This post was originally posted on December 11, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
Today at work, I mentioned that I had participated in a Future Problem Solving competition and, much to my shock, someone else on my team not only knew what it was, but had also participated in one as well.
When I was in junior high, we lived in Illinois and the Future Problem Solvers Bowl was an after school program where we worked with teams to examine scenarios and work through a problem solving process. We went to regional and statewide competitions where we were presented with a scenario and had to work through the process to develop a solution and then present our conclusion.
When we moved to South Carolina, there wasn’t a Future Problem Solvers Bowl in the state. But in retrospect, I still use many of the tactics that I learned every day.
The Future Problem Solving Process is:
Identify challenges
Select an underlying problem
Produce solution ideas
Generate criteria to judge solutions
Evaluate solutions with criteria
Develop an action plan
It’s basically the foundation of a good design process. And in competition, you learn to apply the process quickly, under pressure, with a team and then present your findings.
I hadn’t thought about Future Problem Solving in years, but in retrospect, I can’t imagine a better foundation for my design career.
Bob Wertz is a creative director, type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. His blogging journey started in 2008 with a Squarespace hosted blog.
This post was originally posted on December 6, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
Two candles.
My wife and I took a trip to Hilton Head a few weeks ago. We got to the resort late, but decided to take a stroll around and check it out anyway. We walked out to the beach.
It was pitch black.
A clear and moonless night. We could barely find our way down the path. (Hilton Head significantly restricts night lighting to protect sea turtles.) We stumbled down the path with our pitifully inadequate iPhone “flashlights.”
We reached the beach and turned our flashlights off. Looking out over the Atlantic Ocean, the stars were brighter than I’ve ever seen in my life. Stunningly beautiful. It was remarkable how much more vibrant the stars were without the distraction of the light from the ground or moonlight.
But as beautiful as the stars were, you couldn’t do anything else but enjoy the night sky. You could hear the waves, but couldn’t see the water. It would have been very challenging to find our way back to the resort without our iPhone flashlights. We almost fell a couple of times looking for the path back.
Focus.
As I reflect on my Advent Resolution, “focus” keeps coming up. How do I focus on the important things and cut back on the distractions? But it’s not as easy as that.
Just like on the beach. When you hit that moment of maximum focus… When you are completely locked in on the stars in front of you… You can’t easily do the other things in life that you need to do.
So while I have goals and objectives for 2016, I’ve got to figure out how to focus without losing sight of the other important things in my life.
I need to figure out how to focus, while still maintaining balance. I think one of the easiest ways to find focus is to minimize the main cause of distraction in my life: My iPhone.
I’m going to experiment with a couple of different things this week:
Changing how and when I use my phone. I’m going to try to minimize my phone use during the day in attempt to focus on the task at hand. That means that I’ll be on social media a lot less, which I also think is a good thing.
Set time to handle emails and administrative tasks. I’m going to try and block some time in the morning, after lunch and at the end of the day for email. And ignore it for the rest of the day. My hope is that I’ll be more focused and effective at the task at hand. We’ll see how it goes. All notifications are off.
No phone use when the kids are around. I want to have time to focus on spending time with them. No Twitter, no Facebook, no random games, no surfing. The only exceptions I’ll make is for things like entering food items into Lose It, taking a picture or adding something to the shopping list. I tried this the other night and it worked well, but I can’t tell you how many times I reached for the phone.
My hope is that these things will allow me to focus on the task in front of me and enjoy the moment of focus. I’ll try it this week and see if it’s something I want to adopt for 2016.
I’m writing about my Advent Resolution. Read the background here.
This post was originally posted on December 5, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
This summer, I got an electric kettle for my birthday and I’m really getting into making tea and french press coffee. I started grinding beans and making coffee in the morning. I love the smell and process of making french press coffee and can’t believe it took me this long to discover it.
My newfound love of coffee at home had a limitation, though. I could never find a travel mug that I like. I always preferred the old school ceramic coffee mug and no travel mug felt like that.
I had a couple of stainless steel mugs, but I didn’t love them. I tried the Tervis tumbler style mugs, but I didn’t like them either. I was looking for a mug that was a little more substantial and didn’t have a plastic lid.
