I just finished reading The Gut by Jack Welch (former CEO of GE). The book can be a little slow at times but overall, a great read if you’re interested in GE and the accomplishments of Jack Welch. I’d recommend picking up a copy. Once you get into it, you’ll rip through the 400 pages in a couple days.
Monthly Archives: January 2008
5 cell phones & 2 air cards
Posted by Todd Mitchell
on January 29, 2008
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Cell phone junkie? Maybe. Probably. Okay, yes. Now that we’re over that, I carry 5 cell phones and 2 air cards. It just seems silly but its almost necessary.
- Cell phone for Canada (Rogers) – Sony Ericsson W810.
- Cell phone from the office (AT&T) – Blackberry Curve.
- Cell phone for personal use (Verizon) – Blackberry World Edition.
- Cell phone for personal use (AT&T) – Nokie N95-3.
- Cell phone for another office (Verizon) – Samsung something.
A cell phone for Canada is required when I head home to avoid insane roaming fees. It is actually cheaper to carry an extra cell phone over paying roaming and long distance fees.
Office phones are office phones. Can’t get away from them and they need to be separate.
Blackberry World Edition handles my personal email and friends/family phone calls. The N95 is in the mix because of its camera and video taking abilities. Better than carrying around a standalone camera and the AT&T 3G service is awesome.
And finally one air card is from Sprint (work) and a personal one from Verizon.
My pockets are always full. But I always have cell phone reception :)
FeedDemon is FREE!
Posted by Todd Mitchell
on January 28, 2008
1 comment
I’ve been a long time proponent of FeedDemon. I purchased a license back on Oct 29th, 2004. A tremendous product and the author, Nick Bradbury, is second to none. His product was a success since day one because he listened intently to his users and reacted to their feedback.
People are always reluctant to pay for software. Fortunately FeedDemon was reasonable and I converted many friends from bloglines to FeedDemon. And I enjoyed FeedDemon even more when the product was acquired by NewsGator. Nick and NewsGator allowed FeedDemon license holders to use NewsGator at no cost for a year or two–always doing right by the customer.
And just recently they’ve turned another corner. NewsGator is committed to focusing on the enterprise. As a result, and effective immediately, FeedDemon is now available at no cost to users! You can find more information and the free download here.
Nick: Great job over the years and congrats.
2 simple steps to improve productivity
Posted by Todd Mitchell
on January 28, 2008
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For the last 2 months I’ve been rocking an empty inbox. Between all of my email accounts I probably receive 400 – 700 emails a day. Keep in mind that I don’t need to read them immediately and I do not need to act on all of them.
The most important inbox I’ve applied InboxZero to is my work email address. I get a ton of mail to that address day in and day out. By shutting down the on-screen popup indicator of new mail and only checking mail every 20 – 30 minutes–and then cleaning my inbox out to zero when I do see it is life changing.
No long am I a slave to my inbox or using it as a to-do list. I power through my inbox every time I see it. Check out inboxzero.com for more info on the strategy.
I have also turned another corner and I’ve limited the notifications coming from my cell phones. I only let it vibrate if it is actually ringing. Text messages and emails produce no notification at all. When I have a free moment I’ll check my blackberry rather than it interrupting my thought process when I’m in the middle of something.
Give InboxZero and disabling blackberry notifications a shot. You can still be connected 24 hours a day–now you just get more done because you’re not constantly interrupted.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards
Posted by Todd Mitchell
on January 27, 2008
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I got stuck watching a portion of the SAG awards tonight. I watched maybe 45 minutes and the entire time the only thing I could think of is when are they going to stop talking. The show lets the winners go on and on for minutes at a time. The show would be so much more palatable if winners could be limited to 30 seconds.
SAG Award organizers. 30 second speeches, max, please. Thanks.