Ideas from Mark Stout

I just realized I never mentioned the video I shot two years ago of my ride in a Ford Tri-motor when it came to the Manassas, Virginia airport. I shot it entirely through Google Glass. The aircraft is operated by the EAA and regularly tours the country offering rides .

Evernote today announced changes it to various pricing plans.   They maintain a free plan, and are now limiting use of Evernote to two devices.  Uploads are capped at 60 megabytes a month.   The Evernote Plus level is  $3.99/month or $34.99/year. It offers a full gigabyte of uploads a month, and unlimited devices. And it supports offline use. Evernote Premium is  $7.99/month or $69.99/year and  gives you all that, and indexes Word and PDF documents. Its photo capabilities includes turning business cards into contacts, and use their presentation abilities.   Check out this page for comparison of the various plans . Initial reactions at Reddit.com are leaning negative.   If the comments are truly representative, and not just the dissatisfied commenting first, Evernote might be in trouble. Personally, I feel the Evernote Plus level is suitable for most, and the price is not unreasonable.  And the Basic level is suitable to introdu...

Parents and teachers know kids lose scholarly momentum over the summer, and research backs them up. Certain kinds of summer camps go a long way to keep the brain’s synapses firing. They are expensive and most parents can only afford a week or two, if they can afford it at all. And by now it may be too late to sign up for good camps anyway. How can we keep young brains firing on all cylinders so students can hit the ground running when back in school in late August? I recently came across a website listing 1,800 online courses.  Class-Central.com  does not provide the courses but lists courses produced by universities like Harvard, Stanford and Princeton, and companies such as Google and Facebook. High school students, maybe even some middle schoolers, can watch these videos to get a feel for subjects they are interested in. Even if they do not finish an entire course, it will get them thinking. And it is a wonderful way to dip their toes into subjects they may want to major in...

For years I have used steno pads, filling them with notes of my day, phone numbers, lists, things to do and details of projects.  When I was at work, or anytime I was away from my apartment, I tried to carry a pocket notebook. The notes I took in the smaller notebook did not always make it to the steno pad. And then there was the challenge of finding a specific note. I suppose that is why I have been such a big fan of Evernote. It may surprise many to learn I actually use another app on my phone more than Evernote. Google Keep and Evernote are the two most popular of a legion of smartphone, desktop and web apps for note taking. I began using Evernote on my PC in 2008. Today, I have more than 23,000 notes in it. Evernote has been really good about making apps for Android and iPhones, as well as other portable devices. Google Keep came out in 2013. It was almost toy-like to Evernote’s behemoth. It was colorful, fast and designed primarily for use on a phone, although there ...

For years I worked for a company competing against Microsoft Project. When I saw this announcement of Microsoft Planner , I thought perhaps it was a new version of Project. The article  I read said instead it was more along the lines of Trello.  It looks to me from watching the video below that is more akin to Slack, or at least what I understand Slack to be. Updated 6/7/16 : correct video inserted

It is with sadness we note the passing last night of Muhammad Ali.  Definitely one of the best boxers of the Twentieth Century, but I'll always remember him for his wonderful self marketing. He had a genius for promoting himself.  He stands with entertainers like Madonna who probably learned from him. He had a huge personality, and let it shine through.  And underneath his competitiveness and the roughness necessary to his sport, he was a kind man. Here is a wonderful moment from Allen Funt's Candid Camera program where they asked kids what they would do if they met The Champ.  What they didn't know was he was standing behind them. The best of these begins a minute and 58 seconds in. You can watch the entire video below, or click the link to have it begin at that point.  As Funt says you'll see "Five seconds in a life of a kid he'll never forget".  I'll bet that man now probably in his 50s is remembering today. Link to 1:58 seco...