Chris

Connecting Ideas

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There have been some questions/discussions about my research-thinking-writing process and I thought I would address them here. First step is to gain input. I read voraciously- not just books but articles from other critical thinkers on a wide variety of subjects up and down the Dewey Decimal System. There is zero chance I can remember all of this input so I dump them into my custom built personal database that I call “Grey Matter” where I can retrieve at will.

The process is extensive but worth it. I’ll read something of interest and make notes and highlights which immediately transfers into my digital brain. Inside there I wrote code scripts to organize and catalog these ideas to be referenced for later.

Connected ideas on one subject in a customized graph view
Another view of connected ideas on a specific subject for easier reference
Highlights & notes automagically imported into my digital brain for reference

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Mesmerizing look inside my brain at how ideas are connected and grow on each other.

Personal knowledge management, or digital asset management can be daunting but if it is set up correctly to connect ideas and go down the rabbit hole of new thoughts. It is amazing to me to come across an article and then be immediately capable of connecting those thoughts expressed into my own while completely connecting them to other thoughts for an entirely new line of thought.

Stereo Denbow

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For the past few months I have been slowly acquiring digital music files cheaply either through small purchases at record stores or through local libraries. The idea being is to minimize subscriptions and future costs.

The feeling of taking old media and converting it into new media formats takes me back to the days of LPs, cassettes and CDs where you would insert the media format onto a player, set it to the desired side or song and then study the inside jacket for the band’s cover art/bio/lyrics as the music played. Today I slide compact discs into the Apple SuperDrive CD reader connected to the MacBook Pro (aka Mac), and do the same thing- study the over art/bio/lyrics as the files are converted. Eject, plug a new compact disc in and then overtime, your digital library grows.

Then all of these freshly ripped music files are transferred quickly via the internal home network to be stored inside my local server (Minnie.)

Now whenever I need to I can stream/download these files to my iPhone and/or iPod and be on my merry musical way.

Recent haul from a local library and the SuperDrive on bottom.

While editing this post I was listening to an album I ripped:

Thirst Quencher

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“Everything we’re forced to learn at school we quickly forget, but the things we set out to learn ourselves — to quench a thirst — are never forgotten, and inevitably become an important part of our existence.”
—Werner Herzog

The Art Of Un-Noticing

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One of my favorite writers, Rob Walker, has a brilliant book on my shelves (thanks, Mom) titled “The Art Of Noticing: 131 ways to spark creativity, find inspiration and discover joy in the everyday.” He also has an excellent weekly newsletter I subscribe to in my RSS feeds.

Anyway, I’ve been doing some initial thinking of ways we can practice ignoring or not giving notice to those that would take away our time and attention in unhealthy ways. The first few culprits are adverts everywhere, social media and television.

What are some other distractions we can hide our eyes and ears from to regain that creativity, inspiration and joy?

I’ll be back with more on this after some proper thought.

Human Feeders

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I think it was Kleon who used the phrase “human bird feeders” to describe those places that attract and feed us. A Little Free Library certainly counts as a feeding place. We ventured out for some geocaching after lunch today and had a 2-for-1 special in that while we were looking for a hidden cache it was inside the LFL. Bonus: I found a title that is currently on my “to be read” list called Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Now I can scratch that one off of my public library hold request list.

I can also check two more geocaches from local hiding places. Love it.

What are some other “human bird feeders” that attract us and make us pause?

Sneaky hide
Easy grab and go cache hidden under a rock

You’ve Been Served

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Now that I am back home for a bit I can finally play around and setup the Mac Mini desktop computer as a standalone file server.

“Minnie” is all setup to host and share any number of photos, music, videos and documents to any of my (and Sweet T’s) iDevices. Even better, I will have the ability to retrieve these documents from anywhere in the world as long as I have access to an internet connection.

And now for the moment of truth…will it work?
Of course it did(!), I am brilliant.
And here is the setup configuration as seen from Minnie’s screen.
Offsite backup? Yessss…

In the near future I will migrate all of my website code and documents on to Minnie and use it as a cheap, self-hosting website.

Time Machine back-ups of all of my hard disks, will be stored and easily retrieved if necessary. (Hopefully it won’t be necessary)

I will also be able to host and serve all of my own Podcast files as opposed to relying on a third-party file host that I pay for.

And then, I can run and publish other sites I need including my own RSS server.

All of this is designed for easy access, off-site backups/restoration, and file sharing with family/friends. Which reminds me, eventually I will allow access so family members can view/download our family’s images. “Hey Chris, do you have those pics from that 2012 Christmas party?” Yep, go fetch!

Two Essential Apps

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Day One- Over the previous ten years I have enjoyed using this journaling app and just re-subscribed. I appreciate the attention to logging every detail that may be used in context with, well, the text I input. Details such as the music I was listening to, the location, weather, fitness activities and more.

An inside look into my digital journal using Day One.

Book Tracker- Quite simply, one of the best purchases I have made to remind me of what I have read that includes stats, reading progress, reading goals, what I plan to read next, track the physical library I have on my shelves, etc. Adding tags to help me catalog specifics such as what year I have read a book, and where it was consumed such as physical, Kindle, Kobo, audio, etc.

Books read for my 2024 reading goals and books I am currently reading to the left

Lunar New Year

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Last week I ventured out to celebrate the ancient “Chinese New Year”, and then realized that a majority of Asian nations also celebrate but collectively call it “Lunar New Year.”

Parade on the Avenida de Americas in downtown Houston
Dragon + Lion dances through the parade
Asia Town/International District/Houston/Texas
Red envelopes filled with small money bills are gifts to signify wealth & prosperity for the new year
Asia Town/International District/Houston/Texas

Now on to Houston’s Galleria District for indoor celebrations

All this walking and shooting had me ravenous for some wok pork and noodles. Washed down with Tsingtao beer of course.

While editing this article I was enjoying this soundtrack:

Next week I’ll share some highlights of the nearly 1000’s of murals decorating Houston.

再见, – Chris

Pause, Stop, Off.

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It is time for us to create a “television escape club” and it is past time to do whatever we want. During my work travels for the past 15 weeks, I rarely streamed any movies or shows. The hotel televisions gathered dust and I ignored the basketball and football games blaring at restaurants while dining out. ”Oh, there was a Super Bowl?” I remember the hotel concierge asking why I was not watching the match and describing me as she smiled as ”very un-American.” I will take this compliment with a smile of my own.

Do I feel a sense of superiority in all of this(?), not at all. This is simply a choice to remove myself from unproductive viewing. I’d rather read a book these days because my mind can generate those scenes far better than any special effects shown on a screen.

There will be exceptions of course such as the 2024 season of Formula 1 racing as they wave the green flag in Bahrain this next weekend. I’ve already been promised we will re-subscribe and enjoy each race as they travel the world until November. Side note: How the hell do you do better than Team Red Bull winning 22 out of 23 races in 2023?? It’ll be thrilling to find out this season.

Formula 1 racing in Abu Dhabi, 2023

There are several books with film adaptations I want to see soon.

Occasionally I’ll stream some brilliant but stupid television show as well.

The idea is to not plop down out of boredom and mindlessly scroll through the tv menu looking for options to waste my time or be lazy. No, the times I spend in front of the tube will be mindful and deliberate.

I would really like to remove a television from our bedroom in favor of watching the television in the living room instead, but I have been currently outvoted. Hopefully this changes soon, like say, during an upcoming move and oops, the screen has cracked or the unit dropped.

Other alternatives include not seeking out new things to watch or not subscribing to new streaming options.

Speaking of options, I am really looking forward to a healthier lifestyle soon and I cannot do this in front of a television.

While typing up this article I was enjoying this album:

Issue #1

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2024-02-18

*Author’s Note: I have published this e-mailed newsletter here on the website as a preview/promotion of what to expect when you subscribe For a grand total of $0. Forever.

Hello and welcome to the first edition of this newsletter. Every weekend I plan on sending an update or insight to things that I find interesting from the previous week. It is entirely possible that you may find it interesting as well. If you have something to share based on what you’ve compared to reading here, by all means, comment and share. Now, on to those interesting things…

  1. Lost Libraries Of The Silk Road https://www.servinglibrary.org/journal/12/lost-libraries A British researcher drives solo on a motorbike at the beginning of the silk roads trade routes of China to Italy on a quest to discover ancient Chinese libraries.
  2. Banksy, the infamous mural artist and political provocateur visits and paints up the war-torn Gaza Strip. “A local man came up and said ‘Please – what does this mean?’ I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website – but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens.” – Banksy https://streetartutopia.com/2024/01/18/street-art-by-banksy-in-gaza-palestine/
  3. A quick view of the word Derive. “a mode of experimental behaviour linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9rive Great for those of us who enjoy walking through urban areas to discover everything around us.
  4. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ― Ernest Hemingway. I recently ended a ten year, 100% accurate and technically perfect career last week. How do I top that for the next decade?
  5. Discover the link between walking and creativity https://www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/18/in-praise-of-walking-thomas-a-clark/
  6. I have been doing a deep dive into the longest #1 album on the charts and a technically perfect LP, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon#Background I’ve been fascinated by the continuity, the operatic music and more.

And that is it for the first edition of the newsletter. Each week I will share something of interest, well, things that I find interesting in hopes that you discover something interesting as well. I will also, in the future, share photographic stories. Hopefully to your enjoyment.

Until next week…

Chris

Thanks for reading. This newsletter is an algorithm-free, advertising-free, monetarily-free, completely reader-supported and hand-rolled joint of a publication.