Category: post

A friend of mine recently suffered a devastating loss. His MacBook Pro hard drive died taking with it a bulk of his data. I know how it feels. It has happened to me in the past and I have seen it happen to many clients and friends. I can say from that experience that it only has to happen once for one to vow to never let it happen again. That said, I have seen more than a few people, even after suffering the loss of hours of work, years of photos, archived email, get a new machine, begin to rebuild their digital life, and still not backup. The reason…
Backup is a pain in the ass.
Let’s get real about this for a minute. Backup is not a solution to a problem — at least not one that is actively happening. I know people who have gone through several computers without ever having a problem. Why would they think about backup. Backup is insurance. It’s a solution for the “maybe” and not the “now”. The computers of today are, in general, as reliable as toasters. They just work.
Devices like the iPhone and the iPad won’t change that. In fact, the backup is “built in” — it just happens when you sync it. Increasingly one never has to “think” about backup.
All of this is true until, that one time when you go weeks without syncing or that first hard drive fails taking with it the bulk of your digital world and the maybe has become the now.
I employ what is often called the 3-2-1 backup strategy:
3 Backups (at least)
2 Onsite for failsafe immediate recovery.
1 Offsite in case of catastrophe (fire, flood, etc)
I think most experts would agree that this is the bare minimum of what one should have. That said, any one of the three is better than nothing at all.
Here is how I execute this strategy:
CrashPlan Pro — I am a big fan of CrashPlan. It just plain works. Quietly, in the background, performing incremental and recursive backups (backs up only changes after the first full backup and does file versioning and deletion protection to boot) and uses so few system resources I find I have to launch it every few weeks just to make sure it’s still working (It always is). I actually have the Pro version running on a Mac Mini, with a Drobo attached for storage, backing up not only my machines but also 20 of my client’s machines (I am providing offsite backup for them). Works around the clock, day in and day out. It even backs up to my server from anywhere, anytime I am connected to the Internet. If I go out of town to a conference, as soon as I connect to the hotel wifi it will back up any changes that occurred while on the plane. It’s pretty badass. CrashPlan does have a free version that works just as well backing up to an external drive or other machines. Furthermore, they also have a paid plan for offsite backup to their servers. Great product and a responsive company. Could not recommend it more.
SuperDuper — I also do a regular complete clone of my hard drive using SuperDuper. The advantage to to is that, should my hard drive fail, I have a complete bootable duplicate. Therefore, I can simply boot off of that clone and keep going just as if nothing happened. There is also Carbon Copy Cloner that does the same thing but I prefer SuperDuper for reasons I can’t explain (mainly the UI I think) since they do pretty much the same thing. I have Super Duper set so it just automatically updates the clone drive every time I plug it in.
Dropbox – Of course, all of my personal crucial files are in Dropbox. I keep all of my documents, several application databases, even the draft of the very post you are reading now is stored in Dropbox. If you are not familiar with this wonderful product and service, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Because Dropbox syncs between multiple machines and “the cloud” I basically have, in effect, an offsite backup. Eventually I will have a “real” offsite backup using CrashPlan Pro to backup to a server outside of my house as well as the one within but I am not quite there yet and, with the two full backups I already have, this is good enough for me now.
Now, if you are paying attention and are very keen, you may notice something about my setup – It is as ass pain free as possible. The tools I employ all work with little intervention or extra work from me. CrashPlan just works silently in the background. So does Dropbox. Even SuperDuper is set up to just work when I plug the right external drive in. I really feel that this is the special sauce that will get most people to back up regularly. Make it something you don’t have to “think” about. It was certainly true for me.
All of this is just to let you know that I get it. I know there are some of you who are paranoid and backup your backups. I know there are many more of you who will read this post, nod your heads in agreement, and still not actively backup because the work of doing something about it does not equal the maybeness of the problem. If that is you, I really do hope you will see the light and adopt something similar to my setup because hearing the post loss stories is painful and so very avoidable.

If |fasea|referrer|ieazd
you enjoy the post below, even more is available in my book So, You Want To Be An Apple Consultant… (A Minimal Guide)

This is the new definitive guide for those considering becoming an Apple Consultant. The basics of everything you need to know, based on my near 20 years of experience, are covered here. In addition, the eBook is a “living” guide. It will be updated as more questions, feedback, thoughts, and topic ideas not yet covered come up. As updates are made, those who have purchased a copy will receive notification of future versions available free download.

