Two non-sports related articles in one day?! Who are we kidding... if the blazers, dodgers, or oregon ducks arent playing... Is the world ACTUALLY turning? Here at the Dodger blog we are always trying to get better in the off season. So lets be savvy and productive while we wait for another day of meaningful sports...
Frank Addante, CEO of Rubicon Project, came up with this list of his favorite productivity tools.
1. SaneBox: Smart Email Filtering Tool
SaneBox uses advanced algorithms to organize your email into low and high priority buckets. It works with any email client, email service or device. I was slightly hesitant about handing over control of my inbox, but I honestly don’t know how I ever lived without it. SaneBox has saved me hours of time and works amazingly well.
Check your @SaneLater folder (low priority email) twice a day and mail from senders you don’t want to hear from again to @SaneBlackHole.
http://www.sanebox.com
2. Evernote (Organizes your notes):
Evernote stores your notes in the cloud and makes them accessible from any computer or device.
Tips: Evernote is for business and personal use. I use it to take all of my meeting notes and jot down general personal items. I also use Evernote to scan/fax important documents that I need to keep on hand. Evernote is also helpful for keeping track of project notes and critical documents such as driver’s license, passport, insurance documents, etc.
3. Consolidate your social networks: HootSuite
This website allows you to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yammer, and others all from one place.
Tips: I tend to have pockets of time when I can read and post on social media. Try HootSuite's new "auto schedule" feature, so you can spread out your posts and don't flood your networks with many in a row.
4. Store your documents in the cloud: Google Drive
While many people talk about Dropbox and Box, we are extremely bullish on Google Drive. You can securely file away your digital documents in the cloud, so you can find and work on them from any computer or mobile device later. Plus, it seamlessly integrates with Google Apps.
Tips: We create a specific Google Drive folder for every client with the same sub-folders every time. This serves as our document and project management tool, plus Google Drive allows us to share specific files or documents with specific people.
5. Assemble your travel plans: TripIt
TripIt files all your itineraries in one place. You can even have it automatically send your itineraries to your significant other, kids, or always-worried mom. The Pro version alerts you of flight delays and gate changes.
Tips: Download the mobile app and put it on your home screen. Create a contact for plans@tripit.com and forward all itineraries to that contact.
Read more on Inc.com
What are your favorite productivity tools? Do you have specific tools for web and mobile?
Friday, December 20, 2013
SaneBox | Email Reinvented
This has NOTHING to do with baseball, but it could quickly become Americas next pastime...
I’ve been using email for most of my life. As I've evolved from a kid needing email strictly for filling out promotional forms, shipping info, or social networking login credentials, to a busy young professional who does most of his communication via email, email has evolved as well. It has improved in 3 key ways during that time:
mobile access
threading/conversations
search
But it’s still a mess, probably more so today than ever before (especially for those like me who have run their email address through the meat grinder of the internet). An average person spends about 28% of their time processing email, and virtually everyone continues to fight with their inbox every day. Just look at the number of folks trying to achieve inbox zero.
A little while ago a close friend of mine, who's pretty much always turning me on to the next cool thing in tech, told me about a product that would save me from email. And after trying it, I've been saved. Hallelujah.
The product is called SaneBox. You know how they say 'coolest thing since sliced bread'? This is the coolest thing since EMAIL started.
SaneBox does a number of things. It looks at your relationship with your emails and decides what’s important to you based on your past behavior. It then moves your unimportant emails out of your Inbox into a separate folder, and summarizes them in a digest. It’s smart, it evolves and it’s done automatically.
SaneBox does other stuff too (lets you unsubscribe with 1 click, snooze non-urgent emails until later, etc) but those are the killer features for me. Best of all, everything works anywhere you check your email (on any provider or device) just by adding a folder, instead of forcing me to use another website or app. And if SaneBox makes a mistake, I can just move the email to the correct folder to train it.
Soooooo... if you’re anything like me and you'd like to read your emails without being pestered by the son of the deposed king of Nigeria, then I suggest you give SaneBox a try.
I’ve been using email for most of my life. As I've evolved from a kid needing email strictly for filling out promotional forms, shipping info, or social networking login credentials, to a busy young professional who does most of his communication via email, email has evolved as well. It has improved in 3 key ways during that time:
mobile access
threading/conversations
search
But it’s still a mess, probably more so today than ever before (especially for those like me who have run their email address through the meat grinder of the internet). An average person spends about 28% of their time processing email, and virtually everyone continues to fight with their inbox every day. Just look at the number of folks trying to achieve inbox zero.
