I’ve been using one for a while and think it’s great. Holds a ton without looking like it. And organizes it well. I use it to limit what I have and use for EDC: it has to fit in this valet. Recommended.
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Recent Articles
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Drop EDC Valet
I’ve been using one for a while and think it’s great. Holds a ton without looking like it. And organizes it well. I use it to limit what I have and use for EDC: it has to fit in this valet. Recommended.
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Member Journal — 3/9/2020
Outlining on paper because OmniOutliner is still a heap of garbage on iOS.
This week: notebook thinking, iBackpack, Slack, hankies, malware apps, and location tracking.
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Member Journal — 3/2/20
iPad kickstands, Gruber really just wants a Mac, unlimited time off is a con, and a preview of gear I am testing.
This week: my kickstand argument; I pick on John Gruber’s lack of iPad understanding; show you how unlimited time off is really an open office concept for HR policies; and preview some goods I am testing out.
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The Best Things for Everyday Life
Some of my favorite things, that you really should consider owning.
Starting around 2011, or roughly 9 years ago, I embarked on a journey with this site to find the best things. Things which would make my life easier in all the roles I play. To that end, those things are spread out all over the place on the site, in various articles and reviews, while members have access to them in ‘The Best‘ page. So I broke down three categories which I feel, I have a very good handle on, and want to offer you some items for each of those categories.
These items are not only that which I consider to be the best, but things which I think genuinely make your life better/easier for having. Here we go…
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Member Journal — 2/24/20
At three thousand words, this is a doozy about keyboards, iPads, and navigation apps. Also: say fewer words.
This week: I go deep on this idea of contextual menus for iPad multi-tasking and describe why it is beyond stupid; let’s go to mechanical keyboard school, to help you out in your office or my office; the stress of different navigation apps; and a life pro tip your lawyer will love.
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Member Journal — 2/17/20
Wherein I explain why I think you should work in an office if you want to do your best work. Also, planes, how do they work?
This week: my thoughts on remote work and offices; chicken nuggets; bedding scams; flashlights; and how do airplanes work.
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The James Brand: Elko
A small little beast of a knife.
I love carrying Benchmade’s Proper series of knives, and I think they are among the best knives you can daily carry, but there are times when you want something smaller. Something lighter, just to have, just in case. But you don’t want that something to be crap.
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Member Journal — 2/10/20
Some behind the scenes on recent design changes to the site, management advice stuff, and a smattering of other things.
This week: my advice for managing when pissed; paying for gas got better; watch statements; kudos to News+; notification hell; my new pocket organizer; site design updates, and how I split the work between Mac and iPad; and lastly a note on Apple Watch face design.
You must be a member to read the rest of this article.
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Member Journal — 2/3/2020
I dive into specifics about what the iPad really needs to propel it even further forward.
Yesterday, [I posted a response](https://brooksreview.net/2020/02/ipad-turns-10-people-lose-their-damn-mind/) to many of the complaints I have seen about the iPad. Today, I write about the things I see missing from the iPad and touch on how I am using it full time these days. Including what exactly I think we need on the software front. Read on…
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iPad Turns 10 — People Lose Their Damn Mind
I start with how great the iPad is, touch on the media sucking, and end with an explanation of a new virus called ‘Mac Brains’.
I was going to post this as my member post for the week, but then I had an entirely different take for that. Instead, as most of you know, the iPad hit its ten year mark last week. Good for it, best computer ever made by a laughable margin. It seems though that many people are still split, and not of that same mindset. The word “disappointment” seems to be the best summarization of these elite tech bloggers.
Let’s get to it.
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Member Journal — 1/27/2020
Find out what it’s the epitome of practicality, while I also talk about a bag that is not a backpack, or made by GORUCK.
This week: what I carry in my briefcase and brief reasons why; phones and looking at them always; living on Swiss time with watches; 5G and remote work; VPNs.
You must be a member to read the rest of this article.
