🍉Watermelon Ham, The Non-Linear Toolbox, and Your Desktop Pal

your little desktop digital friend

Hey friends! How’s your June going?

My wife and I started a diet last week - it’s going quite well actually. I’ve lost 7 pounds so far - and I’ve got about 23 pounds to go.

Since starting the diet - I’ve become deeply fascinated with food videos on Youtube. Obsessed - you might say. 😂

Yes. Watermelon Ham as a topic was directly influenced by my brains desire to eat.

Like this Dunakroo Dip. I want to make it nowwwwww

Anyway, did you catch up on all those Apple updates? IOS 15 is gonna be wild. Going after the ad industry wasn’t enough - now they’re going after email marketing too. 😂 You’d better believe the Apple Ads platform is going to be lit. It will know your interests - without knowing who you are. Hmmmm.

But the Ipad Pro is pretty sick - especially with the second screen support for macs coming up.

Oh - and don’t even get me started on the Facebook Watch that might be coming out next year. Why

Let’s hop on into today’s topics shall we?

🍉Watermelon Ham

If you like Ham AND Watermelon, you got to check this out.

It’s a way to take watermelon and make it taste like ham.

This is a different thing than the watermelon steak sandwich

Yeah - this thing looks just like a smoked ham. Here, watch this short video about the restaurant that sells it for $75. Oof.

Food Insider @FoodInsider

This smoked watermelon looks like a ham! 😳

Now, this thing takes a lot of work to make. The chef drys it, smokes it, and brines it for an entire day.

Then a multi-step cooking process. It’s easy to see why they charge $75 with all that work!

Don’t worry though. You can make it yourself!

Now - since I don’t have access to a smoker, or a walk-in fridge to effectively brine one of these just like the restaurant. So, I went on the hunt for an alternative recipe.

This one looked relatively easy to complete - and this is most likely the version I will try after this diet is over. Let me know if you try it too!

🔨The Non-Linear Toolkit

If you’re reading this, you like a taste of the random. No doubt about it.

You’ve also probably heard me speaking about some of the few truly creative tools that allow you to draw on a “blank canvas.”

Going outside the box to find the blank space outside the box - that’s the best place to be. :)

I think of the idea of a Non Linear tool as a blank notebook, rather than a lined notebook. There’s no limits or constraints in a blank notebook - you’re only limited by your imagination. However, things can get messy in a lined notebook . . . as the lines are in the way.

Try being creative in a Wordpress template, for example. You’ll get frustrated real quick. That’s why I shut down the first Land of Random website. It wasn’t what I really wanted.

I wanted real creative freedom - so I’m playing around with mmm.page and elementor.

But what about the rest of the creative workflow? A website is only one piece of the puzzle.

I’ve mentioned most of these before - but I believe you can now finally have a full creative flow with non linear tools.

The keys to a full creative flow are ideation, organization, communication and creation.

Ideation - You must have a tool to jot down your ideas - put them into words, pictures, organize, etc.

1. Kinopio.club - This mind mapping tool is perfect for taking notes, connecting ideas, brainstorming, creating mood boards, and being super creative.

2. Muse (Ipad only) - This blank canvas tool will let you create, drag, drop, and draw.

3. Excalidraw - This whiteboard tool feels very natural - almost like a real whiteboard! Great for creating mockups.

Communication - There must be a tool to talk and collaborate on these ideas.

1. Muze chat is the winner here - with a truly innovative chat platform that lets you drag pictures, text, drawings, gifs, stickers, and more.

Organization - Tools to put ideas into the planning phase.

1. Nototo - This app is coming soon - but it’s the Visual version of Notion. Perfect for the non linear space.

2. Raindrop - Create mood boards from pictures and links within this link saving app.

Creation - A tool to put those ideas into practice is necessary. A platform to take them from the idea phase to execution - from the drawing to the workshop, so to speak.

1. mmm.page is the winner here. This website creation tool will let you create a website however you like.

2. Webflow - mmm.page but the heavy duty expensive adobe version.

With the tools under each of these four concepts - you can go from the drawing board to the finished product, while staying within a non linear landscape.

Currently my workflow includes Kinopio for ideation, Raindrop for organization, and I’ve been having a lot of fun in mmm.page with different ideas for The Land of Random.

What do you think? Will you start creating within a non linear flow? If you know of more of these tools, please share them with me.

🙂Your Desktop Pal

Remember the ancient days of the internet when you could have a little desktop buddy?

A friendly buddy - not the darn Desktop Goose that is quite annoying.

Do you remember Bonzi Buddy?

I have only the faintest of memories of desktop pals, from the ancient days of dialup.

This was a truly fun time on the internet, back when having a little character on your screen was fun and entertaining.

He helps you download files! send emails! search the net! Even the most mundane of tasks had a little purple monkey as your little sidekick.

and he’s on a site that was updated 1995 - 2000 and works on Windows 2000.

Sad.

Check out the site, but I don’t recommend downloading anything . . .

Siri and Google Assistant have taken the place of Bonzi buddy. It’s kinda sad that the idea of a little desktop assistant has kinda disappeared from the net.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had little digital assistants that traveled around with us on our phones and computers?

Maybe the Samsung girl will become a real assistant. Who knows . . . .

In the meantime, you can always hang out with Shimejis in your browser. They’re pretty fun too. They’ll even interact with stuff in your browser!

A mostly anime vibe if you’re cool with that.

Check it out at the link!

🐙The Land of Random

Only the randomest of links.

Deconstructed Phone Art

Hmmmm. What do we do with all these old basically worthless phones. I got an idea! Let’s take em apart, make art, and sell em. I wish I came up with this brillaint idea LOL.

Holy Expensive Medicine Batman!

These are the top ten most expensive medications in America - Think “you need to be a Unicorn founder” expensive.

Osama Cold Brew Machine

This new cold brew machine reinvents the way cold brew is made . . . and will only cost you about $600 or so. One can dream right?

Potato Artillery Gun

The potato gun of our childhood dreams

Playdate Game Machine

The awesome looking indie game machine Playdate will be coming out this year! It’s only $180 AND you can buy a really cool loudspeaker dock too! And . . . it works with Poolsuite FM too.

The Infinite Image

This website is trippy. It . . .never ends.

Garnet.App

Sick of Zoom and Google Meet? This platform is changing all that with an interesting take on the idea. Create different rooms, youtube rooms, and more!

🎶TikToks You Can’t miss

This bread doesn’t sound too bad

Buying kittiens, RC edition

When the army guys show up to Laser Tag

Hahaha this is definitely an all year Star Wars decoration

When my childeren want Nerf guns, this is the one I want

Where are these magical money crows???

Awwwww such a cute penguin, I want one.

Well, that’s all for this issue. See you next week! 😁