Roughly the TRUTH

Tracking my hours has never been this easy…

All it took was signing up on this free website and programming their number into my cell phone. It’s called Jott.com and it’s what keeps my head clutter-free and in a (more) Zen state of mind.

In a nutshell, here’s how it works:

Daily, I use it to track billable hours, leave notes and send myself reminders. There are some more advanced features, but the basic function alone is truly a saving grace. I can’t remember the last time I found a web application so useful.

So there’s my sales pitch. Hope it comes in handy.

Unlikely headline, but still a very exciting alternative…

Some Features:

1. Two-thirds the size of the original Atari 2600 console released in 1977
2. Two joysticks - and if you still have some of that vintage gear laying around, you’ll be happy to hear this: “Original Legacy Atari paddle controllers are compatible with Arcade Pong”
3. 40 games pre-installed (Note: I was disappointed to find one of my all-time favorites is missing, Pole Position.)

More Information:
Manufacturer Site | Atari® Flashback™ 2 Classic Game Console

Purchase Page | the Atari Flashback 2.0 from Amazon.com - $30 (Nota Bena: There’s a rumor going around that Target will have the system for $20 on black Friday.)

I Reminisce:
Growing up in the Eighties just wouldn’t have been the same without this classic time-waster - A special shout out to my older brothers, who will probably appreciate this more than I can, for introducing me to the video game revolution way back when.

A Recommendation…

Bringing to light international issues of the day (ex-Iraq) is often a struggle in todays profit driven news environment. Although, the need is greater now than ever before - with the advent of technologies that have effectively shrunk our planet, it becomes an ever more complicated place to live. That’s why I’m grateful to people like this…

FOREIGN EXCHANGE: Where America Meets the World is a show broadcast on PBS stations and hosted by Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International.
I find it endlessly interesting and it consistently broadens my perspectives on a vast myltitude of subjects.

Watch all episodes free online or on your local PBS station.

Here’s the shows trailer:

Get fit fast with the Bowflex Conquest - This thing is no joke…

I had been planning on writing this for a while now, but felt compelled to after I saw the price come all the way down to $500 with free shipping (less than half what I paid).

Have you ever seen that cheesy late night infomercial for the Bowflex? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. For the past 20 years Nautilus has led the home gym market with their ground-breaking Bowflex machine. I too was a bit skeptical, but curiosity got the better of me after figuring out how much cheaper it would be than a gym membership - even at over $1,000.

Having played football into college, being pushed in the gym is nothing new. A home gym capable of replicating an experience at one of these decked out health clubs always seemed like a dream. Fortunately, the Bowflex has permanently altered this perception. When a number of friends and family tried it out, they had to get one too. It’s sort of a strange little cult thing we have going now.

Here’s a funny video illustrating just how challenging the Bowflex can be. I can vouch; reminiscent of a Shakira performance (although evoking laughter rather than falling in love), a visiting friend who is also a former college football player once attempted this same bench press movement with identical results. Check it out:

This machine is full of great benefits; see more Bowflex user reviews on Amazon (a different model, but with identical features & functionality).

[Note: The Bowflex Conquest model on Amazon looks like it sold out already - hopefully it’ll be back soon; but in the meantime, the Bowflex Motivator 2 is on sale as well and is still a really great deal.]

UPDATE [03.23.08]
Sears has the Bowflex Xtreme Home Gym on sale for $500 (original price is $1,199) through 03/29/08. Store pickup is limited and shipping begins at $65.

Full Featured, Free & a Cinch to use…

If you’re familiar with 37signals’ “Backpack” application, you’ll have no problem getting used to it’s half sister - Zoho Planner. Zoho.com (a competitor of 37Signals) has just released an upgraded version of this personal/project planning application. I found it much more streamlined and less cluttered than it’s Backpack counterpart. Another huge advantage it has is the unlimited storage that accompanies the free user accounts (you may upload files to your account - not to exceed 10mb). You’re looking at $5 per month with Backpack and you still don’t even get as much storage space. I’ve just been using it for a day now, but am already hooked.

A brief overview of the features are as follows: there’s no apparent limitation to the number of pages you can create, and within each page you can add a description along with multiple occurences of To Do Lists, Notes, Appointments and Attachments. In addition to sharing these pages with others, Zoho Planner also provides a comprehensive overview of your To Do’s and Reminders. You can mess around with the demo sign-in and make up your own mind…or, if you’re looking for more opinions, here’s another recent review:

Web 2.0 Journal Product Review: “Zoho Planner” — The Zoho series of online software products from AdventNet has been growing quickly over the last year, and their Zoho Planner product has just been revamped. Designed specifically for the Web 2.0 era, Zoho Planner is an online service for managing task lists and appointments.

There is very little down side to this application, but a few things that I’d like to see added in the future are as follows: a print view (for use with paper planners); persistent URL’s for each individual page (helping integration with components of other various planning systems); sync or export capabilities with MS Outlook 2003 (a feature that no one has perfected to date - not even Microsoft itself)

For the record, I’m only using this as one component of my complete organizing system (based on Getting Things Done by David Allen & First Things First by Stephen Covey). Project planning and brainstorming appear to be the most effective uses for me; but it’s much more capable than this and may even meet all of your planning needs. I’ve had some difficulty finding reviews of this software, so please feel free to add your own or post links to others…thanks for reading!