Whiteboard

I Love Dry EraseI am now the proud owner of a large dry-erase board. This is only worth blogging about because a giant blank canvas is a noteworthy thing in our age of little text fields and 140-character microblogging. The best and worst thing a creative person can stare at is a blank page- it represents either total freedom or an intimidating lack of substance.

It’s like looking down from the top of a ski slope. Either you see every twist and turn of the path you might take, or you see a big scary unbroken mountain staring back up at you. The difference, of course, is in the mind of the skier. In either case you’re certainly not going to want to walk down a narrow little path, structured by how someone else might have descended the mountain.

So much of how technology works is centered around the left-brained types. Outlining software, databases, calendars, and to-do lists force us to think in little lines of text. I would lay money down, however, that all of those innovations started life as an idea jotted onto a giant dry-erase board.

This is why we love the iPhone’s big touchscreen but still hate entering data with it. This is why we want Apple to release a tablet MacBook already. This is why, for all we do in front of little LCD monitors, our best steps forward start with a tube-dispensed liquid pigment (or, alternately, a stick of chalk).

If you haven’t invested in a full-size notebook or a dry-erase board large enough to use as a Pilates mat, it’s time for you to head to Staples and pick one up.

Photo by Jeff Kubina


Happy iPhone Day (I'm Not Getting One)

iPhone GreedAfter waiting a long year for the second generation iPhone to hit the shelves, I’m downright insulted. The hardware promises so much, and yet the ridiculous extortion that AT&T calls a “plan” makes my eyes twitch.

I am not getting one. In fact, I’m going to leave AT&T for Sprint as soon as I can sign on the dotted line. I’ve had it with mediocre service and expensive plans. After 5 years, they’re losing my business because they’re just too greedy.

My only question now is which hardware platform I should be looking at. This is where you come in…

I'm not getting an iPhone. What should I get instead?

  • Blackberry (53%, 10 Votes)
  • Other (Explain in comments please) (26%, 5 Votes)
  • Palm (21%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 19

Please leave your reasoning, ideas, justifications, etc. in the comments, and let me know if there’s anything else I should consider. I’d love to hold out for Android, but my current tube-powered wood-burning phone won’t live that long.


The iPhone Existeth

iPhone KeypadTo quote [tag]Bill in Portland, Maine[/tag]:

CHEERS to the [tag]iPHONE[/tag]!!!! It slices! It dices! It makes julian fries at the touch of a button! Turn it upside down and it becomes an all-in-one tire inflator and grout remover! Place a pork roast in the chamber and then…”set it and forget it!!” But wait, there’s more! Make deposits and withdrawals with the handy ATM feature! Twist on the rotor attachment and to turn it into your own personal CommuterCopter™! Or add the exclusive Nipple 3.0 and feed your infant 100% pure breastmilk for up to 10 minutes while playing the latest single from Beyonce! And somewhere on it I think there’s a phone. How quaint.

iWant one. Just have to wait until summer to get it.


My Official iPhone Rumor

Eureka ScreenshotSo everyone’s talking about the hypothetical [tag]iPhone[/tag]™ soon to be announced by [tag]Apple Computer[/tag]. Much has been made of the fact that the trademarks and patents are already filed, not something [tag]Apple[/tag] does just for fun. Yet nobody can figure out just what’s supposed to be so groundbreaking.

A phone? That plays music? *YAWN*

I think I’ve figured it out, though, and I owe this revelation to the [tag]SciFi Network[/tag].
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