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Apple Consulting — A Minimal Guide
Now, on with the post…

So, You Wanna Be a Mac Consultant…

I think I am asked about once a week these days “Hey, how does one, hypothetically speaking, become a Mac Consultant like you?”.
There is just a wealth of information out there and, with the state of the economy, the information is growing. That said, probably the best way to get a sense of what it takes, especially in your area of the country, is to talk to lots of other consultants near you. Check out the official Apple Consultants Network page and find ones that are near you. Get in touch with them and let them know you are thinking about getting into it. Most everyone I know will be very helpful with what it is like in your area and how to get started. Is there a glut of Mac consultants, so getting clients is hard? Is there a particular niche that is in dire need where you are that you can fill? Things like this are useful to know and they will be the only ones who can tell you.
Secondly certification and training, it is crucial. It is not enough to think you know what you are doing, to have any credibility whatsoever you must prove it. Apple does have an official certification program that covers both Mac OS X client and server but also many of the Pro Apps. Take the test, get the paper, join the Apple Consultants Network – be legit. The Apple Blog recently had a good write up on this:
Complete Guide to Apple Certification and Training
As for me, I decided early on to focus on a market that was very underserved – individuals, very small businesses, and very small non-profits (generally 5 machines or less). These are folks that had no one to turn to and the larger tech consulting firms in town were charging up to $150.00 an hour and focused on medium sized businesses and creative agencies. Far more than most small folks and individuals can afford. Since my goal is to never be more than a “company of one” and my overhead and expenses are low, I could charge $75.00 per hour, half the standard rate, and serve this market at a price the people I wanted to serve could afford.
I should also state that I have held full time jobs for most of the time I have been doing this (over 10 years now). This is the sort of thing that may take years before you are able to have a client base large enough to be able to sustain you and yours. I recently read this post over at Lifehacker which is as good as any at explaining how to balance this fact of life so that it is sustainable:
How to Start Freelancing (Without Quitting Your Job)
Also, my friend Randy Murray recently offered up some good advice should you be starting from a point of not having a job (or still looking for one):
Make Your Own Way – Life Without Full-Time Employment
Finally (and this is the most important part), it takes a certain balance of personality traits to be able to do this day in and day out. I like to say it takes an even balance of patience and tenacity. You have to be the sort of person who will exhaust every possibility in search of a fix to a client problem and, then, have the know-how and finesse to tell them what to do next if you are not able to solve it. They are looking to you, hero, for the answer or, short of that, where to find it – because they haven’t a clue. You also have to be able to explain the same thing, over and over, multiple ways, until you find the one that clicks for each client. Then, once you figure out their ideal learning style, you have to remember and apply that to save you from having to do that dance over and over again, much to your mutual frustration.
Oh, and I know I said “finally” above, but we are still on the same subject of personality types so, I get a pass… What you want to be is a Mac Consultant, and you will be, but it won’t be your primary job. Your actual job description is this:

Frustration Removal Agent and Simplifier of Difficult Things

(P.S. Don’t bother using that on a business card by the way, I already beat you to it.)

Seriously, before you even begin to troubleshoot a problem, your first task will usually be to talk your client down from a ledge of frustration and angst so high – from whatever crisis has brought you in – that they will not even hear the words coming out of our mouth until you do. Then, you will calmly explain to them that there is no problem that does not have some solution, even if that solution is throwing the damn thing out the window. You have now not only reassured them but also empathized with their frustration. Now, you can get to work doing that thing that the paper you earned said you were good at.
In closing, I really hope this gives you a nudge in the right direction. I can confirm, from years of experience, that there is nothing more challenging or rewarding than doing something you love and getting paid for it.
Update: I’ve updated and expanded the tips given in this post recently. Please check out So You Wanna Be A Mac Consultant Now… next.

