Deep thought...

Hobbled by wife's old iPhone while I wait for new Android to arrive (The S3 died; one too many drops). But rocking purple Surface keyboard.

Giving up the quest for the perfect tablet

Since the early days of the Internet, I’ve been on a quest for the perfect mobile device. One device to rule them all: one device to connect, consume, create —and carry around. While the urgency of this quest has faded since I got out of journalism, I’ve never quite let go of the idea that somewhere, someday I’d find the perfect all-in-one gadget.

Until now. After several purchases — some wise, some not so wise — I’ve come to the conclusion that most people just need different devices for different purposes.

For me, the Microsoft Surface has come closest to this all-in-one ideal. I can use it as a tablet, and because of its excellent screen, wide-screen ratio and stereo speakers, watching video is more pleasant than on TV or even the iPad. The snap-on keyboard makes typing easy, and while the list of touch-specific apps is woefully short, I can use all of my old Windows applications.

But even this has shortcomings. As a reading device it suffers from a poor implementations of digital magazines and newspapers, heavier-than-practical weight, and half the battery life of most tablets. As a writing tool, it suffers from its unusual form factor and screen resolution, which makes working with most standard PC software awkward. Its top-heavy form is difficult to balance correctly on my lap. And while the keyboard is better than trying to type on screen, it’s not the greatest. (Reportedly, this has been improved with the soon-to-launch Surface 2 accessories, which I can use on the original Surface.)

I’ve ended up getting different devices for each use. A Nook tablet for reading books at night. A Nook e-reader for reading outside. (Yes, I have a habit of always picking the loser in a two-horse race.) An iPad for reading daily news. None of these is perfect, and carrying around multiple devices is a pain.

If I had to choose just one, I’d choose the Surface. It does a little bit of everything, and by all accounts, version 2 is better. But it’s a compromise. And I’m still not sure what the best approach is — trying to “tablet-ize” a full-fledged PC, like Microsoft has done with the Surface, or adding a third-party keyboard to the iPad.

Okay. Deep inside, maybe I haven’t given up the quest after all.

Deep thought...

I unlocked 5 Xbox Live achievements in Kinect Sports Season 2! http://t.co/fNOCzihJ5S

Deep thought...

I am playing Kinect Sports Season 2. http://t.co/pPR3EkiUAJ

Deep thought...

I unlocked the Golden Jubilee achievement in Karaoke! http://t.co/fNOCzihJ5S

Deep thought...

I am playing Karaoke. http://t.co/pPR3EkiUAJ

Deep thought...

Its about to rain on my parade. Literally. http://t.co/hNbLvT5syG

Deep thought...

Woo-hoo! I'm rich! (Not really.) http://t.co/Wx4IDAovUX

Deep thought...

"She mistrusted the periods of quiet that are essential to true growth" http://t.co/qasGpnTLGI #NOOK

Deep thought...

Finds it so odd how defensive gun nuts get after a mass shooting.

Deep thought...

My 5-year-old daughter's latest grievance: "We never go to dance parties."

Deep thought...

I'm a little concerned that one of the teachers at my daughter's school just said her classroom is near the "libary."

Deep thought...

Testing my ITTT recipe.

Magic Feathers

When I was a kid, I once saw a red flare burning at the scene of an auto accident. Two wrecked cars idled in the middle of the intersection as police investigated the collision and directed traffic. With the traffic lights flashing yellow, I naturally concluded that the flare was the burning ember of the red stoplight, which had somehow fallen out onto the street, resulting in the confused drivers colliding. Encyclopedia Brown, I was not.

We humans are uncanny in our ability to find patterns within randomness — as if trying to tame chaos by making it a knowable, a predictable mental model that explains arbitrary events. We see correlated events and reflexively assume cause-and-effect relationships.

I think that tendency helps explain “magic feather” syndrome. If you’ve seen the Disney animated classic Dumbo, you know what I’m talking about: Timothy Mouse, desperate to convince Dumbo to fly, gives him a feather that supposedly allows the elephant to soar above the ground. In one sense, the feather works, giving Dumbo the confidence he needs to try. Still, he sees the feather as the cause of his newfound abilities. Only later, when he loses the feather, does Dumbo realize that he had that power in himself all along.

Sometimes I cling onto my own magic feathers, looking for someone to validate my talent, appearance, intelligence, and so on — basically, my sense of self-worth. Without the magic feather of recognition and admiration, I begin to doubt myself. Or worse, I jump through hoops to gain the approval of someone I hope might give me that validation. I see my worthiness as the result of someone deeming me worthy rather than my worthiness being the cause of their acknowledging it. When you feel worthwhile only when other people affirm it, you’ll do anything — break boundaries, lower your standards, betray others — to get it.

That’s a lot of power to hand over to other people. I’m slowly recognizing that weakness. The irony of ego-stroking: those times when I was drunk on others’ affirmation were the times I grew the least, or even reverted. Personally, professionally, spiritually — you name it. While I don’t blame myself for not realizing it at the time (you rarely sense growth or regression when you’re in the midst of it), I do intend to use that knowledge moving forward.

