As you can probably guess by the post title & image, I recently had a run in with The Accidental Creative, a book by Todd Henry.  I actually haven’t yet read the book, but over the past few days I’ve been listening to the podcasts while driving to and from work.  The tagline of the book is “How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice”.  Since I haven’t yet read it, I can’t speak to the content, but hearing Todd Henry talk and interview a few guests, I’m coming to a pretty clear understanding of the principle, which is basically “exercise your mind, constantly”.

That seems simple, but the truth is that many of us go through life, just trying to keep our heads above water, not really thinking creatively about creative problems.  However, I’ve found that just simply breaking myself of the daily habits, [not listening to the radio, not watching as much TV] and instead getting creative [reading inspirational books, creating websites, designing print items] my mind is much more spry…and this is just after a few days!

Anyway, I’m trying to keep my posts short.  So, I’ll just recommend that you go check out the podcasts or maybe pick up the book.

If you’re a creative or wish to be, it just might be the catalyst for change you need!

A few years back while preparing for my first weekend camping trip, I went in search of a pocket knife.  The knives I’d had in the past were either a)really tiny or b)chinese junk and seeing that I’m now an adult, it seemed like something a man should have.  I wanted something simple, modern, sharp, and easy to open/close with one hand.  A little searching through Google and YouTube and I found the knife…a SOG Flash 1.

I never really carried a knife before this one.  I had one on my keychain as a boy/teenager from time to time, but the SOG I began carrying and never stopped.  I didn’t realize how often I had need for a knife, until I had one on me 24/7.

It’s not the perfect knife, but it’s pretty stinkin good.  I love the size, the weight, the edge, and probably most of all I love the pocket clip.  It makes me feel like the fastest draw in the west anytime I hear someone say “Anybody got a knife”.

Oh…it’s also made in the USA and has a great warranty.

Get one here: SOG Flash I Straight Edge

There was more than just the boston terrier that I liked about this video though.  The story, the video shooting, the quality all added up to a really nice package.  It was one of the first videos shot with a HDSLR that had that “wow” factor…and it made me want a good video camera too (which I got).

Do I have regrets?  Um…well…that’s a story for a different time…

I’ve been married for 7 years and a homeowner for almost two. For the first 5 years I lived 50 feet from my parents house and therefore had access to a lifetime supply of tools. My father was a high school shop teacher, so he had tools above and beyond the ordinary. At the time I didn’t realize how good I had it. After moving into my own home 30 miles away, I soon realized that my tool collection was sorely lacking and thus began my tool purchasing days. I’ve learned a few things along the way and here’s my top 5 tools that should be at the top of everyone’s list if they’re about to endeavor into home improvement.

1. Measure Twice – If you don’t have at least two tape measures, start here. Believe me. If you do no home improvements at all, you will need this to measure out your house for furniture or hanging pictures on the wall. When we were furniture shopping I pretty much carried a 25′ tape measure with me constantly. You need two simply because they “get lost” from time to time (read: this is something that your spouse will use and won’t put it back!)
2. Step it up – again, it doesn’t matter how many improvements you plan to make…if you hang curtains, paint the walls, or just need to change a light-bulb a step ladder is essential. Depending on your ceiling/personal height you may be fine with a 6′, but a 8′ might be a good option. Aluminum or Fiberglass is also your call…if you plan to do electrical work, go with fiberglass. If you’re a heavier fellow, make sure to get one that’s rated for 300lbs. In my case I have a 6′ aluminum one rated for 250lbs, but I’m 4’5″ and weigh 125lbs.
3. Drill Baby, Drill – I’m really not sure what people did before the invention of the battery operated power drill. It is used constantly in my household. If not for drilling holes, then for screwing, tightening and just speeding up any general screwdriver job. My advice- get the best thing you can afford. I’m not particular to brand names, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Lithium Ion Makita’s. Pricey, but I think worth it.
4. Nail it, Screw it. – I had a hammer, drill, and screwdrivers galore shortly after getting married…but until I moved into my own house (and away from my father’s collection) I didn’t ever have any nails or screws or fasteners of any kind. I remember at least 3-4 occasions after moving into my new house when friends and family would be over helping me with a project and they would say “we just need some screws”…and I would say “I don’t have any”. Kind of embarrassing really. So, go out and buy yourself a few boxes…personally, dry-wall screws go a long way and are useful in a number of situations. If you’re getting ready to start a project, I recommend buying twice as many nails/screws as you need. Inevitably in the future you will need more and it’s a lot more expensive to haul yourself to a hardware store and buy them again.
5. Buy It Once. This isn’t a tool specifically, but it’s probably the most important thing to remember in this list. Jen’s grandfather shared this mantra with her and I’ve found myself echoing it to myself over and over again, often the hard way. Sure you can go into Harbor Freight and buy a ton of tools for really cheap and in some cases, I think that’s fine. BUT for the things that you know you’re going to use for the rest of your life, for tools that are going to have a long, rough life, buy the good stuff. If you don’t, you’ll buy the cheap stuff, it’ll break or won’t work right to begin with and then you’ll buy it again (and again). So it may cost 50% more on the front end, but in the long run it’ll save you.

