Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing

June 15, 2012 by Raul Colon

The Runnur Mini Backpack

Since I got back from SXSW you might have seen me walking around with what looks a mix between a messenger bag sling and a fanny pack.

While walking on the SXSW tradeshow floor, I encountered a booth that was selling an item called Runnur (Affiliate Link). As soon as I saw it, knew I had to buy one.

I bought one knowing that I had made a good purchase. Andrew Hamra, founder of Runnur, convinced me by pointing out how stuffed my pockets where.

For some reason when I am running from one place to the other (it gets even worst when travelling and in a conference like SXSW) I tend to continue to stuff my pockets.

The biggest issue is when I misplace my debit card and I need to pay for something, I have stuffed it into the black hole of my jeans. Not only do I waste the time of those behind me, but also I waste my own time. Another inconvenience is loosing my hotel key or not being able to find it amongst the dozens of biz cards I have received during the day.

What is in my Runnur?

Depending where I am headed, I may carry various things in my Runnur such as:

Keys to my Car
Extra Business Cards
USB Cable for my Phone
Mophie Juice Pack (extra battery)
Small Knife
Wallet
My iPhone
Sunglasses (Safely Stored)
My ID
A Pen or Two
Emergency Cash
Point and Shoot Camera

I also tend to hang a baseball cap on the carabiner. If I have to go out for groceries, I just grab the Runnur and go.

RIMG0541-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Internal built in wallet with slots to store and organize cards and cash.

RIMG0540-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — You can place your ID or Badge here!

RIMG0539-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Your Pens or pencils are accesible.

RIMG0538-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Two Lower Front Pockets I store iPhone & Wallet.

RIMG0537-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Lower front pocket with carabiner. Makes it also easy to hang my keys and when carrying groceries or my toddler I can open my vehicle.

RIMG0536-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Inside Pocket.

RIMG0535-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Back Pocket to hole a bottle of water or your favorite liquid.

RIMG0533-300x225 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Safe storage for you eyewear.

Grab and Go

In case of an emergency or just being in a hurry, storing things in one place when leaving home is priceless. I tend to leave things separated and have a bad habit of leaving my wallet in one set of pants and my keys in one of the many rooms. I set up an accessible place where we could hang both of our Runnurs.

RIMG0531-225x300 Runnur Making Empty Pockets a Good Thing — Ready to go notice the baseball cap at the bottom!

This way I am able to get in the car by just grabbing one item; my Runnur.

The Runnur has saved me a few headaches when it comes to not loosing items also. I tend to lose my debit cards quite frequently and since I got my Runnur I have not lost one.

Overall the runnur has helped me get organized, walk with all my gadgets and widgets, and save me time looking for things I usually lose around the house.

I highly recommend the Runnur and if you are always on the go and want to carry many things without bulking up your pockets the Runnur is the way to go!

Get Yourself a Runnur…

Fluid – Create Your Own Desktop Application on a Mac

January 31, 2012 by Raul Colon

As we move over to applications that are in the Cloud we sometimes end up having a need to keep our browsers open in a specific application.

Lately I have been using Batchblue Software as a way to help me manage and keep communications amongst my clients. It also helps me keep track of Deals and other sales related tasks I have to make a priority during 2012. My biggest problem was that this application is web based and in many occasions I closed the browser where I was storing information.

Fluid Free App for To Make your Desktop Applications

I did a quick search on the Internet and I found the Fluid app for the Mac.

Fluid lets you create a Real Mac App (or “Fluid App”) out of any website or web application, effectively turning your favorite web apps into OS X desktop apps.

It takes an URL and makes any web-based application look like its own stand alone application which you can store in your Applications folder on your Mac.

I have been using it lately for Freshbooks my favorite invoicing software (affiliate link) and Batchblue but over time I am sure that I will be using it for other web based applications.

Once you have downloaded and installed Fluid creating your first application is very easy in just three basic steps:

1. Open Fluid.

Screen-Shot-2012-01-31-at-11.07.34-AM Fluid - Create Your Own Desktop Application on a Mac

2. Enter the url with the login screen of the Application you want to save

Screen-Shot-2012-01-31-at-11.08.28-AM Fluid - Create Your Own Desktop Application on a Mac

3. If you want to choose the Icon that will represent your folder or it will automatically grab the Default website icon.

Screen-Shot-2012-01-31-at-11.33.07-AM Fluid - Create Your Own Desktop Application on a Mac — My Blog Icon as a Mac App

Example My Blog as a Desktop App

Here is a Video that can show you how quick and easy it is.

Fluid from Todd Ditchendorf on Vimeo.

Once you have done this you can launch your application and it will work as if you had a separate application running instead of another browser windows open.

I have found this very useful especially with apps I need to have available throughout the day and I keep on my Dock for easy access.

Although most of the Fluid Functionality is available for free (I have been using the free version for more than 3 weeks) I decided I wanted to pay for the app since for only $4.99 you also get the following functionality added.

