Like a Slow Fire Burn

You are what you listen to.

In many ways, my iTunes library is an extension of my identity. This music defines me. These artists represent my values. These songs represent memories and scenes from my life.

My music is who I am.

I bought an iPod Nano the other day for workout purposes, and so I was perusing my iTunes library trying to decide which songs to put on it.

The problem with going through your library song-by-song is that you unavoidably come across its deep, dark secrets. The songs you no longer listen to because of the memories associated with them.

There’s one particular song I always scroll past because it reminds me of a girl I was in love with. Back then, I wasn’t familiar with the artist, but it was one of her favorites, and this particular song was the one I enjoyed the most.

It’s a song I never would have known existed if that relationship had never happened.

And now that the relationship is over, and the song is still here in my library, I find myself in a difficult position. Even looking at the song in my iTunes brings back painful memories. Or perhaps they’re good memories. Or perhaps they were good at the time, and the pain stems from their being lost.

In any case, on this particular day, something persuaded me to listen to that song.

It hurt.

But at the same time, it was a therapeutic pain. As soon as the song started playing, memories came flooding back. Images. Faces. Feelings. All of which were wonderful at the time, and all of which now hurt like hell.

But for some sick reason, I forced myself to sit through that song. And as I endured that chorus and let those memories punch me in the gut over and over again, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to cry over what I lost or smile about what I had.

The funny thing is, I played it again. And again, and again, and again.

And every time I played it, I felt a little bit better. And I felt a little less like crying and a little more like smiling. Because just because I lost it doesn’t mean it’s gone. The memories are mine, and they’re still here. The fact that they hurt only confirms that it was real. And that makes me smile.

It is a good song.

Life remains amazing.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

So Long, Lifehacker

Last week, I wrote a thing about too many inputs. One of the concerns was RSS, an area where I sometimes feel I’m just swiping “read” to process to zero as quickly as possible.

The key to RSS is being mindful of your subscriptions and only allowing those that are truly valuable to occupy your feed reader. If you’re finding more irrelevance than value, it’s time to unsubscribe.

The Culprit

One of the feeds I struggle with most is Lifehacker.

I have a love-hate relationship with Lifehacker. The site contains both a lot of great information and a lot of useless information.

Lifehacker is a high volume feed. I’d estimate they post between fifty and a hundred times a day. This frequency makes for a difficult subscribing decision.

I want to be more productive, and I want all those tips and tricks, and I want to astound people with my wealth of brilliant geek knowledge.

But do I need to know that you can use mayonnaise to clean crayon off your walls?

Or that you can use a banana peel to relieve itching from poison ivy and mosquito bites?

Or how to use a jelly pocket for a better drip-free PB&J?

Maybe I’m just biased against food hacks, but I now see where Merlin is coming from. It’s gotten to the point where whenever I see new Lifehacker posts in Reeder, I know I can just swipe, swipe, swipe them as read and knock fifteen or twenty off my unread count.

I’ve struggled to come up with a solution, because a few times a day there actually is something worth reading on Lifehacker. I’ve followed the site via RSS for years, and I’ve been following it on Twitter since I first signed up for an account.

The Lifehacker Twitter tweets every single post, so following in both places is extraneous. It comes down to the lesser of two evils: do I continue to swipe, swipe, swipe in Reeder to maintain a clean Twitter feed, or do I continue to flick past endless Lifehacker tweets to make RSS significantly more manageable?

The Twitter feed allows me to be more selective in which articles I choose to read. If a headline catches my interest, I can bookmark it or send it to Instapaper. Otherwise, I just keep scrolling. Compare this to RSS, wherein every item must be processed one way or another.

Or…

The Solution

I think it’s time for Lifehacker to go the way of Facebook for me. The percentage of relevant posts has gotten much too small, and when it comes to tech news, I prefer to read dedicated sites or real people anyway.

I’ve unsubscribed from Lifehacker on RSS and Twitter. I did, however, add it to my News list on Twitter. I only check my lists every other day or so, which allows me to keep a relaxed eye on the site while freeing myself from its information firehose.

I think Lifehacker is best treated as a database. It contains a wealth of useful information, but most of it isn’t useful either A: to me, or B: right now. Rather, if I ever find myself thinking, “Jeez, I’ve got all this mayonnaise and my walls are covered in crayon”, I’ll go look up a solution on Lifehacker.

Reading Lifehacker on a daily basis is like reading an encyclopedia from cover to cover: nonsensical. It’s more practical and efficient to look up something specific when I need it, instead of wasting my time reading about things that don’t apply to me.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

My Mostly Irrelevant Thoughts on The Talk Show

The Internet has been in an uproar ever since The Talk Show moved from 5by5 to the Mule Radio Syndicate.

Over the weekend, Gabe of Macdrifter wrote a response about the response to the change:

People take their opinion too seriously and like to inflate their own value. How can anyone without personal connections to and personal knowledge of the network switch have any opinion? Further, who gives a shit. It’s a podcast that isn’t ending, just switching networks. No one shut down 5by5. No one changed anything that materially impacts my life. I had to resubscribe to a podcast on a different feed. Big deal.

