I’m tired of arguing, fighting, debating, or poking fun of various technologies out there.¹

Everyone will always have their opinions on what is better. Coke or Pepsi. Nutella or jelly. Toilet paper over or under. And through it all, we will agree to disagree. We will make games out of it. We’ll poke fun at that one silly kid who only drinks Diet Mountain Dew², TP under people will be savages forever. And so on and so forth.

But when it comes down to technology… well, I’m at a loss for what to do.

I will constantly promote my pro-Apple beliefs to everyone. I will probably continue to bitch about how much I personally dislike using Windows machines, and scratch my head at those that love them. Android will always irritate the crap out of me.

But see, the thing is, I’ve found what works for me. iMac at home, an Air on the go, and my iPhone in my pocket. Various services that enable me to sync content seamlessly, so I can pick up any device and be productive.

Frustrating, isolated, and irritating are words that should never be used to describe personal computing technology. Easy, seamless, and comfort are. And the great thing is, those words mean different things for different people. Find what works for you, and use it.

The mission is the same: get your work done. But the journey & the tools… well, that’s where the adventure lies.

1. Not saying I’m going to stop. But bear with me for the sake of the post. ↩
2. Seriously, the jokes are getting old. I love this stuff. ↩

Lifehacker has some great tips for people using iOS devices. My favorite:

Tapping the “123″ numbers key and sliding your finger to the number you want will type the number and immediately return you to the letter-based keyboard.

Handy.

Of course, many of us had the rainbow Apple logo stickers all over our PowerBooks back in the day, and preached about the virtues of AppleTalk. Now, we can still do that, but girls might talk to us.

Apple has shown their resolve to be a major player since the original iPod. They’ve shown that they can completely revolutionize a decades-old industry. With the Q4 results coming out yesterday, Apple’s confidence has to be absolutely through the roof. The sky is the limit right now.

And heck, the girl I like loves her MacBook Pro. Winning.

Every single Android phone that Verizon sells — dozens of models — combined could not outsell the iPhone last quarter. When you consider that Verizon sells plenty of BlackBerrys as well, it looks even worse.

As Mike Beasley said, “Of course Android is winning. Just like Charlie Sheen.”

I remember the day I got my first guitar and amp. After figuring out what the knobs did on everything, I cranked it up as loud as I could (i.e. until my parents yelled at me), turned on the distortion, and figured out how to play the intro to “Crazy Train” and other various cheesy licks that assault your ears every time you walk into a Guitar Center. It sounded horrible, mostly due to my lack of technique, but to me, it sounded fantastic.

That was almost 10 years ago. Now, I rip out not only the intro to “Crazy Train”, but the verse and chorus lines as well. Still haven’t figured out the solo yet, but I’m not exactly a metal guy, so I guess it’s slightly understandable. Now instead of jabbing at ears with icepicks, I get people head banging and throwing up rock fists.

Whenever we first get involved with something new, we’re rarely going to be great right away. New jobs, new instruments, new significant others, and so on. There’s routinely a very steep curve as we acquire tons of information and ability in regards to the new topic at hand. This is your new boss’ name. Here’s how to play a pentatonic scale. Remember: she doesn’t like it when you crack your knuckles.

However, we need to remember that knowledge is a curve that never peaks. Even if new knowledge is only acquired once a day, week, month, or year, there’s always information and skills out there that you have yet to learn.

Therefore, never plateau. Never become content with where you’re at with your skills and abilities. One of the most frustrating things in life is to watch someone with great potential in some area waste it away by being content. (Oddly enough, those people get “bored” quite often.) Instead, strive to refine your abilities every day. Challenge yourself to learn something new. If you can’t, then challenge yourself to more fully understand something you’ve already learned. Get specific. Get technical. Get detailed. Never get down because of an apparent weakness or impurities in abilities, but rather get excited to figure out how to rectify those situations.

Why do something 50%, 75%, 99.9999%, when we’re completely capable of giving it 100% of our effort? Strive to be the best you can, and the possibilities will be limitless.

Distilled vinegar. Red pepper. Salt.

With three common ingredients, Edmund McIlhenny created Tabasco sauce, one of the finest condiments known to man. It’s not just a hot sauce. It’s not just a flavor enhancer. It’s so much more than any single label could ever portray, and yet it’s so simplistic.

Ed didn’t go out and get the fanciest ingredients he could get his hands on, just to make his product “special”. He didn’t add every spice he had in his kitchen either. Just vinegar, pepper, and salt, shaken well. And yet, it’s one of the most versatile and powerful items that people have in their cupboards today. Pizza? Spice it up. Eggs? Variety time. Bloody Mary? Spicy Mary.

It seems that the latest trend is to overcomplicate things. Cram as many features into X, and see what happens. This is true with so many aspects of life. High school kids that involve themselves with anything and everything possible. Companies that attempt to cram every last “modern tech” into their device. Guitarists attempt to fit a gazillion notes into a solo.

Less is more, and more is a waste. Don’t burden yourself by including too much. Strip it to the basics, and let them shine on their own. If the basics aren’t good enough, make them good enough, or change what you’re doing.

Three ingredients, endless possibilities. So much more than hot.

The greatest gift that you could ever give to another is the gift of knowledge.

However, drilling facts into one’s brain is simply a terrible method of transferring knowledge, and one that I wish schools would work on distancing themselves from. I can tell a child that 2 times 2 equals 4, but do they understand the fundamental concepts behind it, or do they know how to regurgitate a desired answer back to me? No.

No, the best feeling is then explaining the concept of multiplication, then quizzing the student with a previously unasked equation, and having them return the correct answer. When one can take a learned concept and apply their understanding of it, then it is knowledge.

Telling me that the gift of knowledge isn’t great is just stupid. We seek out knowledge every day, in every aspect of our lives. “If I make this product, will people buy it?” “How much longer until I reach my destination?” “Why is my boss such an asshole?” “I wonder how much I can drink before I throw up.” “What does she look like naked?”

Unfortunately, the act of imparting knowledge onto another person (depending on the subject) can be an arduous journey. Mentors die. Classes end. Time is finite, and ultimately our master. We can choose how we spend our time, but there’s only so much of it to go around.

And therefore, in my mind, the best gift for imparting knowledge onto another individual is something that never dies, that can be revisited as frequently as desired, and can be tackled at whatever rate of speed that you wish.

And that gift, my friends, is a book.

Spain was actually threatened by the US with being put on a trade blacklist if the law wasn’t passed, according to cables released by WikiLeaks.

The reasons for the company’s dwindling prospects are easy to find. Just walk into one of the company’s retail locations or shop online. And try, really try, not to lose your temper.

For me, it’s the complete idiocy of the employees that pushes me over the edge. Uninformed about a product? They won’t try and figure it out, they’ll just drag you to a (usually poor) alternative that they’re familiar with.

Who someone is as a person is rarely revealed during the good times. Rather, it’s during the bad times, the hard times, or when the pressure is on that we truly discover who we really are.

In that way, we are like toothpaste; When we are squeezed, our insides come out.