So, there you go, my list of the tools you need to begin your collection as you endeavor into the world of home-ownership and repair. Did I miss anything? Are there other tools that are vital for you? Let me know in the comments.

While all of this was happening though…I have the distinct feeling that someone at Apple watched the concept video and thought to themselves “We can do that.”  And they did and they called it the iPad.

So, I guess the moral of the story is…if you have an idea and you want to inspire people, make sure you can follow through with it.  Otherwise, you may just inspire your competition.

“You know the Greeks didn’t write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: “Did he have passion?”.

I can’t help but turn that question on myself…do I have passion?  Sometimes I’m not sure of the answer.  Lately though, I’ve been finding these little pieces of art that inspire me.  They give me passion.  Some of them I’ve watched many times and always the same result, I’m driven because of them.  So, here’s to hoping that they might do the same for you:

I’ve watched this one so many times…I love all the clips, they make me smile, they make me want to experience more of life (and to film it)  WARNING: contains some cussing at the end

winter. from gnarly bay productions, Inc. on Vimeo.

I just found this one last night…it’s simple, just a guy and girl and a song.  but the dude just really gives it and I dig that.

Ben & Noelle Kilgore “live at Ida Red” from Kelly Kerr on Vimeo.

This is possibly the best piece of film I’ve seen outside of a theater.  In fact, I’ve probably paid $10 for movies with less plot, worse acting, and worse cinematography than this little gem:

APRICOT — A Short Film by Ben Briand from Moonwalk Films on Vimeo.

This was our first vacation in 6 years of marriage. Sure, we’ve taken time and visited family and our job often calls us to some pretty cool places, but it’s not really vacation…at least not how I think of it. It honestly took about 3-4 days for it to sink into my skull that my only responsibility was to have fun…to do whatever I wanted to do. Slowly the stresses and concerns of everyday life faded away and the enjoyment and pleasure modes kicked in and it turned into one of the best weeks of my life. Unfortunately though, we can’t live there, it’s just not realistic.

But what is?

We’ve been home for a couple days now and I find myself similarly unsettled to the way I was on the first few days of the trip. We spent so much time going and doing fun things, things that we WANTED to do and now that we’re back I’m finding it hard to slip back into my regular routine. Suddenly “relaxing” by watching TV just seems like an escape from the fact that my life isn’t as full as it could or should be. I need adventure…purpose…and pleasure. The difference now is that I’m not thinking about ways to just have fun, instead I’m thinking of ways to work the way I want to work, do the things I want to do, and make enough money so that I have the resources to take a vacation more often than once every 6 years.

The moral of the story is this: It’s time to start doing the things that I’ve put off for far too long. It’s time to turn of the TV, sacrifice a few hours of sleep and live in an adventure that will give me a story to tell.

I just discovered QR Codes. Maybe I’m late to the party, I know I’ve seen them around for a long time, but with the purchase of an iPhone 4 there are a lot of old things that are new again. I won’t bore you too much with all of the technical details of what QR codes are…for that you can head over to wikipedia. This is the simple version- QR codes are basically like barcodes only a lot more complex. They can contain text, URL’s, contact information, geographic locations, and so on. The appeal is that you can grab a large amount of info in the blink of an eye…and that the information is somewhat encrypted without a reader. So, it’s kind of like the old days of invisible ink and decoder pens only a much higher tech version. Of course some of it is somewhat redundant since you could just use bump to transfer contact/facebook info or take a photo of a billboard or product and just google it later…but there’s also a bit of a game attached to QR Codes. We’ll see where it goes, but it could be an interesting technology to use in the future…just as long as there’s no tattooing it on my hand or forehead!