Category: post

Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom from choice
Is what you want

– DEVO, Freedom of Choice

When you choose Apple, in many ways you are choosing a sensible default. You have made a choice that greatly narrows the field thus making your options, due the the scarcity, that much easier. When you go to buy a new computer, you no longer have hundreds of choices to choose from, as Windows or Linux users do. You now have only a few. All made by one company. Those of us who have made the choice, based on need, to always buy a laptop or desktop, have narrowed that choice even further. Other purpose based needs narrow this even further. Are you are a professional photographer who needs plenty of storage for RAW photos and a large screen for editing, yet needs that in a portable package that can be used reasonably outside for the occasional wedding shoot? Guess you are getting a Macbook Pro with a 500GB drive and a matte screen then.

I’ll bet, at some point, Steve Jobs woke up one morning, looked in his closet, and had to decide what to wear that day. He choose a black Gap mock turtleneck, Levi’s 501 jeans, and a pair of New Balance sneakers. It then occurred to him that it was the perfect outfit for most occasions and weather he found himself in. He may have even worn it around for a few days, in a iety of circumstances and environments, just to test it out and make sure it was the right thing for him. Then, he went out and got a dozen more of everything and threw out the rest. At this point, he made the final choice, to make this outfit his default, thus freeing himself of the weight of having to decide what to wear based on so many temporal and ever changing factors…

Hot? Cold? Raining? Dry? Sunny?

Black Mock Turtle. Levis. Sneakers.

Does he wear shorts sometimes if the situation calls for it? Sure. How about a tux? Yep. But the point is that he has the vast majority of his needs covered with the sensible default.

For many of us, there is a certain freedom that comes from not having to choose. But that freedom does not come from having choices foisted upon us. It comes from having made some decisions, up front, about what is appropriate for the majority of situations we may find ourselves in.  It comes from reduction and filtering. Such decisions are born of evaluation, reflection, and knowledge. But, most of all, it comes from the desire to live a life that is focused not on things like what to wear or to buy, but instead on doing everything else with that much more thought, consideration and care.

So, many may now know that I’m working on a Minimal Mac podcast. We will be recording the first episodes this week and will have the first one up “soonish” after that. With my doing more podcasts for others and working on one of my own, it has become quite obvious that the built in mic just wont do. While it is perfectly fine for a minimal solution, it is past the time to upgrade to something more appropriate.

I recently asked on Twitter for some suggestions for good podcasting mics. My only requirement was that it had to be USB as I will be plugging it directly into my Macbook Air. Here, in no particular order, are the suggestions I got:

• Blue Yeti
• Rode Podcaster USB Dynamic Microphone
• Audio-Technica AT2020 USB
• Blue Snowflake
• M-Audio MobilePre – This was suggested for use with a more traditional microphone for a more “pro” sound.

And here are two excellent resources that were suggested to learn more about microphones in general:

• The Mixdown – Episode #4: Mic Mechanics
• Microphones 101:A Beginner’s Guide to Macs and Mics

Now, the most “minimal” looked to be the Blue Snowflake and I was heavily tempted to just go with that for now then upgrade later if needed. It is small, portable, and gets high ratings as a “good enough” solution but…

The one that I went with was the Blue Yeti. The main reason being that it is the one that my friends at The Bro Show use and, since they are helping to produce the podcast with me, I felt it best to have the same kit on all sides. Plus, I thought with my desk setup the Snowflake would end up too far away from my mouth to get the audio quality I wish. I also liked the humanistic look of the mic and stand. But at 3.5 pounds and a foot tall, it’s about as minimal as a Hummer. 

That said, if money was not an issue, I likely would have gone with the Rode Podcaster because it got a really strong endorsement by Dan Benjamin in the episode of The Mixdown linked above.

Hope others in the market find all of this info useful.

It’s OK not to have anything to write about. But if you want to call yourself a writer, you kind of have to write. So, even if you have no idea what to put on that page, just sit down and write the first things that come to mind.
You could write about how busy things are. About how life keeps “getting in the way” of your writing. You could talk about all of the scribbles of ideas you would love to expand on but don’t quite have it together enough yet to do so. Because, for many of us, developing ideas takes quiet spaces and empty schedules and those are hard to come by right now.
You could write about how much more interested in reading you are than writing. About how that reading, even though brief, further keeps you from expressing your thoughts. Because you feel you just can’t measure up. But even this is an opportunity to explore those feelings with words. Just simply force yourself to sit down and start typing.
Because, ultimately, it is all of these things that you experience and observe, from the most exciting, to the most philosophical, to the most mundane, that are your potential subjects. Life, is your muse. Look around you.
Those wooden boxes. Made of bamboo. Chosen not just because they fit those impossible cubby holes in the hutch of your desk, but also because the soothing blond tones juxtapose nicely with the cherry wood desk. That desk that you knew you must have when you saw it but was gone at the original location by the time you actually decided to buy it. The one that caused you to then drive to seven other locations before finally finding the last two. Both of which you bought. On sale.
These little small coups that make you happy just by remembering them are perfect fodder for when you need to get the fingers warmed up to type.
See, there’s plenty to write about. Plenty you have to say. Even about nothing at all. Even if it’s writing about not writing.