A little while ago a close friend of mine, who's pretty much always turning me on to the next cool thing in tech, told me about a product that would save me from email. And after trying it, I've been saved. Hallelujah.
The product is called SaneBox. You know how they say 'coolest thing since sliced bread'? This is the coolest thing since EMAIL started.
SaneBox does a number of things. It looks at your relationship with your emails and decides what’s important to you based on your past behavior. It then moves your unimportant emails out of your Inbox into a separate folder, and summarizes them in a digest. It’s smart, it evolves and it’s done automatically.
SaneBox does other stuff too (lets you unsubscribe with 1 click, snooze non-urgent emails until later, etc) but those are the killer features for me. Best of all, everything works anywhere you check your email (on any provider or device) just by adding a folder, instead of forcing me to use another website or app. And if SaneBox makes a mistake, I can just move the email to the correct folder to train it.
Soooooo... if you’re anything like me and you'd like to read your emails without being pestered by the son of the deposed king of Nigeria, then I suggest you give SaneBox a try.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
So this is what rock bottom feels like....
Dodgers mount a come back and fall short. Dodgers outhit their opponent and still lose. Dodgers starter keeps the game winnable, Dodgers bullpen blows game. Adrian Gonzalez fights through injury to contribute and its still not enough. 2/3 of the outfield gets hits and steals bases while Andre Ethier just gets to be plain terrible.
No matter how many times we've seen this team have various positives , there's always been a charcoal lining in 2013. In the month of May there has been only one unavoidable truth: The Dodgers lose.
It's like watching a sad movie you've seen before. You know it's gonna suck soon but you sacrifice your well being to see the entire thing through. You sit in front of your TV for hours while the few happy parts entertain you and remind you why you love this movie, all the while distracting you from the inevitable unhappy conclusion that you somehow forgot about completely.
The Dodgers 21st loss of the season was their 8th consecutive heartbreak of the month. An all too familiar result for a franchise that has lost any semblance of home field advantage in 2013. Their 7-12 home record at Chavez Ravine is the 3rd worst in the entire MLB and is the only home record in their division below .555. In a division that has annually become a tightly contested dog fight, the Dodgers (13-21) have already put themselves at the back of the pack and on a leash. 2nd best On Base Percentage in the sport, 2nd lowest run total... alot of bark, no bite.
In a year where the front office was curiously mum on the status of Don Mattingly, they have become even more non committal as the mounting losses have shaken the confidence of everyone including the man himself during his unsettling post game interviews. While president Stan Kasten refuses to show his cards, I cant help but think hes already made up his mind to keep things the way they are. If it didnt look as if Mattingly was on the hot seat after last season, he sure must be now. When it comes to Donnie Baseball the prevailing sentiment is that he's a pretty calm guy that doesn't lose his cool when things get tough (MVP's tend to be that way). Most notably, players love to play for him. But considering they haven't ever been a team with the clutch gene or one that has gotten even remotely close to playoff contention since he took the reigns, it's a curious sentiment...
Jon Heyman put it perfectly when he tweeted:
After this tweet, AJ Ellis did his AJ-thing and had an RBI single in the 8th inning, but like we've all come to expect was stranded at 3rd base when Dee Gordon grounded out to end the threat, and essentially the Dodgers evening. And on an night where all the emotional debris floats to the surface of our collective Dodger-conscious, the exhale comes a little easier knowing that it can't get much worse.
And now you're thinking ...
"Oh really Reis? It's always darkest before the dawn?! Thats all you've got for us!? The most pessimistic Dodger fan on twitter is gonna conclude his once-a-month blog post with the 'hey it has to get better' mantra?!!??!!??"
You'll be happy to know that this 8-game losing streak has only strengthened my jaded thoughts to new heights. This year's combination of health issues, lack of clutchness, and head scratching roster management has left me both angry and happy at the same time. A bizarre malaise of numbness and frustration that allows me to turn on Dodger games each night to cap my day with a torturous act of self loathing.
As anyone who follows me knows, I'm still concerned with whether Don Mattingly is the guy who can get this team to the promise land based upon his unsuccessful albeit brief run as dodgers skipper. The front office has painstakingly clung to the "let's see what he can do with a healthy roster", while the court of public opinion is that eventually this falls on the players.
