An Old Classic: The Dixon Ticonderoga Pencil
My son Jacob is starting to work long division in his Math class in 4th grade. It is a source of some painful memories as I remember how much I struggled with it. In retrospect, this is funny because I went on to get a degree in Math.
However, I rediscovered a critical tool in my studies, the Dixon Ticonderoga pencil as pictured above. This was the ultimate math tool that I used through college. It always felt good in my hand, had a amazing eraser, and it always sharpened up so nicely. Simply stated, this is just plain better than any pencil. We bought a box for use at home, and it sure is canceling out the pain of reliving long division.
Samsung Galaxy Note: Cool Phone!
Samsung Galaxy Note at CES 2012
Perhaps one of the most compelling announcements at the CES event last week was the Samsung Galaxy Note phone. Their pitch was that this larger form factor phone removes the need to carry a tablet (e.g. iPad) and a phone. The picture to the right highlights some of the key features. The most prominent is the presence of a pen/stylus which enables the ability to do very precise drawing and sketching. It’s thin profile and very soft display make it very easy to use (on the eyes, that is).
Caricatures on the Samsung Galaxy Note
The photo on the right was taken in the concourse of the Las Vegas Convention Center. People were lined up hundreds deep to get their caricature done by a professional artist on the Galaxy Note. It was arguably one of the most popular exhibition of the show. I think it’s a neat device that will probably do well this year.
Here’s a link to their promo on YouTube.
Here’s a blog post with some of the technical details, including lack of an actual release date in the US.
Going Light at CES with Twitter
CES is over for me. I am on the plane home, and I thought I’d share the experience I had that made CES better. The problem I faced was needing to make notes quickly that could be connected to photos. After all, there’s a huge crowd and you don’t want to get run over!
On Day 2 I started using my Twitter app on my iPhone and used Twitter to briefly annotate pictures. At the end of the day it afforded me the opportunity to review my tweets so I could summarize the day in more detail. A tweet was just enough information to jog the memory. Day 3 I went light and it was much more enjoyable — my iPhone and my business cards were all I needed! If I go next time, it will be so much easier.
Fitbit – A Cool New Wellness Gadget
There are a million and one gadgets to help with various aspects of your healthcare, not to mention a variety of ways to track that information online. I’ve tried a few, both personally, and as a part of my job, and none of them has really stuck.
Last September, I was at a business dinner and heard about Fitbit. This gentleman shared his story on how easy access to the data was a strong motivating factor in his journey to change his habits and overall wellness. Fitbit is a system that combines a device and a web-based system to track movement, calories burned and distance traveled. As a data junkie, I initially thought that getting access to this data would really change behavior. I was right. 20 pounds lost and more to come!
If you are getting started on getting fit and want to easily track progress, the Fitbit is as about as good as it gets. I see that there are more Fitbit devices being launched at CES this week. I plan to check them out! And I will use my Fitbit to see how much I walk this year at CES. Hope I don’t run out of battery since I forgot my charger!
CES: Getting Ready
I am on my way. The Delta flight I am on has some free WiFi service as a promotion for CES, but it’s mighty slow. Oh well. I am due to arrive in a couple of hours on the show floor. Comfortable shoes — check! This could be a 20,000 step day.
This is my second trip to this event. My first came in 2009 when the big TV ruled, and 3D was beginning to show up on the scene. I remember being skeptical that it would take off in the home, and I was pretty much right.
This year it looks like health and wellness technologies are big this year, plus a steady diet of TVs that are connected. I should also see lots of tablets or ultra thin laptops. It will also be interesting to see how Microsoft’s presence has changed (and some speculation about the future).
I am armed with a number of requests from colleagues to scout some very specific things, so I should be busy for the next few days. I hope to blog a little while I am there.
Hope my shoes hold up!
Looking Forward to 2012
Here I am on the Monday night before returning to work after a great break to end a successful 2011. I just read an email from my boss reminding me of the challenges ahead in the coming year. Like most companies, there are still a number of uncertainties in the business environment that is influencing our strategy for 2012.
Even in this environment, management still wants more. I guess you have a couple of choices as a leader — either find something else to do, or get creative and find ways to get more results. I was inspired before the break by a great post from Dorie Clark in the Harvard Business Review blog.
It seems to me we can find some productive cycles by asking ourselves what we should stop doing and replace them with more meaningful and productive activities. Ms. Clark shares five great ideas of things to remove from the repertoire. The concepts are remarkably simple, but difficult to implement.