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is a year beginning post. Don’t think about the past. In fact, don’t ruminate on the year to come. Think about today. Think about one thing that you can do this day to make a difference in the way you begin…
What task can you knock off to ensure it does not follow you?
What bill can you pay to start off with reduced debt?
What simple deed can you do for another who needs it?
What item can you remove from your desk to make the space more productive?
What email can you answer or archive to start of with a cleaner inbox?
What project can you launch? (Ready or not. The details will sort themselves out later.)
I’m answering at least three of these questions as soon as I hit the “Publish” button… Who’s with me?

“For everything we take, someone else must give.”

– Patrick Rhone

There is a reason for that self-quote above. A few days ago, I was reviewing my modest goals for last year and that is a paraphrase of the last sentence in that post. I have been reflecting on it ever since. I now think it should have been my only goal for last year, as it really does encapsulate or eclipse the rest.
The fact is that this world operates on the principle of give and take. Yet so few of us look at it this way. I think we should. I think we would feel a much greater connection to all that we have if we did. We also would have a greater consciousness about the effect of everything we consume and create.
This computer I’m typing on I had to give money for, but someone also had to gather the resources to allow the capacity to take money in exchange for it. A website had to be built to allow me to order it. Parts had to be manufactured to build it. Minerals and precious metals mined. And, all of it was done through a process of give (labor) and take (wages). And though I know Apple’s profits say otherwise, when I think about the hundreds (thousands?) of hands that went into producing this singular piece of technology it hardly seems fair.
Therefore, this year, it will be. This will be a guiding reminder to be more aware of the giving that goes into the things I take. Particularly where money and time are involved. Also, doing all I can to give more. Because, I know that, for me, doing something for others (give) has the end result of making me feel so much better (take). Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.

I keep this text file on my computer called “Bits of Words and Wisdom” for capturing nice sentences and word pairings. It’s not quite a Text Playlist (I keep one of those as well) but sort of it’s shorter and faster brother. I’ve been doing this for years and the list has grown quite large. I often refer to this list whenever I want to be inspired. Here is a snippet from the list to give you an idea of the sort of things that end up here:

• dear thursday, please me kind and gentle. my defenses are worn down and my exhausted heart is weary – DIYSara

• Through stacks of unread books, seas of feeds, people, invitations, events, and unanswered emails, if we stand still long enough, if we listen and look, if we pause, we see that nothing is ever the same again tomorrow. – Liz Danzico

• You’re defined by your inspiration, your vision, your creativeness and in trusting your instincts to break away from your comfort zone and not trying so hard to be different but in being you. – Jorge Quinteros

• One gets better at writing by writing and reading good writing. – Frank Chimero

• Lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless. And lonely is healing if you make it. – Tanya Davis, How to be alone

• For me, form is beauty. Get the structure of a sentence right, make every word work as hard as it possibly can, and you’ll have yourself a beautiful sentence — Iain Broome

• Sometimes the voices we miss most are the only ones we can hear, calling us out into the night, filling the darkness with howls. — Jenny Browne – We Should Dance While We Can

• When everything works best it’s not because you chose writing but because writing chose you. It’s when you’re mad with it, it’s when it’s stuffed in your ears, your nostrils, under your fingernails. It’s when there’s no hope but that. – Charles Bukowski

As you can see, it could be anything. Represented above are snippets from blog posts, tweets, things spoken in videos, things written in letters. If I read it, or hear it and it causes me to pause, I capture it here. There are even a few things I have written that I have been proud of.

Mainly, I’m sharing this with you so that maybe it will spark a similar idea or at least a mandate to remember and appreciate some well crafted words.