Dan Benjamin, John Gruber’s co-host on 5by5, released a statement Monday morning explaining the situation. He’s a class act.

Gabe’s response is valid. No, my life is not literally impacted by a podcast changing networks. I’m still sitting here at my desk, regardless. Nothing’s changed.

But the reason I and thousands of other listeners are feeling impacted is emotional attachment. This is what Gabe’s response misses and what Dan’s statement gets exactly right.

Like Dan, I started listening to podcasts when I had a forty-five minute commute to a job I couldn’t stand. I had been listening to NPR, but it was getting on my nerves, and I didn’t care about 90% of what I was hearing. That’s the beauty of podcasts: you can listen to thoughtful conversations on the topics that you love. 5by5 has been the source of so much learning, entertainment, and comfort for me since I started listening almost two years ago. Like Dan says, I feel like I’ve gotten to know the hosts over time, and they’ve become like my buddies. They don’t know who I am, but I spend time with them whenever I’m in the car, and subsequently I feel like they’re my friends.

The Talk Show’s switch to a different network feels like a favorite band breaking up. Something I’ve come to know, love, and rely on in some small capacity is over.

Yes, shame on me for developing an emotional attachment to a podcast, but what can you do?

Oh, well.

5by5 will continue. The Talk Show will continue, albeit in a different form. And really, we won’t be any worse for the wear. Other than Dan’s statement, we have no personal insight into what caused the switch, and so it’s not worth fretting over. We still have a 120 episodes of The Talk Show that can be revisited any time, and now we have a new incarnation of the show to look forward to.

Rands:

Take the time to understand change before you fear change.

Unless John makes a statement, we can’t fully understand this change. If you ask me, that means we need not fear it. We shall persevere.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Inbox Terrors: How to Stop Being Scared of Email

Right now, I’m carrying around a considerable amount of anxiety because of email.

Which is ridiculous.

You see, I’m waiting for three emails of relative importance. One is feedback on an article I wrote. Another is about guesting on a reputable podcast (not mine). And the third is about possibly meeting up to play music with some people I’ve never met before.

SCARY. EMAILS.

Of course, being scared of email is completely irrational, but the fear is real nonetheless. It’s a fear of the unknown. I have no idea and even less control over what the other person might say.

“This is literally the worst thing you’ve ever written.”

“You’re way too dumb to be on this podcast.”

“You suck at playing bass, even though I’ve never heard or seen you play, but I’m sure that’s what I’ll say once I do. How’s tomorrow at 8?”

The likelihood of any of these responses actually happening is slim to none.

BUT THEY MIGHT!

No, they won’t.

But suppose they did. What would happen?

Scenario:

I’m sitting here at my desk, as I do, reading and/or writing and/or perusing the interwebs, when suddenly my email goes ding! [Seriously, it just did. Holy crap.]

I open my email, click the unread message, and BOOM — it literally leaps off the screen and starts screaming at me like I’m the worst person in the world.

Or so it seems.

But when I’m done reading it, what has actually happened?

Nothing.

I’m still sitting here at my desk. The sun is still shining. Everything is as it was moments before.

I’m not dead.

If an alien were to look down from space into my house and see me sitting here, there would be no discernible difference between what it saw before the email and what it saw after the email.

Email can’t hurt you. People can’t eat you.

And if the email does contain bad news, well, I’ll survive. I’ll work through it. What I won’t do is let it paralyze or defeat me. The worst part about reading a scary email is reading it; it’s probably not as bad as you thought, and if it is, it only gets better from there.

So be brave. Don’t fear the ding!

Because there are far more important things to be scared of than email.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

I have nothing to say today.

But that’s OK.

The less we talk, the more we listen.

The more we listen, the more we learn.

The more we learn, the clearer the path becomes.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Too Many Inputs

Mark Sisson:

Namely, smartphones, social media, and the Internet in general has changed the way we experience the world. For many, it has replaced engagement with the real physical world almost entirely.

Brett Kelly, on reading intentionally:

It may sound narcissistic, but I feel a lot better laying my head down at night knowing that I spent 30–45 random minutes reading books and articles that I actually want to read instead of frustratedly skimming news that usually doesn’t interest me.

Paul Miller quit the Internet for a year:

I feel like I’ve only examined the internet up close. It’s been personal and pervasive in my life for over a decade, and I spend on average 12+ hours a day directly at an internet-connected terminal (laptop, iPad, Xbox), not to mention all the ambient internet my smartphone keeps me aware of.

Stephen Hackett:

Miller’s actions are probably over the top. That said, I do think many of us who are neck-deep in the Internet daily could use a healthy dose of self-control.

Richard J. Anderson:

How much of what I’m consuming in content each day is signal, and how much is noise? […]

Every click brings us a little shot of pure, full-strength dopamine. Don’t tell me you don’t get just the tiniest little thrill when you open your Twitter client, refresh your RSS feeds, or refresh your Instagram feed.

