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Take a look at me. If you were to have no knowledge of my ethnic background, what would you assume? My bet is that, if you are African-American, you will assume that I’m Black or Mixed. Those of Latino origin often assume I’m Latino. Don’t even get me started on the number of Palestinians and Lebanese who speak to me in native tongue and are surprised at my quizzical response. In fact, at a former job, I regularly had lunch with a Lebanese-American brother and sister for two years before it was revealed in casual conversation, to their utter disbelief, that I myself was not.
I’m African-American. Both my parents? African-American. Grandparents? Yep. Greats? Uh-huh. In fact, one has to go back to my Great-Greats before one starts to ask questions about lineage.
Now, some of you are thinking, “Nah! Look at you. Your skin isn’t much darker than a White Southerner’s Summer tan!” Well, neither is my Mom’s, or her Mom’s, or her Dad’s. “But what about your green eyes?” Well, my Mom’s Father’s eyes were blue.
Yeah, I’m different.
Growing up, this was especially weird. Kids being kids and all. I did not really feel “at home” anywhere. My White friends were nice and accepting enough. Of course, the occasional “nigger” comment would slip but they were quick to reassure that they didn’t mean me. Definitely not me. I was “different”.
Other Black kids were not as nice. But I soon came to realize it had nothing to do with my skin. I “talked White”. I “acted White” I “dressed White”. I was an Oreo. A wannabe. Different.
You see, I come from a long line of “preachers and teachers”. An entire college educated advanced-degreed family stretching back generations. Of course such positions also pay a decent wage and as thus, we were firmly middle-class. To those kids, that meant “White”. That meant different.
Of course, I worry and wonder more than a little bit about my children and how they will handle this. My sons, because of their dark hair and darker complexion, less so then my daughter who is blond, blue eyed, and looks as Scandinavian as her mother. My teenage sons, never dealt with much scrutiny when they would have to explain they were of mixed race or marked the African-American box on school forms.
Time will tell what will happen when my toddler reaches a similar age and this angelic looking blue-eyed blond checks that same African-American box. Her mother and I have already speculated and are prepared for the trips to school so that we may show our faces to the Principal to prove that yes, she is in fact, different.
Of course, ideally, and I really do believe that eventually, none of this will matter. Those boxes will disappear. If for no other reason than a whole lot of mixing will eventually make all of us so different that, in fact, we will all be the same.
Note: This is partially in participation and response with today’s Reverb 10 prompt: Beautifully Different

A foreword written for the book iPad Means Business by Julio Ojeda-Zapata.

It is the future. It is a revolution. The overthrow of an industry. The takeover of a market. When everything we thought about technology changed. The point where the computer truly became personal. Also, it is just the beginning.

If I had to describe to a random stranger who had never seen the iPad, and was asked what it was, my answer might include some of the previous exclamations. This is a device that is the realization of many Hollywood visions of what a computer might be in some far off time – from Star Trek to Minority Report. It feels far ahead of everything else available today. Something in the back of the mind suggests that you have something you should not yet have, yet do.

Take it out in a public place and you are likely to get even the shyest person in the crowd approaching you and asking for a demonstration. They can not contain themselves from asking for a look at this thing they may have seen in commercials or in a display at the mall, yet still could not believe actually existed. Like a jet pack, or a flying car, or any of the other things we all were promised we would have in the 21st century, but the true pace of progress proved otherwise. Yet this – a computer nearly the width of a pencil, with a display the dimensions of a page of paper, that you manipulate with the touch of your fingers – this future is real.

Give it to a child and within minutes, with little to no instruction, they get it. It may be future to us who have been given a certain unescapable paradigm about what a computer is and how we interact with it. To a child, this is very much of their time. Raised with a much shorter period of interaction with a keyboard and mouse and in an age when they can play console games by waving a wand at a screen. To them, this is second nature. It is in these times that you realize the iPad is very much a device of the now. It is the way it always should have been and henceforth will be. The children of today will likely grow up with only the faintest of memories of what a keyboard and mouse was. The idea of any barrier to direct physical interaction with a computer will seem as distant as one that takes up an entire room is to us.

This is also a computer that is easy for older people to use. No complicated file systems to navigate. No lofty concepts to grasp. Just clear, easy to launch applications. Those who may have found computers too complicated, mice and keyboards too confusing, can find their solace with the iPad. A new world of where a simple touch will allow them access to the internet, email, photos, books, and friends.

