These are Mike Mikolay’s good things.
Good things to read:
Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It – Gary Taubes. The title gives it all away but this book provides an interesting perspective on how our eating patterns have evolved as well as possibly contributed to the growing issues of obesity, etc. Read this right after another favorite, The Omnivore’s Dilemma which I read back to back in a period of my reading that seemed to be focused on food.
The Kiplinger Letter This gem is delivered to my inbox each Friday evening. A great way to stay on top of current events, finance and general business type metrics for those on the go.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki This should be required reading for every graduating high school senior before they embark on the next chapter of their lives. Perhaps waiting that long may be a mistake since I know that I’ll be sharing this book with my kids earlier than that. Some great lessons on how to handle money and grow your financial intelligence.
Good things to watch:
Modern Family. With three little kids, a busy work life and no real time (nor desire) to watch TV, my wife and I still make time to watch this series week after week. It’s earned itself a permanent place on my “must DVR” list.
Ted Talks Great way to fill an extra 10-15 minutes. Haven’t viewed one yet that didn’t show something new.
Army-Navy Football Game – GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY! It started when my brother attended the Naval Academy as our family took notice each December. I was quickly drawn in to the rivalry, the history and was filled with patriotism each time I either attended in person or watched the game on TV. Just as good as the game is all the “spirit spots” that the various entities of the military puts together to help cheer for either Navy or Army. More importantly, there are few words that can summarize the emotion and feeling one gets when watching BOTH teams stand together in front of their fellow classman singing each other’s alma mater’s. I know of no other rivalry where after doing battle for four quarters, the tradition of coming together as one in their mutual service to our country is perhaps even more important than the actual game.
Good things to use:
Trello I continue to evolve how I manage my day-to-day tasks as well as keep a handle on large, long term projects. I started with Outlook task lists, graduated to a custom form which went through three iterations and then settled in with Trello about 6 months ago. I haven’t looked back and for the first time as long as I can remember, I don’t feel the need to change my process.
Dual Universal GPS Receiver – This gadget wirelessly provides a GPS signal to a variety of gadgets via Bluetooth. I bought it to provide more accurate location information for my iPad as well as my Blackberry which I use as either an in car GPS when on the road (no longer have to pay Hertz $14+/day for Neverlost!) or for Apps that need GPS (think Golfshot). Paid for itself in a few trips and helps me get to where I need to go.
Reeder – I’m big into using Google Reader to aggregate all the blogs and or other items that I like to read on my iPad each day. I love the format as well as how it syncs to Google. The plug-ins also make it so easy to share items that I find interesting.
Three things to read, watch, and use 