It’s only been a couple weeks since I decided to give Obsidian yet another try and yes, this is going to work out. I’m so glad I decided to give it a try again. A few brief thoughts too about interstitial journaling.

    First, my primary use of any markdown/text app is for writing blog posts. In this regard Obsidian is generally on par with any other markdown editor and so it’s easy to just copy my archive over. That’s the beauty of working from folders of files. I duplicated and tweaked my previous Shortcuts for quickly creating new posts from the Home Screen or for link blogging from a web page that now save to my Obsidian folders.

    As for journaling, I’ve only ever been irregular at that effort. Obsidian has the daily note feature to help the process along so I took a look at various templates in the hopes that perhaps I’d find one that might help in the process. After a few days I found it wasn’t quite what I wanted. As I browsed around I hit upon “interstitial journaling”. My first thought was, no, not for me.

    If you’re not familiar, the basic concept is to just record a timestamped entry when you’re between tasks. Note what you’ve finished, what you might work on next or if you’re taking a break. A sort of running commentary on the day but geared towards productivity. But I wasn’t looking for a productivity hack or anything focused on that. I tend to do fine getting work tasks done without any additional tools or apps. I’d rather my journaling be a bit more open. But something about frequent, time-stamped writing appealed to me. The structure isn’t topical, it’s not definite or set. I’m viewing it as a tool for simple self awareness and as an opportunity to note thoughts and activities as they seem worth noting.

    A week in and I have to say that I’m really digging it. I set aside any desire to focus on some sort of constant productivity/task journal and have simply used it to check in. The time stamping pulls me in, I honestly don’t know why. But I do know that I’m writing more as a result. Also worth mentioning, there’s a behavioral phenomena called the Hawthorne effect that several folks have mentioned. The idea being that people “modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed.” The idea in relation to interstitial journaling is that as one starts paying attention to the moments of a day with the added intent of recording those moments, a kind of self awareness sets in.

    I suppose in a round-about way I am, in fact, being more “productive” but frankly, I’m just not fond of all of the nerd focus on productivity. I’d much rather think of it in terms of cultivating self awareness. Regardless of the framing, I’m finding it enjoyable and useful. And, unexpectedly, I feel like my days are longer and almost more meaningful as a result of the increased focus on my daily activity.

    It’s worth noting, that most of what I’m doing with Obsidian I could have accomplished with iA Writer or other markdown editor. It’s a strange thing really but it’s a fairly small design detail that partly served to prompt my look back to Obsidian. I wanted to be able to more easily navigate and see all my files in folders at the same time. Most markdown editors have a sidebar file browser that functions as a singular column list of files. It makes for a lot of clicking or tapping to navigate. Obsidian offers disclosure triangles and it just feels easier and faster to view the contents of multiple folders at once.

    That said, Obsidian is extendable via plugins so it does actually do quite a lot beyond a standard text editor. But out of the box it can be used in a more standard way. As I poke and prod I expect I’ll share a bit about some of the more advanced features.

    I Recently started up a little social sharing experiment using Apple's Freeform app in which Jacob pointed out an interesting use of Muse by Avancee Agency. I really like the idea of processing links of interest using Freeform in the same way. Maybe do a weekly screenshot blog post.

    A screenshot of Apple's Freeform app being used to collect links and text excerpts

    Manufacturing new computer hardware requires lots of energy and resources, not to mention the creation of undesirable byproducts. The production of one of the most vital components of computers, microchips, is especially resource-intensive. As a result, according to permacomputing principles, they should be treated as precious resources — because they are — and their lifespans maximized. They would not be reduced back to raw materials until absolutely necessary.

    Permacomputing: Tackling the Problem of Technological Waste

    Yahoo?!?

    I’ve been avoiding Google search for a few years, using Duck Duck Go instead. Tried Bing but the website is yuck. Safari provides Yahoo as a choice for built in search. I thought, why not?

    Only been a couple days but I am really impressed. Way better than expected and my new default.

