Messages

76

Living Room / Re: Show us a photo of your mutt or other creatures..

« on: September 24, 2009, 03:59 PM »

The only thing to do for that is give it some time.

-40hz (September 24, 2009, 02:17 PM)

Hmmm...I don't know if that's always the answer.
I lost my mom 2 years ago, and after 1 year, I would still sit and cry uncontrollably for hours. I would hear a song that reminded me of when I was a kid, and that would be the last thing I'd do that day. I became less functional instead of more, and time was not helping at all. People were noticing that I was still grieving as if she'd just died. I couldn't even look at food she used to make without crying! [As a side note, this is why I joined DC! For a distraction - to keep running across computing terms and ideas I didn't understand, looking them up on Google and learning. It helped, a little, but I was too lazy, so now I just hang out in the Living Room  ].

Anyway, reluctantly    I followed my doctor's advice and went on medication to help keep me out of 'the hole'. It helped a LOT. I still grieve, I still feel my love for her, I still cry, but for minutes, not hours. There are also fewer (and more fitting) triggers now. I just don't fall into such horrible deep sadness like you describe. I'm not at all embarrassed by it, as the circumstances surrounding her death were particularly upsetting.

My point is that time usually helps, but sometimes it doesn't help soon enough, and if the grieving doesn't seem to be changing after a few months, this may be something to consider. I hope you don't need it, but if you do, you're certainly not alone!

I do hope you feel better, and soon!!!   

77

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Something I want to try this Year.. Daily After-action Reports

« on: September 23, 2009, 02:17 PM »

I was thinking that one thing i would really like to start doing this year is to prepare a kind of one page "after-action" report form that i would fill out after each day, to record what i did each day.
I think it would help ensure I am making good use of my time.

Thoughts? Anyone already do this? Any suggestions for what the form would look like?

-mouser (May 17, 2009, 11:09 AM)

Sorry I missed the middle of your original post, where you say you don't want to log throughout the day  .
(Kind of makes my first reply irrelevant.)

But if at the end of the day, the time of day happens to be relevant to your activities, here's what I'm using, starting in 2010.
I wish I could start today, but I love the pre-printed times and dates  .



It's roughly 8" x 6", but they also come in full size.
I think it helps to continue your logs, in case you get lazy or tend to forget to do it...
For myself, I like the times so I can use it as a tracker. If every day at 3PM I'm supposed to do something, I can flip through it and see the days I didn't follow through. Although my goal is to eventually have none of these entries to find  . We'll see...

78

General Software Discussion / Re: Good news for any InfoSelect users

« on: September 23, 2009, 12:51 PM »

(Now, if only you had given some good news about Lotus Agenda too! Over all the years since I started using it in 1990 or so, I have still been unable to find anything to adequately replace Agenda.)

-IainB (September 23, 2009, 06:59 AM)

Do you still use Agenda? I used to work at IBM, where I learned that and Lotus Notes.
I too would have loved to have given some good news regarding either one of these programs. I never see anything written about Agenda, anywhere.
Lotus Notes was just the best; I doubt I'll ever find another email client that allows for expanding and collapsing sections.
That was my favorite email feature ever; so I understand about Agenda  .

79

General Software Discussion / Re: An 'old timers' experience with InfoSel

« on: September 22, 2009, 02:16 PM »

Hello there , I just ran in to this forum and thought would register just to make this comment since I moved to Mac 3 years ago , and still trying to settle for an InfoSel equivalent !!

-Khalid_FA (September 22, 2009, 01:37 PM)

Hi Khalid, and welcome. Sounds like you take an interest in software, so stick around, you may really enjoy this forum. 

...When I headed a major IT dept in 2004 ,  with 50 satellite offices , I wrote to Info Sel to come to an arrangement to develop a version with RTL support so it is usable for Arabic. They told me that it would cost me $120,000 plus buying a licence for each user !!!!!!