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Tudor Black Bay GMT
This is the most perfect watch I have ever found, and you really need one.
I know when this started — it started with my grandfather passing away. Shortly after his passing my grandmother handed me his watch, and told me she wanted me to have it. A Rolex Datejust, not particularly old having a 2007 model year, but it was the only watch I had ever seen my grandfather wear (something my dad confirmed). From the day my grandfather got that watch, and onward, it was always on his wrist. And for the next year and a half I basically never took it off either.
But that watch is not the style I would pick, and truth be told at the time I really didn’t know what my style was or is. So I started trying to find a watch, because that Rolex was what caused me to ditch the Apple Watch and never look back. I started with a classic Steinhart and have been on a rampage ever since then.
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Member Journal — 1/20/2020
That thing where I manage to talk about bags, pens, and my toilet paper and cat litter supply all in one article.
This week: paper and pen, keyboards stress me out, someone thinks Apple is evil, my toilet paper supply, overrated work perks, toilet seats, and then we dive into the topic of bags.
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Member Journal — 1/13/20
What the heck is an app that is user hostile.
This week: why apps like Excel fail to understand iPadOS, the $20 million test, why OmniFocus uses Stockholm’s Syndrome to keep users, and Black PR — it’s a thing.
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Member Journal — 1/6/2020
I got a new bag, and Seattle is super cold and dark so that was something.
New year, short post. I’ll be back to full length next week, but for this week: News+ subscription, miscellany to kick of the year, bag talk, and the finally tally on the poll.
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The Smartphone Isn’t Evil, Chill
Let’s just be honest about the fact that we are addicted to escape, and phones offer a convenient way of escaping.
I saw an article recently, which shared a ‘new tip’ for dealing with distraction in the digital age. The tip: keep your phone near the entrance/exit to your domicile — and if you need to use your phone walk to it and stay in that area while you use it. This, they say, is a great way to keep yourself from being distracted.
It’s also incredibly stupid. There seems to be this idea that tech itself is addicting and that many are handcuffed to tech by way of their phone. And so often the advice, like that advice above, is along the lines of eschewing tech during some part of your life. It’s bad advice, it’s avoiding the hard questions and finding a scapegoat.
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Member Journal — 12/30/19
What if Apple allowed pen designers to design the Pencil?
Short one this week: a poll, a pen thought, and Shortcut Automation fails me.
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Member Journal — 12/23/19
A short journal for this week.
This week: very brief thoughts for another two iPad trick, a link to smart speaker privacy, and a note about watch accuracy. Back to full scheduling on 1/6/19.
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Member Journal — 12/16/19
No, really, someone broke a GORUCK bag by using it normally.
This week: a trick for managing two iPads, update on my news diet, my weekly watch obsession, that thing about wearing my watch on my right wrist, perfect watch collections, holiday travels, some great videos, and someone broke a GORUCK bag.
## Trick For Managing Things Between Work and Personal iPads
I have long used a different Apple IDs for buying stuff, and for iCloud. This goes back to 2004, because something weird got put in place for me back then (I think I started using one Apple ID in iTunes to buy music, and then later signed up for .Mac/MobileMe/iCloud and got a new Apple ID for that, and you can’t merge those). Anyways, I use two IDs, but there’s an advantage to that. Because the purchasing App Store ID I can use for my App Store ID on my work devices while not exposing my personal iCloud account to those devices as well.
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Member Journal — 12/9/19
I found a question that even the internet doesn’t have an answer to.
This week: some follow up to my iPad guide, and to my watch guide, lefties and watches, my news intake reduction, and the lies of morning routines.
## iPad Guide Follow Up
Two errors, a month of writing. I had two typos in the article, which I have fixed, but I do want to point out that I worked on that post everyday for a month and still two slipped by. Dang, that’s annoying.
It seems for most people the post resonated, but some wondered why it wasn’t more of a getting started guide. That’s a good idea, but I think that’s ultimately a lot of what I have written in these member only posts about going all in on iPad Pro.
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