Derek Kehler

I went to go checkout the Arkells, Dan Mangan, and Sam Roberts on Friday night. It was a good night of music, and I have to say, seeing Dan on stage again was a real treat.

I used to play shows with Dan at coffee shops and bars around the city, and it brings me so much joy to see him having success in his hometown (hometown success can be very hard to accomplish). I know that Dan has worked really hard for this, and it’s good to see that hard work and a “bit” of talent can pay off.

I put together a little bar graph to show the increase in size of Apple’s mobile devices over the last few years. That’s really not the point of this post, but it did get me thinking about other things, and where I think that mobile devices, and stationary devices alike are headed in the next few years.

With the release of the iPad this week, I started thinking about the way mobile devices have evolved over the last decade, and realized that somewhere over the last few years we stopped worrying so much about size, and more about what the device is actually for. The reason I bring this up, is because I remember Apple releasing a new/better/smaller iPod every year, or even twice a year. Now, although size does matter, we have other things to think about, like syncing, storage, and accessibility.

I think we’re approaching an interesting point in time where a separate device is needed for everything we do. Let me rephrase that, I don’t think we need a separate device for everything we do, but that seems to be the way that the need for mobility is playing out. There is a new device for everywhere we are and everything we do: we have a semi-stationary desktop or laptop that is our storage device and main syncing console, a cellphone for when we’re on the go… and now, with the iPad, a browsing/reading device for when we’re lounging around the house.

In my opinion, we’re seriously overlooking the need to store data and synchronize it with each device harmoniously and effortlessly. Now, the obvious answer is to store and sync everything online… essentially doing away with the need for personal physical storage devices, and I do believe that this is slowly coming into view. I guess, I’m just wondering when, and why it hasn’t happened yet.

Here’s my dream: I want all of my devices to sync themselves online at all times (in other words, I don’t want to have to think about it). That includes my music, photos, files and everything else that I could ever want to keep in digital form. I want to be able to purchase and access music from any device, and then listen to it in my car, my phone, and my house without having to worry about which computer it was on, or lugging around an external hard drive.

Is this too much to ask?

What do you think is the next step for computing? Do you agree with me? Disagree?

I am reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance. Just to give you a bit of background: if I had known what this book was actually about, I would never have read it. The amazing thing is that my mind has been opened to a whole new realm of thought… and a whole new genre of novels!

When I first picked this book up I had no idea that it was so much more than a simple story. I was on holidays, and it was one of the books in a stack that stood out to me. The title was oddly intriguing, and so I picked it up.

At first the story of a father and his teenage son riding together on a motorcycle across the country caught my attention. However, as I read on, the narrator (the father) began to describe a previous life in which he lost his mind. As the story goes on, and they retrace the steps of his previous life, he becomes more engorged in the thought processes that got him there.

As I dig deeper into this book, I am finding that the author is describing the idea of two types of personalities/philosophies: Romantics and Classics. Romantics, being people that see beauty in the perception (or the overall creation) of things. And classics, being people that find beauty in the physics behind them.

At first, I thought that he was describing these two philosophies as being in contrast to each other. Instead, he goes on to state that there is actually beauty in the contrast between the two. The title “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” refers to the perception of qualitative evidence, and that our perception of “reality” is actually what defines reality… or maybe more accurately, our perception IS reality.

This is a read that only comes around once in a while, and is a great book for the unphilosophical and philosophical alike.

I dropped my first-gen iPhone the other day, as I was scrambling to answer a call while walking my dog, and sipping an americano. It landed on the sidewalk, and died of a hemorrhage :(

I wanted to purchase a new 3GS iPhone, but it was supposed to cost me 800 bones, so I decided that I would look into other options. It came down to the HTC Magic for $114, or the LG Eve for $85.

I decided to go with the Magic, and have actually been very pleased.

I’ve noticed that it’s quite a bit faster than the iPhone when accessing things over the network, and even just the operating system is substantially faster. Because it’s an Android device, Google Docs and Gmail integration are some of the best features.