-Khalid_FA (September 22, 2009, 01:37 PM)

That doesn't surprise me; miclog has not been known for good customer relations or corporate sales. Or affordable pricing.
I'm not sure if the latter will change, but as I said earlier, they really seem to be getting more involved with their users.
They're responding to requests, as well as posts containing the needless, often harsh, bitching and complaining that has quietly plagued that forum for years.
The first moderating post from Jim Lewis appeared this morning.      pointing out the new forum rules.
So, why not go there and ask them if there are any plans for IS running on systems other than windows? At least you'll get a direct answer from miclog.

...So thats my InfoSel experience. As far as the Mac the best close contender is DevonThinkPro Office and Eagle filer . But they are not all in one as InfoSel is, but then you can't compare a Windows to Os X .

-Khalid_FA (September 22, 2009, 01:37 PM)

I noticed on the IS forum that a few people have switched operating systems, and really miss InfoSelect.
You're right, it really is in a class by itself.
Keep an eye out for an osx version; who knows what improvements they're working on now, or what their future plans are. 

80

General Software Discussion / Re: Good news for any InfoSelect users

« on: September 22, 2009, 01:00 AM »

I think the following greyscale skin looks nice without being "blingy", but maybe it's just me!
 (see attachment in previous post)

-40hz (September 22, 2009, 12:28 AM)

OK, OK...I suppose an interface like that wouldn't be asking too much.

(As a side note, on the forum, a beta tester said they've added a ribbon similar to the one in Word, and the old-timers are already crying about it, as always, calling InfoSelect ''bloated". Trust me, GUI means *nothing* to these guys  .)

81

General Software Discussion / Re: Good news for any InfoSelect users

« on: September 22, 2009, 12:02 AM »

Minor quibble: What's with that ulgy archaic GUI? It looks like it hasn't been updated since Windows 95 hit the racks.

At $250, an attractive interface should be a given.

-40hz (September 21, 2009, 09:12 PM)

I don't know. It's one of the things they're working on now. The GUI used to really bother me, too.

It's a trade off, really. The GUI is less than appealing, but the viewing options are indispensable:

For example, I can color code my topics, work with a black background  , and display my data in any way that suits me. This makes working with my information much faster & easier than with any other program.

There's also lot more freedom when setting up the menus and toolbars than in most other programs of that kind. You can see only what menu items / icons / commands you want to see, in any order you want to see them, so that's a plus. It feels more natural to work with. For example, I would have never set up Outlook's UI the way it is. It's someone else's idea of an efficient interface & I have to learn it, whether it makes sense to me or not. As a result, it takes me forever to get anything accomplished in Outlook.

I'm not sure if there's any connection here, but back in the old days on Windows 98, before things started sliding and fading and glowing with silky looking gradient toolbars and such, computing seemed to be a lot faster. It's hard to explain, there just always seems to be some kind of ever-so-slight delay with the prettier programs. Everything seems to take a half a second longer - entering text, saving work, making selections in drop-down menus & buttons, everything. InfoSelect is really, really fast, so after a while, the aesthetics became less important to me.

I'm sure it will look better soon, though  .

82

General Software Discussion / Re: Good news for any InfoSelect users

« on: September 21, 2009, 10:53 AM »

I am stunned at/by/on/over/with (?) their asking prices, Sarah

Info Select 2007:
$250 once, or
$50 per year.
Upgrade: $100

-Micro Logic

Version "2010" better be out-of-this-world fantastic awesome good! Argh, silly me! At this price I won't be using it anyway, so what does it matter to me how incredible expensive it may seem.

-Curt (September 21, 2009, 10:40 AM)

I know. See my annual fee in red. I can't afford to buy it.
The only thing about this that bothers me is that I could have bought it by now with all the rent I've paid (grrr...).
Had they set it up like a mortgage, I'd own it now.

But I'm still fascinated by InfoSelect.  I can't wait to see the changes!! 

83

General Software Discussion / Re: Good news for any InfoSelect users

« on: September 21, 2009, 10:42 AM »

Thanks for that piece of select info!

-cranioscopical (September 21, 2009, 07:11 AM)

   I was hoping you'd see this. 
Although there's nothing on their web site yet revealing upcoming changes, Jim's post has drawn a lot of attention to the group members.

