The Weekly Review

This episode Jean and James are in the ballpark of closing loops in progress. Jean moves closer to completing the sale of her house. James thought he would be closing a long-standing loop by bringing his car in for service for the day, but it was not as easy as that. Plus, James goes to an actual ballpark.

This week brings followup! Is James’ plumbing truly fixed? Is Jean’s house finally listed? Jean also shares contact info for her professional organizer, Penelope Rose Miller, whose invaluable help was the subject of Episode 167: Working With A Professional Organizer.

In this episode Jean and James talk about open loops that aren’t tasks to be done but life’s little mysteries to be investigated. James tells the story of a few household mysteries deferred and eventually solved and the satisfaction that brings. Jean gives an update on her house sale and move. Finally a brief discussion of everybody’s favorite productivity topic—puddles.

Jean talks about her experience over the last month, working with a professional organizer to clear all the stuff out of her house, hold an estate sale, and downsize for her new apartment. From the style of an organizer to the nitty gritty of what they can do, there is a lot to think about when hiring a professional. In Jean’s case, it’s been a fantastic experience and a way to stay sane during the course of moving.

In this episode Jean and James talk about recovering after a week focusing on the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). James ended up underneath an avalanche of email larger than usual, even after such a busy week. Conversation turns to causes for the James’ overstuffed inbox. Jean gives an update on her move. Jean and James lament over Apple Fitness stand goals and broken streaks.

We didn’t do a weekly review, but we really focused on the important must-dos this week. James debuted a new song Futureproof at the latest LIVE near WWDC extravaganza, which also featured a remote panel of Breakpoints who have played with James over the years. Jean held an estate sale at her house to clear out furniture and items that are still useful or valuable to other people. We were both a bit overwhelmed by these huge projects, and we do an even shorter episode than last week.

LIVE near WWDC

Futureproof on Vimeo.

In one of the least lengthy episodes in the series Jean and James talk about the things that currently have them short on time.

James has released the third episode telling the story of James Dempsey and the Breakpoints and is prepping for next week’s free LIVE near WWDC show. Jean is preparing to turn her home into a pop-up store for the weekend—having an estate sale to help her superfluous stuff find good homes.

Jean talks about the importance of remembering to ask others for help when needed. James prepares for going through ‘WWDC Tilt’ for the next few months following next week’s conference.

In the face of massive projects, such as the Live Near WWDC Show and moving house, Jean and James find themselves talking about an important subject: Star Wars/Star Trek mashups they would watch.

Machete Order: A New Way to Watch Star Wars

This time around, James‘ weekly to-do spills over into the rest of the episode. It’s the just-announced LIVE near WWDC 2021 event which celebrates the 20th anniversary of James Dempsey and the Breakpoints. The conversation turns to plans for the event and digging through a few decades worth of hard drives, laptops, and videotapes to find materials for the event. Jean talks about her own efforts to reduce tech clutter, including an organization near her that not only provides refurbished machines to those who need them, but also teaches how to do the refurbishing! Also, a little story of the Titanium PowerBook that could.

LIVE near WWDC 2021

Having a checklist for a recurring project is a good way to free your mind from worrying about small but important details. Before 2020, the checklist that both of us used the most was our travel packing list. On the eve of James’ first post-pandemic trip (to Disneyland, of course), we talk about what needs to be updated on that trusted list.