Bro Show Appearance

Yesterday, I joined Myke and Terry on The Bro Show where we chatted about Paperless and self-publishing, retina displays, and Google’s new announcements.

Yay

"Any" and "All"

Email is getting nuts for me so I’ve been getting a lot more aggressive about rules. Granted, I can’t do all the great Google server side stuff with my iCloud and IMAP accounts but Apple Mail does have some pretty good rules tools. So I set up my home iMac to act as my own personal email rule server and got busy writing email rules.

There was, however, a problem. The MacSparky account has been light for a few weeks. I was aware of this subconsciously. I was getting some mail, but not much. Moreover, friends who are usually very prompt in responding to me weren’t. Today I had lunch with one of my Internet heroes (not that I’d namedrop) who told me about email she was sending that I wasn’t receiving. I figured I had a rule go astray. I just didn’t figure how stupid my mistake was.

In fine tuning a rule to auto-file email notices of Paperless PDF purchases, I managed to switch the “all” button to “any”. Ugh.

So instead of looking for mail that satisfied all of these conditions, the home iMac was dutifully archiving email that satisfied any of the conditions, including email that was sent to david@macsparky.com. Someone should strip me of my propeller beanie cap.

The interesting thing is that I was getting some email during this period to the account. If it had just turned off, I would have figured it out much sooner. I think the reason for this was my kids using the computer and shutting down Mail.app. I’ve now fixed that with Keyboard Maestro.

So the rule is fixed and I’ve got several weeks of unread archived email from friends and readers. Whoops.

Half Off Fantastical

I paid full price for this remarkable Mac calendar app and it was still a bargain.

via 512 Pixels

Dr. Drang Boils Water

The way Americans boil water:

Several commenters mistook my use of the microwave as the way all Americans heat water and clucked their tongues in disapproval. I’m happy to report to any of those who’ve returned to the site that I’m quite atypical in this regard. The standard American way to heat water is to take a pot of water out to our pickup truck, open the hood (what the Brits call a “spanner”), and lock the pot onto the engine block using a set of latches readily available at any Wal-Mart. Then we drive around at high speed, reciting the Gospels and firing our shotguns out the window. After reading the Gospel of John for three minutes and sixteen seconds, the water is ready. I hope this puts to rest any confusion.

We have got to do a workflow interview with the good doctor.

Lego Star Wars

Over the weekend, Sarah and I visited Legoland California. They’ve recently opened a Star Wars exhibit and it pushed all of my buttons. Check out the full gallery here.

Choosing a Task List App

Today Macworld ran an article I wrote about how to choose a task application. It is remarkable how much better task management apps are on the Mac and iOS platforms today than they were just a few years ago.

MPU 91: Workflows with Merlin Mann (2012 Edition)

Mac Power Users Episode 91, Workflows with Merlin Mann, is up. Merlin returns for the third year with a host of excellent workflow and productivity ideas. I really love that guy. Get the episode over at 5by5. Also, don’t forget to subscribe in iTunes.

Jim Dalrymple on Web Design

I thought this week’s Amplified episode was fascinating. In it, Jim Dalrymple explained how he transitioned The Loop from one of pixel chaos to pixel serenity. I remember how noisy The Loop used to be and I am behind what he’s done 100%. The Loop is now gorgeous. Indeed, after having Jim show the way, I spent some time redesigning this little back-water corner of the Internet with the same principles: simple, fast loading, and ads that don’t make you want to drive an ice pick though your retinas.

As a complete aside, while I’ve always enjoyed Jim Dalrymple’s writing, I adore his belly laughs. If you haven’t tried listening to Amplified, you should.

RSS Sponsor: OmniPlan

This week’s RSS Sponsor is OmniPlan, an app that rethinks project management. I use this app all the time and absolutely love it.

Sarah wakes up, prepares a full breakfast, and fires up her standard suite for design. Two new, time-consuming projects this week — it’s time to start planning much further than was previously warranted. Should’ve started yesterday.

OmniPlan for iPad is perfect for this. An intuitive interface keeps unnecessary controls out of your way until you need them, and you don’t have to become an expert in another field.

It’s just Sarah, three months of work, and a beautiful timeline to keep her studio of one on track. Available in the App Store for $50.