February 2014 – Page 3

The pencil gets a redesign

One Japanese designer solves a simple problem that all of us face. After sharpening the pencil more and more, we are a point, where the pencil becomes so small that we are unable to hold the small nub and write effectively. The solution – the graphite ends after a certain length.

Still dont get it. See this clever hack in pictures here. [link]

Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way. ~ Daniele Vare

(via @Zen_Moments)

27 unwritten rules for conference calls

We recently saw the conference call in real life parody. While it was all hilarious and all that, in all seriousness, there are several rules that can make things better. TheMuse has a great list of 27 unwritten rules for conference calls.

Several gems here:

Schedule the call for the length of time you need, and remember that this can be five, 10, or 20 minutes. You should not be rounding to the nearest 30-minute increment.

Just like with meetings, start on time. Waiting for stragglers only encourages them.

If someone joins late, do not catch him or her up. It wastes everyone else’s time. Encourage this person to catch up with someone at the end of call to see what was missed.

Five minutes before the end of the call, warn everyone that it’s wrapping up, and ask if there are any questions. Do not let it run over if at all possible—it’s disrespectful of other people’s time.

Read the full article here. [link]

(image src: flickr)

My Dream Alarm Clock

I have been looking for an alarm clock with the following specifications. If any one has any info on something like this that exists, please let me know. Yes, all the specs should be met.

I should be able to set multiple alarms (need to wake my son up in the middle of the night for his pee-run).
LED display of the time with a much lesser intensity than the normal LED 8 segment displays – should be soothing to the eyes. Preferably blue colour. This display should not be ON all the time. It should come on only when I tap.
I should be able to set any tune for waking up (mp3).
Should be easy to snooze/switch off.
Should have dynamic snooze setting. I would want to set more snooze in the weekends vs week days.
Should run off rechargeable batteries (preferably li-ion). No power cords.
Should be small. Preferably flat and thin.
Should not have data connectivity. I have problems resisting urges to check email/rss feeds at all times of the day. And no, please dont tell me I can disable data. I will on a strong urge, enable data and configure an email client in 5 minutes to check email at 2AM.

Anything available like this? Please let me know.

(image src: flickr)

Nachos all the way …

Wow. I knew some foods have a lot of passionate eaters. I know folks who argue about how pizzas should be. I even know folks who argue about how dosas should be. Why, there is also this bitter divide between whether tangy tamil sambar is better than the slightly sweet kannadiga sambar. With respect to analysis on American food, the NY Times always take the ticket.

Read through the analysis of Nachos places in New York [link].

Sigh. Looking at some of those platters make me hungry though.

(via kottke)

(image courtesy the same link above)