Now both of my favorite all-in-one PIMs (Do-Organizer & IS) have me waiting for their revamped versions.

84

General Software Discussion / Good news for any InfoSelect users

« on: September 20, 2009, 10:15 PM »

If you use InfoSelect/Tornado Notes, you may be aware that there's an InfoSelect Yahoo group. It's run by users, not by Miclog.

In the past, the developers haven't participated in this forum and have remained somewhat untouchable over the years.

Well, today, the developer of InfoSelect, Jim Lewis, got on the forum and posted a message saying to look forward to the next version, it's coming soon. He also said that Miclog would now be participating in the InfoSelect group. He says that many important changes / updates have been made in IS. If you use IS, you know how badly these changes are needed.

I've been using IS for about 5 years, I think it's one of the best programs I've ever used. This is really exciting news for me and hopefully for any other user of IS who comes across this post. 

85

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: My assignment: The ToDo List of Doom

« on: September 20, 2009, 01:59 PM »

No big deal. Everybody uses something. I use my sight, you use your hearing.
It's good for you to know what makes you tick  .
If the power went out and it was late at night, I probably wouldn't be productive, if I didn't have to be. And, I'd have a great excuse!

Are you absolutely sure you need sound to be productive?
What if someone offered you $10,000 to, for one week, be (roughly) as productive without the sound on your computer?
I know if push came to shove, if I couldn't see any of my tasks, I'd figure out a way to keep going. I think you would, too. 

86

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you touch-type or hunt-and-peck?

« on: September 20, 2009, 10:27 AM »

How do you do it without your nails getting in your way?

I am dead serious, since I just tried to rest my fingertips on the home row in the traditional way a touch typist would, and I couldn't. My nails wouldn't let my fingers near the keys!  

-app103 (September 20, 2009, 09:01 AM)

I type using the tips of my nails, not my fingertips.



If they're really long, I can still type very easily with my tips. (There are just too many other things I can't do, so I keep them like this.)
I just use the nails as I would my fingertips and it works great.
I use a laptop now, but this is possible on a standard keyboard, as well; I've found that the more shallow the keys, the better, but it still works. It took me almost no time to get used to it.

If they're painted, apply a hardener/top coat every few days to keep your polish from wearing off your nails and ending up on your keys.

If any nails are broken, or filed to a length different than the rest of them, I can't type. I just keep making the same mistake over and over again, and it's too distracting. Eventually, it becomes too frustrating.

If they're all too short, I gain speed while I'm typing, but at the cost of losing the long reach my nails give me. I'm so used to having nails that I end up making many more mistakes, so including the corrections, it takes me longer to type.

87

General Software Discussion / Re: Godin: the end of dumb software

« on: September 15, 2009, 12:04 PM »

for linking all sorts of information but without having to use a RDMS, maybe Deepa Mehta might be interesting?

-housetier (September 15, 2009, 10:41 AM)

Thank you, housetier. That program reminds me of the Brain, except open source and at least for now, free!?!?!? Wow.
It's also more refined - with well thought out articles and explanations on their web site for anyone who's interested.

Unfortunately for me, I have a difficult time with the interface - physically - my eyes just can't seem to adjust to the link patterns.

The main reason I'm so hot on Do Organizer is that not only can I link anything to anything, I can also see it in collapsable lists by type of link.
So if you were in my address book and had linked information to you, when I select your name & I'd see in a pane:
Notes
Appointments
Journal Entries
Email...

you get the picture. But since all of these are expandable and collapsable, I can see things 'quietly', for lack of a better word.
This is helpful to me, as I can view a contact history for anyone, so when I'm talking to them or working for them I can see a chronological history line by line.

Their themes also allow me to have a black interface and large font, so it's very easy on my eyes.

It reminds me a lot of Access, but with email & a web browser. I guess if they never release this new version, I'll use the one I have now, warts and all.

88

Living Room / Re: R.I.P. - Patrick Swayze - 57

« on: September 14, 2009, 09:29 PM »

That's sad. I really liked him...another really good article is here...
Strange, pancreatic cancer seems to be hitting all kinds of people, lately.

