burningguitar

I plopped down 600 this morning for an ipad. Ridiculous right? Not when you consider I’ve spent that on two book cases that take up a ridiculous amount of room. Not when you consider I’ve schlepped around big thick heavy technical manuals back and forth from work for the last 14 years. Then there is the fact that the other half of the information I need resides on pdf which up until April 3 have to be read on a computer screen or printed, eventually lost and then reprinted. I’ve looked at the Kindle, the Nook and their ilk and have never clicked the buy button because they couldn’t properly format complex pdfs.  The ipad will handle pdfs fine, it will handle books, it will lighten my load, it will sort of change my life in a subtle way.

I’m not a materialistic person.  In fact my quest for the last few years has been to cast away non essential posssesions, to be able to fit everything I need to earn a living into something I can take anywhere. The ipad is the missing piece of the puzzle. Freedom from paper, freedom from a file cabinet, freedom from throwing out my back trying to get my bag out of the car.

The ipad will also open up a world of opportunity for web designers and developers. Epub is based on xhtml. Many apps for the ipad can be made using xhtml and javascript. It also opens doors for writers and publishers. I believe it will finally be the opportunity to re-monetize information. I hope it saves journalism. I hope it saves the New York Times. I have high hopes for the transition away from paper. I have high hopes of being able to fit everything in my bag while leaving both hands free for my umbrella and coffee. Maybe I can pay for the thing by selling my bookcases.

Rework – Jason Fried, David Heinemeir

Basically a book about how to run a business in the 21st century. You need an idea and a spark, forget the project plan because how can you even know what you are going to do until you get there? “In Search of Excellence” for the 10’s. Highly inspiring , relevant and disruptive. The MBA? Why when you have Google?

Factoid from the book: Every wonder where Kingsford Charcoal came from? It was a by product of Ford, thats right the company that makes cars. When they were building Model T’s they spun the wood scraps into charcoal. Kingsford Charcoal.

Yeasayer – Odd Blood
Field Music – Field Music
David Bowie – The Reality Tour (this is better than you’d expect)
Spoon – Transference
The Velvet Underground – Loaded
Arthur Russel – Out of Context (Get Around It should have been on the radio)
Bach Goldberg Variations – Murray Perahia