I'm Dave Cameron and I create stories, podcasts, and silly ideas in Ithaca, NY. I write about being a more productive human at work and in life on my blog at dave-cameron.com. I created an acclaimed but impractical typeface called "Redacted" which you can download here via FontStruct. More of me on the web: Twitter Instagram Inspiration for Creative Work
You never forget your first time: the awkward fumbling of where to put your hands while flipping back and forth from the front to the back, back to the front, trying to concentrate and focus on what’s happening without losing momentum, and also take it all in and retain what’s happening because it’s all so overwhelming but you don’t want to forget any of it. You keep stopping to take notes because you can’t get through it all at once, but you know you can’t stop either. It will go on for weeks, your energy ebbing and flowing, but eventually the effort is worth it and you can finally say you have read all of Infinite Jest and it was wonderful.
Dave Cameron: My First Second Time - Infinite Winter
Not gonna lie - I’m a rather proud of that opening paragraph...
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“4.3?” roared David Karp across the boardroom table. He spun on his heels, turning his back to the board. His shoulder muscles rippled through his gingham shirt.
“4.3? We can do better than that. We HAVE to do better than that.”
The boardroom broke into murmurs. They had done everything right with 4.3. The entire company, top to bottom, had signed off on it. The research was there. It was focus-grouped for ten months straight. It was a sure-fire hit.
An executive VP piped up. “But, David, 4.3 is the most market-tested product we’ve ever released! The approval numbers are off the charts!”
David’s hand came smashing down on the luxurious mahogany slab. Glasses rattled. A ballpoint pen was sent flying. “I don’t give a darn about the numbers! What happened to doing something because you gave a flying flip about it? What happened to the passion? Numbers? The others guys can have numbers. We’ve gotta have passion, or we’re not worth the CD-ROMs we’re printed on. Passion. That’s what it’s all about. That’s why we’re all here.” David gestured behind him, toward the plate-glass window, the Manhattan skyline sparkling beyond. “We do it for them. For the common man. The common man needs Tumblr now more than ever.”
He spun again, now facing outward onto the city he loved. From every street rose a memory. Lexington Avenue, where he learned to ride a bike, and where he got his first broken arm (Maury, who owned the bagel store, came running out when it happened. Good old Maury). Bleecker Street, where he got his first kiss, and saw his first real rock ’n roll show. The Velvet Underground. A sound so raw and real it could only come out of NYC. Finally, he looked down directly onto the street below. The street on which he’d built his business…no, not his business—his dreams. Below was a street on which the creative passions of millions of users had stacked up into a four-hundred-thirty-one-story skyscraper that housed the collective energy of Tumblr.
David Karp pressed his nose against the glass and looked deep down into the canyon of 431st Street. Four-three-one. That’s when it hit him.
“Four-three-one. That’s it. Version 4.3.1. That’s what we’ve gotta do. Version 4.3.1 of the Tumblr app for iOS.” Silence fell over the board room. The air around the one-of-a-kind, designer table was thick with uncertainty.
Then came the sound, ringing out like a shot. It was a handclap. The executive VP has risen to his feet. Another handclap erupted from his palms. His muscular, deliberate applause electrified the room.
The next thing David knew, the entire board was on its feet. Clapping, stomping, hollering. The sound was thunderous, deafening. This was it. This was why he had followed his dream in the first place. This...
This was 4.3.1.