Create Fluid Apps with Separate Cookie Storage. (Preferences → Security → Cookie Storage)
Pin Fluid Apps to the Mac OS X Status Bar. (Fluid App Menu → Pin to Status Bar…)
Use Userscripts or Userstyles in your Fluid Apps. (Window → Userscripts)
Use Lion Full Screen mode in your Fluid Apps. (View → Enter Full Screen)

Any web based apps you might want to use this for?

Any other curious apps that you use that you want to share?

Any other simple tasks you would like an Application for?

More about Fluid

7 Reasons to automate some of your tasks

September 27, 2011 by Raul Colon

Not only am I a big fan of using software to get things done quicker and more precisely. Software has also given me a way to live for the last decade. From working at AOL when it came into Puerto Rico as a ISP (Internet Service Provider) to now running CIMA IT Solutions, technology has brought me a lot of great things and more importantly a reason to want to learn more and more on a the vast technological world surrounding us.

Why I Automate?

1. I don’t like recreating the wheel

In my case it makes it easier because later on I can probably take something that was already created and tweak it. Instead of recreating it I can enhance it make it more functional.

2. Learning New Things

I like to look for ways to make myself more effective and efficient. Although sometimes I run into a situation where I probably spent more time than if I would by testing a way to either make me more efficient or look for other options.

3. Having multiple backups

I can have multiple instances stored of whatever I am working on electronically. When you always have backups and also store a few remotely you end up having a copy of what has been done before. With paper once you lost it is gone. But it also takes a lot of space.

4. The Keyboard is My Friend

I remember in grade school where they always gave me a hard time because of my sloppy handwriting. I think over time it got worst. If you look at my handwriting now you can see that at 7 years old it was more attractive and pleasant. The keyboard has allowed me to communicate via writing so that others don’t have a hard time understanding what I write. I am more than sure that other people can relate to this.

5. Sharing with others at any location

When your process is automated it allows you to share with many others. If you have a team of resources and want to share with them something remotely, having your processes automated or even better yet accessible online can improve productivity amongst teams.

6. It saves time

Sometimes formatting a document or file takes more time than creating it. If you automate a process of data entry for those tasks and documents you re-create over and over again in the long run you will see huge benefits. Sometimes paying for software does bring a return on investment when you become more productive and make those on your team more productive. Think of the people hours consumed by processes that are done manually

7. It keeps the money flowing

I automated my billing to a certain extent with Freshbooks (Affiliate Link). I sit down one time and create a recurring bill that my clients receive every billing period. For a small business like me having software that helps me with billing is a life saving tool. Freshbooks even sends a reminder to those who have not paid you. If you are using other software where you have to manually input your recurring invoices over and over Freshbooks is a cost effective option that you can try for free with your first 3 clients.

Overall I see many opportunities for automating many things. The toughest part is dealing with people who are resistant to change and want to continue to do it the old way because they fear of failing when trying something new.

Being the Leader of the Pack

Since I love trying out new things I can clearly say that I am not afraid at failing when using a new technology or tool. Is you resisting change because of fear of failure? What is the worst that can happen you find out that the technology is not the right tool for you?

Fear of Investing In Technology Tools

If you fear losing money make sure you have someone to ask about technology and how it can fit your organization. For many years I have been the vendor agnostic strategist making sure that what my clients implement will bring results.

Make sure you have someone you trust when asking about implementing new technologies. Even if you are hiring them to figure it out it can turn into a healthier implementation.

What things have you automated? What things do you see a purpose in automating?

Why Stolen Cars & Pictures are nothing to brag about!

January 31, 2011 by Raul Colon

Photo credit by calignosus

How do you make sure you are sharing content legally and most importantly with the consent of the author?

While participating on #Blogchat which I have been participating for a few weeks I read a few tweets related to sharing photos online.

The following tweet really caught my attention not only is it creative but it has a very clear message:

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/ahockley/status/31908186885722113″]

@ahockley point was a ver easy way to explain what many people do by taking a photo without proper authorization to make it appear like it was ok.

When I am searching for a picture for my posts and I don’t use my own I mainly use Flickr’s Creative Commons.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/RickCaffeinated/status/31905488207618048″]

My new online friend @rickcaffeinated which is another encyclopedia of knowledge also recommended wylio.com in his tweet:

I used wylio.com for the previous pic and I have to admit it was very efficient and it expresses well the term of sharing which most people participating in #blogchat effectively did.

A great resource to share, remix, and reuse legally is creativecommons.org

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.

Briefly here is an overview of the Creative Commons

Attribution means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work – and derivative works based upon it – but only if they give you credit.

Noncommercial means:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work – and derivative works based upon it – but for noncommercial purposes only.

No Derivative Worksmeans:
You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.

Share Alike means:
You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

Where do you get your images for your blog posts?

Are there any other tools you recommend that facilitate the process of choosing an adequate image for your post?

Have you see anyone copying without attribution or adequate permission?