Terry Barker

This is an update from something I wrote when I was using a (don’t laugh) PDA (Personal Data Assistant). PDA’s were the big rage before smartphones. Since then, of course, software and smartphones have made them obsolete. But, because planning and prioritization of tasks hasn’t changed much, this article is still relevant. I’ve used GTD for most of my career. GTD (Getting Things Done) is a methodology on tracking and accomplishing tasks, both at home, and at the office. It was invented by David Allen, who wrote a book about it, and has created a worldwide following. You can … Read more

Ah, the good old days. When you could find a job in a day or two. Sometimes within hours. 2009, on the other hand, sucks big time. My last contract ended on May1, and I’ve been looking for a job for 3 months now. I keep a spreadsheet of jobs I apply to, and I’m now closing in on 65. The funny part is that I had two job offers in the same day, 3 weeks ago, and it looked like my job troubles were over. I was on my way to a job interview with a new team … Read more

I found this through PC Mag about a year ago, and have been using it ever since. Autohotkey is free, and does several great things, which I illustrate here: You can key in an abbreviation, like btw, and it will automatically expand to “by the way.” You define the expansion with a text file. For more common names, and for using in email addresses, you can prefix a name, with say, two periods + terry, and terry’s email address will appear. Great for forwarding internet news articles–they usually require you to key in a person’s whole email address. You … Read more