I love being a nerd, having a website, recording podcasts, tumbling, tweeting, reading RSS and Instapaper, and on occasion, even emailing.

I quit Facebook because it was a timesuck, and I need all the time I can get. It’s the same reason I don’t keep any games on my iPhone.

But sometimes, it’s still too much. I’ve felt digitally overwhelmed lately.

I had a nonstop weekend last week. Work was consuming, people were graduating, mothers were celebrating, family was remembering. And so my online life fell by the wayside.

Other than increasing unread counts, there were no consequences for my being off the grid. But I felt a certain heaviness every time I did take a moment to check my phone. I felt removed from the online world.

Distraction is ubiquitous. It’s so easy to wake up in the morning, reach for the iPhone on your nightstand, and spend half an hour reading and consuming.

I haven’t picked up my Kindle in months, even though I love it, and I think it’s because I’m already reading all day. Reading books takes focus and concentration. It’s intellectual work, and I often don’t have the strength for it at the end of the day. I’d rather just thumb through more tweets and RSS feeds.

Combatting information overload is an iterative process.

I’m not about to quit the Internet completely; I find too much value in it, and it’s helped me discover things I love very much. It’s helped introduce me to this online world of writers and creators, a community that I aspire to be a part of.

Ultimately, I agree with Rich. The simple answer is mindfulness: being aware of all of our inputs and what they contribute to our lives.

RSS is the biggest culprit for me. I’m currently subscribed to 98 RSS feeds, some of which are high volume, many of which are not. I’ve made a conscious effort to remove any feeds I deem extraneous. If I find I’m constantly swiping “read” on a majority of a feed’s posts, it’s time to unsubscribe.

I’m considering moving to a Patrick Rhone-esque RSS system in the future, but for now I’m going to continue to keep a close, mindful eye on my inputs, and maintain the self-control to not check them every five minutes.

Sometimes, you need to shut down.

The solution to too many inputs is simple. Evaluate each input as follows:

1. Be mindful of the input’s value.
2. When the input is no longer valuable, remove it. (This requires letting go of the fear of missing out on what the input provides.)
3. Repeat.

Eliminate the unnecessary. Inner peace 101.

Have an extraordinary weekend, everyone.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

The Quick and Easy Path

Luke: Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no. No. Quicker. Easier. More seductive.

What is easy isn’t always what’s right.

What is easy isn’t always what’s best.

Cupcakes are easy. They are seductive. Taking one out of its wrapper is quick and painless. The payoff is immediate. It’s sweet and delicious.

Eating healthy is hard. We’re surrounded by junk food everywhere we go. Cooking healthy food takes time and effort. It’s a pain in the ass.

Lying in bed is easy. It’s tempting, safe, and comforting. Nothing can hurt you there, under the covers.

Push-ups are hard. They aren’t fun. They hurt. Going to the gym is hard. It hurts. It takes consistent time and effort before you ever see any rewards.

Doing what you’re told is easy. Stay in the box. Keep your head down. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Be average.

Making something is hard. Creating something out of nothing is hard. Especially when there may be little in the way of tangible rewards.

We must be mindful of the choices placed before us.

Eating junk food is easy.

Not working out is easy.

Following the paths of convention is easy.

But is it what’s right?

Is it what’s best?

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

The Futility of Grudges

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Oscar Wilde

I’m terrible at staying mad at people.

No matter how hard I try, my anger rarely lasts for more than a few hours, let alone an entire day.

I just don’t have the strength.

And why would I want to? Why would I want to walk around carrying all of that anger, hatred, and jealousy in my head all day?

I’ve known people who seem to flaunt their grudges like badges of honor. “So-and-so made fun of me in middle school, and now she’s my mortal enemy.”

I don’t get it. What’s the point? Why waste your time and energy being mad at someone for something that happened years ago? Months ago? Yesterday?

Why choose to promote negative energy?

Staying mad at someone is hard work. I have to constantly remind myself why I’m angry over and over again. That takes mental and emotional energy. It’s exhausting.

And what do I have to gain? The satisfaction of knowing that my enemy knows I’m angry at him?

Holding a grudge means I’ve become attached to the notion that I was right and he was wrong. I believe it so strongly that I’m willing to devote a portion of my brain to preserving that altercation. To preserving negativity.

It’s not worth it.

I can’t control what someone thinks of me. But, I can control how my mind deals with their opinion. If their opinion is valuable — regardless of whether it’s positive or negative — I can choose to learn from it. That’s constructive criticism. But, if their opinion is not valuable, I can choose to transcend it.

If someone has an irrational problem with me, it’s not my problem. It’s their problem. And their problem isn’t really with me; it’s with themselves. They’re projecting their own self-hatred onto me. It’s unfortunate, but not something I should worry about. I wish them the best in their struggle.

