The Column

Motto: My phone is running Android 4.1, you jelly? There is no target audience for this post. Unless you care about the new android update intensely, you shouldn't read on. This excludes everyone that I expect might tune in on a semiregular basis... hence no target audience. This is for me. This is more of a test update than a real column. I have decided to dictate this entire post to my phone. Starting in ice cream sandwich you were able to dictate and watch the words appear as you said them. Starting in jelly bean, I plan on actually using this feature. Partially due to the siri like feature that was added. Google knowledge graph makes for a quick responses to most general inquiries. Going back and rereading that paragraph, it is obvious to me that I speak differently than I write. Perhaps because I get the chance to think a little more when I'm typing that I do when I am speaking. Who knows. Google I/O has got me all jazzed on technology. As most anyone who k

Motto: Hoosier Daddy? I went to Indiana this weekend. It was good. Anyway, on to other things... Not really. More about Indiana. I had never made a trip like that before by myself. It was a bit empowering to know that I can brave airport reservations, timing, flight delays, ticketing, car rental, and navigation, all by myself. Well... with my phone. I consider anything I can do with my phone to be "by myself", because I think of my phone as an extension of my person. That's why I tell everyone I'm really good at division. Actually, I was surprised how easy the whole thing was. I should probably give a quick shout-out to TripIt and their Android App . Although I could have made it without their service, it did make things markedly easier. I got to see my girlfriend, Melissa. She is the head music lady at a camp for kids with various disabilities. Each week a new camp comes in and new kids get to have a camp experience beyond any that I ever had. The place was

Motto: Three days in... I have been taking this "Yes" thing more seriously than I expected. So far I haven't turned down an opportunity, invitation, or suggestion. I have regretted nothing (well, after it was done I didn't regret it). I still have done relatively little, in retrospect, but I have said "yes" when I would otherwise have said "no" at least once a day. Resulting in a lot more pictures and videos in the past three days than usual... because I've done a lot more than usual. That's not saying much. The Engineering Binder (my long-term project of summarizing everything I learned in engineering school) is now a glorious 44 page word document. 22 of those pages are actually full of content... the others are skeleton pages, table of contents, cover page, etc. I worked on it for 6 hours yesterday. Had a great time doing so. I've been using Evernote a lot . I really like it; which is funny, cause I used to loathe it. It is my n

Motto: Say "Yes" More Recently, I have pulled together the messages from different movies, stories, books, and cliches into a new self-manifesto. I am vowing to be more adventurous... carpe Diem, that sort of thing. There is really a lot more I could go into about that, but I think I will refrain. Let's just say that under and behind and inside everything I took for granted, something terrible has been growing. I have trapped myself in my neat little zen world and shut myself off to possibilities, and that sense of entrapment has gave rise to a sense of urgency and anxiety. No more. In that spirit. I am going to workout pretty soon. So this will have to be short. There are other things to get to. I have done a little more experimenting with Android lately, and found/re-found some really good things. See: My Top 5 I love waterbottles. My insulated Camelbak and my new 1 liter Nalgene bottle alone get me drinking nearly a gallon of water a day. I will leave this p

Motto: I keep looking up the definition of insanity, it always says the same thing I'm back in Lawrence. Worked out yesterday in the most "old-fashioned" way imaginable. Going to apply to a few new places. This past weekend was awesome. Saw my cousins. Went to Gander Mountain and Cabela's. Decided Gander Mountain is far superior. Swam. Ate like kings. Sat around a fire. Played Battlefield 3 four TV's wide - See below. It was a blast. I've been doing a bit of back-sliding on areas of focus. A long time ago I decided I wanted a master note taking system that I could use for the rest of my life to keep things organized and keep my head on the right direction. The search for the best option became a bit of an obsession a couple years ago. Back then I settled for Springpad... but after a recentish update it is clear Springpad is going a different direction than I like. Last night, I broke the problem down and reached a few conclusions... First off, wha

Motto: This is a vacation That's what I'm calling it at least. A vacation after school before getting my first big boy job. I'm not sure what that job will be (some sort of Electrical Engineering) or where it will be (probably Kansas), but I'm sure it will be satisfying. I've been in Lawrence for a few days now. I've been to the library, I've been around town looking at some of the things I was too busy to see in college. I like it here. I've been genuinely happy. It's been a nice vacation.  Having said all that. I'm finally "settled", and that means it's time to be a little more proactive. I ran ~a mile and a half yesterday and I was sucking wind. I didn't anticipate doing well, and I definitely put on just as poor of a performance as I was expecting. Next week I'm going to the rec center every day. I went to Kansas City to see my former lab partners. We played Settlers of Catan. I lost. We played Set (it