Alright, for those of you who watch Diggnation, you probably have already seen this, but being the weather nerd that I am, I had to share this with you! It is a bolt of lightening captured with an insanely fast camera. It reveals how a lightning bolt sends out many fingers of electricity in a search for ground. Once the ground is found then BOOM!

Super awesome. I bet you can’t just watch it once.

If Kanye gets featured here on the blog then surely a song about the Razorbacks would. (First seen on Fayetteville Flyer…)

Yeah, so this kinda sounds like a problem…

FAA computer problems cause flight delays - CNN.com.

Toodledo :: A to-do list to organize your tasks.

I think I have posted something here to the effect that I am looking into the best to do list creator for me, if not here is the short version. I have an iPhone. iPhone doesn’t have a to do list, (I know, crazy right?). iPhone now supports applications. I want the best third-party to do list for me.

There are a number of options out there from the ultra lifestyle changing options like the GTD Model and OmniFocus, to simple to do list apps in the iPhone store that simply make a list on your phone and that is it. I got a number of ideas from people about what they use, but more on that later.

My needs for a to do list fall somewhere in between those extremes. I want a to do list that is synced to the web and is accessible whether I have my phone or not.

Toodlelo: What I like

Right now, I am in week two of using Toodledo almost exclusively. I haven’t bought the paid version which will unlock some extra functionality, but so far its free version does a lot to address my needs.

The list lives on the web which means I have access to my to do list wherever I am as long as there is an Internet connection. Toodledo has a fairly serviceable web app page that makes using it pretty good on the iPhone. It is a little sluggish on the phone, but I suspect that that will be dealt with in firmware updates to the iPhone.

Toodledo allows me to categorize my to do list in folders, contexts, and with tags. All of these are handy because they open up uses for toodledo lists that the creators didn’t even think of. That also means that it is flexible enough to meet the needs of different users.

Here is how I am using the folders, contexts, and tags. I have created a folder for each stakeholder to whom I owe something. In other words, all the jobs that need to get done for Jim (Jim is a fictional character, any similarities to existing Jims is purely coincidental.) goes in a folder called Jim.

I use contexts to establish the where. Everyone has to do lists for work or school and home, and very possibly more. Right now I have two contexts. Work and home, although I see adding more in the very near future. Having contexts allows you to focus on what is important at that time, where you are while back-burnering things that don’t make sense in the current context. In other words, I can’t mow the lawn while I am sitting at my desk at work.

As for the tags, here is where you can really get creative. Last week I was needing to be able to classify whether a job was in process or not. There were some jobs that weren’t going to be finished, but I needed to signify that there was work being done, but were waiting on contingencies. Toodledo didn’t have that function baked in, but then it occurred to me that I could use tags. On all the jobs that were in process, I used the tag ‘in process’, I know, clever right? That way, I could do a search for ‘in progress’ and see all those jobs. Tags open up a whole world of flexibility.

Toodledo has another interesting trick. It allows you to print your to do list and using a pair of scissors and some origami, create a neat little business card sized booklet of your to do list. One section is devoted to all the to dos in your list, and the back is devoted to what it calls the Hotlist. Those are the to dos that are due soon or are rated as very very important. It is a cool trick even if it is a little confusing to fold the booklet the first time. For those of you out there who have an affinity for paper and it flexibility, this is a cool option.

Things I don’t like

I know this is picky, and highly subjective, but I would love for there to be a site redesign. I don’t love the current look of the main site. It gets very cluttered when you have everything open. The site gives you the option of hiding notes, and that helps, but honestly, I need to see those. I wish that the interface had a more cohesive, app-like appearance that wasn’t overly colorful. There are color options, but those don’t address the clutter issue.

This is a small nit-picky issue that isn’t driving me a way from the site, but a slick experience would be a big draw for me.

What’s Next?

Thankfully for me, the user, switching costs are low when it comes to to do lists. I plan on giving Toodledo another couple of weeks and then look at the options again and see if there is something out there that works better. I bet using an online to do list for an entire month will illuminate issues I need to take into account when finding my final to do list choice.

joshwmc on deviantART.

So as I was reading my news feed on Google Reader, some images from this guy (Joshwmc) popped up that blew my mind.  This guy does fan art around superhero movies, and it is extraordinarily realistic and good.

You need to check it out!

Britain from Above

I just found the greatest trick to redeem some space on you iPhone without having to dock your iPhone. I use it to delete video podcasts once I am finished watching. Also, it works when you are perusing your email and you want to delete an email without opening it… I’m looking at you spam. I may have been living my life under a rock for the last year, but I haven’t anyone talk about the delete function that is baked right into your iPhone.

Here is how you do it.

1. As you are looking at the list of your email, find one that you want to delete.
2. Place both thumbs over that message and then spread them apart. Think of a reverse pinch.
3. A red ‘Delete’ button will appear.
4. Hit that button and voila, that email disappears!

That same action works in you podcast library, and I am sure in a lot more places.  Explore and let me know what other places it works.

A special thanks has to go out to Daniel Burka at Revision3 for uncovering this little gem. It was so cool that I had to reblog it. It is a site built by a guy who does Simpson’s style fan art. It has been a long time since I have enjoyed browsing a blog as much as I enjoyed this one. If you are a fan of The Simpsons or super-heroes, then you are a geek, and you have to check this one out… it’s called Springfield Punx.

Here is the first image of Jake Gyllenhaal as his character The Prince of Persia that is slated for release in May of 2010. Can you say Ripped?

Thanks JustJared who originally posted this image.

Here is a quick 2 minute video that will give you a sneak peak at the new XBOX360 dashboard and show you how to install a game right to the hard drive. It appears that you will need to have a copy of the game in the tray to play the game, sorry pirates, but even so, having the game installed on the HDD will make loading a thing of the past.

Now we just need XBOX to lower the price of the dang 120 GB drives.