When it comes to grudges, life really is too short to spend it preserving anger and hate. The world has enough of that. Do not be a source of negative energy.

Let go.

Smile.

Be free.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Crush On Radio #2: "Get My Feet a Little Wetter"

I’m proud of how this episode turned out. We’re starting to find our groove, the music is great, and we avoided any major Skype issues.

In our landmark second episode, we talk about the ethics of downloading, local record stores, buying music at big box stores, the future of record labels, bootlegs both digital and physical, and go down several ratholes about various bands.

Picks this week are: Laurie Anderson, Gotye, and Chumbawamba.

If you enjoy the show, please take a moment to leave a review on iTunes. It’s the best way to support our little podcast.

Listen on our website.
Listen on iTunes.

Deceptively Simple

There was a time, back before I started playing bass, when video games were my biggest hobby. I'd spend hours getting lost in virtual worlds, wishing I was off adventuring instead of sitting in my bedroom.

I'm a little sad to say I don't really do that anymore. I'll go back and revisit some of my all-time favorites periodically, but otherwise, I do very little in the way of keeping up with the latest video game trends.

I have a hard time identifying exactly what caused me to lose interest in modern video gaming. For some reason, I feel the spirits of games just aren't what they used to be.

For me, this deficiency is most evident in the Final Fantasy series. The PlayStation era titles (VII, VIII, and IX) captured my imagination like nothing else. Literally hundreds of hours were spent immersed in these magical worlds. I loved it.

Still, while amazing for their time, these games do not feature high-definition graphics, ultra-realistic AI, or other technological innovations relative to today's standards.

But while they may lack the polish and shiny-ness of the latest Final Fantasy titles, they possess something the newer games do not, which I can only describe as a charming and memorable spirit.

When Final Fantasy X came out for the PlayStation 2, it was incredible. The graphics were gorgeous. The environments were tremendous. There was voice-acting!

But something was missing. It lacked the charm and immersion of earlier titles. It was as if the graphics were too good. I've still never finished the game, despite having tried to get through it numerous times. There's nothing tangibly wrong with Final Fantasy X; it's beautiful, and I'm sure it's the favorite of many FF fans. But for me, something just never clicked. It never made me care.

The reason I bring this up is that Rands tweeted this awesome video comparing the original Mega Man to Mega Man X).

The video's creator spends twenty minutes explaining the brilliance behind Mega Man X, including the way its intro level flawlessly teaches the player everything he/she needs to know without the use of blatant "here's how you play" tutorials.

Mega Man X is one of my favorite video games of all time, but even I struggle explaining its greatness. This video fascinates me because it elucidates all of the brilliance and charm of the game, which I always felt, but could never quite articulate.

The video reminds me of the Red Letter Media reviews of the Star Wars prequels in that it explains exactly why the game so good, which makes you love it even more.

When compared to today's epics, like Mass Effect and Skyrim, early video games seem straightforward and simplistic.

In some ways, that's true. But I would argue games like Mega Man are not simplistic, but deceptively simple. As the video illustrates, a tremendous amount of care was put into all aspects of Mega Man X, and it's still one of my favorite games as a result.

I haven't bought a new video game in a long time, but thanks to their charming simplicity and surprising depth, I'll always return to games like Mega Man. I consider myself lucky to have had it as a part of my childhood.

Sometimes, you just need to go right.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Rest In Peace, Grammy C

My grandmother died last week. She was 92 and the best grammy her four grandkids could ask for.

As sad as I am over her passing, I’m fortunate to have nothing but wonderful memories of her, and I’m comforted to know that she’s in a much better place than the convalescent home in which she resided for the last ten years of her life.

I’m also reminded of the importance of recognizing that, while the body may die, the spirit lives on forever, and so she’s not gone. Not really.

The pain comes from no longer being able to see someone, to touch and hug them, to talk with them and hear their voice when we’re so used to doing so.

But we are fortunate to be much more than physical bodies.

To be at peace with the passing of a loved one, we must let go of our attachment to their physicality. Death is a natural part of life, and so the loss of the body is inevitable.

If we can let go of the body and preserve the spirit, we will never have trouble finding those whom we’ve lost.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

A Superhero Without Powers

Colin Wright:

The thing I’ve always wondered about Car Guy is this: when he’s not with his car, who is he? He’s invested everything of himself into a thing, so what’s left when that thing isn’t around?

Do not attach your identity to anything other than love and knowledge of yourself.

Have an exceptional weekend!

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Why & How I Deleted Facebook

One week ago, I deleted Facebook.

Needless to say, I don’t miss it at all.

The Why

The simplest answer is this:

Facebook is a timesuck, and I need all the time I can get.

Narcissism

Because of its artificial and forced two-way friendship model, amassing hundreds of Facebook friends is easy. One might even consider it difficult to avoid.

Having lots of friends is desirable, even if those friends are mostly meaningless acquaintances. It makes us feel like we aren’t alone, like we’re a part of something. It’s nice to be popular.