We often do not realize the influence our words and deeds have. We generally go about our lives mindless to the fact that every action, and every word, not only has meaning but has ripple effects that may mean something greater then you ever intended or thought possible.
I know I’m guilty of this more so than any writer who seeks audience and influence should be. It’s quite paradoxical. I write to spur discussion and perhaps to provide others with another way to look at the world and, perhaps, themselves. Yet, am completely surprised when someone reaches out to tell me that I have made them do just that. Especially when it is someone who I greatly admire and consider an influence and mentor to me.
Such is the case with my friend Erica. She recently reached out in this way via a post on her blog in response to a Reverb 10 prompt on friendship. Let me tell you a bit about Erica. She is smart. Beautiful. Out. Proud. Passionate. Sweet. Opinionated. She is someone who I have not had a chance to spend near enough time with and long to get to know better. That said, who she is, the way she lives her life, as well as all of the qualities mentioned before have been a tremendous lesson to me.
She is also one of a handful of people I consider a member of my “Board of Directors”. This a a small group of friends that I reach out to for sanity checks and feedback on all of these crazy ideas I have. Why? Because she has the courage and grace to both support and challenge with kindness and a strong desire to help my ideas succeed.
That said, here we are a couple of years into our friendship, only fully sharing these truths with each other for the first time. And, though we are doing so in a public forum, make no mistake that these are as much revelations to ourselves. Because, even for us writers, I think words are often not enough to express the complex nuances of a deep caring and respect for another. The word “like” too simple. The word “love” risks being taken in many ways without the proper modifiers.
But the fact is that words have not been needed and even now are as much recognition and formality. For it is simply sufficient to say that she is my friend, and I know she considers me the same. And that is enough.

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often find myself staring at this little girl. I can’t help myself. I’m smitten. She’s mine. But, so very often, as hard as I look, I do not see myself there.
She has her Mother’s eyes. A steely blue that shimmers like ice in the right light. Skin like cream. Blond hair that could not have come from my side, even despite it’s curl. Maybe the curl is mine, but who knows. Her walk, that ball-forward gait – Bethany’s. The way she talks is a combination of Bethany and, increasingly, her British born care provider. Certainly not me.
So, as I stare, I so very often wonder where I am.
Much of her face is still too early to tell. The nose and cheeks and mouth and shape of it. All will change so much over the next several years as toddler becomes little girl. Perhaps, when her features form, her face will provide a glimpse of me. But this hope provides little truth right now.
Then there is the personality. The strict adherence to rules, especially those self made, arbitrary, and imposed. The flash-fire temper that ignites with little tender and calms just as quickly. The many unique personal habits both good and bad. All of this is straight from her mother as if cloned in a lab.
Will, I ever show up in any of her angelic features? Will I ever feel as if I somehow contributed in any way other than nurture?
Then, the other day, we were waiting in a line. Beatrix, belying the patience normally found in a two and a half year old, crossed her arms in a way that was not intertwined in the traditional style but, instead, one atop the other…
Ah ha! There I am.
Because, truth be told, if I can see some part of me, in someone so beautiful, perhaps I will feel some small part of me is beautiful too.

So, here I am a week into owning, using and loving this MacBook Air and I thought I would share some random notes and thoughts.

I went with the 11inch/64GB model because I really wanted to challenge myself to practice what I have been saying on Minimal Mac for the past year-plus. I did go with the 4GB RAM upgrade because I do plan on this keeping up pace with OS upgrades in the next couple of years which I can only imagine will benefit from the extra memory.

This is the most minimal Mac Apple has ever produced in the broadest respect of the word. Its price point and positioning clearly denotes to me that they think this is “enough” for many users. Especially road warriors and those who have other machines that can be relied upon for heavier tasks. This positions me as the perfect test case for such a scenario with the added bonus that, due to my use, this ends up being my “main” machine (i.e. the one that I use the most).

There were some who said to me that there is no way one could live with a 64GB drive if it were their only machine. I beg to disagree. I think there are many out there – casual computer users – for whom this would be plenty. They don’t have tens of thousands of songs, just the few dozen albums they really like. They don’t have thousands of photos, just the few hundred they have taken over the years at parties and family occasions. These folks browse the web, do email, do some work with documents and spreadsheets. They want a machine that is easy to take anywhere and get things done and does not break the bank. This is not only the perfect machine for that user but comes with the added side bonus of amazing speed and unparalleled portability.

That said, lets talk about that “other” user for a bit. The one, like myself, that has one or more Macs at home. Perhaps they even have an iPhone and iPad too. How does this Mac fit in? Well, for me, it is really about purpose. Each machine fills a very specific role.

My iMac is my media center and hub. It holds all 130GB of music. It acts as our “TV” and is where we stream Netflix and Hulu and watch the (legally purchased and backed up) movies that are stored on our Drobo (which is hooked up to a Mac Mini whose role is Backup and File Sharing). As such, the iMac is where I stream music to other rooms and devices and it is where I sync my iPhone and iPod to. For instance, if I want to listen to music on my Air, I launch iTunes and use sharing to stream it from my iMac.

The iPhone is my most mobile computer and the one that is with me anytime I’m awake and anywhere I am. The iPad is still the “everywhere else” machine. That said, here is how the MacBook Air fits in… I now have an option.

