My New Favorite Pen: Tombow AirPress
My new favorite pen the Tombow AirPress, made in Japan. I picked it up at a bookstore for about 400 Yen ($4.00). They stole my heart by giving it the commercial industrial look, bright orange, rubberized tough design and perhaps most likeable of all, the perfect clip. I know it’s just a pen, who cares. But there is something rewarding about finding something on your own that you’ve always hoped for. Pens are never my friends. I always break the clips, the plastic snaps from too much pressure. I can clip this Tombow pen to a hardcover book if I want to. It’s configured as a spring so it will cling to your shirt, portfolio or booklet and has a small hole if you wanted to put a lanyard around it or connect a cable to your belt. The ink flow is also perfect. As good or better than the Fisher Space Pen. I like a fine point because I always write too small and because of that too many pens don’t work for me. They stop up, perhaps due to the way I create friction on the point. The AirPress feature of this pen, I don’t fully understand (packaging in Japanese) but my best guess is contents are under slight pressure.
A couple pics of the best pen you’ll see today. Damn good pen. A great pen worthy of a great man.
April 18, 2009 at 9:03 am | Japan, gadgets, tools, writing | 2 comments
Name Your Price – Irradiated Software Gets It.
Being a computer power user, you often have subtle needs that can improve the navigating experience. After a lot of time spent in your default environment you think, “I wish I had a utility for that limitation.” or “Why didn’t they foresee this redundant nonsense while making the operating system?” For a long time, my biggest pet peeve with Mac OS X was that you couldn’t resize the app or folder windows without being forced to grab the little bottom-right corner triangle.
For custom resizes, this became a big nuisance, as it requires precision mousing. I’d often argue with people about the inferiority there, even commenting on earlier Mac OS window shade capability. Mac users simply didn’t identify with my problem. No searches yielded any programs. Was I really mostly alone on my window management hassles? Was I just too fidgety for changing my environment? Later, likely due to the surge in Mac purchases and migrations, seemingly enough people were annoyed by this because programs emerged addressing my exact problem.
The first program I found is called Zooom. It’s a commercial utility that allows you to grab or resize a window by holding down a set of keys. Doesn’t even require touching the edges. You can even grab windows from behind others. Despite some cool features, at the time I found it too pricey after evaluating the trial version. Also it didn’t operate properly on all programs. I thought that for a small task like this, there must be a script or freebie out there. Coming from Windows and Linux, hundreds of small single-serving apps like this are free.
One day, I was searching the depths of a web forum and somebody had mentioned a free program written by one guy, called Window Dragon. This program modified your system so all sides or corners of windows and programs were draggable much like Microsoft Windows and Linux. It had some quirks and was programmed for a previous version of OS X. I was too skeptical to try it despite being free. Something in the program description didn’t sit well with me and I felt my system modification might be detrimental somehow with other programs.
Eventually on a day I was really frustrated with the problem, I went back and purchased Zooom. It had updated to a new version and I believed it would work well. Zooom does what it advertises and some upgrades are free. Plus it can be kind of fun. But at $15.99 and the fact that it doesn’t work properly on multi-panel Adobe software (conflicting keys and jitters that I can’t really articulate verbally) I just didn’t feel my problem was fully solved. I phased it out of my workflow. Since I couldn’t depend on it for everything, I decided it almost isn’t worth initiating if I was getting mixed and unexpected results or annoyances.
A couple months ago, I found a little utility called TwoUp by a company called Irradiated Software. This program will pop your window instantly to take up the left, right, top or bottom half of your screen. No small adjustments, just quick reliable action. This is great for copying files from one folder to another, or seeing the contents of two webpages simultaneously. TwoUp is free. YES! After they programmed it, the company got a lot of requests for certain functionality. So they created a beefier version of TwoUp with added features and called it SizeUp. They listened to legitimate requests, kept the free version and asks that people pay for the better version. Many companies have this type of offering, but too many create the good version initially and strategically strip down the LE Lite Edition (Loser Edition). Going in that order, companies tend to take away too much and leave you feeling like, well, a loser.
What I’m very impressed with, and what prompted my comments here is the pricing strategy. I mentioned earlier that Zooom was $15.99. Not that expensive right? Obviously not since I did end up springing for it albeit reluctantly. That’s fine, but a power user often needs 4 or 8 utilities like these for easier computing. A few utilities priced at this level you are approaching the cost of the entire OS X operating system! And when you use little utilities for one thing, and not too often, the popular $19.99-29.99 pricing scheme just looks wrong. That’s why I was so pleased with Irradiated Software’s pricing of SizeUp. They use the pricing scheme called “Name Your Price.” They state that given the cost of sales / download / administration, they need to price it at minimum $1.26. You can own it for that price. They have a suggested price of $7.99 to match what they think it’s worth. And if this is the greatest sliced-bread utility you’ve ever used, you can go above that too and they will be thrilled.