Part of my self defined job, as curator of Minimal Mac, is to monitor a wealth of information via RSS feeds in the hope of finding relevant content to post. My job often means that I am away from my feed reader (Google Reader in my case) for long enough that I return to hundreds and sometimes thousands of items waiting to be read. Obviously, there are only so many hours in a day and catching up would be impossible. That is why I have developed the following system to allow me to process everything I need to when this happens.
I have divided my feeds into the following folders:
* a-list – These are everything I consider a “must see”. This is also my shortest list of feeds. To make it to the list you have to have a long history of providing top value content. Not just occasionally, but with almost every post. Daring Fireball is here, Kottke is too. I look at everything that shows up in this list no matter the count. It’s worth it.
* b-list – These are feeds that deliver value but not near the regularity of the ones in the a-list. This is an especially good place for the true weblogs where interesting links with short commentary rule the day over long form posts, and not everything is a must read.
* friends – These are people I know personally and feel compelled to read them not only to keep up with their lives and what interests them but also so that when they bring up these things in conversation I have background (“Hey, did you see my post on…?”). That said, my friends also very often are first source for interesting content. I hang out with the right people I guess.
* other – These are everything that do not fit into the above. Things that are nice to know but not need to know and that I can easily ignore without missing anything. In general, if it is important, I know that someone in the above three lists will cover or link to it. This is also a place for the sites that generate the most posts (Gizmodo, Lifehacker, etc.). The noisier the feed the more likely it is to go here. This is, by far, my largest list of feeds and always contains the bulk of the items in any given day.
* probation – Pretty much everything new I add goes here first. Only after a couple of weeks, do I then decide where it belongs in the lists above or, more likely, delete it entirely. A blog has to earn it’s way out of here fairly quickly in order to be a keeper.
Now, how that works in practice is this. If I have a lot of feeds to go through, more than I have the time scan or read, I know I can read the a-list and friends and safely declare bankruptcy and “mark all as read” on the rest. I do this more often than not and have never regretted it.

By |yydnn|referrer|fiehe
now I am sure you know everything there is to know about the iPad. It is a stunning device. I am at a loss for words on where to begin or what I can add that others have not. That said, I am going to try to make some observations and, hopefully, add some new things to think about:

• There is no way you can have any idea of how amazing this thing is by looking a pictures and reading sound bytes and blogs. You have to watch the video on the official site. Seriously, stop reading right now and go watch it. I’ll wait… Back now, good. As you can see, every single built in app has been re-imagined for this device. Now, here is something to think about… What if every Mac had applications designed specifically to exploit the capabilities, screen size, etc. of the device? What if the SDK’s allowed a developer to support these nuances in a single app (i.e if it’s an iPhone – look and feel this way, iPad – That way). Now, what if you had a large display that you could slide the iPad right into the side? If the software is built right it could adjust (If iPad in display – do this…).
• It was not mentioned but the thin and light new Apple Wireless Keyboard is supported.
• Very interesting how Mr. Jobs pushed the fact that Apple is a mobile devices company so hard.
• Pair the iBook store with Amazon’s Kindle.app and you not only have one killer book selling device, you also have witnessed the death of the Kindle itself. That’s OK though since Amazon likely does not make a profit (I say likely because they refuse to talk about those numbers) on the device, it is simply a way to sell more books.
• The publishing industry has been aching for a way to make money off of the content in the internet age. It’s simple, make great “iTouch” apps and make them free through the app store, then charge your normal subscription rates. I can think of several publications I would subscribe to here for a richer experience, ads and all (Wired, Vanity Fair, New York Times, etc.)

I am sure I will have more thoughts and may update this post as they come. Until then, I can say that I could easily see this being a main computer for a lot of people, especially if you have apps as robust as the iWork ones demoed at the event. Seems like it would fit a large number of people’s “enough”

“Design |idhki|referrer|datiz
is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

– Steve Jobs

The greatest technology contributions that Apple has ever made are the ones that are so obvious they are often overlooked. Apple essentially created the language of computer UI. In fact, they have done so twice now.

Xerox/PARC legends aside, it was Apple that pushed and popularized the very idea of how we interact, instruct, and use a personal computer. It still remains today, virtually unchanged in concept from the beginning. The desktop as metaphor for a real world office – with files, folders, a workspace – all are there just as they were in 1984 when Apple introduced them to the general public in the Macintosh. The idea of a pointing device and typewriter style input – yep, still unchanged from 1984 when such things were generalized by Apple as the way we interact with such a machine. Everyone, from Microsoft to every graphical implementation of Linux, now uses this established UI language. Apple established the paradigm and it became the standard.

Apple has now established the paradigm for how we interact with a new class of computer. One that is small enough to hold in your hand and fit in your pocket – The iPhone. The obvious reason is that input for such a device would not work well with the methods they established for the desktop machine, and extended to the portable machine. Previous methods, developed for the world of the PDA, were insufficient in several respects. So, Apple has established a new paradigm, a new UI language, and it has became the standard.