Suffice it to say, this Top 5 list is now tacked to my wall.
iPhone 4s – An Early Report
I admit it, I was excited last Friday to arrive home and find my shiny new iPhone 4s waiting for me. Ever since the announcement several days ago, I was very interesting in seeing what the new features could do for me. I was also interested in how the new iCloud service would play into the overall ecosystem. I immediately ripped open the package like a little kid at Christmas and got it activated and setup.
Let’s start with the basics. The new A5 processor does indeed make a noticeable impact on performance, and the upgraded camera is an improvement as well. Perhaps the most underrated change is the addition of the smudge-resistant coating on the phone. This was the same as what was done with the iPad 2, but having this on the iPhone was awesome. I went 3 days before feeling compelled to wipe it off with a 3M Lens and Electronics Cloth. Perhaps the most-hyped functionality is Siri - the digital assistant that provides hands-free access to the phone’s features. That description does not do it justice, in practice. Although it took me a bit to get used to what it could do well, I have learned quite a bit on how to make it work for me. I extensively use the Notes and Reminder features and feel I have integrated it into my own routine in just a few days. Here’s a link to a list of commands Siri can recognize. As a polite Minnesotan, I felt compelled to say thank you, to which it responds with a number of different phrases making it seem very conversational. This technology has big potential going forward. At this point the voice recognition is not perfect, but it is pretty good for a first release. A helpful tip is to spend some time in the Contacts also to add more metadata to your key contacts so you can take advantage of it in Siri (example: spouse).
There already are a number of external blog posts about fun things asked of Siri. Just for my amusement, I tried the following query to Siri. If you ask that question a few times, you will get different answers, also.
I have also setup my iCloud service. There was a little more involved here, but after a little work I now have my iPad, iPhone and Mac in synch. My favorite part of that feature is the ability to view pictures from all of the devices I have through this service so I no longer need to move them around by hand.
All in all, a very solid release again from Apple. If you already have an iPhone 4, it may not be a big leap, but if you are upgrading from a 3GS or prior, this is a no-brainer.
Prediction: Amazon Tablet Will Be Relevant
Earlier this week, Amazon claimed and registered the new domain names KindleScribe(s).com. This brings speculations of a new tablet in the ever so competitive marketplace. After witnessing how HP’s TouchPad tablet flew off the shelves at a $99 price point, this may have changed the tablet market for the future. During a time of an unstable economy, consumers have watched how and on what they spend their money. These current events caused me to wonder if iPad could be vulnerable to a strong competitor at the lower end of the tablet product pyramid. An analysis from Retrevo would seem to also support this hypothesis. And it appears that Google is probably “the man behind the curtain” as Android on Galaxy tablets is getting beat up recently in the patent battles, especially outside the United States.
Rumors are traveling around the web about Amazon’s tablet which would include a stylus with note-taking attributes on its e-ink display. This would make the product especially attractive to the student market that would be replacing their notebook computers and looking for a cost-effective alternative to buying traditional textbooks. Amazon obviously already has the fulfillment arm to make a tablet computer a profitable reality for them. Not to mention, the following they already have with their Kindle customer base.
A few years ago, I had the chance to meet with Dr.Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon, and as a result better understand their practice of not discussing things they have not yet done. But based on this series of conditions, it’s probably true and will no doubt be very interesting.
Baseball Memory: Jacob’s First Season in Review
Last week, Jacob’s first traveling baseball season came to an end at the league championship game. Unfortunately, the boys lost but it did not detract from a super season. The 12 boys started practicing in April, and while none of them had been through a traveling season, they managed an overall record of 29-13-1. That’s an impressive record.
The season had many highlights, but for me the best one came in June, when the boys completed a perfect weekend and won the Farmington tournament. This happened in the midst of a 10 game winning streak, and enabled berths in two state tournaments. 
As an assistant coach, I had the pleasure of watching these kids grow from a skills perspective, a baseball IQ perspective and overall maturity as young men. There were some that could not throw the ball from second base to first, but now can make that play routinely. There were some who were afraid of getting hit by the ball, but now can hit inside pitches. Playing 43 games and practicing more on top of that made the difference.
When I think of my own son, I think the biggest thing he got was the love for the game. He was mostly sad last week about being done with the season. He has decided to play on a fall team because he loves to play.
My Favorite Baseball Moment
- Matt and I – TwinsFest 2010
My cousin Matt and I had a shared love of baseball growing up. I was the city boy with a backyard and a fence, and Matt lived on the farm with a huge open field with barns and dogs. I always enjoyed visits to the farm during the summer where we could play baseball. We often improvised games that included his dog Freckles as our center fielder. Freckles was an outstanding fielder. We were also big Twins fans, and would share many games with our Grandpa on TV on his porch.
