Nook 1.5

The Nook 1.5 software is out. I'm sure there are many of new features. The only one I care about is page turning. Page turning on the e-Ink display is now very fast.

Getting things done & Making it all work.

A few years ago I read "Getting Things Done." In a fit of inspiration I set my files up as the GTD recommended. I rarely touched the files since then since then. For the most part my mail just sits in a big unsorted pile. I auto-pay everything so there is little reason to open mail.

Maybe this means I should just throw most of my bills out? I know I'm supposed to keep them for one year.

Perhaps I need to set up a generic bill folder for each year, and then purge the folder after a year?

Reading "Making it All Work" the followup to "Getting Things Done" makes me think about that. In all likelihood I will follow the same habit-- throw all bills in a pile. But still, it inspires me.

Kinect

I'm surprised how good the Kinect is. And a little disappointed. Sound contradictory enough? Good. Then let me explain.

The Kinect tracks your bodies motion amazingly well. It's not flaky or half assed. It really tacks your bodies motion. The disappointment then stems, not from the Kinect controller, but from the concept of motion tracking-- you have to watch your hands or you accidentally select something.

Or, if you are like me, you are big. If I have to raise my hand, then it hits the ceiling.

None of these problems are fatal. In fact, with a year or two of polish they kinect may become the next big thing.

Making it All Work

By David Allen.

I have a fascination with procrastination books. Part of me hopes that with the right trick, the right philosophy, the right training, I will unlock my inner hardworking, creative drive.

I'm starting to think though that everyone procrastinates. There is no silver bullet. Really productive people just focus on the really important things and cut everything else out.

Back to David Allen, he of "Getting Things Done" fame. He has a few good insights on they way work work, how we get bogged down and how to be more productive.

To oversimplify, Allen believes in organization and systems. Simple, clean, efficient systems that deal with most any situation.

Allen also feels we soak up to much of our space and time with crap, mental and physical. How can we focus when there are so many distractions? He suggests we spend more time asking "What does this thing mean to me?" and getting rid of that which is meaningless.

At some point in the future, I will read this book again. There is lot of good stuff in it, but I'm not in a frame of mind where I can take it up.