We are going to miss almost everything

My last post considered the fact that the Internet allows tons of content to be thrown at our faces contantly. Along those same lines, just consider the massive amount of content that is already out there, and how much more is created every single day. Consider the fact that 35 hours of content is uploaded to youtube every minute. Obviously nobody cares to watch every video on youtube, but it is a great example of the futility of trying to "keep up" with anything these days.

An article on NPR.com from April entitled The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We're All Going To Miss Almost Everything explores this idea.

It is the recognition that well-read is not a destination; there is nowhere to get to, and if you assume there is somewhere to get to, you'd have to live a thousand years to even think about getting there, and by the time you got there, there would be a thousand years to catch up on."

Some of us try to make ourselves believe we are well-read, or contain extensive knowledge about the world around us. It is a delusion. It might be true that we have a slightly more well-rounded view than our average peer. But it would be impossible to consume, let alone retain, even a tiny fraction of the liturature and art the world has created just since your birth.  You can try to keep up with genres of information you are interested in, but even then you are fighting a losing battle. That doesn't mean we should stop, it just means we should stop pretending that any of us know anything. 

I'm sure you all have friends that say things like "You need to watch The Wire.", "You need to read the Dark Tower series.", or "You need to go through Kubrick's filmography." Even keeping up with these personally recomended lists is a daunting task. I'd love to read all the literary classics, but it might have to wait until I retire. There just isn't enough time to be smart. I have a difficult enough time keeping up with the pop culture that society is jamming down our throats every day. 

Reading the Internet

Over the last few years I've had this growing sense that I can never totally focus on anything. I can't describe it very well. To a certain extent I experience this at work. I'll try to get something done and the phone will ring or the email icon will pop up. However, most of the time I am able to force myself to buckle down and concentrate. Work is one thing, but I'm talking more about my personal time.

There is nothing forcing me to concentrate on a single task during my free time so I cannot do it. I can't just sit and read a book anymore. I spend my time trying to keep up with my twitter feed, or skimming internet headlines from the day. I can't even seem to sit down and watch a 2 hour movie without my iPhone in hand. It is as if the way by brain consumes and processes information has changed. I've felt this way for a while, but haven't been able to put my finger on it.  Then I read this great article by Nicholas Carr called Is Google Making Us Stupid. It does pretty decent job at making sense of the feeling I had.

Writing on the iPad

All day long at work I sit at my desk looking at my computer.  When I come home from work the last thing I want to do is go into my office and sit at my desk at my computer.  However, I do want to write, and the best way to do that is by sitting in front of some sort of computing device. Since I've had my iPad it has been great for sitting on the couch and reading or browsing the internet.  Recently it has become my main writing computer as well.

When I first bought the iPad I got an Apple bluetooth keyboard to go along with it.  That is a must if you are going to do any substantial writing.  The onscreen keyboard is okay for tapping out a short email, but anything more than that would drive me insane.  There are a few keyboard cases out there that have been highly rated by users but I haven't tried any of them. These integrated cases would be more convenient than the separate Apple keyboard, but they are also smaller. I don't like to be cramped up. I think the keyboards on the integrated cases would be too small for me. The Apple keyboard is just about right. I think it is the same one you would get if you bought a new iMac. It is Apple so it is a little pricey, but it is nice.  

Google Currents news reader

Yesterday we got an updated Flipboard that will work on the iPhone. In timely fashion today Google releases its fancy news reader known as Google Currents. So far I'm not buying it. I expected more. It isn't as pretty as I thought it would be. The Google search app on the iPad is really good and I use it all the time. I don't see where Currents fits in. From what I can tell Flipboard still blows it away if you are looking to read online content on the iPad.

The gist of Currents is simple: it’s a clean, touch-friendly way to consume your favorite blogs and news sites on your phone and/or tablet. And it looks good — much better, in fact, than most of Google’s other applications."

That quote is from the techcruch article, and I would disagree with it.  Currents promised to be those things, and that is what we expected, however I don't think the finished product delivers. Maybe they rushed it out so Flipboard didn't have a chance to lock in all those iPhone users before Google even had a chance. There is definitely a lot of room for future improvements.

Flipboard for iPhone

I've heard it was coming for a while now and today they finally released the iPhone version of one of my favorite iPad apps. Here is a quote from the blog post from Flipboard.  

The moment so many Flipboard readers have asked for is here: Now you can get Flipboard for iPhone. It’s got everything you know and love about Flipboard, but now designed especially for the way you use your iPhone."

The app looks cool for sure, however it comes nowhere close to offering the utility of the iPad app. I haven't used it a ton, so maybe I haven't seen all the cool stuff it can do. I don't find the idea of reading articles on the iPhone all that appealing. It is good to browse headlines and catch up on quick news, but I have never been a fan of reading longer content on the small screen. The cramped real-estate also takes away that cool magazine feel that the iPad app has.  Still, it is a pretty slick looking app for the iPhone; one of the prettier ones I've ever seen.  Trying to use it just like I use the iPad app probably isn't the most optimal scenario. Maybe if I keep using it I will find more utility. It seems like it might be cool for flipping through pictures. 

Thanksgiving break in 500 words or less

Just a quick update to let you all know what's been going on. We had a good Thanksgiving around here. The days flew by so quickly. The past week went by in a flash. Amanda and her sister did a ton of cooking and it was awesome. We had all the normal Thanksgiving fare. Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, etc, and of course peanut butter pie. Amanda made a sweet potato casserole that was really good. I can't believe for most of my life I thought sweet potatoes were gross.

Unorganized

Most of the time when people say they are crazy busy they aren't actually crazy busy. They are just unorganized, or unable to prioritize. Right now I feel like I am crazy busy. I feel overwhelmed. I feel like there is no way I can get everything done that I am supposed to get done.  I feel spread thin and unable to focus on a single task to completion.

For a long time I've prided myself on my organization and time management.  I started a new job 6 months ago and my workflow and workload changed significantly. I haven't quite got the hang of it yet, and I'm still struggling to keep things in order.  I will commonly work on something then it will go away for a few weeks, then all the sudden I get a question about it.  I have to dig back through emails and try to remember what was even going on.  This is happening a lot, and I feel like I am wasting time.  I need a better system for sure and I feel like I'm about to make a breakthrough.

Code Overhaul

When I built this blog a couple years ago I started with a very basic vanilla layout and have been tweaking it a ton. At this point the code behind it is a beast. Google has been making a lot of improvements and adding features to the blogger platform, but they require you to have a new standard template for a lot of those things.  I've been putting it off for a long time, but I am finally going to bite the bullet and overhaul the code that sits behind dericbidwell.com.

The final goal is for this site to look *pretty much* exactly as it does right now.  I guess we'll see what I break and go from there.  Bear with me if things looks funky over the next several days.

What did I get myself into with these two?

This isn't the greatest picture I've even taken but I love it. Look at these two crazy girls! I'm not exactly sure what is going on here, but little Amelia's face is amazing.

Late afternoon in the garden

I was going through some pictures I took back in August that I had never really looked at and I really loved this one. I didn't even remember taking it at first. It was so hot that day, and all I could think about was when the weather finally cooled off. Now I'm not sure the cold it is as great as I had built it up to be.