Month: February 2005

Thursday, 17 February 2005

The Creative Grotto Vibe

by Garrick van Buren 1 Comment on The Creative Grotto Vibe

This morning Jen brought up the Temporary Office Space idea again. It’s something she’s brought up before. As a highly-mobile professional, the idea is very compelling. To have comfortable, secure place to send faxes grab a decent cup of coffee, and recharge off a good vibe for an hour or two, I think you can see how tempting it is.

This is why I’m tracking the next iteration of the Gate 3 Work Club.

On a smaller scale, I scanned the blogroll (opml) this morning, Brand Autopsy has a nice write-up on Po Bronson’s Writer’s Grotto.

If you’re interesting in this idea and closer to the Twin Cities, check out the Renaissance Box’s Writer’s Refuge.

Here’s a quick list of what I want from my work space (temporary or otherwise):

  • Wireless Internet
  • Chairs and tables fitting people over 6′ tall
  • Really good coffee
  • 2 reservable conference rooms; 1 for 2-4 people, 1 for 4-8 people
  • An open lofted, studio area where everyone can work quietly, and be aware of others working quietly
  • Postal substation
  • High speed, color copier

More as it comes to me.

Wednesday, 16 February 2005

Coffee Goes Stale in a Week

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Coffee Goes Stale in a Week

Sam over at Afongen.com reminded me of something extremely important – How Long to Store Coffee:

“There is a marked decline in coffee’s flavor over the course of a week after roasting. If memory serves me correctly, something like 70% of the compounds responsible for coffee’s flavor are gone in that time, transformed into something far less pleasant.”

Here at First Crack central, we have 2 air-tight, light-proof containers. One for caff, one for decaf. Stored on the counter-top, never in the fridge.

This evening marks a week since I came down with that nasty something, and those containers haven’t been cracked open since. I’m a 100% – and a little nervous about the state of the beans.

Looks like I’m due for a trip to White Rock.

UPDATE: Yes, I can confirm the coffee in those containers is awful. Sour and sharp, Not refreshing and eye-opening.

First Crack 30. More Washboard, Less Cowbell

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on First Crack 30. More Washboard, Less Cowbell

On the drive back from a Urban Hillbilly Quartet show, I interview Milo – the band’s washboard player, and his fiance (& my sister) Kari. You hear the history of his washboard playing, a washboard solo, what Kari does doing a show, and how to review a book in 5 words or less.

Listen to More Washboard, Less Cowbell [39 min]

Got questions about coffee or comments about the show? Call: 206-20-BEAN-1

Like the show? Support the First Crack Podcast

Tuesday, 15 February 2005

Better Email Tips

by Garrick van Buren 1 Comment on Better Email Tips

On MPR the other morning, they had consultant and author Marilyn Paul talking about ways to spend less time in your inbox.

Her suggestion is to institute email subject line tags. You include these tags in your email subject line. Here are the one’s I remember:

  • ty: thank you
  • nrn: no reply necessary
  • nbd: need response by date

More tips on increasing your effectiveness available in her book: It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys.

Introducing the WP-iCal Plugin

by Garrick van Buren 1 Comment on Introducing the WP-iCal Plugin

The WP-iCal plugin turns WordPress into a multi-author, online calendar. The plugin takes any posts in a ‘Calendar’ category and writes them to an .ics file ready for subscription into Apple’s iCal or other vCal-friendly app.

All information on WP-iCal, including the latest version, comments (even the ones that were here), and version history is being maintained at http://garrickvanburnen.com/wpical/

Hello, welcome to the hub of Garrick.

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Hello, welcome to the hub of Garrick.

Hi all.

A couple weeks back, Jen Bohmbach and I talked about weblogs for an episode of the First Crack Podcast. In that conversation, you’ll hear us talk about the strengths (“you have a very comprehensive view of that person”) and weaknesses (“you have a very comprehensive view of that person”) of having a single weblog.

Personally, I think in topics and I like a little stronger separation between my topics than a single weblog will support. Previously, if you wanted to know what’s on my mind, you could check out MNteractive.com, The Work Better Weblog, and more recently, the First Crack Podcast. All of them are fairly topic specific. I like that. There were times when I had something to say that didn’t neatly fit into one of those 3 topics. Like WishRSS, or the WP-iCal plugin, some other early stage project, or just a thought I’d like to share.

That’s the purpose of this site. Think of it as the hub of Garrick, or the misc. category of my personality, or the most comprehensive view of me.

As always. it has an RSS feed.

Saturday, 12 February 2005

Under the Weather. No Coffee for a Bit.

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on Under the Weather. No Coffee for a Bit.

Hi all. My apologies for the lack of updates. Some sort of virus put the smack down on me earlier this week (it’s going around). My head feels like a bowling ball and the thought of talking hurts. Worst of all – I haven’t had coffee since Tuesday. Tea. Lots of tea and lots of tasty Green Goodness juices.

Jen just listened to Jon Share His Geo, and she said she liked the format – me being between you and the interviewee. Less eavesdropping and more This American Life-esque. What do you think? 206-20-BEAN-1 or email.

Thanks for sticking around. I hope to bring you another heavily caffeinated episode early next week.

In the mean time, check out something else I’ve been working on: WishRSS – it turns Amazon WishLists into RSS feeds.

Alright. Time for more tea.

Sunday, 6 February 2005

First Crack 29. Jon Shares His Geo

by Garrick van Buren Comments Off on First Crack 29. Jon Shares His Geo

Jon Steinhorst is a designer and film maker I’ve known for years. In part 2 of our conversation he describes his new journaling system, public v. private writing, his impressions of Chicago, and his new do-it-yourself car-share venture.

Listen to Jon Shares His Geo [18 min]

Got questions about coffee or comments about the show? Call: 206-20-BEAN-1

Like the show? Support the First Crack Podcast