But don’t let the ease of use for the young and old alike distract you. This is also the ideal tool for todays modern mobile worker. Far more portable than a laptop. Less intrusive in a meeting. Able to wield email and presentations with equal speed and aplomb. Alone it is an adept productivity tool. When paired with a wireless Bluetooth keyboard, it can hold it’s own against any mobile device. Together, the speed and length with which one can produce results in a word processor or email program is limited only by ones ability. In fact, this entire chapter was written this way.

The word that Apple has used repeatedly to describe the iPad is “magical”. While this may seem simply just a marketing buzzword, there is a certain truth to it. When you use the device, you become so immersed in the interaction, that the device itself seems to “disappear” until whatever application you are using is all you are left holding in your hands. Studies have shown that we form an emotional bond with the things we hold or touch. The fundamentals of how you get things done can really change when you can hold your email in your hands? Or your music? Or the internet itself. How you feel and experience these things changes as well.

The reason the hardware disappears is because the software feels natural. When browsing digital photos for instance, they react in a way that is as natural as interacting with the traditional printed kind. When reading a book, the pages turn with the same speed as they would when leafing through a physical one. In every case where there is a real world metaphor, something familiar outside of a computer, it behaves as one would expect. No delay, no separation. It is this attention to detail that the magicians used for the wondrous alchemy that happens when using the iPad.

One more thing about the iPad is that there is no right way to hold it. Stand up with it, sit down, lie back in bed. Pick up the iPad and the screen will rotate to fit your view. Hand it to someone else and it will flip again to theirs. This makes it amazingly easy to share it with others. Hand it across the table at a meeting. This is a social machine. Pass it to your friend to share a funny video. Have a child sit in your lap while your read them a book from it. Unlike other computers that are often barriers to interaction, the iPad is purposefully made for it.

We will look back on this time as a moment when everything we had come to know about computers changed. It is not hyperbole to say that this is a historic shift for technology. And it is just the start. The iPad is still young by any standard. And if this is just the start, it begs the question of what is yet to come. Something even more magical, more revolutionary, and more unbelievable yet real. Welcome to The Future.

This book, written by crack technology writer and pundit Julio Ojeda-Zapata, is here to guide you through this new age. He will show real world examples of professionals, creatives, and others just like you getting real work done using the iPad and having a lot of fun doing so. I know I am.

Enjoy.

There is this really great story I once heard about Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame (which is fantastic and one should make a point of eating there if the opportunity ever arrises). I’m not sure if it’s true and have searched the internet to try to see if I can find it again to no avail. That said, it is one of those legendary stories that sounds like it could be true, simply because it rings so close to the personality of the protagonist. It goes something like this…
Alice Waters sources the food served each night at Chez Panisse through a network of local farmers and growers. What is served on the plate each evening is usually selected and delivered earlier that day. Often times, Chef Waters does this personally.
One day, she visited a fruit grower to find perfectly tree ripened pears. She knew immediately that she must have these to serve her guests that night. The grower happily picked, packed and delivered them to her kitchen.
As the day progressed, and she began to prepare that evening’s menu, her mind kept coming back to the puzzle of how to serve those pears. She swore to herself that she had never seen a more perfect pear and wanted to conjure a recipe that would bring out their best.
Now, let me take a slight detour to tell you a bit about her restaurant. It is legendary. It’s generally regarded as one of the top restaurants in the world. Founded in 1971, the entire local and organic food movement in America can trace large sections of it’s roots back to Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. Because the menu changes daily based on local ingredients, there is only one prix fixe menu and you pay whatever it costs. It will cost a lot and you will not regret a single bite nor penny spent for it will be one of the best and most memorable meals of your life.
And so it was, the evening’s guests arrived for their reservations that night, fully prepared to spend several days salary on the dining experience to come. And come it did as always. Course after course of some of the most fresh and deftly crafted plates they would ever eat, delivered by an expert staff that explained the motivations and stories Chef Waters wished to tell of each one.
Then, finally, after the main course plates and silver were cleared, fresh silver delivered, drinks topped off… Desert! The wait staff appears from the kitchen, domed plates held aloft as they quickly fanned to each table in what one might read as choreographed chaos. As the plates arrive, the wait staff take pains to explain to each guest the unusual nature of what was to come. You see, Chef Waters found this pear tree in the orchard of one of her favorite local growers. The tree had a bounty of the most perfectly ripened pears she had ever come across. She knew she had to serve them that night, for to save them for tomorrow would be too late. They had to be served, but how? How could she honor this pear with a dish that allowed it to shine on the palate, befitting it’s true nature, neigh, to sing? With this, the dome was removed and upon that plate rested…
A single pear.
You see, even Alice had to eventually admit that there was no way even one of the greatest chefs in the world could improve upon that pear. There was no dish or accompaniment she could use to feature or enhance such perfection. Sometimes, the greatest artistry even a master can perform, and the greatest gift one can give, is to leave something alone.