See, before, the iPad was an easy choice because the Black MacBook was becoming oh-so-not portable to me. If given the choice of which one to bring to a coffee shop or drag around to clients, the choice was easy. I was taking the light small one. I was taking the iPad. It was less about what was the most appropriate tool for the job at hand (and often either was fine) but the choice was purely driven by size and weight.

Now, I have two machines that are near equal in size and weight. So now the question comes down to which one is more appropriate (See, Merlin, there’s that word. Thanks for that.) for the task at hand. Most days right now, that task is writing, and while any of my devices can perform said task, the Air is often the most appropriate.

So, make no mistake, this Air will be my primary machine. It is just that now I’m using my other machines for the purposes they are best suited to.

So far, my experience has been a great one. I’m using it as close to “out of the box” as I can and being very picky about the apps I install. As of this writing I still have over 30GB available. Now, I could list all of what I have installed, but I think what is far more interesting are the things I did not install as many of those items I thought I “couldn’t live without”:

• Quicksilver (or any other “app/file/search/launcher”) – I’m kind of amazed by this myself but, this thing is so fast it makes using Spotlight for these tasks more than usable.
• iLife – The very first thing I did when I booted the Air for the first time was to reformat it and reinstall the OS without the additional languages and without iLife. That saved about 8GB from the factory install. Since all of my media lived on another machine I just could not justify having it.
• Twitter Client – Despite its many long in the tooth shortcomings, I was a big fan of Tweetie. More importantly, I was a big non-fan of the Twitter web interface, especially the UI horror of #newtwitter. That said, I’m really trying to force my own boundaries here and ask the question of how important a dedicated client is for a service that has an ugly but perfectly usable web client. Do I really need to install one. Especially when my favorite solution has become all but vaporware.

I could likely come up with a few more examples. The bottom line is that only when a third party tool is much better and allows me to work faster and more efficiently, will it then even be considered. Transmit is a good example of this as it is so much faster, more capable, and makes me much more efficient than the built in FTP tools. Would the built in work? Sure. Would they work as well? Certainly not.

For the past week, I have been on this machine for 6-8 hours a day and I have not wanted for more. The speed still continues to impress and amaze. As does the size, the comfort, and utility. I’m overjoyed with my choice so far.

Final note: Since my neck surgery I can’t drive and, therefore, have not gone too far for too long. Thus I have not fully tested the battery life but, based on my unplugged usage at home, can believe claims of others that it is as good, if not better, than advertised.

The Mumford & Sons show at First Avenue was the hottest ticket in town for months. The first time they came to play here, it was in a small bar and was poorly attended. The next time they came, they played a slightly larger venue. Word of mouth and heavy rotation on local indie radio assured the show sold out in little time. Given their previous show here, the band arrived at that show quite surprised to find not only a full house but an excited one that knew all of their songs. That show quickly became part of local lore. It was no surprise to anyone then what happened when tickets went on sale for the show at the legendary First Avenue. It sold out in ten minutes flat.
I was lucky enough to be invited by a dear friend to the First Avenue show. It was a huge honor. Not just because of the exclusivity of tickets, which were selling for five times face value outside the venue, but also because I don’t get to go too many concerts anymore. Our life with a young toddler and a tight budget does not allow it.
Everything about the evening and the show was magical. The time spent with a dear friend who I care for deeply and do not get to spend near enough time with. The connection between the band, who by now understood full well the love this city feels for them, and the audience ready to shower them with adoration.
It is a rare concert where every single person in an audience of fifteen-hundred knows and sings along to every word, of every song, with as much gusto as the performers on stage. But even as rare as this is, there was a single musical moment that I have never seen or experienced before and will never forget.
It was during the song “I Gave You All” that the true magic hit me. In this song, there is a anthemic yet quiet chorus. I stopped long enough during the chorus to listen to the rest of the audience sing along. It was only then did I realized the truth.
The entire audience was not simply signing. They were singing in perfect harmony!
“I gave you aaaaaaallll! I gave you aaaaaaaalll!”
There is a powerful connection between us all. One that reveals itself in these shared moments and experiences. One that unites us and pushes us towards perfection. Sometimes in conjunction with, and sometimes despite, our abilities. One that reminds us that if fifteen hundred strangers can sing like this, we can live like this.
[haiku url=”http://patrickrhone.com/audio/Mum-Sons-IGaveYouAll.mp3″ title=”Mumford & Sons – I Gave You All – Live at First Avenue”]
The audio above is the song from the concert referenced in the post. A big thanks to my friend Matt Storlie who captured it for me from The Current’s audio stream of the event.
Also, consider this my submission for the Reverb 10 prompt from December 3rd: Moment