43 Folders

Back to Work

Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

Join us via RSS, iTunes, or at 5by5.tv.

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Friday remainders, 2005-02-11

  • Cool new TextMate iconTextMate - TextMate’s 1.1 beta5 release has lots of good stuff, including support for Subversion tag highlighting, invisible character display, and improved integration with Xcode. My favorite new thing? Preeeeetty new icon; so much nicer than that disturbing little space creature. He freaks me out.
  • FutureMail - Its developer, Ben Sinclair, emailed me about FutureMail, a web app which purports to let you send text messages to your (or someone else’s) phone at some future time. Has RSS, too. Sounds neat and potentially quite useful. Email me if you try it and like it.
  • Free Ringtones - Although it’s been way too overloaded to do much with each time I tried, smashTheTONES looks amazing—turns any mp3 into a ringtone. Gotta try that again; I’ve been craving a “Faster Gun” ringtone for months.
  • Just buy two - Not to say this is anything out of personal exprience, because, as you know, I’m without flaw. But if you have an item in your life that keeps getting lost (and is a pain to replace without having the original), buy two. One could, for example, keep an extra gas cap in the car in the event they’re the sort of person who absentmindedly leaves the original at the gas pump occasionally. Just saying.
  • Cahier NotebookCahier Notebooks - Our friends at MoleskineUS point us to their new Cahier notebook page. It looks like these guys are similar to the soft-cover Volants favored by tastemakers like Veen—except these have 16 perforated/removable pages in the back, plus a pocket. They’re sending me one to check out, so more then. “Developing,” as Mr. Drudge would say.
  • Four Ws & an H - Had a bit of a breakthrough this week with using Entourage 2004 for task management; Categories are the “How,” “Where,” and “When” of a task (the context); Projects are the “Who” and the “Why” (the reason or desired result). Each time I tag an item, it should be to answer one of those questions as precisely as possible. (And, yes, OCD sufferers: the task itself is the “What,” so you can stop washing your hands now.)
  • Better Name - I need a better name for this leftovers feature. On my LiveJournal, I call pointless, bulleted goulash posts “Hipster Larry King.” What should I call them on 43 Folders, and how would the titles reveal the date it was posted (and differentiate from old editions)? Some kind of phony-baloney prize and a link to whoever comes up with the best new name for my “remainders.” (Why do I always want to just call them “Merlin’s Leavings?”)
  • Rabbits & Focus - Our closing quote this time around comes from what purports to be a Chinese proverb, and I think it’s just one of the most cunning things I’ve ever heard: “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” Awesome.

Kung Hei Fat Choi, everybody.

Stomaphagus's picture

Re: Buy Two: When I was...

Re: Buy Two:

When I was 19 I went through this phase where I was constantly locking my keys in my car. It would happen once, twice a week. So I went to the locksmith and got another car key made. Kept it in my left pocket (my keys normally are in my right pocket). Then when I locked myself out, I just let myself back in. For years after I carried two car keys and it bailed me out several times.

Works for people who lock their little electronic fob in the car, too: just get another.

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

Popular
Today

Popular
Classics

An Oblique Strategy:
Honor thy error as a hidden intention


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »