I finally got around to reading John Maeda’s book “The Laws of Simplicity“. Under 100 pages, the book is an easy commitment and can be read over a couple of coffee breaks.

Simplicity and organization are near and dear topics to my heart, so I happy to report that I believe John creates clarity around some important topics that other efficiency books obfuscate somewhat. He also lends some humanity to the topic of organization, which is sorely lacking in other literature, which typically address information and habit. His seventh law, emotion, specifically addresses the concept of Aichaku, the Japanese term for the attachment one can feel for an item, and how this concept can lead to better design. Having carried a Palm device for a decade and now an iPhone, I can deeply relate to this concept. Each time I upgrade such a device to the newest model, it takes time for my old attachment to fade and a new one to grow, even if the device is theoretically identical to the last.

In addition to emotion, Maeda includes trust as one of his core laws, and he discusses the concept of omakase, translated “I leave it up to you.” I believe the short discussion of the concept alone is enough to warrant reading this book.

Watch out for acronyms, this book is full of them, and luckily also full of self-deprecating humor about them.

The many deep positives of the book outweigh the trivial negatives, so this book makes it to my definitely worth reading list.

If you are looking for a new neighborhood in your existing area or are moving to an area with which you are unfamiliar, look no further for the perfect tool to help you in your search for that perfect place to live. Neighborhood Scout a service by Woonsocket, RI, based Location Inc. just launched a complete revamp of their already popular neighborhood search service.

The new launch includes a much-improved user interface, some very unique nationally-comparable school district ratings, and crime statistics at the neighborhood level. Worth checking out.

Rentometer has just launched a free flash widget for folks who would like to add a Rentometer to their own website. In addition to the standard user search, the Rentometer widget also includes the ability to present local rent data for several locales. Colors are also configurable to match your site’s color scheme. It took me about 2 minutes to configure, including sign up time.

Well, I finally made it through Ray Kurzweil’s latest book, “The Singularity is Near When Humans Transcend Biology”. It was a good, dense read that raises and supports a very interesting future we’re heading into. Definitely worth the read.

Looks like the folks over at Humanized have brought the command line back to Windows in an exquisitely elegant way with a product called Enso.

Enso has beautiful interaction and visual design, as does the Humanized website. Easy to install and easy to use, especially for folks familiar with command line environments, Enso returns a feeling of control and productivity to the Windows desktop. I expect the Enso model will translate well to any computer system with a windowing user interface paradigm.

I’d like to extend my sincerest thanks to the Humanized team, I’ve been waiting years for someone to do a great implementation of this concept. My only request at this time: a ‘locate’ concept so I can eliminate the need to use Window’s clunky search tools.

I was recently referred to a new site that claims to help you maintain and expand your brain power. BrainReady produces a podcast that contains diet recommendations and brain exercises one can do while exercising, eating, sitting in traffic, etc. Not sure about the diet recommendations, but the exercises seem like ones that everyone should do to maintain their basic mental capabilities.

Stop junk mail and plant trees from the comfort of your own home with Greendimes. I just found this service through another service that I subscribe to and have written about in the past called TerraPass. Seems like a great proposition to me.

The Rentometer is a great site for seeing how your rent compares to other rents in your area. The perfect tool for real estate investors for guidance on how to price their rentals and also great for starving entrepreneurs who are looking for lower rent in their neighborhood.

Brainjar.com is one of the best sites I’ve found for web programming tutorials, tools, tips, and pointers to other sites. Small and easy to navigate, it contains a wealth of information. At the time of this writing, it has info on CSS, Javascript, DHTML, ASP, .Net, and Java.

I’m happy to announce that Investment Instruments has launched a new version of iiProperty.com, a system for real estate owners and managers to help them take control of their real estate investments.

This release includes upgraded rent tracking tools and a very sexy income and expense tracking and reporting system. If you are an established real estate owner or a burgeoning real estate entrepreneur, simplify your life by signing up for iiProperty.com.