Brian Dusablon

I’ve been contemplating a switch to Tumblr or Posterous for my blog. However, I didn’t want to lose the control I have with WordPress, which has been good to me. I also want to use it on my blog so I can continue to support it at a high level for my clients.

So, I’ve been waiting for something like Crisp to happen. Brilliant tumblog theme from WooThemes. Simple functionality added to easily add link posts, image posts, and other types of posts from a single area on the dashboard.

I use MarsEdit primarily, so going back to the WordPress admin interface to post content was not my preference. However, I was able to make it work by simplifying the screen options (collapsed menu, single column) and using Fluid. I still use MarsEdit for my regular longer posts, but for everything else I am now using the Crisp tumblog area with it’s simple publishing options.

I’m happy.

I read a lot online. The internet has been good to me. But it needs filters. I follow 241 people on Twitter, and that number is growing. Those folks post a lot of links I want to read, but often don’t have time to at the moment they post it.

Enter Instapaper. Integration with Twitter apps and all my browsers, and a iPhone app. Brilliant and simple. If it’s worth reading, I’ll “read it later.”

My other favorite tool is Readability, which makes most websites 20 times better by cutting out the sidebars, ads, Flash, and other crap and just giving me the article I want to read, in a wonderful typeface of my choosing, at the size I prefer.

I’ve set my father-in-law up with Readability, because he, too, hates the crap on websites that disturb good content. It’s good stuff. Arc90 deserves a medal.

So here’s how I read the internet:

1. Twitter to Instapaper (to read later) or to Safari/Readability
2. Safari to Instapaper or Readability (depending on time)
3. Google Reader in Fluid with Helvetireader
4. Email – I still prefer some email newsletters and Feedburner because it, again, is just the content.

More goodness:

• Give Me Something to Read – a list of the most “Instapapered” articles.
• Netvibes – was my primary for a long time. Works well with Fluid.
• Instapaper Restyled

After much deliberation, I decided to use Freshbooks exclusively in 2009 for my small business. I loved it. It was simple, it was easy to use. It was fast. Paired with Fluid on my Mac, it was almost perfect.

They are decent at adding new functionality, but mostly they just got it right with the core app, except for one thing:

$14 per month.

Doesn’t seem like much, does it? But look at it this way: $168 (one year). Now how about $336 (two years). That is a LOT of money for one tool in a freelancer’s/small business owner’s toolbox.

Less Accounting ($12/mo, $144/yr) and Blinksale ($6/mo, $72/yr) are other options, but they’re still expensive.

I’m switching to Billings for a one-time payment of $39. If I upgrade, it’ll probably be once, maybe twice over the next two years ($25 or $50), bringing my total to a max of $89 over two years.

I’ve been drooling over some amazing graphics and diagrams recently, but this is the best I could do to show my potential cost savings over the next two years:

Just thought I’d share my thoughts and recommendations. Freshbooks is awesome. Less Accounting seems like a good tool. Blinksale is good also. If you run multiple computers or have more than one employee, it might be worth the extra cost for the online services.

But as a freelancer/small business owner with one or two employees (the wife does some HR consulting occasionally), and only one responsible for estimate, invoicing, etc., I’m going with the cost savings, while retaining the same functionality (albeit local to my machine) as the web-based tools.

I’ll probably have more on this subject after a few months or a year with Billings.

(Thanks to Aaron for the nudge).

The awesome Mac to Google sync tool, Spanning Sync, has a new version in the wild.

For only $20, using the discount code below, (or $60 if you get the lifetime license), it’s worth every penny. (plus you can make referral money too). I’ve been using this tool for over a year now, and it’s been great. One, because it backs up my contacts and events, and two, because it’s such a transparent app, you never know it’s there. You just run it and it works.

Save $5 by clicking here or using coupon code D8BYCM.

What’s New in Spanning Sync 3:

• Much faster sync times—up to 10x faster on large syncs
• Calendar alarm syncing
• One-way syncing of calendars and contacts
• Syncs more contact properties, including birthdays and nicknames
• Option to not sync older calendar events
• Reduced memory usage
• Easier installation process
• Snow Leopard compatibility

This is a pretty cool shot from the SignalTheorist, long exposure in the dark, tracking the Roomba light and cleaning path.

I had a Roomba a few years ago, purchased on a whim from Woot at a pretty good rate. It was pretty sweet for several months, taking care of a good percentage of the dust, cat hair and crumbs and other crap on our hardwood and tile floors. It even handled itself pretty well on the hallway carpet.

Over time, however, the brushes (though cleaned fairly often) stopped working as well, the sucking power waned, and the battery started fading faster than my iPhone’s. Finally, the damn thing just up and died. The light would come on like it was charging, but it never kept a charge, and I put it to rest at Goodwill.

One year with Roomba = fun experiment, but in reality, $100+ down the drain. We had our other vacuum for 5 years before it kicked it, and it was only $90.

We now use a $25 Shark 2-in-1 for our hardwoods. It requires a little manual labor, but saves time (and curse words) because it used to take me an hour to clean the damn Roomba brushes!

(via Mike, who also had a failed Roomba experiment)