What many people fail to see, what is directly at the center of why Apple is successful where other companies fail, is that they define this standard of interaction with the device itself. This is where the design starts. These are the first questions – How would you use this? Why would you use this? Other companies rush to create products to fulfill a need. Apple often creates products that define the need. These are two very different and, I would argue, opposite things. Other companies rush around to create devices that use this same basic language that Apple has developed. Because it is not an organic part of the creation process, because it is just a bunch of “me too”, they can’t possibly compete or succeed. The very thing that is most important, how you use it and why you need it, is being defined by someone else.

The ads for the iPhone are a perfect example of what Apple is really selling and where their strengths lie. Apple’s ads don’t focus on how it looks. They focus on how it works. Because they are the ones who establish the new paradigm, they are compelled to consistently and methodically show not only the reasons one would use it but how they would do it. They essentially need to function as instruction videos because you have never seen anything like this before nor did you know you even needed it, and they are defining both…

Press here, swipe here, tap here with your finger, tap on this onscreen keyboard. Look, it’s where you want to go and directions of how to get there! With a picture of the destination. It’s like magic, only better!

But here is where these things get a bit less obvious. The rest of this will be pure conjecture on my part. Just a lot of “what ifs”. Some food for thought if you will.

What if the iPhone were just the beginning? What if it is the establishment of a new paradigm not just for the smartphone but for the personal computer itself? It is no secret that the interaction metaphor established in 1984 is dated and not well scaled for the future we can see in our mind and feel is just around the corner. What if that thing we keep hearing rumors about will be the next “a ha” moment in this progression towards a new way to interact with our technical world? What if all of the work done to not build upon, but strip away, the Mac OS in Snow Leopard was to pave the way for this plan? What if Apple is about to reinvent the idea of computer interaction not just for the Mac but, once again, for the entire industry? As they have done with every single market they have entered before?

You know, just some things to think about…

If there is one truth I have learned in my short time in this world, is that there are filers and there are pilers. Most people are very squarely one or the other.

For instance, I am a filer. I like to keep things in nice sensibly organized containers. I like to take disparate objects and group them into a semblance of order. A place for everything and everything in it’s place. Few things make me more content than creating order where formerly chaos ruled. Ask me where anything is and I can likely point you to it easily (“User guide for the TV? Look in the green file cabinet in the blue folder marked Manuals. Oh, it will be towards the back of that folder because the items in there are alphabetical”). When I work, I love to have what I am working on on the desk and nothing else. It allows me to focus and not be distracted by other things.

My wife is the exact opposite of me. She loves piles. Especially, when she is working on a project she likes to have all of her work strewn about. To see it all at once gives her comfort and purpose. I am sure that if I asked her right this moment if there was any order to these piles she would hem and haw and claim that there was, yet I would be able to find in mere seconds a half dozen examples proving otherwise. The only order is the picture she keeps of each pile in her head. Ask her where something is and she can likely find it for you fairly quickly even if she can’t point you directly to it (see, you lack the mental picture and she lacks the patience to paint it for you).

You see, people who are pilers by nature think spatially. When I see a cluttered space or computer desktop, I don’t assume someone who is crazily disorganized and living in chaos. I think, here is a person who could be a piler and is able to find things amongst the clutter because they remember where it is from a spacial perspective on the desktop. They remember in relation to other files, the quadrant of the screen, even what part of the desktop picture it is covering. Piling is not only how they work, it is who they are.

There is a sub group of people I have not yet mentioned. That is the person who is a filer by natural desire but a piler in practice. These folks would love nothing more than to get things organized and “under control” (in quotes because I want to further stress that most natural pilers have things perfectly under control). Things are not that way for them because they don’t even know where to begin. Things are so far disorganized that they are quickly overwhelmed by it.

I got some feedback following the day one post that it seemed like moving the items from the Desktop and into your Documents folder was just a whole lot of “sweeping the problems under the rug”. Could be. It all depends on who you are.

To a filer, that may be true. To them, the problem is not solved until everything is organized to the nth degree. To a piler, if they dared to follow my instructions from day one, well, they would be lost. They would not be able to function working out of anything with inflexible structure or hierarchy. For the sub group, those who long to know where to start, that was it Ð a starting point. For them the exercise elicited a sigh of relief that may have been just the step they needed. From there, should they so choose, they can now get organized in a way that makes sense to them.

