Yesterday in my Hotlinking section I mentioned the Compact Calendar put together by David Seah. One of the things I love about the Compact Calendar is how easily it fits into my Moleskine and how nicely it acts as a display calendar in the half dozen places I have them stashed.
Today on Lifehacker I spotted a new pocket of calendar called the "Thumb Calendar." The Thumb Calendar, by Adam Sporka, is an incredibly neat little design that looks ideal for popping into your wallet, hipster PDA or even your Moleskine.
If you're a longtime internet user you probably remember IRC and other chat systems that were around before instant messaging. If that's the case you're probably also familiar with bots or "chatterbots." Back in the day these things were used for automating chat room functions like creating moderators and "ops."
While most people may not be familiar with bots they still do exist in a number of different ways. The most familiar bot most AIM users know today usually pretends to be one of your friends. I see these a lot - most of my friends have no idea how to create a hypertext link so I'm instantly suspicious when they send me a message with one in it!
There are several helpful bots that exist today though - one of them is SmarterChild by Colloquis, Inc. Just add SmarterChild to your buddy list and drop it an IM.
When you first IM SmarterChild it'll ask you a few questions (not in the creepy a/s/l way) and then you're ready to go. Type something like "define Synonym" and it will give you a definition. "Synonym Define" and you'll get see a thesaurus. You can even type "Square root of 100" and it'll provide you with an answer!
Besides a dictionary, thesaurus, and calculator you can also use SmarterChild to poll your friends and even send you reminders. That's right, type "Remind me about Heroes at 8:45 PM" and you'll get a text message reminding you to watch TV!
The best news about all of this is that SmarterChild is owned by Microsoft so you can be sure it's trustworthy for sending basic messages.
When I first downloaded Google Browser Sync a few months back I really wasn't very impressed. While it was certainly helpful there were some bugs in it that really bogged it down.
Last week, while rebuilding my Portable Apps Suite installation I thought I'd give it another go. Right now I work across three computers where I am free to install my own stuff and a couple where I'm fairly restricted. Despite being unable to install Firefox I can certainly run it off a USB or SD card - the issue was just keeping my bookmarks up-to-date. After re-installing Google Browser Sync on my three primary PCs and setting it up on my USB Firefox install I'm happy to say everything is working great!
Anytime I boot Firefox on any of my machines (or from my USB drive) all the bookmarks I've collected on ANY of those computers are available to me. If I add a bookmark while at work - it's on my home PC as soon as I start Firefox.
Besides being able to sync my bookmarks and personal data I also learned that Google Browser Sync will sync notes taken in Google Notebook. Trust me, it's a great feature.
Setting up Browser Sync does require having a Google Account - but who doesn't these days?
While I'm relying heavily on my Moleskine right now, I'm still looking to fill a few gaps. The Moleskine itself is a great place to record ideas and track projects but there are definitely a few missing features.
I would love, for example, to have a calendar on the front cover or back page. I'd also love scrap paper for taking along when I want to leave the Moleskine behind (like at a movie or walking around in the rain.)
Earlier today I was browsing around the Technorati pages for GTD and came across PocketMod.
PocketMod is a customizable, printable, disposable personal organizer. Using a variety of different "mods" you can print a single piece of paper that will serve multiple purposes. My personal favorite mods are the 2007 yearly calendar, the conversion tables and the blank pages. Check it out and see what you think.
I've been trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod for awhile now. The Zune is a nice looking player with some really good looking features. The iPod, however, has an established user base and fully developed software.
Being on the GTD kick I decided to look around for any methods or hacks that were iPod or Zune centric. Along the way I stumbled across Kody Chamberlain's Moleskine iPod Hack. While not necessarily GTD centered it is certainly a great way to get your Video iPod, Moleskine and some supplies together.
I like this hack for two reasons. First off you can include your Moleskine and iPod in a convenient case. Second, you have room for an extra Moleskine (perhaps a date book or sketchbook to accompany your primary) as well as extra pens, pencils, markers and the like.
