Category Archives: Life

Travel Tip: bring an AirPort Express to hotels

Here’s one of the best things I’ve learned while staying in hotels: bring an Apple AirPort Express wifi base station. I can’t take credit for tip this at all, this is all Alex, but the reason you do this is so you can connect multiple devices through a single access point.

Ideally, you set this access point name and security to be one your devices already know (like the one at your office or house) so you don’t have to go re-enter passwords all over the place. Plus, most paid hotel services just see the one device (AirPort) and charge you once for that connection, not for your iPhone, iPad, and notebook. Yes, I’ve once accidentally charged $14.95/day multiplied by three devices to a hotel room. And finally, it helps if you have more than one person traveling.

It’s a small, lightweight device (hardly bigger than your notebook charger) with easy configuration and a way to save money and hassle while traveling.

Aurora Shooting

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From Roger Ebert at NYTimes.com:

The United States is one of few developed nations that accepts the notion of firearms in public hands. In theory, the citizenry needs to defend itself. Not a single person at the Aurora, Colo., theater shot back, but the theory will still be defended.

First: I’m moved and saddened by this event, it was a weird way to start the day for many of us I’m sure.

Will this be enough to start a real political debate? Not to be insensitive, especially so quickly after the fact, but I appreciate that Bloomberg used this opportunity to say something while Obama and Romney did not (beyond condolences, prayers). I’m curious if this is just going to remain a 24-hour-news story or can lead to a tipping point and begin change? I doubt it. I can’t think of any important gun-related legislation passed after Giffords (a Representative) was shot.

This is all very sad and certainly hits close to home. It’s just as sad how often shootings happen every day in cities across our country. I fear nothing will change.

Link

I was browsing the Mac App Store and spotted a new “Editors Choice” app from Mint.com: Mint QuickView. It’s a system tray application icon that pops down a ‘quick view’ (modeled similar to Fantastical or even Spotlight) of your finances. Spending, recent transactions, net worth, etc.

Rachel and I have over two and a half years of our joint finances at Mint.com and it’s the best online budgeting, tracking, and personal finance planning tool. It has my unqualified endorsement and the new app is a great addition to the website and mobile apps.

Rachel, it has been 365 days of bliss. Here’s to many more years on our journey together…

Friends and family, thank you for the continued support and friendship. We’re both quite lucky…

Link

An amazing rebuttal to everything I’ve come to know and appreciate about milk (good for you, drink lots of it, etc.) over at NYTimes.com:

Sugar — in the form of lactose — contributes about 55 percent of skim milk’s calories, giving it ounce for ounce the same calorie load as soda.

I remember reading (can’t remember where) how humans are the only animals that have adapted to continue to drink milk after their adolescence.

I dropped Safari Reading List and moved back to Instapaper

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If you’ve ever looked at Safari’s new “Reading List” feature and wondered “is it good enough to replace Instapaper?” or a similar read-it-later service don’t worry, I’ve tested it out for you. Four months ago I moved all my articles into Safari (my primary web browser) and stopped using the Instapaper applications to read on my iPad and iPhone. Spoiler alert: I almost complete stopped saving articles to be read and I stopped reading saved articles.

Here are the big reasons I stopped using the Safari “Reading List”:

1. No home screen presence

Without a nagging reminder to keep reading when I pick up my phone during idle time, I default to spending my time in “less useful” ways such as checking Twitter, checking email, or playing a game. Without a dedicated application icon, for me it was hard to remember there is a list of good articles waiting for me buried in Safari (two or three taps away).

2. No API integration into apps (yet)

I find most of my long-form articles via Twitter and Reeder (RSS feeds). Both these applications have a dedicated button for sending a URL directly to Instapaper. There is no (currently) way to do this for the “Reading List” without taking two steps: open the link in Safari (which switches the currently open app) and then use the built-in Safari action to save to the Reading List (similar to ‘bookmarking’). This is slow and clumsy and led me to almost completely stop bookmarking articles to read later. Sometimes I would read it then and there just so I wouldn’t have to switch apps. Sometimes I would just skim the article and move on.

(I can only presume future iOS versions will make this a simple action available to iOS apps.)

3. No offline abilities

Instapaper does a great job turning an article into a simple, text-only version that will show up downloaded to my devices in the background. With Safari’s Reading List I need to be online to access the URL (tough luck if the URL goes offline temporarily or permanently) and then I need to use the ‘Reader’ tab to see the text-only version. Again, this seems like extra steps and clumsy. It’s close, though.

(I am aware that iOS 6 will add “Offline Reading” support, that’s why this is number three.)

Reading List has near parity to other read-it-later providers like Instapaper but it’s still a bit too fiddly to be useful. My guess is offline support will be good and a dedicated iOS “Save to Reading List” action is around the corner. I’ll try things out again and see if Instapaper drops off my home screen then. But, the point remains: without the nagging application on my home screen: I forget to read what I told myself I should.

Some of my favorite breakfast in Denver with one of the worst waits in Denver.

Worldwide WordPress 5K

1. Weekly Running Club

Every Tuesday the Denver Beer Co. hosts a running club where nearly a hundred folks all take off and run a 5k together around the Confluence Park area. Rachel and I plan to be there every week if possible.

2. March of Dimes

Every year Rachel and I walk with a family friend at the March of Dimes and this past Saturday it was at City Park in Denver. It was a great way to spend an early weekend morning.

I’ve become more and more accustomed to running over the years (and Nike Running is a fascinating athletics-turned-technology company story) so I hope to document more of these over time.

Devin Reams