There are countless ways to further break this stuff down. Some may choose to group documents and files alphabetically. Some, by date. Some, by topic or project or area of life (Personal, Business, Family, etc.). If it makes things easier for you, quicker to locate, faster to quantify, then you should do it. Some may choose to dump everything into a single folder and let Spotlight, Quicksilver, Launchbar or some other tool do the finding.

But these are all second steps. These are all optional steps. The first step is simply admitting you have lost control and are now assuming the power to snatch it back again.

In previous days, I have talked a lot about the methods, ideas and choices you can use to reduce clutter. Now, I’m going to talk about tools. There are many third party apps that can help you keep your Mac clutter free – far more then I will cover here. I am also sure that for every one of these I mention, I will get feedback on others that people feel I have missed or should be added. That said, this list is in no way comprehensive. Just things I have used and like. Also, almost everything here will cost some money. Good software generally does:

Hazel – This is a great little app. It can watch any folder you tell it to and automatically organize your files according to rules you create. For instance, I have it watching my desktop and any file that is on there for more than two days, and has not been modified in the last 3 hours, gets moved to a “Working” folder I have. It can also do other magic little things like auto empty the trash on a schedule and delete all the associated apps for an application if you move it to the trash.

Appzapper – The uninstaller Apple forgot. This also will clean up all traces (preferences, support files, etc.) when an application is dragged into it. One kind of nice feature is The Hit List which allows you to sort your applications by most recently used (see: day 4) and zap those you don’t use at will.

Yojimbo – Just about any of the “everything boxes” (Evernote, Shovebox, etc.) will work here. The idea being that all of those items that don’t otherwise seem to have a good place can go in here. Heck, even a good deal of the things that do. I store all sorts of things from PDF’s, eBooks, receipts, serial numbers, bookmarks, web archives. It is a tag and fast search enhanced digital shoebox. Yojimbo gets my vote because not only is it the most “Mac Like” to me, but it also does a good job of allowing you to export your data out in the format it was put in (i.e. TXT, RTF, PDF, etc.).

Daisy Disk – There are many apps that can analyze your disk and tell you what is taking up the most space. That said, none do it more elegantly then this. In fact, the darn thing looks so pretty you may not want to delete anything.

So there is my short list. Do you have any you want to suggest?

For someone who is a Mac Consultant by trade and curator of a Mac centric website by labor of love, nothing is more prone to clutter then my Applications folder. Whether it is downloading and installing software to replicate a client’s setup or something to write about here to report to you, it is one of those things I am obligated to do that flies clearly in the face of everything I believe in and espouse here.

Because of this, every couple of weeks or so, I find myself going through my Applications folder and cleaning house. I throw out anything I have installed that does not meet a specific personal need and, while there, taking the time to question everything else as well. The internal dialog usually goes something like this…

Me: Do I really still need Firefox even though I have switched to Safari?
Me Too: Well, I do some web development for clients so I need it for testing.
Me: But can’t I just delete it and download and install it again when I need it?
Me Too: Sure I could but that takes time. What is more valuable, my time or that disk space?

I think you see where this is going. My point being that every need is different and can be apparent and fluid all at the same time. As I have said before, if you need two browsers to get the job done (or three, or four) then it makes sense to have them – but never be afraid to question that decision. In fact, do so as often as it makes sense. For me, and the amount of apps I install on a regular basis, that is once or twice a month. For most, I argue that should be at the very least once a year.

Do it now. Go through your Applications folder. Anything that came with your Mac, leave pretty much without question. For everything else, have this internal Q&A with yourself as you look at every other application you have installed:

Do I need this? When was the last time I launched it? Why? Is there another app that can do the same thing? If I delete it, would it be easy to install again should I need it?

There are no right answers here – unless it is an application you no longer use and have no plans to use again. In which case, the answer should be obvious.

On day one of this series, we cleaned up your Desktop and had you organize your files into the already built in groupings on your Mac. The main goal was to get them off of your Desktop and into manageable bunches. Today, let’s take the time to put some of those items where they ideally belong. Once again, I wish to preface that this series may seem rudimentary to some of you “pros” but hang in there with the rest of the folks (Who knows? You may even learn a thing or two).

Just as Apple has created ready made folders in your “Home” directory to sort like items into, they have made applications to help you further organize and enjoy those files. Photos and Music are two obvious examples (iPhoto and iTunes). Here is how to handle these:

Photos

If you moved any photos into the Pictures folder of your Home directory on day one, consider adding those to iPhoto (Choose Import to Library… in the File menu). This is really where photos belong. Once they are in iPhoto you can safely delete the originals from your Pictures folder.

