Make a PodBox Single-Purpose Podcast Player

The single-purpose “PodBox” Podcast Player

Build a Rasberry Pi speaker box that plays the latest episode of your favorite podcast

I’ve worked in the technology industry for more than two decades, and back when I got into it everyone was talking about “convergence.” It was a decade before the iPhone, but companies were hard at work looking to discover the perfect combination of features and functionality in a single hardware device.

After some fits and stops, here we are 20 years later and the quest for convergence has been conquered. Today, everything fits into a “phone.” The iPhone and Android unleashed a massive universe of apps that transformed a hunk of glass and metal into anything and everything you want it to be. Point it at the sky to identify the aircraft flying overhead with augmented reality (FlightRadar24). Hail a taxi cab on the fly at your exact location and pay the driver without your wallet(Uber/Lift). Take a photo (Camera) and share it with friends, family, and strangers (facebook, instagram, twitter). Unlock your front door before you arrive home (August locks), or spy on your babysitter (Nest). Deposit a check into your savings account with a photo (Wells Fargo), and order and pay for your Latte before you arrive at Starbucks.

Our phones have become so converged we can’t leave home without them!

The future is singular! 

With all this access to everything on demand in a single device, I predict that humans will eventually reject this all-you-can-eat buffet of information and evolve toward a more singular and focused future. 

10 Tips for Working Remotely

A week into my new “Work From Anywhere” job @Automattic I wanted to recap all the good advice I received and put into practice for working remotely.

My Top 10 List:

10. Eat Lunch! Remembering this was harder than I thought.
9. Don’t eat too much. My friend advised 10 pushups every time I opened the fridge, so I mostly avoided it.
8. Exercise! I found time for a long bike ride (almost) every day.
7. Related, I took a mid-day dog walk and now Pepper likes me best.
6. Get out of the house. I met a group of co-workers in Alameda at a co-working space and we ate lunch at nearby Burma Superstar. Highly recommend.

Me and my local co-workers sharing a table for the day. Free pastries for breakfast plus a team lunch? Sounds good to me!

5. I’m happy to have my dedicated space to work, tho, and my handmade desk (see previous post). It’s a great way to let the family know when I’m not available.
4. A dedicated space also means it’s easy to avoid and not get sucked into after-hours comms.
3. Turns out there’s lots of noise no matter where you work, so I downloaded a Mac app called Krisp that mutes loud background noises for calls.
2. Related, I decorated the wall behind my new desk with some non-distracting art to add visual interest to the background on video conference calls.
1. Wear pants! At the end of the day, I knew work was done when I got to change into shorts and a t-shirt.

Happy working wherever!