Futurelawyer

KonMari For Your Computer

Amazon.com: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (0710308291511): Marie Kond%u014D: Books. Marie Kondo is a hit in print and on TV for her life changing tips on tidying up lives. In a word, if a thing doesn't bring you joy, get rid of it. As a widower, I have become an expert on evaluating the "stuff" that populates our lives, and regularly pick up and examine that stuff, and discard what no longer serves a purpose. It isn't just tangible personal property that needs this kind of review, however. What about the "stuff" than inhabits the storage drives in your computers? How much of that detritus is just slowing you down or taking up space? I could say the same about the cluttered email inbox yo have that contains thousands of emails that you will never read or act upon. So, Konmari that computer drive and email inbox. You'll be glad you did.

The Beauty of Paper

Execupundit.com: The Beauty of Paper. I recently posted a picture highlighting the advantages of books on paper, and dedicated the post to dear friend, Michael Wade. He mentions that he has some more, such as jotting in the margins. Of course, you can do all of this digitally; but, I admit that the experience of  bringing a digital device to your face, and trying to smell the ink and paper is difficult. If you don't sniff your new and old paper books, I suppose you are able to control your impulses better than I can. But, you are missing out.

Books - They're For Reading

.I give my good friend, Michael Wade, the Execupundit a lot of grief over his love of paper books. However, there are some benefits to eschewing the digital age, and collecting and reading books in print. Michael, this is for you.

Novels For Lawyers And Everybody Else

Execupundit.com: Novels for Leaders. Execupundit quotes the iconic novel by Joseph Heller, "Catch-22", and this paragraph:

“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.

"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.”

 

Lawyers, and everyone, often recognize that Catch-22 applies to every endeavor in life. We are crazy if we attempt to live our lives by taking risks; but recognizing those risks makes us sane, which makes us available for control and manipulation by others, and thus eligible to be crazy. Which are you? Not that it matters to fate and death. They will happen whatever you do. Why not take the risks? 

10 Cool Things the OnePlus 6T Can Do

10 Cool Things the OnePlus 6T Can Do. My new Smartphone, the OnePlus 6T, is an amazing device. Since I am on an Ereading kick today, I am highlighting a great feature, which turns the display into a black and white Ereader quality display for my book apps. Kindle, Aldiko, and any other app that allows you to read books will be greatly improved with this feature. You can set it to turn on only when those apps are loaded, and to turn off automatically when they close. 

Readwise - Making Reading Books Better

Readwise. My friend, Tom Kirkendall, sent me a message about this app for my new Kindle PaperWhite. It will enable me to highlight and save passages from the Ebooks I read, showing one more way that having your entire library in a computing device is the future of reading. This should also be a good way to keep the best passages from legal reading as well. Some legal research apps will allow downloading to the Kindle. Thanks, Tom. Readers, any other Kindle tips? Will you be upgrading to the new waterproof version? 

Kindle PaperWhite - The Future Of Books Is Here

Amazon.com: All-new Kindle Paperwhite %u2013 Now Waterproof with 2x the Storage %u2013 Includes Special Offers: Kindle Store. Recently, I posted about the progress of human communication that is chronicled at Spaceship Earth in Epcot at DisneyWorld. From cave walls to computers, the evolution of human writing is a wonderful thing to behold. Tomorrow, the next step will be in the Futurelawyer's hands, as my new waterproof, thin, light, Internet connected, Amazon Kindle PaperWhite will be arriving. With an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription, the entire world of books will be in a small device that I can hold in my hand. The first book I will buy is an obscure little book of poetry published in 2006, that is now out of print. (He said smiling). But, the historical view of this event should say that, like the invention of the printing press, there are some who will rail against progress, and hang on to their books printed on paper. I still have and collect books in print, just like I collect vinyl records from decades past. There is a warmth and feel to vinyl and printed books that is pleasing. But, the future will be in my hands tomorrow, and the breadth of human knowledge that will be available in a thin piece of plastic that I can hold and carry around is breathtaking. What are you reading? 

Paper Is Technology, Too

Well-Read Life%u2122: The Peace of Paper. Execupundit today highlights this piece from the Well-Read Life blog that extols the use of paper and pen or pencil for notes taking and other uses. It recalls for me the Spaceship Earth ride at DisneyWorld, which takes you on a tour of the history of communication, beginning with stone age man writing on cave walls. The invention of paper by the Egyptians was the seminal event in the history, making the transmission of human thought available, and progressing to the invention of the printing press, and, ultimately, the computer and devices we use today. But, there is something focused, and magical, about putting pen to paper. I have used the LiveScribe pen for a couple of years now; and, it is a marvelous combination of pen and paper, and digital data that I love. I take notes, and keep my calendar and appointments diary on it, as well as a digital calendar. But, each morning, when I print my digital calendar and prioritized task list on a piece of paper, and place it next to my LiveScribe notebook, it really helps to concentrate my mind on the day at hand. We have come a long way from cave walls and papyrus; but, we are still human beings trying to communicate with each other in a permanent way. Write on. 

#WhyIAmASolo - Let Paul Jarvis Tell You

Thanks to good friend, Carolyn Elefant, for linking to this new book by Paul Jarvis. A Company Of One explores the idea that growth in business isn't always the best thing. Happiness, for some of us, can be having an occupation that provides for our families, and gives us more time to spend with them. It isn't always necessary to get bigger, or hire more people, or make more money, or manage more problems. 

Are Libraries Obsolete?

Execupundit.com: What Used to Be the Library. Certainly, libraries filled with books in print are out of favor in our digital society. We can have the content, and even look, of thousands of books in a tiny digital device that we hold in our hands. But, books, as repositories of human knowledge, and purveyors of the essential soul of humans, will never die. They will live on, as humans do, in different forms. They will, however, serve the same function: to remind us of our humanity, to educate our sensibilities, and to serve as a barrier to the barbarians at the gate. Reading is more than fundamental. It is an essential safeguard to our humankind. If you aren't reading, you are dying. Reading is preferable.