89

General Software Discussion / Re: How To Type Symbols and more

« on: September 14, 2009, 08:53 PM »

Grab AutoHotkey from here, install it to start with Windows, then create an autohotkey.ahk script that contains the following:

-tranglos (September 14, 2009, 07:23 PM)

I can't write a script! But if I was forced to learn how, do you think ahk would be a suitable (easy) place to start?

-SKesselman (September 14, 2009, 07:31 PM)

Apart from a great support forum it has a terrific help file, stuffed with useful examples. It's worth giving it try just for the entertainment value!

-cranioscopical (September 14, 2009, 08:32 PM)

Mine or yours?  

90

General Software Discussion / Re: How To Type Symbols and more

« on: September 14, 2009, 07:31 PM »

Grab AutoHotkey from here, install it to start with Windows, then create an autohotkey.ahk script that contains the following:

-tranglos (September 14, 2009, 07:23 PM)

I can't write a script! But if I was forced to learn how, do you think ahk would be a suitable (easy) place to start?

91

General Software Discussion / Re: How To Type Symbols and more

« on: September 14, 2009, 07:12 PM »

I have an english setup, but it's not working for me either   so far...

-SKesselman (September 14, 2009, 06:43 PM)

But if you're not getting the right characters on an English system (Win-1252), are you typing the digits on the numeric keypad? THat's the only way to get the symbols.

-tranglos (September 14, 2009, 07:00 PM)

No. I guess that answers the, "but why would it be any different on a laptop" question.

Me, I'm using a bunch of text replacements defined in AHK. ;copy gives me ©,  ;tm gives me ™, ;reg gives me ®, ;eur gives me € etc. It's easier than remembering codes.

-tranglos (September 14, 2009, 07:00 PM)

How nice, for you (jealous) (pout) 

92

General Software Discussion / Re: How To Type Symbols and more

« on: September 14, 2009, 06:54 PM »

I did a cheat sheet sort of page on my site awhile back, it's here if anyone can find it useful.

-Stoic Joker (September 14, 2009, 05:54 PM)

It doesn't work on gmail, do you have to change modes or something to be typing in ASCII format?
Or maybe do you have to be using something like Outlook or Word?
I get so many of these symbols when my bf sends me a Word document from France that Word tries to go French.
But nothing seems to work in gmail.

93

General Software Discussion / Re: How To Type Symbols and more

« on: September 14, 2009, 06:43 PM »

I guess this must be for 'english' keyboards only ~ the hotkeys are not working as promised, on my setup.

-Curt (September 10, 2009, 03:20 AM)

I have an english setup, but it's not working for me either  so far...

94

General Software Discussion / Re: Organize desktop icons and more...

« on: September 14, 2009, 06:19 PM »

I have organized mine by hiding all of them!

-Curt (September 13, 2009, 08:34 AM)

Same here. Well, I guess deleting is more like it.

To really make my desktop/start menu/quicklaunch useful and fun, I used to use Stardock, but that was years ago, and the only 2 designs I liked are from 2004.

Here is one of them. No way would they work anymore.
I looked last month at every skin they offer, but still can find nothing I like.
Now, I just use what Vista has given me & try to keep my desktop as clean as possible.

95

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you touch-type or hunt-and-peck?

« on: September 14, 2009, 05:06 PM »

I took 6 months of touch typing in 7th grade, & I found it incredibly useful, but not until college. I think you learn better when you're younger.
It was easy to re-learn. I had a very hard time learning 10 key for the first time in accounting school, and I still can't do it.
I barely made the speed requirements to graduate.

I'm pretty sure it's all about practice, whether you take a formal class, or not.
My bf is a public writer & I've never seen anyone type as fast as he can. It's as if he's typing faster than most people speak.
I'm pretty certain he's never had formal instruction. As for his wmp, he has no idea.

96

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: My assignment: The ToDo List of Doom

« on: September 14, 2009, 12:15 PM »

Well, I really just posted this as something that's working for me with the hope that it might be of use to someone else.
I really didn't expect a disagreement, especially since you don't list any alternatives that you thinks might work better.

