When I began consulting for Amaral Maia Sociedade de Advogados, located over 1,000 km away from me, many of my customers were already remote. But this was the first time a CEO told me something so special.
Even though it was a long project, the CEO and co-founder, Antonio Maia and I only met in person at the 2014 Evernote Conference. That’s when he told me that I was always more present than his other suppliers from across the city. I always believed in building strong relationships with my clients, regardless of distance, so this was such a lovely compliment to receive.
The consulting project with Amaral Maia Sociedade de Advogados was selected by Evernote for my presentation at the conference, which you can watch below.
Evernote Trunk Conference 2012
There are so many good things happening at this moment in my life. Not only am I currently writing a book about Evernote, but I was recently selected to join the companies’s Ambassador program. And then the unimaginable happened. I was invited to the 2012 edition of the Evernote Trunk Conference. This is such an honor.
It’s great to be here, but it could have been an entirely different outcome. My US visa was valid, but my passport was expired. The issue I faced was that Evernote’s invitation was extended just a few weeks before the event, so I had very little time to go through the process of renewing my passport. I got it two days before the trip, so I think you can imagine how stressed I was.
Anyway, after that holster of emotions, there I was at the Concourse Exhibition Center & Trade Show Facility. It was great to be among so many enthusiasts like me.
Blending Analog and Digital
Listening to Phil Libin share his ideas and vision for the product was a fantastic experience, but there was more. The announcement of the Moleskin partnership happened in such a clever way. When we got back to the conference room, we found this envelope with the words “Do not open.”
After listening to Arrigo Berni, the CEO of Moleskin, we were finally introduced to this new product. The Evernote camera will “understand” stickers that come with the Evernote Moleskin, automatically save them to a preselected notebook, and even add tags. I can’t wait to use this and share my thoughts.
And to top it all off, I managed to snap a pic with Phil Libin before I headed out. It was such a great day. Thank you, Evernote, for inviting me! I loved every minute of every moment of it.
MacGyvering a broken suitcase.
The plan was to contrast two realities that couldn’t be more far apart, by spending a couple of days in Berlin after our long journey across India by train.
It’s January, and since the weather was the opposite in both countries, we had to bring two very different types of clothes. That’s why we are traveling with a suitcase that isn’t the appropriate size for trains.
Long story short, always dragging it sideways on train hallways and then pulling it on the rough terrain around the stations damaged the wheels and turned it into a limping suitcase. Although it was far worse than driving with a flat tier, it didn’t make sense to fix it because it would break again. But now that we are in Berlin, I decided to take a look at the situation.
I thought the wheels were just jammed, but that wasn’t the case. Two of them lost almost all of their bearing spheres, and there’s no way I can fix that with the tools I brought with me.
After some investigation, I was able to dismantle the axle and reposition one good wheel on each side. I was happy to have a working rolling suitcase again, but the wheels were too loose and that was not going to last long. The solution was to MacGyver it by cutting pieces of a pen barrel, which I used as a spacer. And that worked like a charm.
This was going to be our first time in Germany, so as we purchased the tickets, I started thinking about all the delicious beers I would be trying. Fast-forward to arriving at the hotel, and things couldn’t be more perfect. There’s a grocery store waiting for me across the street.
My wife went for the healthy food, while I started browsing the enticing options available in the beverages' aisle. A good while later, I met her at the cashier, bringing with me a single bottle of Heineken.
—What happened?
—The German ones are too expensive. I’m not paying all that for a beer, even a German one.
—How expensive?
—Very!
She couldn’t believe it, and we both went back to check it out. “What do you mean by expensive?” she asked while showing me different options that cost less than 1 euro.
I was so overwhelmed by all the options and so many tags, ads, and other information in front of me that I could only see the packs prices. It was a terrible moment for a case of tunnel vision. There were many possible reasons, but it was most likely the Indian currency we’d been dealing with during the first half of the trip.
Finally realizing my mistake, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. We both laughed, and I grabbed a few bottles.
The intricate task of replacing the iBook G4 hard disk.
First, I connected the new disk to the Mac via USB, and with the help of Carbon Copy Cloner, I created a perfect copy of the old disk, which was still inside the computer. Then, after many layers and countless screws (pictures below), I finally reached the disk and replaced it.
The operation took me a good number of hours, and despite the flawless boot, the sleep and wake function was not working when closing and opening the lid. It took me a while to figure it out, but the culprit was one of the magnets not being correctly aligned. Here we go again. To get there, I had to take off some layers and screws one more time.
The next problem on the list was the Wi-Fi not working. I checked the Airport Extreme card, which is easily accessible below the keyboard, and everything looked fine. After several hours of troubleshooting the operating system without any success, I realized how late it was and went to bed.
By the way, when you feel stuck, it’s a good idea to take a break or switch to a different project. It always works for me, at least.
The Next Day
I’m not going to lie to you. Throughout the day at work, I wondered what could be wrong with my computer. If everything was fine with the operating system, maybe I have damaged the Wi-Fi card.
Back at home, I decided to check the card again, and when I touched it, I noticed that the antenna cable connector was not completely pushed in. The moment I pressed it and heard the click, I knew the Wi-Fi would be fine.
Wow, what a mission!
First 15K (using my Nike+iPod hack)
Even though I don’t like Nike running shoes, I love running with my iPod, so it’s only natural that I wanted to try the Nike+iPod tracker. The solution was a simple hack (pictures below) that I’ve been using for the last four months.
Yesterday, it even completed my first 15K with me!