I joined Facebook circa 2005 as I was preparing to graduate high school. Before long, checking Facebook became part of my routine. As a college freshman, it was an attempt to meet people. New town, new school, no friends… But there was Facebook.

For many, Facebook is ingrained to the point where we can’t imagine living without it. It seems so useful. You can look at people’s pictures. You can check relationship statuses. You can stalk guilt-free because everyone does it. You can “keep in touch” with friends and relatives. You can play games.

And you can post statuses.

The status update is the source of Facebook’s superficiality. When I post a status, I know that at least some percentage of my ~400 friends is going to read it. No matter what it is. A description of my lunch. The story of my great workout. A photo in which I look particularly attractive.

What’s the motivation for sharing these bits of information with hundreds of mostly-strangers?

Because I know I’m guaranteed to get some attention in return.

People love what I’m having for lunch. They cheer me on when I post about running my latest 5k. And they won’t hesitate to tell me how great I look in this photo.

And if I have a bad day? It’s like ordering a rush delivery of attention — all from the comfort of your laptop.

Consciously or subconsciously, the underlying motivation of a Facebook account is vanity. Self-affirmation. Titillation.

Narcissism.

Facebook is very mainstream. Everyone is on it. But the mainstream is called such because of what it is: shallow.

And what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in breadth. Hundreds and hundreds of “friends”, few of whom we care about, and most of whom we need to wade through to find who really matters.

Insidious Distraction

As I wrote in Ubiquitous Distraction, whenever we check an input, we severely inhibit our ability to create.

This is not to say we can’t find inspiration in blog posts, or escape in a great novel, or levity in a funny YouTube video. But what separates these inputs from Facebook is value.

Facebook provides very little value that cannot be obtained elsewhere. It provides hours of distraction with almost no reward.

I was fortunate to never find Facebook very addicting. Years ago, I began hiding all of the people I didn’t care about, and so checking my News Feed was easy. Log in, read a handful of new posts, and get out. I rarely felt compelled to stalk, check pictures, or play games.

But even still, those few minutes added up. Between the iPhone and iPad apps and logging into the website, I would still manage to check it multiple times a day.

Rarely would I find anything worth the time. Sure, I’d like a status or two, or make a comment if something particularly witty came to mind.

But, why?

What am I getting out of clicking that little thumbs-up button?

Nothing.

What am I contributing by clicking that little thumbs-up button?

Nothing, except for a fleeting moment of gratification.

Every moment I was reading a Facebook status was a moment I was not thinking about making great stuff.

Of course, we can argue that the same is true of Twitter, Path, Instagram, et al. But these inputs are far more likely to provide value because of their models for following and connecting.

You follow people on Twitter whom you find interesting. They do not have to follow you back.

Path is specifically designed for sharing with close friends. You may share your Path with someone, but they do not have to share theirs with you.

Instagram (for the moment) follows the same model as Twitter. Follow those with good pictures. Ignore those without.

You only encounter bullshit in these places if you choose to follow people who post bullshit.

This is where Facebook differs from other social networks.

The How

So, how does one go about departing the land of Lucida Grande?

1. Download Your Information

If you’ve been a member on Facebook for years, as I was, you’ll probably be fearful of losing all of your wall posts, pictures, videos, etc.

Fear not.

Facebook allows you to download all of your information fairly easily, provided you know how to do it.

Click here to learn how to download your Facebook data.

The steps are as follows:

1. Click the account menu at the top right of any Facebook page.
2. Choose Account Settings.
3. Click on “Download a copy of your Facebook data”.
4. Click Start My Archive.

The archiving process takes a while, and you’ll receive an email from Facebook when your download is ready.

I want to mention here that when I tried to download my archive, I received an error several times stating that my data couldn’t be downloaded. I had to try again the following day before the download link worked.

2. Permanently Delete Your Account

Note that Facebook distinguishes between “deactivate” and “delete”:

If you deactivate your account from your Security Settings page, your profile (timeline) disappears from the Facebook service immediately. People on Facebook will not be able to search for you. Some information, like messages you sent, may still be visible to others.

In case you want to come back to Facebook at some point, we save your profile (timeline) information (friends, photos, interests, etc.) so that the information on your profile (timeline) will be there when you come back. A lot of people deactivate their accounts for temporary reasons.

If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added. If you would like your account permanently deleted with no option for recovery, log in to your account and then submit your request here.

Fortunately, there’s an easier way to quit Facebook: visit DeleteFacebook.com and click the red button to be taken directly to the account deletion page.

Upon doing so, your account will be deactivated for fourteen days. Afterward, the account will be permanently deleted. If you log in during the grace period, you will cancel the deletion request.

Be Free

I was on Facebook for eight years and who knows how many hours.

I still catch myself wanting to type “f-a-c-e-b-o-o-k-.-c-o-m” in my URL bar once in while. It’s muscle memory at this point. But then I remember I don’t need to do that any more.

And it feels good.