Dumbo didn’t need a magic feather to soar. Neither do you.

Companies love those likes

My latest for IBD. How companies are using data from social networks to figure out what you’ll buy, how much to lend you and whether you’re a right fit for the job.

Book Report: Malgudi Days

I've finally finished reading Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan, a collection of short stories, later adapted into a TV series, about a fictional town in India. The stories are meant to present slices of life in the country — the various personalities, struggles, family dynamics that, while set in India, are universally human. The show became a staple of TV watching for a generation of kids — something like India's "Little House on the Prairie." Or so I'm told.

At first, the short stories seemed innocuous, cute morality tales capped with a surprise twist. But the narratives seem to grow darker and more melancholy as the book progresses. I'm not sure whether the stories are presented in the order they were written, suggesting Narayan's growing world-weariness, or purposefully ordered to create the same effect. Either way, the change is subtle but real. The final story — which depicts a man in the autumn of his life growing faintly aware of his past wrongs and attempting, feebly, to right them — breaks your heart.

While I wouldn't rank Malgudi Days among the great works of English literature, the stories present interesting character studies and do a fine job of entertaining, charming and gently challenging the reader. The short-story format provides easy-to-digest chunks (must...refrain...from Indian food metaphor) that make the book easy to put down and pick back up again later. If you've ever wanted to read about India from an Indian point of view, the imaginary but oh-so-vivid locale of Malgudi is a good place to start.

The New Yorker finally comes to Windows 8

After months of promises, Next Issue has added The New Yorker to its stable of magazines. And that means I’m one step closer to being able to leave behind my iPad and use the Surface Pro as my only tablet.

Not that I have anything against the iPad, mind you. The iPad is great for consuming content, but I need an actual PC and and would rather carry around two devices (a phone and tablet) than three (phone and two tablets). And I’ve always believed that the more familiar you become with a tool, the more useful it becomes. I’ve been using my Surface a lot this week for freelance work and have found it becoming instrumental to my routine.

The two big pieces missing from the puzzle are better versions of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Both of these apps look great on the Surface, but neither has offline access, and the WSJ seems not to have all of the stories in the print and iPad versions — the daily A-Hed feature is missing from the Windows version on most days, for example.

Now, if only Microsoft would take my previous suggestion to heart.

Paying Attention

Yoda: He is not ready.

Luke: Yoda! I am ready. I... Ben! I can be a Jedi. Ben, tell him I'm ready.

Yoda: Ready, are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained! A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was, what he was doing.

—The Empire Strikes Back

The old cliché that time is money isn't always precise, but it hints at an idea that I'm increasingly convinced is true — human attention is the most precious resource we have.

We spend eight or more hours a day at work, but we're not really paid for our time. We're paid to apply our skills and talent to a particular set of tasks (projects, customers, problems). Setting aside the myth of multitasking, that means focus. We're paid to pay attention, in other words.

Advertisers spend millions on the hopes you'll pay attention for 30 seconds. People humiliate themselves on national television for the attention. Aspiring actors take on one low-wage job after another in the hopes of a big break that will make them famous.

In our personal lives, attention is the most valuable thing we can give our friends and family. I can't think of anything more irritating than trying to talk someone who's physically with you but on a phone call or texting someone else (I’ve been guilty of this myself). We crave having attention paid to us. Attention is the currency of love.

Paying attention is good for our own well being, too. Whether you call it "mindfulness" or "living in the present," paying attention to the here-and-now is vital to staying centered. As a wise person recently told me: we can't change the past, and we don't know the future. That leaves the present.

And that's worth paying attention to.

Things fall apart

My wife and I got terrible news this weekend that a dear friend of ours has cancer. While she doesn’t yet know whether her case is terminal, it is already clear that the treatment, even under the best circumstances, will dramatically change the quality of her life.

I couldn’t help wondering what I would do under the same circumstances. I don’t think I would be strong enough to endure the treatment. I’ve seen other people fight and ultimately succumb to cancer — and as weak as it sounds, I’d probably jump in front of a train before going through the same thing myself.

But we all die. Our bodies break down, our minds grow dull. My friend’s news was a sharp reminder of the transience of existence and the limited time we have.

Twenty or 30 years from now, will I look back with pride about what I’ve accomplished? How will I define success? Am I taking the best advantage of the time I have now, when I’m still healthy and sharp?

In other words, am I wasting my time? Sometimes, I feel like my last few years have been a series of distractions and missed opportunities. Actually, I’m sure of that. I think I could have made more of my transition out of journalism. I haven’t made the most of my potential. I’ve squandered opportunities for personal growth. And sometimes I fear I still haven’t found my calling. I’m not even sure whether that means changing careers or recreating my life outside of work.

The good news: I’m not dead yet. I don’t have unlimited time, but I do have time. The hard part is figuring out how to make the most of it.

Fascinating article in Investor’s Business Daily

Just kidding. It’s my latest story, a how-to on using NFC tagging.

NFC: short for New Fun Craze.