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    Bryan Sims

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    Friday Fun: The Law & Order Drinking Game

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    I think I have seen just about every episode of this show (given that it runs all of the time, this is not a particularly remarkable feat). The Cranking Widgets Blog has shared with us the Law & Order Drinking Game.

    My two favorites from the list:

    • Jack is ordered by the sitting DA to “Cut a Deal!“ – Whenever the prosecution’s case is somewhat shaky, the District Attorney will often tell Jack to attempt a plea bargain. This directive often follows a heated disagreement between the two – this was a terribly common occurrence during Adam Schiff’s term as DA. Jack reluctantly complies, but usually the offer is ridiculous and the defendant refuses. Then Jack gives him an ass-whooping of epic proportions in court.
    • Either Attorney Says “Withdrawn!“ – Usually preceded immediately by a very inflammatory remark. For example, Jack might say to a witness “You do realize you’re terribly ugly and your mother is a dudeWITHDRAWN.” Also, expect a subdued sense of shock throughout the courtroom as the offending attorney strolls confidently back to his seat.

    If you are a Law & Order fan, you will likely the find the entire list quite entertaining. I was disappointed only by the fact that there were no entries for the police portion of the show.

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    Working From Home

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    As technology allows us to be more mobile, it also allows us to work in areas that contain distractions, including, when we are at home, our children. Web Worker Daily has several good tips for working with kids in the house. Some of the tips work good whether you are working from home or not. For example,

    1. Wake up early. I’ve trained myself to get up at 4:30 a.m. most days (sometimes I sleep in until 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.). Now, I’m not saying you have to get up that early, but getting up even half an hour or an hour earlier than the younguns can give you some time to do some uninterrupted work in the quiet of the predawn hours.

    3. Stay up a little later. While my kids are going to bed, I jump on the computer and do some writing, clear out my email inbox, take care of a few other web tasks before bed. I can often get a good hour or so after the little ones are tucked away.

    Both of these tips allow you to get a little extra work done to clean out your inbox or get some mundane tasks out of the way so that you can focus on your important task. Best of all, you can choose which one works for you, depending on whether you are a morning person or a night person.

    I also like tip number 6

    6. Go to a coffee shop or library. Sometimes you just gotta get out of the house and find some peace and quiet. If you’ve got a laptop, go be among grownups and do some work at a coffee shop. If not, a library is a great place to work, with free Internet connections and a quiet environment. Just make sure it’s not kids’ read aloud hour.

    Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for you. Getting out of the house or away from the office may be just thing you need to finish that brief or motion.

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    Inbox Zero

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    If you are not yet familiar with the concept of Inbox Zero, you need to check out this video presentation by Merlin Mann.

    The idea behind Inbox Zero is that you should not be using your email inbox as a storage or filing location for your email. The concept ties very closely with David Allen’s Getting Things Done concept.

    Basically, Mann advocates a ruthless processing of your email on a schedule that you control. Process each email and then get it out of your inbox. I know this concept is an anathema to many people. However, I have found getting rid of emails from my inbox to be very liberating. I encourage you to watch this video and try to follow Mann’s suggestions.

    Don’t just take my word for it either. Michael Hyatt has written before about how much imposing email controls has improved his productivity.

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=973149761529535925[/googlevideo]

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    Friday Fun: Electric Toothbrush or Milk Frother?

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    If you enjoy science fiction, you should be listening to Escape Pod, a science fiction podcast magazine. I recently listened to a story there titled Conversations With and About My Electric Toothbrush. This story addresses the age old question about what to do with an electric toothbrush which longs to be a milk frother.

    As a gadget geek, I must admit that I am a little disturbed with the idea that one day my toothbrush may be surfing the internet and talking to me about it. Then again, maybe I will just learn to like cappuccinos.

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    Thinking About Getting a GPS?

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    Palm GPSNow might be the time to pick up that GPS that you have been thinking about. Palm has their Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition 3 on sale now.

    The regular price is $249. Palm is now offering it with a $30 instant and $50 mail-in rebate. Thus, you can pick up this GPS solution for only $169. It uses TomTom Navigator 6 software, comes with a 1GB card with a map of the US and Canada, a device cradle and suction cup, and a vehicle power adapter for the GPS receiver. Plus, the GPS receiver communicates with your Treo via Bluetooth.

    A great GPS solution at a reasonable price.

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    CrossLoop

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    CrossLoopI recently stumbled across a program called CrossLoop. it is a secure screen sharing utility. Best of all, it is free.

    The publisher claims that it works simply and does not require you to do any router or other configuration to get the program to work. Further, the transmission between the computers is encrypted (128 bit), and explicit permission from the host computer is required before the remote computer can connect.

    This looks like a great program to use when you need to fix the computer of your family member who is somewhere else (whether across the town or the ocean).

    It looks like a great idea that is easy to use. Has anyone here tried it?

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    Firefox: Great Even Without Extensions

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    FirefoxI am a big fan of Firefox and have been using it for quite a while. One of the things that I love about Firefox is the ability to customize it using extensions. A few months ago, I wrote a post where I discussed my favorite Firefox extensions.

    Lifehacker has a post that talks about the great features of Firefox that are built into the program, the stuff you can do without adding any extensions.

    My favorites from the list are Tweakable search engines and Undo closed tab.

    Many times I have accidentally closed a tab before I intended to. The Undo closed tab feature is a real lifesaver in those situations.

    Check out the entire list. To find out more about a particular feature, click on its name in the list.

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    Balancing Your Connectivity When on Vacation

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    Here is a nice post from Reid Trautz on creating a communication policy while on vacation.Treo 700p Reid offers some great advice about how to stay connected to the office, while making sure not to cut into family and vacation time.

    His policy on checking voicemails is one that I typically follow when on vacation:

    As the sun rose on the third day of my vacation, I realized I finally had to make some decisions. The easiest decision was to rely on the out-of-office greeting on my phone, and not try to deal with voice mail messages in any way, shape, or form. However, I decided to keep my cell phone powered on and with me in case there was a business emergency. People who need to reach me can reach me through my office even if they don’t have my cell number. This gave me peace of mind without my having to check my phone messages daily.

    I know that in the event of an emergency or something that needs my immediate attention, my office can get in touch with me. Everything else can wait until I get back in the office.

    I also liked Reid’s idea of allocating only 60 minutes a day to checking email, as well as the fact that he tried to do this in the morning while everyone else was still sleeping.

    If you are considering taking a vacation soon, this is a post you want to check out.