reason yesterday’s posting was published on the 8th and not the 17th was caused by my overlaying a previous draft rather than successfully deleting it from the iPad WordPress app.
As convenient as using the iPad may be for some things, using it as a front end for managing my website is not its strong suit. This entry, and those that follow, will be done the old fashioned way - from a browser tab on my laptop.
Sibylle and I moved into our new house just over a month ago. We are slowly gutting used to it; it feels less and less like a really fancy hotel suite and more like our home everyday.
The riot of boxes is largely hidden away either in the cavernous unfinished area downstairs, or in the third garage bay. Even though we, or friends of ours, packed everything, there are things we can’t find yet. The iron, for example.
The master shower leak seems to have been fixed by redoing the grout at the base of the tile wall. Of course, this repair was after a hole was cut into the bedroom wall to check for leaks in the tubing. We are awaiting the drywall guys return to repair that wound, and then the painters to hide the repair.
The huge pile of dirt behind the house was neatly haul away right before the end of the year, so we’ll have to wait for our builder’s next foundation to be dug before the grading work behind the house can be completed. He next project is staked out, but we have no idea when digging will start.
We have set in to motion having a whole house humidifier added to the furnace, and we are in the midst of completing and order for cellular blinds for some of the windows. Once the drywall repairs, grading work outside, humidifier install, and binds install are done we’ll likely bar the door and not let anyone into our house or our lives for a while. We need some time to just be here to fully appreciate the wonderfulness that is out new house.
I managed to ride four times for a total of about 20 miles in my first week of having a stationary trainer for my bicycle. I had hoped to ride Friday and Saturday but events conspired against me. And today, after the completion of String Fling I was entirely too tired to make myself go to it. We did shovel snow of the neighbor’s driveway however, so I got some exercise.
Starting tomorrow I have ever intention of upping the time I spend on my daily “ride.” I rearrange the garage so that I have a shelf in front of the bicycle, complete with a power outlet, so I’ll be able to take a laptop and DVD with me to provide some diversion while I pedal to nowhere.
I haven’t been too good about limiting my colorie intake this week, so my weight hasn’t dropped at all. While I may or may not lose weight as a result of training rides, I will certainly improve my aerobic conditioning and stamina. And my ability to withstand incredibly boring activities.
A year ago this weekend I played in my first ever orchestra as a part of the 2010 String Fling hosted at KSU. String Fling is open to all 5th through 9th grade string players in Kansas and attracts 600+ students from around the state. The kids are grouped into orchestras based on grade and rehearse all day Saturday plus an hour Sunday morning, before performing for their family and friends.
My teacher, David, has been organizing this event for years and asked me if I’d like to try it. As I had only been playing for a few weeks when last year’s event took place, he put me in one of the 5th grade orchestras. I enjoyed myself enough that I have been looking forward to this year’s String Fling.
With almost 14 months of playing experience under my belt, David promoted me to one of the 7th grade ensembles. This may have been a bit too much for me. He’s using what I would call a modified Suzuki method to teach me to play. I don’t memorize and play solely from listening to the music the way the method was intended. I use the finger numbers and learn the pieces through repetition. Not being able to sight read music made last years participation some what stressful as I had to hurriedly write in finger numbers to be able to keep up with the conductor.
When presented with the music for this year’s orchestra I once again was confronted with a need to sight read and no skill at that particular part of music. Much of the day was frustrating for me as I struggled to read my finger numbers and keep track of the rhythm and watch the conductor and try to hear myself over all the other players.
By the end of today’s rehearsal I was nearly ready to bow out of tomorrow’s rehearsal and performance. I felt very under prepared and the idea of being on stage in that state was not appealing. This evening I re-wrote my fingerings on the music, making so much needed corrections, and I practiced the pieces on my own, which allowed me to hear the melodies. Knowing what the piece sounds like is a huge benefit to me, and I feel much better about tomorrow’s event as a result.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep pace with the conductor tomorrow or not, but I’ll be there, in the back row, gamely trying.
It is rare these days that I find new music, from a new artist (new to me, any way) that I like enough to purchase. In the last decade I’ve only added four new artists to my listening rotation: Nanci Griffith, Evanescence, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Loreena McKennitt. A quick follow of those links will reveal that these artists cover a broad spectrum from contemporary country to Celtic-inspire folk, and from gothic rock to percussive guitar.
Today I added a fifth new artist and a new genre to my collection. Zoë Keating is an avant-cellist. She utilizes an acoustic cello, some pickups and microphones, some looping software on a MacBook Pro, and a foot pedal arrangement that allows her to interact with the software while she is playing. She explains her approach to music in this Wired video article.
The result is a sonic landscape that is layered and full of textures. You have never heard a cello played like this before. It is the most intoxicating music I’ve heard in a long, long time. The only thing that comes close is Rodrigo y Gabriela, whose percussive style is also unique in the guitar world.
There are any number of YouTube videos of Ms. Keating, but I highly recommend the Wired performance of Escape Artist to start.
I’ve worked with computers for years. At present there are five in my office (hooked up to a total of eight displays). I carry several with me nearly everywhere I go. I am a computer nerd.
However I notice a distinction between myself and the some of the nerds I work with: some of them treat their laptops and other devices with a casual indifference that I don’t feel. Not that they are mistreating or misusing their equipment, just that they, from outward appearance, view their computers as tools whereas I view my computers as parts of my digital self, part of my digital persona.
I name my computers, I even name my iPods and USB drives. Not functional names but fun, (hopefully) inventive names. For a while I was on a Winne-ther-Pooh binge and consequently I have machines named Eeyore and Tigger, an iPod called Heffalump, and a USB key called Piglet. Tolkien’s universe has influenced some names, like Palantir and Orthanc. My newest laptop is called BlackPerl and a twisted homage to the Pirate movie ("… more like guide lines …").
These things are bits of me, contain bits of my thoughts, images, ideas, and creations. As a consequence I tend to approach them the same way I would like to be approached, with care and consideration. I think a part of me will be diminished should I ever get to the point where my collection of computers and devices is just the current interchangeable part and not some manifestation of myself.
Five years ago I got my first iPod, a 30 GB model, which has lasted me until now. It’s primary function is to live in the arm rest of our Honda Insight where it is hooked, via USB cable, to the car’s radio. This works fairly well, with my only real objection being the lack of a full set of controls on the car’s dash.
Honda did put a wheel on the radio that you can use to emulate the scroll wheel of the iPod. However, each turn of Honda’s wheel only advances the list you are scrolling about 3 entries. Plus it has no inertia, and there’s no going backward past the start of the alphabet. If you want to get to ZZ Top from Abba, you have to go through every intervening letter of the alphabet first, you can’t go backwards and get there.
Unfortunately the iPod’s battery has given up the ghost. Even though it charges from the car, all the device will display now is “Low battery.”
So I splurged and got a new 8 GB iPod Nano. It’s tiny. It’s minuscule. It’s fantastic.
I suspect that leaving the original iPod in the car, regardless of heat or cold, may have hastened its demise, so I am uncoupling the Nano and sticking it in my pocket when ever I park the car. A minor annoyance but one I hope will extend the life of the thing.
Since it is in the arm rest while I’m using it, I don’t get to see or interact with its touch display. However, one aspect of the new iPod is much appreciated - smart playlists now work the way I expected them to 5 years ago. My first iPod wouldn’t ever refresh my complicated shuffle playlist. I had to plug it into the computer in order for that to occur. The Nano refreshes as soon as I leave the playlist for another and then come back. Very nice. Overall it is a wonderful little machine.