TechnoDenbow

Ulysses

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Now that I’ve acquired one of the best writing apps for iOS I had to figure it out and set it up. That was easy to do with it’s intuitive features. I was able to connect it to a few other apps like Mind Node where I could import my mind maps as notes. Loving this.

The one downside so far is a lack of connection to publish articles to my website remotely. I’m still working on this but apparently there is an issue with the XMLRPC connection. Firewall policy rate-limiting?

Overall, it is very pleasing. The one thing it won’t do is write the manuscripts for me.

Offline

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Since I am no longer subscribed to an internet service at home, I have been relying on public WiFi and my phone’s hot spot. This has been challenging for me, especially since I need a connection for my continuing education.

I just remembered today that you can save a web page to your computer and still reference it…even when you are offline. I use Firefox because of speed and security so that will be the reference used here. Your web browser should be similar, experiences vary.

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Click the Settings icon and choose “Save Page As…” (as shown above.) Then decide where you want to save it. When offline, locate and open. That web page is now viewable offline. It goes without saying…even though I am going to, but you cannot click or navigate this page while offline, only view. Neato.

Below is the saved web page. A tutorial I needed to reference while offline.

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Mind Mapping

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I’ve recently re-discovered the app MindNode, an app that helps diagram ideas and thoughts in a visual way.
Here’s an example of what a basic mind map structure looks like:

Just a simple diagram I generated about mind-mapping and why I use MindNode instead of other similar apps.

  • Cost: $15 for the unlocked iOS app. Or free if you don’t mind limited features.
  • Sync: Using iCloud, it syncs very well between my iPhone and iPad
  • Export: I use a Windows laptop, not a Mac. So I have to use a Windows version of mind mapping tool called FreeMind. Whatever I create on my iDevices will open on my laptop.

Maps can be used in a variety of ways of course. I have used mapping for
productivity, goals, notes, brainstorms, problem solving, book
summaries, task management, video summaries ( I take notes while
watching TED or podcasts). Here lately though, I have been using it to
map out plots and story ideas for the novels yet to be but on paper.
Here is a sneak peek of one of them:

Redacted of course! Can’t give it all away just yet.

#deletesocialmedia

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I just finished the monumental task of deleting all of my accounts. On purpose.

Why should you care about this? No idea. But for me, it is refreshing and liberating. I admit it was rewarding to receive online praise for my photographic work. To see it used on websites, magazines and books is very rewarding. For every day photos, the accolades came and went. Gone are the days when most will leave constructive criticism only to be supplanted by a simple “heart” icon indicating that they liked it. I’m over this.

The rest of social media was updating anyone and everyone about what I was doing. Look at me! I’m witty. I take decent photos. Here’s what I ate and where.

I used to be a charter member of every major social media platform as a beta tester. It was a new frontier to be explored with friends. But no more. Too much superficial. Too divisive. Not fun. Anti-social. No privacy and hacks.

Enough.

I’ve enjoyed meeting people from various social media outlets when we were offline. I am also enjoying meeting and cultivating friendships IRL. We’ll go old school and share a conversation, not a tweet thread. Share experiences as opposed to posts. This is what matters.

I am no longer a member of

  • Google
  • Google+
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Gone. It’s over. Done. I officially killed my social media accounts and severed a lot of relationships and a ton of “friends” in all the places I have lived and worldwide. Well, not them, just the online versions of ourselves.

Now I can and will focus on what matters:

Working on my social skills.

Want to connect? Click the link

#deletegoogle

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I first mentioned I was migrating off of Google way back in April. Well, it has taken me just that long to do it. Every photo, video and document I shared with them has been downloaded finally.

I deleted my 10 year old Google account this morning after liberating all my stuff. That stuff is mostly sitting on an external hard drive to be sorted and archived but that is for a much later day.

Until then, I will work to close out my other Google account that I created last November. Shouldn’t be so bad. One year’s worth shouldn’t take nearly as long as ten.

Anyway, up yours, Google. I will not willingly volunteer my data to you for you to spy on anymore.

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iPhone XR

This is a great blend of both budget and premium features. A $1200 phone for a $750 price. This has almost everything I want into an iPhone like a big, end-to-end screen, the A12 Bionic chip, dual sim card capability, augmented reality, great camera, long battery life, Face ID and of course, Animoji as seen below.

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The XR has a 12mp camera with f/1.8 aperature and smart HDR tech. Video is 4k quality. Portrait mode has advanced bokeh and depth control that can be edited after the snap. The front facing camera is 7mp quality with f/2.2 aperature, portait mode and portrait lighting effects.

The best part? I upgraded and ended up paying less for more.

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Transition

I am decommissioning my Misadventures.me website and coming back here to ChrisDenbow.com. It was an attempt at a fresh start but then I realized I didn’t want to go that direction. The web domain expires soon and I am not renewing it. It is for sale if you want it.

The transition is smooth so far but included challenges like transferring my two domain names away from Google as well as my email hosting. Now I have to change my account settings to everyone I do business with as well as friends/family. “Hey, I moved!” Want to connect? Send me email to hello@chrisdenbow.website

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NSCoding.

@interface MyObject : NSObject <NSCoding>

@property (strong, nonatomic) NSString *firstValue;
@property (strong, nonatomic) NSString *secondValue;

@end

Your implementation must include encodeWithCoder and initWithCoder

- (void)encodeWithCoder:(NSCoder*)encoder {
    [encoder encodeObject:self.firstValue forKey:@"first_value"];
    [encoder encodeObject:self.secondValue forKey:@"second_value"];
}

- (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder*)decoder {
    self = [MyObject new];
    self.firstValue = [decoder decodeObjectForKey:@"first_value"];
    self.secondValue = [decoder decodeObjectForKey:@"second_value"];
    return self;
}

You can then store MyObject in NSUserDefaults like this.

MyObject *myObj = [MyObject new];

myObj.firstValue = @"This is the first value";
myObj.secondValue = @"This is another value";

NSData *data = [NSKeyedArchiver archivedDataWithRootObject:myObj];
[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] setObject:data forKey:@"my_object"];
[[NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] synchronize];