I don’t think I have ever done an official gift guide before. That said, the thought recently occurred to me that, when I did do one, I wanted it to be a bit different and have a greater purpose than simply participating in the rampant consumerism of the season.
Then, the other day, an idea occurred to me. My life has blessed me with many talented, creative, and industrious friends. Many of these fine folks have businesses and products to sell that deserve attention. Therefore, what better time of year, and what better occasion as my first gift guide, then to shine a light on them and encourage you to buy some gifts for others (or even a little something for yourself).
Pen and Paper
Everyone who knows me, knows how much I love nice pens and paper. They are one of my life’s most fulfilling luxuries. Trust me on this, once you experience what it is to write on high grade paper with a beautiful pen and nice ink, you will never for get it. Thankfully, I have some friends who can help in this area:
Idea Cafe – My friend Chris Bowler is the proprietor of this online shop dedicated to equipping creative types like myself with some of the finest paper goods available. There are even some pre-packaged notebook bundles that are perfect for gift giving.
Pear Tree Pens – If you are looking for some quality pens and ink, this is where you should go. Run by my friend Ryan who taught me just about everything I know about pens and ink.
Levenger – Another excellent source for not only pen and ink but a iety of goods for the writer, reader and beyond. I’ve been a customer for almost 20 years. Heck, my desk essentially looks like a Levenger advertisement. That said, I’m now also proud and humbled to consider the founder Steve Leveen a friend.
Photography
I also love good photography and am thankful to have the works of the following two artists gracing my walls:
Jorge Quinteros – My friend Jorge does amazing photography. Seriously, there is not a single print he sells that does not deserve a special place in your home or office. Conveniently, you can also buy some of his work at Idea Cafe as well.
Michael Armstrong – What I love about Michael’s photography is that it is all about the Twin Cities or Minneapolis/Saint Paul (where we live). So many of the shots are things I have passed by but never noticed before. That said, one does not have to live here to appreciate their beauty.
Music
I actually know a number of musicians but only one has a recent release that I think deserves your Christmas dollars:
Boss Rebel – The band of my good friend Pat Dryburgh. It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it. Go give it a listen. What more do you need?
Books
We have a home filled with books and I’m lucky enough to know an increasing numbers of authors and fellow writers:
Writing Assignments by Randy Murray – Look, writing is a craft. Like any craft or skill, it takes practice. Practice is often best when it is guided. That is what this is. A collection of fun, guided writing exercises that will improve you as a writer. It does not matter if you are a budding writer or well established. I even contributed a lesson or two.
iPad Means Business by Julio Ojeda-Zapata – This is an invaluable resource for the person in your life who either has an iPad or will be getting one under the tree and they want to know how to use it to get “real work” done. I wrote one of the forwards for this book. It’s great.
Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Doland – I don’t think Erin will mind that I consider her a friend. Especially in order to highlight one of the most useful, sensible and practical books on reducing clutter and friction in your life. Fantastic book filled with many “a ha!” moments.
The Power of Less by Leo Babauta– Leo has just released another book called Focus but I still think this is the more accessible of his works. Sane advice about the benefits of living with, and simply living, a life with less.

For day two of Reverb 10, we writers are prompted with the following from Leo Baubuta:

December 2 Writing.
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

I thought about this for a short bit but my mind was quickly drawn to this recent letter from writer Charles Bukowski to William Packard:

“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

The fact is, there is nothing in my day that does not contribute to my writing. Every moment. Every experience. Every sense. Even the times I appear to be goofing off or doing nothing. Yep, all of it contributes to my writing. Why would I – how could I – eliminate a single bit?
Here’s a little exercise. Let’s replace the word writing in the prompt with one that has equal value to me:

What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your breathing — and can you eliminate it?

See what I mean?
Writing is the way I translate the world. It’s the only satisfactory tool I have. It’s pleasure. It’s pain. It’s a drug. It’s sex. It’s life the only way I can feel it.

For the month of December, I’m participating in Reverb 10. The project is an invitation for online writers, photographers, and creatives to reflect on the year that has passed and to manifest what is next. Each day for the month of December, a prompt is sent to participants and we are invited to respond to the prompt in whatever way feels appropriate.
As I am a writer, I imagine that many of these prompts will spur me to reflect with the written word. Here is today’s prompt:

December 1 One Word.

Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

2010 – Build
I’ve spent a lot of time building this past year.
A few weeks ago, my wife Bethany said to me, “When people ask me what you do for a living, I now tell them you’re a Writer since that is where your regular income increasingly comes from.” This was kind of a proud, humbling, and a bit scary revelation to me. She is right about the money. The final count is not yet in but I may have made more this year from my writing and things related to it then I did from my consulting business. I spent a lot of time building myself as a writer this year. Despite the fact I have been writing all of my life, and others may have always thought of me as such, it was this year that I focused on really setting and reaching a bar high enough where I could feel comfortable calling myself one.
This isn’t to say that I did not spend a lot of time building my consulting business as well. I did. Like, a whole lot. It’s just that not all of the work I did here is as successful as I would have hoped. That said, it was not due to my lack of effort or missed opportunities. I have many ideas about “why” but most of these are out of my control and, if true, will only get worse. No matter the cause, I feel the effort and execution were there, the results were not. That said, regardless of results, or the future, many of my efforts here have taught me lessons that I can apply elsewhere and share with others.
Speaking of sharing with others, I also worked hard to build myself as a consultant to others. Taking these lessons I have learned over the last ten-plus years of doing this and using them to help those who wish to start freelance consulting businesses of their own or are just beginning to do so. In this, I feel successful.
I built Minimal Mac into a vision far larger than I initially had for it. I worked hard to expand its message beyond simplifying and streamlining ones computing to larger ideas around consumerism, need, global impact, and sustainability. An idea I broadly term as “enough”. I also have watched the readership build beyond any measure I could have ever dreamed of. Some of this was luck but I often do not tell the true story of the amount of time I put into building the audience and making sure the content was consistent and compelling enough to have them stay.
I also feel as though I’ve spent a lot of time building new and existing relationships both online and off. I have made more true and lasting friendships this year, and have worked hard to build them, then I feel I have ever done before. There are too many individuals to name here now. Perhaps a future prompt may cause me to enumerate all I can. That said, it is my hope that those in that group who may read this know how much work I have put in to build those connections and why, because I value them so very much.
I also feel as though I continued to build a life with Bethany that is filled with love, compassion, comfort, laughter, and fulfillment. Not a week goes by when one of us looks around us, at our home, our neighborhood, our daughter, all of the beauty that surounds us and says out loud, “We have a good life.” We both work very hard to build this life and the results are proof of this effort.
2011 – Grow
I want to focus on taking everything I have built in 2010 and growing it in the next year.
I want to grow as a writer, editor, and curator. I hope to not only improve and expand my content online but I also will collaborate on at least one book and self-publish another. I also would like to do some contract writing and editing for others and find ways to further turn my craft into sustaining industry.
I would also like to find the right combination to grow my consulting business into a regular and sustaining revenue stream. I have some ideas in the area but given this past year’s execution/results balance, I do have to admit to a certain level of being gun shy. That said, the current model is obviously no longer working the way I feel it should and, therefore, I may be at a point where I have nothing to loose.
I have already drawn the line with my goals for growth for Minimal Mac elsewhere but I will do so here for the sake of completeness. I will double the readership of Minimal Mac by this time next year.
I want to grow as many of my my existing relationships as possible. Even as an introvert, I find the one-on-one time I spend with any of these individuals to be exponentially and spiritually rewarding. I want to deepen and strengthen these. I want to find ways and opportunities to break bread and meet face-to-face as often as possible, even with those far away.
Most importantly, I want to grow my relationship with Bethany. I want to make sure I’m supporting her in every way I can and am being an equal partner and contributor to this life we grow daily together.

“Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.”

Some in my audience may be old enough to remember the above. It is the “slogan” for McDonald’s Big Mac hamburger. Perhaps one of the most successful marketing campaigns in history. If you ask almost anyone who was of learning age or older in the mid-1970’s, they can likely rattle off this list of ingredients today without pause and on command. I have not had a Big Mac in over 20 years but I will be able to remember exactly what one is, the very components it is built with, for the rest of my life. Textbook advertising. Yet, it is just a list of ingredients. Nothing more.
I love words. One of the main reasons I write is because of my affection for words and the ability to play with their framework and structure. I find it not only fun, but self-challenging. Nothing thrills me more than clever prose. Seeing something written with such deft skill and imagery that it causes one to gasp in the seeming death defying awe of it all. Yet, while other writers may look at such a thing and half-grin with knowing approval, what the reader often remembers, and what often has the most lasting impact, are the things that are said simply.