Regardless of what or who is to blame... (I say it's the depth issues brought on by Ned Colletti's apparent lack for long term vision) the point is that the sad movie has played 8 nights in a row. I haven't been able to turn it off and it's getting to the point where I'm not even noticing the good parts anymore (yea... I had to be informed by Vin Scully Matt Kemp has a 9-game hitting streak going on).
Well respected sports psychologist and good friend Dr. Kenneth Hartline tweeted a nice little uplifting note my way this evening:
Which brings me to my final point... This is rock bottom. It's not as cold as I'd though it'd be... Wait never mind. Booze gives a false sense of warmth.
No matter how many times we've seen this team have various positives , there's always been a charcoal lining in 2013. In the month of May there has been only one unavoidable truth: The Dodgers lose.
It's like watching a sad movie you've seen before. You know it's gonna suck soon but you sacrifice your well being to see the entire thing through. You sit in front of your TV for hours while the few happy parts entertain you and remind you why you love this movie, all the while distracting you from the inevitable unhappy conclusion that you somehow forgot about completely.
The Dodgers 21st loss of the season was their 8th consecutive heartbreak of the month. An all too familiar result for a franchise that has lost any semblance of home field advantage in 2013. Their 7-12 home record at Chavez Ravine is the 3rd worst in the entire MLB and is the only home record in their division below .555. In a division that has annually become a tightly contested dog fight, the Dodgers (13-21) have already put themselves at the back of the pack and on a leash. 2nd best On Base Percentage in the sport, 2nd lowest run total... alot of bark, no bite.
In a year where the front office was curiously mum on the status of Don Mattingly, they have become even more non committal as the mounting losses have shaken the confidence of everyone including the man himself during his unsettling post game interviews. While president Stan Kasten refuses to show his cards, I cant help but think hes already made up his mind to keep things the way they are. If it didnt look as if Mattingly was on the hot seat after last season, he sure must be now. When it comes to Donnie Baseball the prevailing sentiment is that he's a pretty calm guy that doesn't lose his cool when things get tough (MVP's tend to be that way). Most notably, players love to play for him. But considering they haven't ever been a team with the clutch gene or one that has gotten even remotely close to playoff contention since he took the reigns, it's a curious sentiment...
Jon Heyman put it perfectly when he tweeted:
#dodgers players love donnie baseball, but have funny way of showing it. team cant hit w/ risp. 7 straights Ls. down 5-3.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) May 11, 2013
After this tweet, AJ Ellis did his AJ-thing and had an RBI single in the 8th inning, but like we've all come to expect was stranded at 3rd base when Dee Gordon grounded out to end the threat, and essentially the Dodgers evening. And on an night where all the emotional debris floats to the surface of our collective Dodger-conscious, the exhale comes a little easier knowing that it can't get much worse.
And now you're thinking ...
"Oh really Reis? It's always darkest before the dawn?! Thats all you've got for us!? The most pessimistic Dodger fan on twitter is gonna conclude his once-a-month blog post with the 'hey it has to get better' mantra?!!??!!??"
You'll be happy to know that this 8-game losing streak has only strengthened my jaded thoughts to new heights. This year's combination of health issues, lack of clutchness, and head scratching roster management has left me both angry and happy at the same time. A bizarre malaise of numbness and frustration that allows me to turn on Dodger games each night to cap my day with a torturous act of self loathing.
As anyone who follows me knows, I'm still concerned with whether Don Mattingly is the guy who can get this team to the promise land based upon his unsuccessful albeit brief run as dodgers skipper. The front office has painstakingly clung to the "let's see what he can do with a healthy roster", while the court of public opinion is that eventually this falls on the players.
Regardless of what or who is to blame... (I say it's the depth issues brought on by Ned Colletti's apparent lack for long term vision) the point is that the sad movie has played 8 nights in a row. I haven't been able to turn it off and it's getting to the point where I'm not even noticing the good parts anymore (yea... I had to be informed by Vin Scully Matt Kemp has a 9-game hitting streak going on).
Well respected sports psychologist and good friend Dr. Kenneth Hartline tweeted a nice little uplifting note my way this evening:
Which brings me to my final point... This is rock bottom. It's not as cold as I'd though it'd be... Wait never mind. Booze gives a false sense of warmth.
