Tagged: index cards

In which the TSA is impressed with my wood

en MacBook cover, that is.  Last month, I treated myself and my new MacBook to a spiffy cedar plank of a cover from Karvt. This month, I did some flying, and that included everybody’s favorite drill, take out your computer and put it in a bin all by itself.  I did not lose my ‘stache scissors or my cool, but in both Denver and Phoenix, I was quizzed by neighbors in the security line and by TSA screeners. “What kind of cover is that?” “Is that real wood?” “Did you make it yourself?”  Consensus was that it was pretty darn cool.

In case there’s any doubt that I’m turning into some kind of 21st-Century Margaret Lanterman, here are some other forest products I’ve been coveting or enjoying recently:

Levenger’s Bamboo Note Card Box with Index Cards
You know I’ve got a thing about index cards, especially ones with a grid on them.  After lusting after Levernger’s superb example of the genre for some time, I finally pulled the trigger, convincing myself that the package deal with this sweet bamboo box justified the expense. As it turns out, I had to go to the retail location and beg the staff to substitute gridded cards for the ones with plain old lines on them, but it was wheedling well spent.

Vintage Cork Desk Caddy (also with index cards)
Having decided to put the Levenger box on my work desk, I still needed something to hold my index cards and pencils at home. After some searching, I came upon this beauty, variously described as vintage, mid-century and 70s, on Etsy. I’m not sure if the cork body is really meant to take pushpins or not, but it holds pencils and index cards admirably, and I prefer the bare cork surface anyway.

Vers 1E Walnut Sound Isolation Earphones
Somewhere along the line, I misplaced or discarded the crappy earbuds that came with my ipod and my phone. Despite my complex relationship with their 1.5R radio, I’m still enamored with Vers Audio, so I decided to give their earphones a try. I’m no audiophile and I couldn’t carry a tune if you gave me a bucket, but I find the sound quality excellent and the little rubber thingies on the ear end both comfortable and sound-insulating.  Plus, the walnut wood matches my bedside radio. It’s the little things that matter.  Also, Vers plants 100 trees for every one they use in their products.

Wooden Lego-Like Building Blocks (HT @gizmodo)
OMFG.  Even if Giz is confused on the issue, I know these are not actually Lego, and I’m a little worried that they may be trampling on some patent by the estimable Danish toymaker. But, OMFG, I really want these.  That is all.

Well, almost all.  If you’ve got walnut in your ears, cork and bamboo on your desk, and cedar on your mac, you certainly can’t be caught dead with unsharp pencils, so I purchased the wood pulp edition of David Rees’ singular manual, How to Sharpen Pencils. Honestly, the fact that it even comes in ebook format is a little unsettling, don’t you think?

In Praise of Index Cards

I was sitting in Andala Cafe eating amazing hummus while watching the sky turn from blue to white and I had an idea. I know, you’re stunned. This doesn’t happen often, and even less frequently outside the thinking room. So I grabbed an index card and just when I was about to write it down, I looked at the humble index card and thought, where have you been all my life, and promptly forgot the idea.

Where have index cards been all of our lives? Mostly, they’ve been right here and we are better off for it. I can’t believe I’ve only recently rediscovered what’s been around for ages. Over at 43 Folders, Merlin Mann praises his “Hipster PDA” and links it to all kinds of GTD (Getting Things Done) systems of organization.

The Hipster PDA (Parietal Disgorgement Aid) is a fully extensible system for coordinating incoming and outgoing data for any aspect of your life and work. It scales brilliantly, degrades gracefully, supports optional categories and “beaming,” and is configurable to an unlimited number of options. …

  1. get a bunch of 3″x5″ file cards
  2. clip them together with a binder clip
  3. there is no step 3

Actually, step 3 is where things get challenging, but at least you’ve built your PDA and you’re ready to start getting things done. And by “beaming” I suppose you mean “flinging”? For the less frugal and more stylish, there’s Levenger‘s cult of 3×5 cards for about $26 for 500 truly deluxue cards, described by the company as delivering these benefits:

  • Convenient vertical format
  • Easier to write on than standard 3 x 5 cards
  • Cards come in ruled, plain, grid and window styles
  • Printed on both sides
  • Made from the highest grade of white card stock
  • Made in the USA

It’s easy to make fun, but the cards – and the snazzy leather wallets and wooden “bleachers” – are truly premium quality and make writing on the cards a joy and tearing them in half a somewhat guilty luxury. And there must be something to it, since Staples has been seen hawking Levengeresque 3×5 card wallets under the “M” brand at a rate somewhat above the usual Staples price points.

staplesm.jpg

One of the great benefits to index cards for organizing your thoughts is that you can stack them to focus on just one or array them to prioritize or sequence them. And there’s great satisfaction to just throwing a card away when the task is done. Although I have mixed feelings about Agile Development, I can say (and did – in this Ipswitch blog post) that the use of cork and cards has yet to be eclipsed by fancy computer technology. I’ve been a huge fan of the whiteboard, but I’m starting to wonder if the cork board – or at least the pile of index cards – isn’t starting to win me over. I might even crack and make a visit to the Levenger store.

One more note on index cards – if you haven’t already discovered the off-center geeky humor of Jessica Hagy and her blog Indexed – available soon in book form, oddly enough – you should check it out.