- Posted by Tumblr in the Apple iOS App Store (18 Aug. 2015)
If, by the virtue of charity or the circumstance of desperation, you ever chance to spend a little time around a Substance-recovery halfway facility like Enfield MA’s state-funded Ennet House, you will acquire many exotic new facts…That certain persons simply will not like you no matter what you do. That sleeping can be a form of emotional escape and can with sustained effort be abused. That purposeful sleep-deprivation can also be an abusable escape. That you do not have to like a person in order to learn from him/her/it. That loneliness is not a function of solitude. That logical validity is not a guarantee of truth. That it takes effort to pay attention to any one stimulus for more than a few seconds. That boring activities become, perversely, much less boring if you concentrate intently on them. That if enough people in a silent room are drinking coffee it is possible to make out the sound of steam coming off the coffee. That sometimes human beings have to just sit in one place and, like, hurt. That you will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do. That there is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness. That it is possible to fall asleep during an anxiety attack. That concentrating intently on anything is very hard work. That 99% of compulsive thinkers’ thinking is about themselves; that 99% of this self-directed thinking consists of imagining and then getting ready for things that are going to happen to them; and then, weirdly, that if they stop to think about it, that 100% of the things they spend 99% of their time and energy imagining and trying to prepare for all the contingencies and consequences of are never good. In short that 99% of the head’s thinking activity consists of trying to scare the everliving shit out of itself. That it is possible to make rather tasty poached eggs in a microwave oven. That some people’s moms never taught them to cover up or turn away when they sneeze. That the people to be the most frightened of are the people who are the most frightened. That it takes great personal courage to let yourself appear weak. That no single, individual moment is in and of itself unendurable. That other people can often see things about you that you yourself cannot see, even if those people are stupid.That having a lot of money does not immunize people from suffering or fear. That trying to dance sober is a whole different kettle of fish. That different people have radically different ideas of basic personal hygiene. That, perversely, it is often more fun to want something than to have it. That if you do something nice for somebody in secret, anonymously, without letting the person you did it for know it was you or anybody else know what it was you did or in any way or form trying to get credit for it, it’s almost its own form of intoxicating buzz. That anonymous generosity, too, can be abused. That it is permissible to want. That everybody is identical in their unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else. That this isn’t necessarily perverse. That there might not be angels, but there are people who might as well be angels.
David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest
That feeling when you find some of the most important things you’ve learned about life and people were already published by DFW in 1996...
One of my most favorite quotes from one of my most favorite novels. It resonates more and more every year.
One of my earliest movie memories ever is seeing the first Star Wars movie with my father. It was the summer of 1978, I was not quite five years old, and it was only the second movie I’d ever seen in a theater. I distinctly remember how it felt to see that big title card come up with that amazing orchestral blast punching the darkness of the room, Dad leaning over to whisper the scrolling words that were going by too fast for me to read, and then that giant ship that just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger as it filled the screen....
... and that's exactly what I felt again as this latest Star Wars trailer started panning across the sand with -- oooh, with a wrecked X-Wing, and then - is that a building? No, it's a city... NO WAY - IT'S A FREAKING CRASHED STAR DESTROYER! I think I literally bounced up and down in my chair.
I have seen every single one of the Star Wars films for the first time sitting next to my father when they were released, and even though we didn’t love them all equally (I still couldn’t tell you anything that happened in the 2nd prequel film - I don’t even remember its title), the tradition of seeing each of these films with Dad is a tradition I will always cherish and look forward to continuing with this latest film.
In fact, I called him when I got home last night - "Have you seen what was released online today? Well, go fire up YouTube right now. Seriously. Put Mom on the phone - I'll wait..."
When Dad got back on the phone I could hear him smiling before he even said a word. I think he felt ten again, too.
Writing is a job, a craft, and you learn it by trying to write every day and by facing the page with humility and gall. And you have to love to read books, all kinds of books, good books. You are not looking for anything in particular; you are just letting stuff seep in.
novelist and poet Stephen Dobyns
That's just about the best summary of every book on writing I've ever read. And I can't believe I haven't heard of Stephen Dobyns before.
Since finding this quote, I've been exploring many of his poems and this line from "Aphorisms" popped out for me:
You are the song you are learning to sing.
I just wish I could focus on learning one song at a time.
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I was tired of random deer trails through my backyard, so I took one of their paths and incorporated it into a spiral Zen Walk last night. A peaceful way to reset my mind after an hour of driveway shoveling.
Thanks to the nearly weekly snow storms that have been happening in the northeast, Industrial Snowmelters are big business right now.
Here's one manufacturer's description of how they work:
Snow and ice are deposited onto a melting pan that is fabricated above a hot water bath, containing heat exchanger tubes. The burner fires into the tubes heating the water, similar to a boiler burner type system. This creates a 100% totally enclosed system, thus not allowing any burner/flame contaminants to be introduced to the discharge or water bath. As snow is dumped onto the melting pan, warm water is sprayed over the snow. As the snow melts, it travels down the pan, through a screening process into the debris catch area and back into the water hopper to be re-heated. Debris baskets are available to be used to clean out the excess debris during your snowmelting operation. As water level rises, it travels through a weir system, separating the debris, oil and other non-soluble products, and then discharges under the melter. You can park near or over a storm drain, catch basin, or hook up a hose and divert it to a secondary location. At the end of your melting operation, any debris can be removed by the surrounding clean out doors.
Discharging into a municipal drainage system may sound like a problem, but in fact it is the better option, forcing all kinds of harmful oils and chemicals that end up in snow to be captured by water treatment systems and out of the water supply.
