Dopp Juice Archive

“i donÂ’t have a hipster pda. the hipster rule of law requires that one must never declare oneself a hipster. paraleptical, yes. but i donÂ’t have a hipster pda; i have a bunch of 3 by 5Â’s held together with a clip.” –Alicia Dattner, Getting Shit Done: Productivity for Unprofessionals

Okay, so I don’t have a Hipster PDA (hPDA), either. I have an ultra-techie 1-year-out-of-date Palm OS Treo 650 phone. But that doesn’t make me any less fascinated with how people more creative than myself are organizing their lives with flare and attitude.The Hipster PDA is truly a beautiful thing. Merlin Mann (one of my heroes) popularized a cool renovation on David Allen’s Getting Things Done system which involves a handful of notecards, a paperclip, and your back pocket. Whoever said “getting effectively organized costs lots of money” has obviously never been introduced to this little miracle.I thought it stopped there. We all did. But oh, how wrong we were. I don’t think any of us saw the Hipster Shuffle coming…The formula is simple (in the true spirit of Hipster PDA culture): replace the paperclip with a new iPod shuffle, and dance all night long to the rhythm of true synthesized style and organization. The blog post that introduces the idea, and its corresponding youtube video, are absolutely hillarious.

David Pogue, a New York Times technology columnist (and entertaining chap), posted a great video on youtube in which he sets out to “prove” that Microsoft did not rip off Mac’s ideas when it built the new, classy Vista system. (Tech catch-up note: Vista is a new PC operating system, succeeding Windows XP, that is totally different from what the Windows user is used to getting from Microsoft. First of all, it’s prettier. Second, it’s easier for the not-so-tech-oriented to intuitively navigate and do more with. Check out the official Microsoft sales page for more info.)Being a Mac user with a knee-jerk distrust for Microsoft, I was immediately interested in the video. It promised evidence that Microsoft is truly innovative and concerned with the user experience. I was looking for reasons to like Microsoft. The video, however, was not what I expected (I’m so naive — I really should have seen this coming!). Check it out: NYT’s David Pogue on Windows VistaAnd if there was any doubt, yes, I’m still proud to be a Mac user.

Did you hear the one about the mob of students who chanted affectionate cheers to the ATM? How about the massive public pillowfight in San Francisco last year on Valentine’s Day? I hear a rumor that some zombies might be planning a takeover soon…. What am I talking about?FLASHMOBS!

flashmob (FLASH mawb) n.A large group of people who gather in a usually predetermined location, perform some brief action, and then quickly disperse. —v., —adj.

Basically, you get a bunch of people in on the plan, they show up at a location minding their own business, and then at a certain time they all break out into something outlandishly attention-getting, and then suddenly stop and wander away as though nothing happened. Categorize this under “things that entertain the pants off me.”The big recent one was Feb 1 at UC Davis, where 1200 students gathered in front of their bookstore ATM, and wildly shouted “ATM! ATM! ATM!” when the central clock tower struck noon. They’re claiming this to be the biggest flashmob in Guiness World Record history.On the original Facebook Group where they organized it, they included instructions such as

“Everyone who is participating gathers around the front of the bookstore (near the ATM machines, ect), at around 11:50-11:55. Be doing something that doesn’t make anything look suspicious. Don’t laugh. Read a newspaper, a book, or talk to your friends or something. Spread out: do not make the mob yet!”

and

“When the chimes are over (or at about 12:01pm), everyone stop immediately, and walk away in opposite directions, like nothing ever happened.”

and

“WARNING! If someone asks if you’re in the flashmob, you should respond with “chicken tenders are beautiful.”

Well done, guys! Well done!You can watch the Official Video… but I like this This One better. (from DavisWiki)