These are my “Six Links for Saturday”. Interesting and fun stuff I like to share. These posts take a surprising amount of work to assemble, so if you appreciate this, please comment, share, or in some other way let me know it's worth the effort.
- Unique products from sites like The Grommet and Huckberry. You can't find this stuff anywhere else. I recently ordered this ingenius keychain in an effort to stop looking like a high school janitor. Also, I admire Huckberry's courageous opt-in strategy: either your opt-in to their marketing list, or you're not allowed to shop. That takes backbone.
- Most interesting book I'm currently reading. Perry Marshall‘s Evolution 2.0 (I read an early manuscript, and now I am savoring the deliciously incendiary final published version). This book contains something sure to challenge everyone (except for the people who've made up their minds and simply refuse to look at the possibility that their pet belief system may need revision). If you read this book – and you should – be sure and give the gift every author appreciates: write a nice review. This book is attracting a lot of “troll” reviews (curiously, most of these come from the “scientific rationalists”… why are they the ones given to writing cowardly, anonymous, name-calling criticisms?).
- Another reading adventure: I'm reading the entire Wheel of Time Series. It happened like this: a long time ago, I got bogged down in Robert Jordan‘s massive epic fantasy series. I stopped somewhere around book 6, when I decided this man was in desperate need of an editor. Then, regrettably, Mr. Jordan passed away before finishing the books. Brandon Sanderson was tapped to finish the saga, and wrote the final three volumes (based on notes and outlines left by Jordan).I was intrigued, because of Sanderson's involvement, and recently decided to read the 3 volumes written by him. I figured I would just read those 3, and disregard all the books that came before, both the ones I had read and those I had skipped. After all, a Jordan novel can easily run 600 – 1,000 pages. That's why I stopped reading them in the first place.I have tremendous affinity for Sanderson's writing, and especially his latest work (The Stormlight Archive). The interesting thing is, even though these books exceed the 1,000 page length, I can't get enough of them. Maybe, I thought, his work on the Wheel of Time would keep me stocked in lengthy Sanderson tales until the next Stormlight book is released.When reading Sanderson's introduction to the first of the 3 Wheel of Time volumes he wrote (The Gathering Storm), I was startled to read these words: “I first picked up The Eye of the World in 1990, when I was a teenage fantasy addict visiting my corner bookstore. I became a fan instantly and eagerly awaited The Great Hunt. Over the years, I've read the books numerous times, often re-reading the entire series when a new book was released… I love this series as I have lived none other…” This made me pause and re-evaluate my plan (and my judgment of the series as a whole). I have now decided to read the entire series, both those I read previously (back in the 90's), and also read the volumes I missed. All this before I greedily consumer the 3 Sanderson volumes at the end. It's quite an investment of reading time, with 14 doorstop-sized volumes in the series. But I'm excited to read what I've missed, and soak up the entire series in one long draught.
- Dataman Next. This is a simple data usage tracking app that helps me keep track of how much data I'm using on my iPhone. Theoretically, I have a grandfathered “unlimited data” plan with AT&T. Of course, AT&T “throttles” my data if I use what they consider “too much” (in other words, they're weaseling their way out of our agreement. Bad form, AT&T. But I digress). Dataman Next helps me keep track of where I am on my data plan.
- Podcast I'm enjoying these days – The Jordan Harbinger Show by Jordan Harbinger. The language is a little rough for my taste sometimes, but the content is excellent (and so is the production).
- Expandrive. Run Amazon Cloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, SFTP, S3 and more as a Network Drive. Seamless access to files without syncing them. You have to try this to appreciate its coolness. Available for Mac and Windows.
I'll keep doing these posts if they have value to you. Please share them if you like this, and let me know what you think in the comments.