Snowmelters also reduce costs of transporting truckloads of snow by bringing melt options right where they are needed. This manufacturer's largest models (the kind used at airports or other major facilities) can handle up to 500 tons of snow per hour.
Presenting a new project in which a visual element associated with various famous people is integrated with their names. The series features a wide range of fictional characters and real life persons, dead or alive.
The compilation print seen above is available for purchase. As with all my work, the other designs are available as prints individually too. For further details, email [email protected].
Stop-motion timelapse video is one of the oldest techniques around, but seeing it executed astoundingly well can make it seem fresh and exciting. What director Selina Miles does here with probably little more than a digital SLR and a tripod and natural lighting is really inspiring.
Of course, when the people actually in the video are also making something awesome as you watch, the result is even better.
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As I finalized and prepared for my High Ed Web presentation last week, I found I had gathered far more materials and resources than I could fit into a single talk without overwhelming my audience. I'm happy to share this complete list of links and details for all the books, apps, website, and other resources I shared in my presentation, as well as a few others I couldn't find room for.
While the response to my talk far exceeded my own expectations, I was grateful to discover that I am not the only one who is looking to improve their habits in the workplace. I hope you find these tools helpful.
Do you have a favorite book or app or other resource that is missing from this list? I'd love to know what it is - just leave a comment below or email your suggestions to hundredpercenthuman-at-yahoo-dot-com and I'll update the list!
MAC OSX UTILITIES:
These are software utilities I rely on every single day to save me time with shortcuts and enhanced search.
PRO TIP: many software companies offer educational discount pricing and often all it takes to qualify is a .edu email address, so be sure to check your options when making a purchase
LaunchBar (free or paid versions)
- like a more powerful Spotlight, this utility allows you to quickly find, open, and use just about anything on your computer with just a few keystrokes.
TextExpander (30-day free trial)
- an amazing time saver that allows you to turn any amount of text you use all the tim into a customized shortcut. Type your email address anywhere with a few keystrokes, add and launch scripts, or generate entire form letters.
Hazel (14-day free trial)
- using simple rules, this powerful utility keeps your files and directories organized automatically, runs backup operations, and even empties your trash for you.
CheatSheet (free)
- displays a pop-up overlay of every keyboard shortcut available to you in whatever application you're using just by holding down the Command key.
Jumpcut (free)
- provides "clipboard buffering" — that is, access to text that you've cut or copied, even if you've subsequently cut or copied something else.
Bartender (free trial)
- got a lot of little tools in your Mac utility bar? This tool gives you a submenu to keep them all organized and out of sight until you need them.
Caffeine (free)
- a simple utility that prevents your computer from going to sleep.
Simplenote and nvALT
- individually, either of these is a powerful markup-friendly notebook and text editor. I use nvALT (a version of the Notational Velocity editor) to store and quickly access a ton of text files, and sync it with SimpleNote to access or edit that same information from my iPhone
Dropbox - it just works.
WriteRoom
- my favorite go-to editor for writing. I write almost everything longer than a paragraph in this plain text writing tool, and then paste it where I need it.
OmmWriter
- for longer periods of focused writing, I often prefer the zen atmosphere of this full-screen editor. Bonus meditative soundtrack included!
PROJECT ORGANIZERS AND TASK MANAGERS:
For simple to-do lists:
Clear (iOS & Mac OSX)
Remember The Milk (all devices)
For capturing notes and organizing research:
Evernote (all devices)
Microsoft OneNote (all devices)
Ideal for managing tasks with teams:
Asana (web & mobile apps)
Trello (web & mobile apps)
For advanced personal task and project management:
OmniFocus (iOS & Mac OSX only)
Things (iOS & Mac OSX only)
Wunderlist (all devices)
TIME TRACKERS:
Run these utilities to find out how productive you're being during the day by tracking which apps and websites you're using when, and how often:
For desktop (Mac OSX or Windows):
Desktime
RescueTime
Mobile apps (iOS):
Eternity Time Log
Timeful
HABIT TRACKING APPS:
Habit List (iOS)
Forest (iOS & Android)
Carrot (iOS)
1 Second Everyday (iOS & Android)
(and don't miss the inspiring TED talk by this app's creator)
MOBILE EMAIL APPS:
Two apps I'm enjoying that make processing email faster and easier on your mobile phone:
Mailbox (iOS & Android)
Acompli (iOS & Android)
BOOKS:
My top three books for becoming a better Human at Work:
Manage Your Day-to-Day - edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
- a fantastic overview of how to make your work days more productive and balanced
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- timeless wisdom and classic stoic philosophy capturing the thoughts of one individual searching for how to live up to his best potential.