There’s a few things that are less sexy, and less “apple”, including the absence of the elastic ending to lists, and touch zoom option… but they’re things that are just “nice-to-haves”, not game-breakers in any way. It’s quite a bit lighter, smaller, and substantially cheaper than the iPhone, and makes for a much sexier pocket bulge.

HTC Magic receives a grade of A-

I have been doing quite a bit of writing again. Here’s two previews, let me know what you think… suggestions are welcomed!

I Killed a Man

Love is All You Need

My life has been crazy this last year.

Last May, Greg Bell and I started a company called Orange Peel Media. It was an exciting time, because I have always been an entrepreneur at heart.

At that point in my life I made the decision, to let my music take a backseat to my career. At the time, Adrian Glynn and I had been doing a monthly gig at Backstage Lounge, where I enjoyed some of my favourite shows as a performer. I will always look back on those times as exciting. However, because of my career, I started to find that they were becoming a chore. I didn’t have the time to put into them like I used to. So, after two years of good times at Backstage, Adrian and I decided to give it a rest.

For a few months I put my guitar in a corner (the first time in about 8 years) and didn’t even think about it. I even really enjoyed the time away from it.

Anyway, in the last few months, I have picked it up again and have made a few passes at writing some new songs.

Nothing seems to be working though: I have one rhythm, and that’s all I seem to know how to play; I can’t come up with a half-assed lyric for the life of me; and I’m far too stuck to know what’s wrong.

In a way I feel like I’ve just sobered up and realized that I was never a very good songwriter… well, not really, but that’s what I tell myself to get depressed so that I can write.

When it comes down to it, like most songwriters, most of my best songs have come out of depression and melancholy moods. It has always worked for me because I’ve always been depressed in one way or another, but now things seem to have changed. It’s not because I’m blissfully happy… because I’m not. And it’s not because my life too good to be depressed about it… because it’s definitely not. But I am just too busy to be depressed, and I just can’t afford to be melancholy!

Now that I’m quite sure that I know what the problem is, I’m not sure I want to go there. It makes me wonder if a songwriter can really put out good music without the manic lows, and fleeting highs…

So the question is: where does music fit in my life now?

I got my first tattoo on Saturday morning!
It’s a peregrine falcon-head encased in stone. Falco Peregrinus (peregrine falcon) is Latin for foreigner, or stranger; which is exactly what I was to Vancouver four years ago. Falcons are also symbolic of calculated risk, and adventure.

For me, this tattoo symbolizes the last four years of my life: the risk and adventure of moving to a new city, starting a new career (despite all the advice to the contrary), and then starting my own business.

It’s been a crazy ride so far, and won’t be slowing down any time soon. It’s exciting and scary at the same time. I guess this is the curse of aiming high? ;)

My first week as a startup co-founder was pretty good!

Working for myself is something that I’ve been thinking about for years, and now that it’s here, it really feels no different than doing homework at home. I love it! If I hit a wall, I take my dog for a walk, and if I’m suddenly not into it, I work in the evening instead.

And, next week will be even better, as Greg will be joining me for the “official” kick-off.

One thing that everyone warned me about, that still took me by surprise, is the excessive time that legal and finance can take up. Just thinking about how the daily processes of our company, how things will happen and how things will function is a lot to think about. I knew this, I just hadn’t experienced it… Until now!

What I took away from this week: Taxes alone can suffocate you

Today is my first day inside the startup bubble.

Greg Bell and I have decided to start our own company. Our primary focus for the next 3-4 months is a social community called, ScrnShots. ScrnShots is a place for people to upload, tag and share screenshots of inspirational design, usability or anything else of interest.

Everything still seems quite unrealistic at this point, but I’m sure that the long hours will bring a touch of reality with them.

Stay tuned, as I will be updating this blog regularly with interesting tidbits of acquired knowledge and grumblings.

I was at the Seattle Library this last weekend. I’ve been meaning to go for the better part of a year already, but just never got around to it. It was an absolutely amazing sight to see.

The building was designed by Joshua Prince Ramus. Check out this Youtube Video of Prince Ramus explaining his reasoning behind the design.