I love this. Their suggested price is very reasonable. Clearly they get it. And they will sell more in volume than if it were $16 or more. Plus, it’s stupid not to buy it at $1.28 if you’ve had the trouble with windows like I have. Plus when you are in the middle of the transaction, you might begin to think, well I appreciate their efforts, so why not throw in a couple extra bucks because I want their continued progress. And certainly among good honest people, many wouldn’t feel right not paying the entire suggested price. Then of course you have the very generous folk pledging even more. There you go.
To wrap up, I don’t want to say that Zooom is bad or TwoUp/SizeUp is much better in all ways. I’m just expressing my appreciation for what I feel is clear, objective thinking and pricing. I think with the iPhone and the app store, there are a lot of people getting used to charging for, and paying for smaller yet useful utlities at lower prices. More might even buy just to try it. Just like you’d spend 75 cents on a video game just to pass the time. These are good tools and I’m glad they exist. See below for links for Mac and for a Windows alternative.
Irradiated Software, TwoUp
Irradiated Software, SizeUp
Zooom/2 by CodeRage
MaxTo for Windows (screen partitioner)
March 31, 2009 at 10:43 am | computers, tools, writing | 1 comment
Wanna feel smarter today? Sign here please.
I had to go through a new exercise that I’m not used to. I’m working with a couple people on a website, and I needed to write contracts for everything, in order to protect and benefit everyone.  I looked at the task as a necessary evil. It was time consuming and something that I needed to do before anyone even agrees I can get paid, so every minute working on it, is in hopes that it will result in a closed deal. There’s no guarantee that what I write, can in effect kill the intention of the contract in the first place. One or both interested parties could back out. Then I’m left with an unsigned useless piece of paper. Whew I’m tired…
Regardless, I had to do it, thinking positively about it. Turns out something happened that I didn’t expect. While writing a contract, you have to search for words with the right meaning, not just kind of the right meaning, you have to consider what you can and can’t agree to, and how to present it. You also have to go back over it multiple times, removing problems with the logic. I know no one would go for this just as an exercise by itself, but I actually doing it was quite valuable, in that after completing it, I think my brain has grown some new neurons or connections. I actually think I got smarter writing contracts. And that’s not to say my contracts are perfect, or bulletproof. I’m sure they are flawed. I was constrained by time and experience. But I did however start to see new things, and again just logical thinking, using factually descriptive and consistent language to create these documents was even satisfying at the end.
I can see how lawyers can get quite good at this. Much of a contract is repetitive sort of lingo.  Words used and understood inside this special framework that, once you know, turn into words as we know them, like emotional or logical tags of sorts. Some of it feels very foreign as if from an older different culture. I think by thinking this way, by exposing yourself to the limits, or benefits or extensions a contract creates, you then take from that a slightly more logical brain perhaps.  You look at how to use exceptions, and what you can and can’t include according to your status and how the contract affects someone’s ownership of an actual tangible thing, or in property of an intellectual nature.
Now, based on this experience in any discussion in the future I may be more aware of the consequences of a certain type of argument and whether it was presented responsibly.
So men, let’s go out there and write some contracts!
January 17, 2008 at 7:47 pm | learning, writing | 2 comments
Try not to anger your one true fan
I sent my mom a small stack of my new business cards in the mail before heading off to Japan. I was really proud of them because Juri and I collaborated on them for a considerable amount of time. The card was also meant to be the symbol of my new business. We even made one side of the card in Japanese so we could show them off to Juri’s family and some other VIPs we are meeting with. I’ll also have to talk more about the barcode that I put on the cards at some point.
Anyway, after my mom recieved the cards, she fired up the old PC to look at my website and what I had been up to. I have always had the suspicion that everything I write makes her roll her eyes. She’s has been supportive despite the eyerolling thing. I wrote a post over a month ago about 25 things I had been thinking about. In it, I mentioned that I wanted to encourage my dad to quit smoking, but I often felt blocked by her. Seeking to deter conflict between my dad and I, she would steer me away from yelling at him about it. Isn’t that the true mother’s role in the animal kingdom? In order to continue the species, the mother must occasionally prevent the idiot son from getting eaten by his father for mouthing off about something he knows little about.
My comment that she was an apologist came from my perspective on several situations. But perspective, like perception doesn’t mean s***. Because perspective doesn’t show you that when you weren’t looking, your mom has been hounding your dad at every appropriate moment how his smoking will affect her and him in the future. Perspective won’t tell you how someone has been battling behind the scenes. Your belief in your own perspective can render you absolutely wrong. How many times do I have to learn this? If you scrubbed through my site right now, I bet you’d find tons of very uneducated comments that I would be embarrassed to recall if you reminded me of them. Even right now, I have to ask myself “Have I looked over this entry to make sure it really says what I mean? Will this entry bite me later? Will this entry hurt my number one fan when she reads it?”
