Simplicity Rules

Adam DuVander on keeping it simple

What does “simplicity” mean to you?

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Laws of Simplicity booksThe more I explore simplicity, I realize it means different things to other people. Or maybe, from many angles, simplicity can look different.

Tell everybody what simplicity means to you! Can it be achieved? Is it easy or hard? Any great examples? Do you have a simplicity mantra?

Add your comment below. If you have a blog, send a trackback to this post. There could be a free book in it for you. John Maeda was kind enough to sign a few copies of his book, Laws of Simplicity for me. I’m giving them away to random commenters and trackbackers.

In December I wrote a series of posts based on this book. It’s a quick read full of great ideas. And it could be free if you enter by January 15.

Based on my last book giveaway, you’ll have a great chance to earn a free book. So, what does “simplicity” mean to you?

Portland loves the Web

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I get the feeling that 2007 is going to give 2006 some real competition in terms of Web advances. I think Portland will see it more than most places. People here are idealistic and creative. There’s no better combination.

The trouble has been getting them together, but even that’s easier. For one, Portland Web Innovators, a group that has been meeting since early ’06. We’ll be discussing the coming year at our meeting this Wednesday. In Portland? Please come!

There’s also a group planning a Portland BarCamp.

And the Portland Podcasting Group expanded to cover all social media.

For more of this sort of thing, see my Portland Web groups. And if you live in Portland, please get involved. It’s going to be a great year.

SpamSieve is my Bayesian lover

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SpamSieve logo
At the November Portland Web Innovators meeting, someone complained about Spam. Then Ray said he’d been trying out SpamSieve, a Bayesian filter for Apple’s Mail, and it worked great.

The next morning (9:22, according to SpamSieve’s statistics) I installed the free trial and gave it a whirl. By the next day, I was sold. There are 150 Spam messages per day that I don’t have to see. The accuracy of its filtering is over 99%.

I’m told Apple will put Bayesian filtering in their next release of Mail. For me, I couldn’t wait after seeing what SpamSieve can do.

Always on vacation (or never taking a break)

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I just got back to Oregon from a trip down to see family in California. I’m pretty lucky to not be required to hurry back, since I don’t have a real job.

I got coal in my stocking! (It’s gum, really):
I got coal

While I relaxed with my family, I kept in daily touch to make sure everything was a-okay with my work. This sort of flex time takes the new human resources trick of floating work hours a step farther. Rick Turoczy calls it unlimited vacation for everyone. Of course, it’s not really unlimited, but the idea is to set up a system where people work on their projects, not just put in their time.

That’s how I work. If I didn’t produce, it would be obvious. My stuff wouldn’t get done. Of course, this sometimes means that I work into the evenings, or go into the office for half a Saturday. I think it more than makes up for itself with the flexibility elsewhere.

Some people won’t want to work this way, but many superstars will. If I was in HR, I’d be talking to department managers to see whether they’d be willing to try it out.