Similarly, SKesselman's method is akin to doing your homework because your teacher will spank you in class and give you a failing grade.

-Paul Keith (September 14, 2009, 02:38 AM)

hmm...I don't know about getting spanked, but yes, avoiding punishment does motivate me. Why shouldn't it? Why else do people pay their bills, show up for traffic court, or make bank deposits? Fear. Nothing wrong with that, if it's saving you money, time and of course, your self respect.

...but applied as a system, it's not really going to make you do the things you want

-Paul Keith (September 14, 2009, 02:38 AM)

Sure it does.
'Want' and 'don't want' are two sides of the same coin, are they not?
Example 1: The mail
I hate mailing birthday cards, I'm afraid they'll never reach their destination. I hate my handwriting. Maybe they're expecting a gift. Anxiety. Procrastination. But, if I want to let someone know they're being thought of on their birthday, I can put their card on the door until it's filled out and sent . The punishment for not doing so is feeling guilty and weak for succumbing to my own silly little fears.

Example 2: the vet
Seeing my cat frightened, yowling and in caged up is very upsetting to me...but I want to take care of her, so I put her vet appt. cards on the door to remind myself to prepare for them, and take her in. The punishment for not doing this is that I could cause her to suffer preventable health problems. And knowing I'm being a hypocrite ("I love my cat sooo much".). Right.

but make you pretend you need an annoying system for the things you already could've done without it.

-Paul Keith (September 14, 2009, 02:38 AM)

Pretend? I very much needed this system. I made it up for myself, & it's worked for long enough that I think it's worthy of being posted.
People are really surprised now when they remind me of something, that it's already -done-.

Another benefit I forgot to mention in my initial post is that this system keeps my hands in what I"m doing. I have a feel for my tasks now that I didn't have when I used the computer, no matter how often I saw, or even worked with, a to do list. And, my memory is improving. I know what's on my door, and I know that whatever reminds me to do it will never be lost in any of the multiple systems I've tried. I don't know why, but I cannot tell you what's on my Outlook calendar; even if it mirrors what's in my wallet calendar, and I see it every day. But, I can tell you everything on my wallet calendar, at any given time. Even when I only look at it once a week. Weird, but paper can actually help some people.

I also don't have to sort tasks by how much time it will take. I grab 2 quick tasks off the door, and get going on one lenghly one.

All in all, for people like myself, this can be quite successful  .

97

Living Room / Re: The unspoken truth about managing geeks

« on: September 14, 2009, 12:10 AM »

"There's no reason for it. It's just our policy." - Anon HR Manager

-40hz (September 13, 2009, 11:16 PM)

Oh, the joy that comes from working for intelligent, insightful people like this...where do I sign up??? 

98

Living Room / Re: DC-IRLDD Champaign, IL - Aug 29, 2009

« on: September 13, 2009, 11:49 PM »

You know, it might be kind of fun to attend via video chat during one of these gatherings.
Sure, I couldn't eat with you and OK, the board game thing wouldn't work too well either, but it would be fun to meet a few people from DC and say hi. 

99

General Software Discussion / Re: Godin: the end of dumb software

« on: September 13, 2009, 08:19 PM »

And anyway, doesn't the Outlook/Exchange combo already do much of the linkin' and sharin' he describes?

-tranglos (September 13, 2009, 07:59 PM)

Yes.

Maybe it doesn't mark deceased people with color codes, but that wouldn't really be tasteful, would it? I'm really wondering about this specific example Godin's using.

-tranglos (September 13, 2009, 07:59 PM)

I don't know, I color code my deceased contacts, they're greyed out like an inactive window. (Well, they're inactive!)
There's a lot of info in those contact cards, why delete them? It's not like they never existed, I couldn't just leave them off of my contacts list, it just wouldn't be right. Besides, I'm a compulsive linker, and everyone is linked to something...

100

General Software Discussion / Re: ControlPad: interesting new launcher app

« on: September 13, 2009, 08:05 PM »

I've been looking for a way to join pdf's for ages - now I have one! 

-CleverCat (September 13, 2009, 02:45 AM)

Thanks, CleverCat, now I have one, too