I’m not saying that everyone who uses Facebook is an idiot. Most of my friends are still on it. However, I do believe the large majority of content on Facebook is worthless. The cost outweighs the benefits.

For me, it was time to move on. The cost outweighed the benefits. Like the week I changed my life and started rising early, leaving Facebook was the result of self-evaluation.

It’s going back to basics: when something no longer works for you, or no longer contributes value to your life, it’s time to let go.

Eliminate unnecessary things — that includes social networks.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Favorite Apps: Saver

As you may recall, I’m tracking all of my expenses for the month of May.

For the past week, I’ve been using Saver for iPhone.

Saver lets you set budgets, input your expenses, and view your spending history in graph and list views. It’s beautifully designed, and the aesthetics remind me a bit of Tweetbot, only with a lot more black.

The budget view is simple, but functional. Saver lets you select a monthly budget and then shows you a progress bar displaying how much money you have left for the month. The default view shows you what you’ve spent today, but you can easily swipe between days, or tap the calendar icon to jump to a specific date.

A central component of the app is the input screen, where you can record any and all of your expenses. Saver gives you fifteen categories of expenses, such as Utilities, Auto, Vacation, Payments, Wardrobe, and more. Within each of these categories are six sub-categories. For example, if you double tap on the Payments category, you can select Rent, Subscription, Taxes, Insurance, Mortgage, or Education. If none of those work for you, you can swipe to the left to add your own category. In addition to the category tags, you can add notes and photos to each expense.

Once you’ve input some data, the graph view shows you your expenses in a lovely, color-coded chart. You can tap on a specific type of expense to see all of your spending in that category, and swiping between week, month, and year views is easy.

Saver comes with a handful of useful settings, my favorite of which is the ability to choose your startup screen. For me, 90% of the time I open the app, I’m looking to record an expense, so I set my startup screen to always open with the input view. You can also choose from what I believe is any currency on the planet, and you can set a pass code for added security. Saver also offers its own personal automatic data backup to their servers, although I haven’t bothered to try this feature yet.

The only thing I’ve noticed Saver lacking is the ability to input income. That’s not a concern for me right now, but it may motivate me to check out other apps in the future.

All in all, though, I don’t feel compelled to try any other finance apps right now. Saver is beautiful, simple, functional, and intuitive. I recommend it.

You can buy Saver for the discounted price of $1.99 on the App Store.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Crush On Radio: A Weekly Podcast About Being a Music Fan

I love music.

You love music.

Well, guess what!

Today, I’m psyched to announce Crush On Radio: a weekly podcast about being a music fan.

The show is hosted by Richard J. Anderson of Sanspoint, Matt Keeley of Kittysneezes, and me!

Our first episode, “Passionately and Ineloquently”, went live yesterday morning:

In this inaugural episode, we talk about the show, ourselves, and how we became music fans. Specifically, we’re talking about “the band(s) that ruined us,” learning to actively listen, picking up instruments, the intersection of novelty music and experimental music, and the passing of MCA of The Beastie Boys.

New To Us this week, are Grimes, Sharon Van Etten, and Propaganda. New To You are The Fatima Mansions, Morphine, and Peter Ivers.

You can listen to the show here or on iTunes!

I had a great time recording the show with Rich and Matt, and I’ve already spent hours rocking out to new music thanks to their exquisite tastes. We’re planning on making Crush On Radio the most awesome podcast of all time, so this is your chance to join us as we embark on our musical journey.

If you love music… if you’re looking for new, amazing artists and songs… if you think we have the sexiest voices you’ve ever laid ears on… you should listen right now.

Seriously.

Go!

• Crush On Radio on iTunes
• Read the Crush On Radio blog.
• Subscribe to the podcast feed.
• Follow Crush On Radio on Twitter!
• Podcast URL for Instacast, etc.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Perhaps follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Using Sundays to Recalculate Your Destination

It's easy to fall victim to the Sunday night blues.

We spend the entire week worrying about things we have to do. We look forward to the weekend, a brief window when we can do the things we want to do. Hence, "working for the weekend".

From this perspective, Sundays are like the calm before the storm — a quiet, lazy day when our brains can't help but accumulate all of our upcoming tasks, to-dos, and obligations.

A few months ago, I wrote about the clean slate Monday theory, which uses the tying up of loose ends and a plan of attack to ensure the week starts on calm, fresh note.

Today, I'm thinking about Sunday as a day for recalibration and course-correction.

After a long workweek, I tend to let myself go on the weekend. I shut my brain off and indulge in a whole lot of bass playing, Archer watching, and self-indulging. As last month shows, my dietary restrictions tend to become a bit more lax. This rest period is crucial, because it allows my brain and body to get back to neutral. It's OK to do nothing once in a while.

They say a plane is off course 90% of the time. That means it constantly needs to course-correct if it's going to get to its destination.

Similarly, as the week goes on, we tend to get off-course. Our focus tends to atrophy. The closer the weekend gets, the harder it is to think about the things we have to do. By the time Friday rolls around, we're ready to cut loose a bit.