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis
- very short stories about the big little details of human existence.
FURTHER RECOMMENDED READING:
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Habit Stacking By S.J. Scott
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
The Tyranny of E-Mail by John Freeman
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.
LISTEN TO THIS:
PODCASTS
Mac Power Users
Episode #219 - with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done
Back To Work
Episode #185 - hosts Merlin Mann & Dan Benjamin discuss getting better at email
@HigherEdLive
"2014 Work Hacks" (05/22/14)
"Work Hacks and Getting Stuff Done" (01/24/13)
MUSIC
If you use Spotify, please be sure to check out my special "Human at Work" playlists, and add your own tracks to share the tunes that help you get through a productive day!
Human at Work: Focus
Human at Work: Boost
I'm also a fan of the Radium internet radio player app.
OFFICE TOOLS:
Additional tools that have improved my office workflow:
Flo monitor support arm
- lets me use one monitor for sitting or standing or sharing with clients.
WorkEZ Professional Laptop Stand
- I use this for a standing-desk keyboard platform.
Whitelines Notebooks
- the A4 squared wire notebook is my favorite for capturing meeting notes.
Small Notepads
- I keep a stack of these 5" x 8" perforated in my desk so I always have them around.
Field Notes
- my favorite pocket notebook. Always with me anywhere I go.
Cubic Timer
- four pre-set timers (3, 10, 30, and 60 minutes) makes this perfect for setting a quick work sprint session or timing a break between productive tasks. Bonus: the 3 min. timer is perfect for knowing when your cup o' ramen is ready to eat!
Soylent
- for those days when the task of deciding what to have for lunch is just too much to handle :)
"Human at Work" - My HighEdWeb 2014 conference presentation
I'm really excited to be speaking at the 2014 HighEdWeb Annual Conference this year. My presentation is Human at Work or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Get Better at My Job and it's kind of a confessional case study of myself.
Slides from my presentation are embedded below.
You can now find an extensive list of resources and links for tools mentioned in my presentation on my blog: dave-cameron.com/human
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Guess what the Pharrell & Daft Punk track "Gust of Wind" makes a great mashup with? "Gust of Wind" by Pharrell & Daft Punk.
I discovered this by accident when I happened to play the song twice on my computer, but several seconds apart. Purely by chance, the two simultaneous streams were synced on the beat and I loved it. I'm not a mashup maker, but this seemed like a pretty easy thing to try and remix for fun, so I did! Take a listen and let me know what you think.
Please note this is only intended as a fair-use remix and not to be sold. I highly recommend you purchase the G I R L album yourself, because it's all fantastic :)
If you're curious, here's how I recreated my accidental effect:
The original track plays by itself for the first verse, then at the start of second verse section (00:41) the same track starts over again in sync with the first one. (I shift the first track slightly to the right channel at that point and bring the new one in on the left channel at a hair under volume to increase the effect slightly if you're listening on headphones.) The original track runs out around 04:26, at which point the second track continues by itself to the end.
I think it's fascinating how well the pattern of verses against chorus work so well over each other, especially when the bridge of the first track comes in. It's proof just how much these talented producers know their stuff when it comes to structuring a song. Enjoy!
Recorded 28 January, 2002, this is an unedited studio conversation between Elaine Stritch and Nathan Lane, originally produced to be edited into radio ads promoting the new Broadway production of Elaine Stritch: At Liberty. I was working for a producer of the show at the time and recently discovered this in a pile of CDs in my archives.
At the time of this recording in January 2002, Elaine Stritch had just completed the debut of ...At Liberty, her hit solo autobiographical show, off-Broadway at the Public Theatre, and was one week away from the first Broadway preview performances at the Neil Simon Theatre. Meanwhile, Nathan Lane was a little more than ten months into his year-long run in the mega-hit The Producers, which was still setting box office records.
As far as I know this recording has never been shared before, but I felt it was too good to keep to myself. As you’ll hear, this short conversation is filled with great one-liners, show biz memories, and plenty of quotable quips from both Elaine and Nathan. I hope you enjoy it.
Of course, if you care about musical theatre and somehow haven't heard it already, I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy of Elaine Stritch: At Liberty today.