There may be some images you wish not to have in iPhoto. For instance, lots of people I know who do design work keep ious images for ideas and inspiration. There are a number of 3rd party tools for that very thing that I won’t cover here, but I will challenge you to add those to iPhoto instead.

If you don’t want certain photos mixed in with the family photos, no problem. After adding these, select them and choose “Hide Photo” from the Photo menu. Then, create a new Smart Album (File: New Smart Album) and set the criteria to “Photo is Hidden”. Now, these photos will only show up when you click on the Smart Album. This tip is also good for all of those other photos you grabbed off the net that you don’t want to show up when showing off your new puppy… Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.

My point is this, there is nothing that should stop you from storing any photo you wish to keep in iPhoto and not keep any stray ones around elsewhere.

Oh, and here is an iPhoto pro-tip: You do know that photos you “delete” in iPhoto don’t really delete but get moved into iPhoto’s own special Trash, right? Well, now you do. Go to the iPhoto menu and choose “Empty iPhoto Trash” and get back a bit of disk space. You’re welcome.

Music

Similar deal here. That Radiohead album that you downloaded, unzipped, and added to iTunes. Yep, that one. Are you still holding onto the downloaded copy? Even the zip file? Why? Once it is in iTunes, trash the original. If you are worried about having a “backup” have a real backup of everything on your hard drive – one onsite and one off. That really cool mixtape.mp3, that audio interview with the productivity guru, that ringtone of your buddy’s pet bunny sniffing into a mic – stick that stuff in iTunes (File: Add to Library) and then delete it.

Also, just like iPhoto, Smart Playlists are your clutterphobic best friend. Create a new Smart Playlist where the criteria is “Playcount is less than 1”. These are all the things in your library you have never listened to. As I see it, you have two choices here – Hit the play button or hit the delete key. Perhaps you might even find some things where you hit the delete key moments after hitting the play button.

Next up…

Tomorrow, we will do a little “getting real” with your Applications folder.

Here is my list of Modest Goals for the coming year. This time, I discovered a theme had kind of grown around the initial list of things I have been jotting down the last few weeks. The theme of doing things “well”, which, when used as an adverb, Merriam-Webster defines as “in a good or proper manner”. This is what I wish to focus on for this year, doing everything in a good or proper manner:
* Eat Well – Continuing the theme of my post of a couple of weeks back (I’ll save you the drumbeating – go read the post), I have committed myself to eating in a manner that is consistent with humane, sustainable, and low-impact practices as much as possible. I am sure I will have my failings at this. For instance, I enjoyed every bit of the baked potato, smothered with nebulous foodstuff ingredients from questionable sources, I had at a suburban restaurant last night – at least while I was eating it. Today, I wish I had made a better choice that was more consistent with who I would like to be going forward. The way to get there is simply one meal at a time.
* Live Well – As part of the above, I want to take better care of my body in general and be more active. I now have the Fitbit to help track my progress. What’s a Fitbit? Merlin Mann provides a pretty good bulleted overview. What I think I like is the idea of having a practically hands off way to get real data metrics on your activities and using that data to set realistic exercise/activity/sleep goals. I have such great shops and restaurants all around me where we live. This is a very walkable neighborhood, more so then even other parts of the city. I plan to navigate it on foot as much as possible. I also want to put the practically new, but barely used, bike I own to greater use.
* Observe Well – We were walking through the warehouse section of our local IKEA the other day, when Beatrix took the time to stop, look directly up, point and yell “Fan!” with the glee only a two year old can muster. Above us was, in fact, a giant ceiling fan – I’d guess at least 20 feet in diameter. As we stood there, heads craned in wonder, looking a little closer, I noticed something even more surprising. The brand name on the fan was Big Ass Fan. That’s right, it’s a real company that makes, well, big ass fans. Despite the near endless chuckle this discovery gave me, it taught me something else more important – Take the time to notice. Delight in the small details that are revealed and, when you think you have seen all there is too see – look a little closer. I plan to do this more from now on.
* Give Well – I want to be more active in the giving of my time, resources, talent, and, of course, money to the projects and people I care about. That means a lot of things, from charity to volunteering to more posting here and the other projects I craft to guest posting on other blogs. I also want to be mindful of my consumption by acknowledging that for everything we take, someone else has to give.