Monday, April 1, 2013
"A Whole New Blue"
"A whole new blue"... The official slogan of the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers. One that I began to think hard about in the last 6 months, as the billboard campaign littered the skyline of the LA footprint. As if the term "whole" is supposed to somewhat imply we are going to see an entirely diffent entity arrive on their Monday afternoon opening game. Wouldn't "all in" or "its go time" be more fitting? Forgive me if I won't be counted among the dizzying masses who have become entirely enamored by the facelifts that the Dodgers have received both throughout their stadium as well as on their roster.
The might of the "whole new blue" check book is pretty incredible. Stan Kasten and his band of merry men have spent the last calendar year going about their financial business with the type of moral hazard that only Gordon Gecko could dream of. The scary (yet plausible) thought of this "whole new blue" roster not having a chemistry capable of winning baseball games is almost immediately greeted with the notion that this franchise has no qualms with absorbing bloated contracts of any underachieving stars, if it means making a trade. And the whole new blue will stay new. The budding young Cuban named Yasiel Puig tore through spring training, batting over .500 and making the big check the Dodgers wrote last year seem like a bargain. Adding depth to a team that has three all-star outfielders. Unfortunately they are the same three guys that make ALOT of money and each have struggled staying healthy in the past few seasons. If healthy, big things could come fast. If not healthy or just plain not productive, this outfield could give the front office a lot of thinking to do. At which point the whole new blue way of spending will have to be launched into full effect. And we might still be going through the same mind numbing time we had during the stretch run of 2012.
Dodger stadium is still the 3rd oldest stadium in MLB, but according to some of the more recent tweets of players like Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez, you can't tell from the inside. I spent an entire summer in the old dodgers clubhouse (2011) and I can tell you for a certainty that even the reported $100 million spent on all of the stadium's 2013 upgrades had to have been spent very wisely to open up the square footage for the type of amenities they claim to have installed. Think of the nicest gym or sports club you've seen and then imagine trying to fit it into the cupboard under the stairs that Harry Potter lived in. The franchise did a decent job of documenting the excavation and construction with a few clips and pics throughout the winter but they could have honestly just contracted the work out to one of those reality home makeover shows. Getting the job done just under the wire of opening day (The paint is reportedly still drying in the visitors clubhouse). The kind of work that was done in the last few months to have that place ready for a "whole new blue" living standard should have warranted a camera crew!
Speaking of reality TV, the biggest concern for this "whole new blue" roster is that the LA media could fuel the fire that may ignite from a less than stellar start. Remember what happened when the Miami Marlins put together their expensive team, on a fresh new field, in a shiny new house? It was a season full of speculation and doubt, with the athletes, management and front office "pressing" at every step. Eventually it turned into a total circus and that was in only the 16th largest media market. Not to mention their coach was not in the final year of his contract as Don Mattingly is. Try imagining that same exact scenario playing out in the #2 market in the country (where some paparazzi drive nicer cars than a lot of us) but with TMZ.
If I say any more then you might just think I'm feeling pessimistic about this "whole new blue" season... In fact I'm not feeling so at all. I actually feel that (with the exception of Hanley Ramirez's wrist injury in the WBC) this Dodgers franchise finally has a roster that doesn't have a glaring weakness that jumps off the page and screams "This team won't make the playoffs!" The type of "blue" that we all got very used to feeling, seeing and being for the last 3 seasons doesn't seem to be the tone coming out of spring training. The reality is that there's a big chance that the Dodgers pitching and power could carry them all the way into early November...
Unless it doesn't and the same franchise with the same incessant problems rears its ugly head for another season. Then we'll really be feeling "a whole new blue". And you can be sure that TMZ will be asking Mattingly about his job security.
But again... I'm not feeling pessimistic. I'm just not ready to call this an entirely different franchise quite yet. Which makes this franchises 2013 slogan slightly over optimistic. Not until all the money spent and new faces gathered have found a winning formula and chemistry that we all get to share in. Until then it's the same story with a different cast. Magic Johnson, Guggenheim group chose Stan Kasten to play the Ray Cansella role in the proverbial "field of dreams" story this past year at Chavez Ravine. Everyone said "if you build it, we will come ..." Well, the roster has been built. "It's a whole new blue." The renovations have been built. "It's a whole new blue." And most importantly, Monday marks the start of this franchise' opportunity to ease our pain and make the last 3 years a distant memory. Then and only then will we know its a whole new blue...
The Dodger Blog is back for 2013, and appreciates all of its new and returning followers.
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