If only self-editing weren’t so troublesome and time consuming. If only we could change our minds about a subject given new knowledge and have all of our old writings updated for us automatically. “Oh you see I don’t really hate people from Florida, I’ve righted all those wrongs, just check out my blog now!” We could be consistent instantly and always. Of course it wouldn’t be good for those of us who need to be truly held accountable for our actions such as presidents and dictators. But for those of us who don’t want to ruin their number one fan’s day, that ability would really help.
May 31, 2007 at 8:36 pm | family, learning, rants, writing | No comment
A little sad tonight
A book is never the labor of just one person. In my case our Adobe Creative Suite 2 book was written by several extremely talented people with a wide range of experiences. I appreciate their contributions immensely. The book officially released in September 2005. Sadly though, one of my co-authors named Carla Rose passed away in December 2005 just after being apart of the project. She was 62 and had thirty books under her belt. Her website was graphicalcat.com and her passion was photography, scrapbooks, writing and family. I am honored that such a great person would inject their energies into the project. It saddens me I didn’t know about all of this sooner than now.
May 28, 2006 at 3:20 am | books, friends, graphics, writing | No comment
Get some video tips
With all the effort put into making my friends wedding video, I thought it would be appropriate to offer some tips in case you have to do this kind of thing yourself.
May 9, 2006 at 12:49 am | media, training, writing | No comment
Vocation Week
When I was younger, I remember in my Catholic elementary school, we would have special weeks with names like Vocation Week. During this particular week, there would be some soul searching for what our life calling was. Yes, you are supposed to be called by age nine. Anyway, various classwork and dicussion would be based on this theme. At the time it seemed that there was a miniaturized recruitment process going on to see who might be interested in a life of service to God.
It always put me thinking about what life as a priest would be. I remember really enjoying the thought of the quiet mysterious corridors in the seminary. On my way to retrive a book of secretive traditions, I would encounter an evil monk who had infiltrated the monastery. Of course I would have to battle the monk using my martial art that that we trained in. Fists and kicks would fly in the moonlit marble hallways. Paintings of Martin Luther or Napoleon would be knocked off the walls. Soon, due to some holy intervention, the evil monk would mistakenly throw himself off balance and tumble out of the stainglass window.
From his broken body, the evil monk’s spirit would burn through his flesh like acid and escape into darkness, only to vow vengeance for a later moment.
Turns out that a man of the cloth lives too violent a lifestyle, so I instead decided computer graphics were my calling.
April 4, 2006 at 8:40 pm | writing | No comment
Write my memoirs?
Last night, I had all these memories of when I was little, all the silly things kids go through, the friendship dramas that always seem so big when you are in the exchange, but looking back are just amusing or stupid. Anyway, I started thinking that I could write a book about me. Not that my stories are so important, but more of a way to preserve ideas and how my life crossed paths with so many important caring people.
Preserving this history may impact others, or may have a lesson to teach. Or it may serve as entertainment or a bridge to a past that vibrates through time. I’m not sure. It was just these very strong memories.
March 27, 2006 at 7:40 pm | general, writing | No comment
Halloween 2005
Just like last year we had a whole lot of kids coming to the door for candy. It’s a fun holiday. So many cute kids. The whole time, Juri and I were worried that we were running out of candy, and we had to scour the cabinets for stuff. We found a stash of coffee candy and that worked for the rest of the evening. When the kids got home, you know they threw it out, but still. I was so stressed about the candy thing, like “crap, I should run to the store.”
Then something happened. A mother brought her son up to the door. He was dressed in a little superman outfit. He was being carried by his mother in her arms. She supported him as he smiled at me, not speaking a word. I could feel his thank you as I put a piece of candy into the bag she carried for him. He seemed to either be crippled or have some sort of physical / mental debilitating situation, and he just smiled at me as I said hello. Think of this. You have this silly little holiday with kids everywhere, clamboring for candy. My neighbor Jeph hates it, he can’t stand the kids, so he darkens the house on these nights probably because some selfish kids bothered him one time before.
Then you have a mom who is so determined to have her son participate in all this that she carries him from house to house so he can be there to have a Halloween. That is culture, man and that is someone of the highest character. The strength to manifest for the both of them the joy of this silly holiday evening is remarkable and I really have appreciation for them. To them, it didn’t matter we just had some coffee candy to give out. What mattered was her son’s experience, to smile at neighbors and have a life as he should, being apart of all the silly little things people do, to experience what others do outside of his situation because he deserves that chance.
October 31, 2005 at 9:40 pm | general, writing | No comment
The Moleskine
I love when I find something that I can use to help facilitate new ideas and help me remember. Today I was in a discount store and I picked up a moleskine notebook. This little wonder isn’t much different than your average handheld notebook, but the leather feels rich. The killer elastic band and the quality binding make it the notebook you want to carrry with you everwhere. I wrote eight pages on the train and I am now hooked.
September 27, 2005 at 12:10 am | writing | No comment
