Laura’s posterous

Laura’s posterous

Laura R  //  I'm Laura, and this is my blog. I am a film & theater teacher. I also make films. I hope you enjoy them. My company: http://olivestreetfilms.com

May 9 / 12:54pm

Day 3 with the peek pronto

I've had my peek pronto (http://getpeek.com) since wednesday, and so far its taken some getting used to. That doesn't necesarily mean I don't like it; I do, however, need to keep telling myself over and over:
 
It's not a smartphone.
It's not a smartphone.
 
The Peek Pronto, in case you've read this far and still don't know what it is, is a device that sends and receives emails and text messages...that's it. No phone calls. No pictures. No video. No games. No "app for that". So why would anyone want such a thing in this age of iphones, blackberries, vues, etc.?
 
Some people don't want a smartphone, but want more access to email. These people exist, really. We sometmes refer to them as Luddites, althoug that term doesn't always apply to every person who is loathe to embrace a smartphone.
 
Some people just don't want that much access...or at least not all the time. Believe me, I truly love my iPhone. I love the visual voicemail, the map function that tracks my car with GPS accuracy, my audiobooks, my camera that posts to twitpic...I could go on. But lately I've been waxing nostalgic for my old pager, a device that kept me in touch with the outside world just enough for me to feel connected but still in control. Something simple and relatively non commital; more than any other device, the Peek gives me that. Sometimes I just really don't want that much access. And for less than $90 for the device and $20 a month with NO CONTRACTS, the Peek gives me less for less---and that's a beautiful thing. Of course, if Tim Ferriss, author of The Four-Hour Work Week (whose audiobook I just listened to on my iPhone) knew I was responding to a blinking message light on the Peek, he might serve me a hook kick to the head. Sorry, Tim, I'm still working on
 the low-information diet, but I still need to know I have access to my ring dings.
Sent on the go from my Peek
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Apr 15 / 9:21am

Audioboo

Listen!

(direct link)

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Mar 30 / 11:06am

bunny awareness

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Mar 28 / 3:24pm

the world: your trash can

I am nearly 45 years old, but for most of my adult life (with the exception of the last 3 years) I have lived in apartments. Some were in buildings, some were in private homes; but regardless, I never, EVER, threw my trash out the window. I put it in a bag and took it down to the dumpster, or threw it down the incinerator, or put it in a can by the curb. It actually never occurred to me that one could dispose of it out one's window. And in fact, I hadn't even been aware of the practice until a few months ago when we noticed that the abandoned building across the street, which stands next to a house that has several apartment units, has a rooftop covered with trash bags.
It has to be one of the most disgusting things I have seen in a long time. Maybe I find it so disusting because I pay several thousand dollars a year intaxes to live in a house that's in full view of it.  I have never been one to be picky about my "neighborhoods". I never felt the need to live in an area that was associated with a particular demographic or reputation. As long as the neighborhood was affordable and close to the things I needed, it was sufficient. Clearly, I didn't look closely when I examined the area where my house currently stands. I might have actually noticed the abandoned plot of overgrown land next to my house, littered with old clothes, beer bottles and plastic bags that we jokingly refer to as "the hobo camp". I might have observed the trash repository atop that abandoned car garage. I would not, however, had been aware that my next door neighbors on the top floor occasionally like to use my driveway to toss trash: at first I thought it might have just been a good gust of wind that blew a laudry detergent bottle or a soiled diaper onto my back lawn, but after a while it seemed like all the junk ended up in the same spot: just within tossing distance of the small terrace outside the second story back door.
Today, I found a coconut shell. It began to occur to me that one of the drawbacks of owning a home is that it becomes much more of a personal matter when you find things like trash on your lawn or hobos on the other side of your fence. It also dwaned on me that, alhtough I didn't appreciate it at the time, one of the benefits of being an apartment dweller, is (along with many other lacking commitments such as taxes, insurance and a damned mortgage) the freedome to throw one's refuse out the window like tossing away a bad habit on New Year's Day. Why not?
 


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Mar 22 / 6:08pm

garyvee does it again!

 

You Can Do Both from www.garyvaynerchuck.com.  This one was a little hard to swallow, only because I *wanted* him to say, "give up your day job and focus all your time/energy on building your brand/biz!".
But he doesn't. He tells you that you can do both (oh crap), yet he doesn't fail to encourage us to get out there and hustle for it if you want it.

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Mar 22 / 6:17am

I love stories like this!

I'm sure by now most of you have heard about Pure Digital (the makers of the Flip camcorder, my favorite gadget) being purchased by Cisco. Read the NY Times article here.

A Tiny Camcorder Has a Big Payday
By ASHLEE VANCE
Published: March 20, 2009
The maker of Flip video cameras was bought by Cisco Systems for $590 million, in a move that may help Cisco extend its videoconferencing technology to mobile devices.
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Jan 5 / 8:13am

genius! I love @twetiquette!


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Jan 1 / 5:47pm

Night owls are more creative

On a related note, us night owls rule!

News in Science - Night owls are more creative - 13/12/2006
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2006/1810399.htm
Do your best work at night? Take solace as new research suggests that night owls are more likely to be creative thinkers.

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Jan 1 / 2:43pm

From Wired: 3 Smart Things About Sleeping Late

Finally, I feel vindicated! (as I'm sure many others do too)  http://is.gd/enbl (from Wired.com)
 


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Jan 1 / 2:23pm

technorati says so

so here it is: Technorati Profile

thanks, and have a nice day!

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