And we do. Shutting down our brains for a day or two is a good thing. Enjoy it. But it's equally important to take the time to prepare for the week ahead. That's how I treat Sundays: as a chance to recalibrate and refocus. I clean, put laundry away, refine my to-do list, and think about what I'm going to do this week to work to where I want to be.

Instead of being sad that tomorrow's Monday, I relish the opportunity to remind myself of who I want to be. I remember what I want to achieve, and spend at least a few moments on Sunday to bring that back into focus.

Sunday could be the start to — ugh — yet another week, or it could be the start to a week that brings us a little closer to where and who we want to be.

If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Also, you should follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Favorite Apps: Ritual

I came across an app this week that makes a perfect companion to the Seinfeld productivity method.

It’s called Ritual.

Ritual helps you commit to your New Year’s resolutions, establish new habits, and keep track of your weight, spending, working hours, and more.

The app features a beautiful split-pane interface. On the left is a sort of linear calendar. On the right is the daily view, where you input the habits you want to track, like “Take vitamins”, “Eat healthy”, or “Exercise”.

If you complete your ritual, you check the box next to that habit. As time goes on, the calendar on the left gets filled with checkmarks to show you how many days in a row you’ve done your habit.

After you’ve been tracking for a few days, you can tap each habit to view graphs and charts of your progress.

When adding new habits, you have the option of making them “Yes/No” habits or “Number” habits. The Yes/No variety is self-explanatory: Did you work out today? Check for Yes, leave unchecked for No.

If you use a Number habit, you input the value for whatever your habit is. Say you want to do push-ups. Ritual lets you track how many you perform each day. You can also use this feature to track your weight or spending over time.

Ritual is pretty sparse in the settings department, but you can set reminders, and you can export your data via an email spreadsheet.

I won’t be using Ritual to track my expenses, as I prefer the functionality of a dedicated finance app. However, it has earned a spot on my second home screen as a way of staying focused and doing my habits every day. I was using a desk calendar for this purpose last month, but Ritual allows me to track my habits on-the-go, and I can add as many as I want. It’s simple, beautiful, and useful.

You can get Ritual for $1.99 on the App Store.

If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Also, you should follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

App Review: Dropkick

Like my note-taking system, I’ve grown dissatisfied with my to-dos/task management on my Mac and iOS devices.

OmniFocus & Things

I’ve had OmniFocus on my iPhone and iPad for a while now, but as I’ve said before, I don’t like it. OmniFocus is incredibly powerful, but I don’t enjoy using it. The app feels cold and utilitarian, and every time it reminds me to do something, I resent it a little more. Too bad, because I love the icon.

Contrary to the typical story of “Apple nerd switches from Things to OmniFocus and loves it”, I’ve been contemplating the opposite transition. Things seems to be much simpler and more friendly than OmniFocus, but Cultured Code has received much criticism for taking years to implement cloud sync, which has only recently reached public beta. I’m sure it won’t be in beta forever, but I’m reluctant to invest in any app that isn’t consistently updated, and right now Things’ release cycle feels too sporadic for my liking. Those who love Things love it with a passion, and I hope cloud sync comes out of beta soon. I really want to try it, but I don’t feel it’s time yet.

I Have Needs

But how many?

OmniFocus is feature-laden, and while you can use as many or as few as you’d like, I can’t help but think I don’t need such a professional grade task manager. Hence, my leaning toward Things.

While I’m a proponent of GTD, I’m not at a point in my life where I need to manage multiple projects, meetings, and deadlines.

The modesty of my task management needs has led me to Dropkick, upon Federico Viticci’s recommendation.

Enter Dropkick

Dropkick is a to-do list app that syncs across all of your devices.

And that’s pretty much it.

The app is very minimal and monochrome. (If you ask me, it could use some color and personality.) It has no preferences. The icon is decent.

Dropkick lets you add lists, tasks, and nothing else. What really stands out, though, is its cloud sync. Using a free Dropkick account, your lists and tasks are synced very quickly across all devices within seconds.

One slight annoyance is that there’s no quick input on the Mac version. You have to switch to the app, bring the window to focus, and hit CMD + N. It’s not bad, but it does create a bit of friction when you want to quickly add a to-do.

I don’t have much else to say about Dropkick. It does one thing well. The apps are free for up to ten tasks at a time, and in-app purchases grant you unlimited tasks. You can buy the entire suite for $12, which is exponentially less than Things or OmniFocus.

As I try out Dropkick, I find myself wondering if it strikes the right balance between features and simplicity. OmniFocus is too intense, but Dropkick might be too sparse. If all you’re looking for is a way to sync to-dos between devices, though, Dropkick is inexpensive, fast, and reliable.

Check it out.

If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Also, you should follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

On Making Things Happen

In my twenty-five years, I’ve had quite a few experiences that many would qualify as “lucky”.

I’m friends with Carl Thompson, a legendary musician and luthier, and I’m privileged to own one of instruments (#111107).

