Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Manage your email

Here are some links for managing email (both those you have and those you send)

For those of you who sometimes have problems managing email, it can seem like you spend more time doing less work. Below are a number of resources for various aspects of managing email, from getting your own inbox under control, to making sure other people respond to you emails.
My own system involves:
  • Mozilla Thunderbird as the email program,
    • three filters:
      • One to gray out anything not addressed to me
      • Two to send email from two distribution lists (Teachers of Psychology, Tomorrow's Professor) immediately into their own folder (I can catch up once a week)
  • When I send a message, it is bcc'ed to my gmail account, so I have an easily searchable archive of what I have sent.
  • UVA's greylisting service

Two guides for getting your inbox under control:
http://www.43folders.com/izero/

http://www.lifehacker.com/software/getting-to-done/getting-to-done-communication-a-guide-to-email-triage-156948.php

Email overload (lots of information about handling email)
http://itzy.wordpress.com/

like: how to keep track of overdue responses:
http://itzy.wordpress.com/2006/02/06/how-to-keep-track-of-overdue-responses/#more-15

"Googling" your emails
http://www.smileycat.com/miaow/archives/000168.html

Color code messages that are addressed to you
For thunderbird
http://carl.evankovich.com/2006/03/02/color-code-email-messages/
For outlook
http://itzy.wordpress.com/2005/12/27/how-to-color-code-your-messages/

Saturday, February 25, 2006

National Archives video online

Google video is putting video from the National Archives online for all to use. Pretty cool idea, except it is a little buggy right now. WWII newsreels, NASA films, and films from the departmet of the Interior are up for the first round.

http://video.google.com/nara.html

from lifehacker

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Harry Frankfurt "On Bullshit"

Video interview from Harry Frankfurt - author of "On Bullshit"
This interview is two tweed jacket academic talking heads, sitting in front of stacks of books, talking about bullshit.
Both hilarious and insightful.
http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/video/frankfurt/

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Free information from your phone

1800 555-TELL gives you all sorts of information from your phone
(directions, news, sports scores, etc)
1800-FREE-411 offers free 411 services.

For each, you may have to listen to a brief ad, but it is unlikely.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

23 Uses for your thumb drive

Useful article from PC World on what you can do to soup up your little ol' USB drive
link

One example: TO synchronize between computer and drive, use the Microsoft Windows XP SyncToy

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Free online stock photos for presentations

Tired of clip art? Google Images not giving you what you want?
Try this link for a list of places that provide free images
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2006/01/where_can_you_f.html


from lifehacker

Friday, January 06, 2006

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Fun with Photoshop

The website fark.com has a photoshop contest every now and then. Some of them are great.
I like this one :

Here is the link for all of them:

Monday, January 02, 2006

Attn: Amazon shoppers

Amazon has a price guarantee such that if an item you buy goes down in price anytime within 30 days, you are entitled to the difference in price. All you have to do is email them, and they mail you a check. See this link for a more thorough explanation
But that would mean you would have to check back on the prices of things you bought, which is a hassle.
There is a nice website that will track this for you:
http://www.refundplease.com
So, for each item you purchase just enter in the price, the ISBN (for books) or the ASN (for everything else) and your email address, and they will tell you if the price drops. Pretty handy.