A few weeks ago, I was in Starbucks and noticed a ceramic travel mug. I hadn’t seen a mug quite like it and bought one. It didn’t take me long to figure out that it was exactly what I was looking for so I bought a second one, too.
The Starbucks Double Wall Traveler is a fully ceramic travel mug. Even the lid is ceramic. The lid has a silicone seal to keep the coffee from spilling. It’s heavier than most travel mugs and fits perfectly in my car cup holders. There’s a little rubber circle on the bottom to keep it from sliding around.
There are tradeoffs. It only holds 12 oz. of coffee (but it looks bigger than that). You can’t microwave it and they recommend washing by hand. But none of those issues are a problem for me.
The designs that I bought aren’t available online right now, although the Navy one is similar to the first one I purchased. Starbucks seems to continuously add and retire designs. There are a couple of nice designs in the store right now that weren’t available a couple of months ago.
If you are looking to give a gift this holiday season for a coffee-loving loved one, these mugs might be a cool gift.
This post was originally posted on December 4, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
At the very end of October, I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, an “event” where you commit to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. I started an account. I joined the local Facebook group. I was excited. I had an idea. I was ready to write.
In fact, I was going to write here about the experience of writing a novel.
As I started to read the advice from others, I realized that they had been planning for months. Working on outlines. Character concepts. They had a plan. I only had an idea. I was not ready to write.
No worries, I thought. I’ll rough together an outline quickly. Make some decisions about characters and I’ll catch up.
I never did.
This week marks the end of NaNoWriMo and I have virtually nothing written. My first attempt at NaNoWriMo* was a complete and total failure, although I have a sweet outline and a couple of (very bad) chapters.
But this failure was one of the driving concepts behind The Advent Resolution. If you aren’t prepared to tackle big goals, they won’t happen. And if you never set aside time to prepare, you’ll never be comfortable setting those ambitious goals.
I’ve got a lot of goals and ideas for the next year. I’m too often guilty of trying to tackle them all at the same time. Right now, I’m trying to work out which projects I will tackle and which ones will stay on the shelf.
So I’m committing this first week of Advent to thinking about focus. Wondering how to tackle these goals while still being a great dad and a husband. I’m reflecting on the influences in my life that strengthen and sustain me. I’m trying to remember how to focus in a multitasking world.
We’ll see where it leads me.
The Advent Resolution is simple: Prayerfully prepare for the coming year.
* I plan to try again. Next time, though, I’ll actually be prepared.
This post was originally posted on December 3, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
When I purchased my second fountain pen, I started to think about purchasing a case to hold my pens, but I wasn’t impressed with most of the options on the market. They didn’t really fit my style and needs.
Finally, I came across cases from Nock Co., co-owned by Brad Dowdy from the Pen Addict podcast. Their cases were exactly what I was looking for. I also love that Nock Co. is located a few hours down I-20 from me in Atlanta* and all of their products are manufactured in the USA.
BRASSTOWN, closed
I was instantly drawn to the Brasstown, a durable nylon case zippered case with a fold out insert that holds six pens. (Material-wise, it reminds me of my beloved Timbuktu messenger bag.) The Brasstown looked perfect, but it seemed like overkill for my two pens so I ended up not buying anything.
Fast forward a few months and my collection of writing instruments had grown. I started looking for a case again, and this time, the Brasstown made sense.
Nock offers their cases in a selection of “colorways” — pairings of colors that span across all their products. I liked a couple of the options, but wasn’t sure which one to get. When I finally decided to order, though, all of the Brasstowns were out of stock.
After a couple of weeks, they restocked – and this time – with a new colorway: Red/Midnight. I instantly fell in love and ordered one.
On the Red/Midnight Brasstown, the outside of the case is a bright red with a navy blue insert. The insert is sewn into the case and unrolls to reveal six slots. Each slot holds a single fountain pen but you can fit two smaller pens into each pocket if you want to.
The stitching is gray and looks sharp, especially on the navy insert. The zipper has two sliders and seems sturdy.
