Have you ever used a laptop for a long time the way its name indicates it was meant to be used? On your lap? That kills your neck in a small amount of time. But then if you were to raise the laptop up so the screen was straight in front of your eyes, you’d crick your shoulders just typing on it.
The iPad is worse.
I experienced this last week when I decided to go through my RSS feeds with the iPad. After approximately 28 rotations of 3 different positions on the couch with now 4 different aching muscle groups, I got an idea. Use the TV. Using AirPlay with screen mirroring and my Apple TV, I threw the iPad’s screen up on the TV and spent the rest of the evening looking straight at the information with the iPad just serving as one giant trackpad. Worked like a charm!
I’m in the process of replacing my personal computer with an iPad. I know I’ll always have a computer, for reasons I might outline later, but I want to do as much as I can with the iPad. I thought I’d document a few interesting tips during the transition.
Unfortunately, this first post is less about moving from computer to iPad and more about moving from paper to digital. Nevertheless.
I hate having papers lying around. They can be lost, destroyed, and won’t always be with you. My latest step in reducing paper waste: store all manuals as PDFs in iBooks. I just needed to look something up for our refrigerator, so I googled the model number, clicked on the “download PDF” button, told Safari to open it in iBooks, and ta-daa, the manual is now in iBooks. Bonus: I bookmarked the page that had the information I was looking for so I won’t have to hunt for it next time.
Have you ever noticed that? At 4:28, if someone asks you the time, what do you say? Most likely you say “four thirty”. I would. But if you are 18 years and 340 days old, and someone asks how old you are, what do you say? “Eighteen”.
Dumb.
I turn 25 on March 29th this year. I’ve decided after Halloween I’m going to start answering “twenty six” to the age question.
As in a quarter-century. One fourth of my life is behind me. As far as fractions go, I’m still young. As far as humans go, I’m an adult.
I’ve been thinking lately how nothing happens in my life until I make a decision. I used to just open the pantry and eat something. Now I have to make a conscious decision to go buy the food and bring it home. Those Ritz crackers don’t magically reappear anymore. I used to take classes and do homework because it was assigned to me. Now if I am going to learn something new, I have to choose to get off my butt and go look for that knowledge.
Every teenager wants to be in charge of their life. What they don’t realize is that means you have to make your life happen. YOU. You have to get up, you have to go, you have to do, YOU have to start something.
My goal with my twenty fifth year is to be intentional.
Intentional with my friendships.
Intentional with my goals.
Intentional with my creativity.
Intentional with my decisions.
Instead of only looking for resources, I will be a resource.
Instead of only asking for help, I will offer help.
Instead of only waiting on family and friends to make plans, I will plan.
Instead of life happening to me, I will choose what to do with my life.
I hope I do better with these goals than others I have made in the past. If not I’ll just keep on trying. I just need to START something.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/28051-your-big-idea-is-not-enough
“ Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you’re keeping all these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. ”
Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises from 1959-1994 (via jeremycowart)
I don’t quite know how I feel about this, but I’m giving it a try. I’m also going to try capitalizing. Boring, I know. Let’s see how long it takes for me to get bored or frustrated with the free themes and decide to make my own. Then let’s see how long after that it takes me to get fed up and realize working with a free theme is way worth the time saved by not making one.
Hopefully I’ll actually use it. I’ve always wanted to be a good journal keeper, but never have found the discipline to do so. I know it will improve my writing skills, too. That would be nice.
So here goes nothing. But hopefully something.
“ The best way to live life is with your head in the clouds and your feet planted firmly on the ground. ”