I have ordered a Macbook Air 11inch with a 64GB SSD to replace my 3.5 year old Black Macbook (Blackbook) that had been upgraded with a 320/7200 HDD. 

Once it arrives, I will use it fresh out of the box. I will not “migrate” any of my data until it is needed. Even then, the question before doing so that will always be asked is “Where does this belong?”. I will only install software methodically, deliberately and only when absolutely needed.  I really do think that, with proper data management, 64GB will be enough for me. In fact, I think I will find that the constraint of not having a lot of space will be freeing. Perhaps it will force me to make some honest admissions about what “need” really is.

My photos are a good example of this. I take most photos these days with my iPhone. I sync my iPhone to my iMac because that is where the bulk of my music and movies live. That said, my main photo collection lives on my Macbook. Why? Well, I’m not quite sure. For how long have I had my photos taken with my mobile and photos taken with my main camera in two separate locations? Years. Why? I don’t know. Well, this weekend, I changed that and now all photos live together on the iMac.

Then, if all of my Photos live on my iMac, do I really need to have iPhoto on my Macbook? What about iDVD on a machine that does not have a Superdrive? Do I need to have iLife at all? These are the sorts of questions I will be pondering.

I have done a lot of talking about doing such a thing on this site since the beginning. Now, I’m about to put that into practice and, I’m sure, will share about the experience here with you. Stay tuned…

Path — Introducing The Personal Network

No following, no friending…just sharing with the people who matter most.

Path is a new app for iPhone that sets of on a very different approach to social networking. It’s goal is to be a highly focused “personal network” that allows you to share and tag personal moments using photos with no more than your fifty closest friends. Why no more than fifty?:

We chose 50 based on the research of Oxford Professor of Evolutionary Psychology Robin Dunbar, who has long suggested that 150 is the maximum number of social relationships that the human brain can sustain at any given time. Dunbar’s research also shows that personal relationships tend to expand in factors of roughly 3. So while we may have 5 people whom we consider to be our closest friends, and 20 whom we maintain regular contact with, 50 is roughly the outer boundary of our personal networks. These are the people we trust, whom we are building trust with, and whom we consider to be the most important and valued people in our lives.

There are many things I love about this app. Mainly, I love it’s sane, well thought out, and research based constraints. I love the fact that it calls these updates “moments”. I love that it does not allow you to choose existing photos or edit them before posting. It really does force one to share what is happening right then and there. Letting these moments speak for themselves with only enough details to provide context.

But most of all, I love that the people who I share with there are getting an honest peek into a story that I would only tell to those I trust most.

When I travel in the car with my family, I’m usually the one who drives. I don’t mind at all. If there is ever any question as to who should drive, I volunteer. If it is a journey to a destination we’ve never been, Bethany is far better navigating me and making the strategic decisions on how to get there. I’m better at following her lead. I enjoy driving.
Most of us really don’t stop to think of how much relaxed yet active focus it takes to drive a car. There are so many iables that require our constant monitoring and adjustment. The speed. The distance between us and every other object sharing the road. The signs and signals to obey come from every direction. I mean, seriously, driving is very busy work. There is not much else that we can (or should) pay attention to but the journey ahead and everything involved in making sure we get to the end of it safely.
For those of us who are drivers, when the occasion arrises to be in the passenger seat, it is like being in a whole new world. A road we may have driven hundreds of times is filled with things that have always been there but we are too busy to notice. While we are busy being focused on the road ahead there was a whole reality that was passing us by. This is not to say that the passenger seat is better. This is just to say that there is a focus on the bigger picture unfolding around the car as it travels ahead. One that is not solely attentive to the act of driving.
I’m having some fairly major surgery this upcoming Monday (November 22nd, 2010). I have some disk degeneration in my neck (C5, 6, & 7) that is causing bulging into the nerve space. This has caused me to be in ious levels of constant pain from my neck down my right arm for over four years now. I’ve finally run out of non-surgical options to treat it and treating it surgically is now the only remaining option. The recovery time is expected to be 4-6 weeks with at least the first two weeks spent in a hard collar/brace that will not permit me to drive or do much in the way of writing, computing, consulting, or posting to my ious sites.
I will be in a unique position. From both a physical perspective (due to the hard collar) and the metaphorical (Not being able to write). One in which the driver and passenger are merged. I will be called to appreciate and enjoy the world that is unfolding around me while at the same time focused on the busy work of keeping myself on the road ahead, making sure I get to the end of it safely.
I’ll see you back here, in the drivers seat, at the end of this journey.