    McNamara calls this device the “Mythic I.” It’s a sweeping, curved object that starts with a leather palm rest before sloping sharply upward like dunes on a beach, then gently cresting down again in the back.

    Oh my. This is a beautiful computer. Aesthetically but also the focused use is a sharp turn from the omnipresent, mobile computing devices that can be taken anywhere and do anything. Simple, beautiful website too: The Mythic Computer Company.

    Mythic Computer is trying to change the PC world one wood computer at a time - The Verge

    Love Notes to Newton is a film about what a beloved (but short-lived) pen-based Personal Digital Assistant created by Apple Computer has meant for the people who used it, and the community who adore it.

    I never used a Newton but as someone who loves the iPad I really enjoyed this documentary. And have a better sense of the lineage of the iPad as a result. And so much fun to see nerds nerding out about things they love.

    Love Notes to Newton - Full Movie - Official - YouTube

    Switching from FileMaker to Numbers for Invoicing

    I began using FileMaker around 2001. I developed a handful of databases for clients but in recent years I've just been using it for my invoicing system and for personal projects. This past fall it occurred to me that it might be time to move on. I was thinking in terms of future updates, cost, simplicity and easier access to data from multiple devices. So I started looking around at possible small database apps as well as the possibility of using Apple's Numbers app.

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    The First Website

    August 6 marked 30 years since the first website. Benj Edwards at How-To Geek has an excellent story about the origin. It began with Tim Berners-Lee of CERN posting to the alt.hypertext newsgroup to invite people to visit his World Wide Web project on August 6, 1991: In 1989, a British software developer at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (commonly abbreviated “CERN”) named Tim Berners-Lee grew frustrated with how scientists shared research at his organization.

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    Keychron K2

    My favorite keyboard in recent memory has been the Logitech K811. I bought it reconditioned from Amazon seven years ago. It’s no longer manufactured and mine is beginning to fail. It no longer pairs reliably and at least one key has stopped working. I’ve got at least one other similar Logitech keyboard that can be used but I often have issues with it and the iPad Pro. I’m not sure why.

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    Ditching Google for the Duck

    An excellent article from Wired on switching to DuckDuckGo from Google. Once you realize most things you search for online are boring and obvious, you realize you don't really need Google in your life. It’s super easy on iOS to change the default. Settings>Safari. It’s near the top. I switched a couple years ago. I still have a Google account but have moved all my email to iCloud. Keeping the account for the moment because I’ve got a few shared movies on YouTube and for occasional need to access Google Drive.

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    It's 2017, we use many computers

    [caption id=“attachment_462” align=“aligncenter” width=“4032”]My Color Classic and iPad Pro as imaged by an iPhone 7+.[/caption] So techie and web publisher Joshua Topolsky recently went on a very emotional, not too rational, Twitter tirade regarding the iPad Pro. Just a tiny example: Couple of tweets about the new iPad and iOS 11. It is inferior toa laptop in almost every way, unless you like to draw. If you think you can replace you laptop with this setup: youcannot.

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    A few links and thoughts on iPad after WWDC 2017

    Well, well, well. The 2017 WWDC has come and gone and much that iPad users hoped for has been announced. As far as I’m concerned Apple hit it out of the park. If the features announced work as well as they look then I will be very happy and more productive. While no operating system is ever really finished with iOS 11 we see the most significant complaints about the iPad being addressed.

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    Clever New iPad Ads

    Looks like Apple is pushing out some new iPad ads and they’re pretty fun. It’s become a common theme among the Apple nerds to suggest that Apple’s not been doing enough to tell the iPad story. I don’t disagree. Happy to see the new ads.

    iPad Preferred

    A few weeks ago Federico Viticci wrote a very nice article about his transition to the iPad as his primary computer: A Computer for Everything: One Year of iPad Pro – MacStories "There's no doubt in mind now: the iPad Pro is the best computer I've ever owned not only because it's powerful, but because iOS apps unlock a different kind of productivity on the big screen. More than any other iPad before, the iPad Pro is the strongest argument in favor of iOS for as a primary computing platform.

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