TheAnthroGeek

The Study of Humanity’s Geekiest Blog

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TheAnthroGeek has a phd in anthropology from Columbia University in NYC. But don’t assume that means he knows anything!

  • The “Best of Anthro 2008″ Prizes

    If you want to know what successfully achieved the goal of “Public Anthropology” last year (and a good indicator of the best this year), read the following and feed off their feeds (i.e., subscribe  to their feeds):

    The best Anthropology Media of 2008 (judged by Neuroanthropology & Savage Minds respectively):

    The “Best of Anthro 2008″ Prizes
    http://neuroanthropology.net/2009/01/01/the-best-of-anthro-2008-prizes

    The Relevance of Anthropology – Part 1 on the Best of Anthro Blogging 2008
    http://neuroanthropology.net/2009/01/06/the-relevance-of-anthropology-%e2%80%93-part-1-on-the-best-of-anthro-blogging-2008

    Savage Minds Rewinds…The Best of 2008
    http://savageminds.org/2009/01/01/savage-minds-rewindsthe-best-of-2008

    Thanks to the great  Jen Cardew for sharing this with me.

  • “Point Forward” not Back

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    Wow, if you ever wondered what Practicing Anthropologists do for the world, visit the Point Forward site today.

    I found out about this firm’s web site by following a Google add link that was on my own LinkedIn page – yes apparently the whole “targeted advertising” thing actually works from time to time.  I was then very pleasantly surprised to find a web experience that gives much more than it takes.  Point Forward’s site is a great way to learn about the most exciting, emergent area in anthropology.  I plan to encourage my students to visit it this semester.  I really liked the cases they provided, e.g., the Chick-fil-A case and the Sony case are particularly effective.  They also offer reports for a more in depth look into the wonderful world of Practicing Anthropology.

  • Dial2Do-Gmail-Omnifocus Hack

    Dial2dodial2do_logo_n1 is the killer app of 2009.  This is a bold claim in that it’s January 2009 but this app is really changing my workflow for the better. For example, this message is being recorded from my phone to illustrate the power of dial2do’s functionality.  I spoke that sentence into my jawbone ear piece which was good enough quality for the voice recognition in this app to transcribe it perfectly. I then sent that 30 second message to my Gmail account before pasting it into this article.

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    I loved Jott but Jott’s free version limits messages to 15 seconds and they have recently moved from human transcribers to machines which has increased annoying transcription errors.  Jott’s free version lacks much of the functionality of Dial2Do as well.

    For example, in Dial2Do, I can speak “to do”s into my phone while driving and they end up in my productivity app on my computer when I get home.

    How this hack works:

    1. Call Dial2Do
    2. Ask Dial2Do to send an email message to yourself (“me”)
    3. Talk  up to 30 seconds worth of actions (i.e., to-dos)
    4. (previously) Set up your Omnifocus account to accept Gmail messages from “me” via Dial2Do.
    5. Once you open your computer, your actions (to-dos) will be in the Omnifocus inbox waiting to be processed.

    The biggest game changer for me is that I can now “brain dump” verbally while on the road and all of that goes directly to Omnifocus.  Rather than writting on my hand or on sheets of papers (I often loose) or emialing myslef actions, Dial2Do has streamlined my productivity flow considerably.

    And I’m not the only one who has figured out the Jott vs Dial2do issues.  Scotsman on a Horse just blogged about this as well a few hours ago.

  • A Prime Year: My 100th post to TheAnthroGeek

    Dear Subscribers,

    This posting, on the date of 011009, marks the 100th posting to this blog.  I started this blog about a year ago in December 2008 http://theanthrogeek.com/2007/12/04/aaa-2007/ .

    At that time, I made some important changes in my life:  I 1) got a Mac, 2) got an Iphone, 3) embraced GTD and Omnifocus and, 4) turned 43.

    A year into all of these changes and I can say that they all have been good ones.  I’m more more design-conscious, much more productive and hopefully a bit wiser.  It was indeed a “prime” year for me chronologically (i.e., it was my 43rd year), personally (i.e., I moved into Fresno Cohousing) and professionally (i.e., going up for tenure and seeing the Institute of Public Anthropology finally take flight).  These last two achievements help to illustrate the deep and lasting bond I have forged with my new hometown of Fresno, CA.

    This new commitment to Fresno will be illustrated by a shift in emphasis to a more local inspection and reflection upon the life of Fresno.  Rather than change the global focus of TheAnthroGeek, I am co-authoring a new blog with Henry Delcore named TheAnthroGuys.

    TheAnthroGuys will focus on Fresno, CA and how the core competencies of ethnography can be practiced here.

    In about a year, I look forward to reporting back to you about what TheAnthroGuys will have accomplished in 2009.

  • Anthropology is for the birds!

    I’m always amazed at where anthropology has lead people. Kevin Short (of the Daily Yomiuri Columnist) provides an example my friends in Reconciliation Ecology will enjoy.

    In the Appalachian Highlands of the northeastern United States, where I grew up, birdwatching was not thought of as a suitable hobby for a man. Local ornithological interest was limited to pheasants, grouse, ducks and geese–the kind of birds that could be shot and later roasted. A man walking around watching birds through binoculars would have been considered a bit weird at best.

    My first experience with birdwatching came much later in life, when I was a graduate student in Anthropology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. One spring day I heard a great ruckus coming from the back lawn of our dormitory. When I looked out I saw a bunch of heavily-bearded guys munching on hot dogs and slugging from a keg of cold beer. Every so often they would look up at the sky and break out into animated jigs and loud cheering.READ ON @NATURE IN SHORT / Birdwatching proves to be a very suitable hobby for this U.S. male : Science & Nature : Features : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri).

  • Robin Bloor on “Muscle Memory” & Productivity

    48065ilmdRobin Bloor’s latest posting on “Productivity & Muscle Memory” reminds me of how much I would love to love Quicksilver.  More importantly, it explains why I have yet to fully integrate it into my workflow.

    He writes:

    “This year I will finally be able to put some effort into PDQMac.com, the site I’ve set up with the aim of improving people’s interface productivity. If there’s a key underlying point to what I’ll be doing with that site, it is this:

    Productivity is all about muscle memory.

    Read on here:Productivity And The “Muscle Memory” Interface

  • Shapely Bodies Handle Stress Better

    Anthropology supports the value of the Rubenesque form. So much for New Year’s Resolutions!

    (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Although most women would choose a slender shape over an hourglass figure and believe men would do the same, new research suggests larger waists come with hidden health benefits. SOURCE: Current Anthropology, 2008;49:6  read on at: Ivanhoe’s Medical Breakthroughs – Shapely Bodies Handle Stress Better.

  • “Totem Posting” with Skitch

    I just found skitch from the wizards at plasq and I must admit that

    skitch.com logo

    It allows you to mark up photos rather easily. I’m trying to build what I’m HEREBY referring to as “totem posting” or building a pictorial life story of TheAnthroGeek and my lineage – and the indexing (i.e., pointing) feature on skitch was the perfect solution. Check out my initial draft of this project here: http://skitch.com/theanthrogeek/

  • Mother Ginger’s AnthroGeek Debut

    Although this posting lacks anthropology or technology, getting on stage to perform as Mother Ginger was very innovative for me.

  • Twyla Tharp on the Subject of Motivation and Creativity


    It’s amazing how motivating dance can be. I found this clip on 43 folders