I’ve met Les Claypool and attended one of his soundchecks, thanks to Carl.

I’ve flown to Nashville to study music with Victor Wooten on a weekend that just so happened to witness the Nashville flood, which resulted in me and my fellow campers spending the night at Victor’s house.

I own several beautiful custom instruments, all of which are completely unique and irreplaceable.

I’ve met many of my favorite musicians and gotten pictures and autographs. I met Béla Fleck in the Nashville Airport. I’ve met all six members of Umphrey’s McGee. I’ve learned from Anthony Wellington and Bob Franceschini.

I’ve travelled to music festivals in Georgia, Florida, and Michigan, often witnessing historic shows and one-off performances. I’ve gotten setlists, drumheads, and other memorabilia.

Just this week, I won third prize in the Wooten Won-Hundred Sweepstakes.

I don’t mean to sound like a spoiled little kid here. Rather, I want to use these examples to illustrate a fact.

You could interpret each of these events as “luck”. You could say I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But, as my dad reminded me last night, my “luck” has really been the result of me trying to make things happen.

I wouldn’t be friends with Carl Thompson if I hadn’t had the courage to track down his number, pick up the phone, and call him. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have agreed to build me a bass. He wouldn’t have invited me to visit his shop and see Les Claypool’s soundcheck. If I hadn’t taken the initiative to develop a friendship with him — if I had just called, placed my order, and waited for it to be finished — I wouldn’t be able to say I’ve been to his birthday parties in Brooklyn or that I’ve watched his band play.

If I hadn’t decided to put in my application, spend some money, and fly to Nashville, I wouldn’t have spent a weekend at Victor Wooten’s house.

If I hadn’t made it a point to answer ten trivia questions every week for eleven weeks, I wouldn’t have won third prize in the sweepstakes.

None of these things would have happened if I just sat around and waited.

You can’t get an autograph if you don’t ask.

So while I may seem lucky — and I certainly do feel that way — I think it’s more accurate to say that I’ve cared enough about certain things to make sure they happened. Call it “seizing the day” or “never giving up” or what you will, but the point is that we can’t wait around for things to happen.

We need to make them happen.

If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Also, you should follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.

Year of the Habit: May

Mayday! Mayday!

Welcome to the fifth installment of The Year of the Habit 2012.

As is customary, let’s review the year so far before revealing May’s habit.

• January: Started flossing every day.
• February: Stopped biting my nails.
• March: Attempted to read every day. Mostly unsuccessful. Currently reading Buddhism Plain & Simple and The Art of Expressing the Human Body.
• April: Health nut month. With the help of the Seinfeld productivity method, I was able to chart my healthy and unhealthy days quite easily. I had six unhealthy days in April, all of which occurred on either a Saturday or a Sunday, and most of which were special occasions (birthdays, christenings, etc.). My longest streak was seven healthy days in a row. Twenty-four healthy days out of thirty total means I was Primal 80% of the time, which I’m happy with overall. Coincidentally, that ratio exemplifies the 80/20 principle, which suggests that shooting for perfection usually lands you somewhere around an 80% success rate. I would have preferred it to be slightly higher, but 80/20 is a good balance, and visually representing my eating habits visually was a valuable experience. Weekends are obviously the most challenging days to eat well, while I’m able to remain in healthy mode throughout the week. In general, I’m considering April a success.

Bonus Habits

In addition to my monthly goals, I’ve also adopted some bonus habits that have made a huge difference in my 2012 so far. These include:

• Writing every day.
• Working out regularly, including doing yoga every morning in April.
• Becoming an early riser.
• Working on my thesis in the library every day.
• Taking cold showers.

As I’ve said before, these unplanned habits speak to the power and momentum of small changes.

What’s Next? Dollar Dollar Bills, Y’all.

May is money month.

I’m actually a little nervous about this one, because numbers are evil, but it’s a step I need to take. My thesis is very close to done, and soon my singular focus will be on ways to make sufficient income.

But what makes one’s income “sufficient”? Well, that’s what I intend to figure out.

During the month of May, I’m going to be tracking all of my expenses.

This habit will provide me with several useful bits of insight:

1. By knowing how much I spend in a month, I’ll know approximately how much I need to make to live.
2. I’ll be able to identify needless spending that has hitherto gone unnoticed.
3. I’ll be more mindful about how I spend my money knowing that it’s going to be recorded.
4. I’ll be able to use my spending data to develop a budget for the future.

Of course, I’ll be using an iOS app to track all of my expenses. I’m going to start with Saver, but I also plan on testing out a few others. I’ll let you know of my favorites.

May is going to be a challenge in the sense that this is one habit I don’t love. Unlike trying to eat healthy or write every day, which were fun and enjoyable, I’m not looking forward to seeing where my money goes. But, it’s necessary, and I’m sure the experience will be enlightening.

And that’s what we’re all about, isn’t it?

If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below. Also, you should follow me on Twitter. Need something? Email me.