Brasstown, Open
I was pleasantly surprised by how much the Brasstown holds. As expected, it easily holds my three fountain pens, my mechanical pencils and a couple of gel pens. But you can also put other pens and accessories in the main compartment. I’ve got mechanical pencil lead, erasers and more in the bag. And there is plenty of room for more. I can’t imagine ever needing another bag.**
The Brasstown is $35 and I highly recommend one if you are looking for a larger case to tote around your precious writing instruments. I’m very happy with mine.
(If the Brasstown is too big for you, check out some of Nock Co.’s other options. The Chimneytop and Lookout are different approaches, but also look awesome.)
* Their cases are named for mountains in Georgia. Nice touch.
** If they ever release a black/neon green or garnet/black colorway, I’ll be buying the entire line.
This post was originally posted on November 29, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
One candle
I’m a big fan of the season of Advent — the time in the church year where we wait and prepare for Christ to come. I remember opening Advent calendars when I was young, counting down the days to Christmas. Advent is also the beginning of the church year – the liturgical New Year’s Day.
Last year, I got this idea to make my New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of Advent.* It’s the beginning of the church year so I figured I’d make some appropriate resolutions for the “new” year and get a jump on 2015. But my “Advent Resolution” didn’t seem right. Advent’s about preparing and waiting. Starting my “New Year’s Resolutions” on the first Sunday in Advent was just taking action a month earlier. I never got around to making any “Advent Resolutions” last year.
This year, Advent starts on November 29. And I’ve got a plan. I’m going to use the start of the church new year to prepare for the calendar new year.
The Advent Resolution is simply this: Prayerfully prepare for the coming year.
I resolve to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider how to change the things I want to change in 2016. Then, take action on New Year’s Day.**
I’m not limiting this time of reflection to spiritual or religious changes. Everything is on the table. Diet, exercise, personal growth… pretty much anything. I’ll research and pray and think and write and plan. And when 2016 rolls around, I’ll be ready to act.
I’m excited to start my Advent journey. I’ll be writing about it and will post thoughts and reflections here.
* A quick Google search indicates that using Advent as “New Year” for religious resolutions has been done before…
** Advent ends on Christmas Day. So I suppose that I should start my New Year’s Resolutions on December 25. For various reasons, that would be difficult, so I’m starting January 1.
This post was originally posted on November 18, 2015 on Sketchbook B. It’s reposted here as part of a project to move some of my favorite writing to my new site.
NOTE: While this page may have useful insights, be aware that it was published more than 10 years ago and may not be relevant for current software versions.
I don’t think I’ve ever posted a tip for Adobe Acrobat, but I found something this week that was amazingly helpful.
I had a large file with many pages that I needed to email. (Dropbox and other sharing services weren’t an option for this client. Only email.) I needed to divide the PDF into several smaller PDFs. There are many ways to do this, but most require some trial and error.
I stumbled across a feature in Acrobat that lets you split a PDF into multiple files and allows you to set a maximum file size for each resulting file.
NOTE: I’m writing this tip about the current version of Acrobat that is included with Creative Cloud. The Adobe Acrobat DC (2015) interface is wacky and a radical departure from everything else Adobe makes.* It’s closer to the current version of Microsoft Office than Creative Cloud.
Open your massive PDF and then click “Tools” at the top of the open window. You’ll come to a page with lots of icons for editing functions. Select “Organize Pages” from the “Create & Edit” grouping.
Select “Organize Pages” from the top row.
At the top of the window, you will now have an button for “Spilt.” Clicking “Split” opens up a row below with more options. By default, Acrobat will split your document into multiple files with an equal number of pages, but if you select the “Number of Pages” combo box, you get additional options: “File size” and “Top level bookmarks.”
The toolbar for “Organize Pages” has the “Split” command.
Choose file size and then set your maximum file size. Click the split button and the separated files will be saved to your desktop.
The options button for the “Split” row gives you complete control of how and where the files are saved. So if you need to use a particular naming convention or have Acrobat save the new file to a specific directory, you can make those changes there.
If you absolutely need to email a PDF and compressing or downsampling the file isn’t an option for you, then “Split” will absolutely save you time.
* I’ve been told the Acrobat team and the Creative Cloud team are completely separate. It looks like it.
