Hacking A Reading Workflow

2023-02-12 12:25:39

You could say I enjoy reading. But what good is all of that time spent if I do not retain that input? I need a system for transforming reading into meaningful action and lasting insight.

Auxiliary Activity-

Other people would call this "hobby reading" but what's the point of reading if you cannot use expand your intellect and use alternative phrases? Fine, we'll call it "reading for fun." I use the Libby library app to connect to the three public libraries I am a member of. Here I can borrow any book title or audiobook that is available. Once borrowed, I will send the book to my Kindle e-reader for consumption. While reading, I can highlight text and even make a digital note about anything of interest to me. Anything I highlight or make note of gets automagically exported out of the Kindle and into my personal knowledge database that I call Grey Matter. From here I can link and backlink thoughts and ideas for later reference.

Reading For the Informed-

I also enjoy keeping up on the latest technology websites, photography trends, art trends and homegrown blogs like this one right here. I do that through the magic of RSS. With a website reader like Reeder or FeedBin, I can have hundreds of websites aggregate into one spot. They come to me, I don't go to the websites themselves. From there I can read an article, then either discard or save to read it later as a reference. Notes and highlights are made in there too, and sent off to Grey Matter for when I am ready. Tom Critchlow, refers to it as "digital bricolage" or "web foraging". Love it.

Hor

2023-02-09 01:43:54

There is a running joke in my family that I consume too many Apple devices every year. Well the joke is on me because I did it again. I upgraded to the Apple Watch Ultra. Horology is the study of time and so she is appropriately named.

UPDATE - the watch has been returned because I realized I simply don't want it.

Mylio Photo Organizer

2023-02-21 03:03:33

How the hell did this software program help organize thirty years of my photography archives in under an hour? Download, install and sign up for the 30-day free trial. And we're off!

Import From External Drives

I plugged in my 10TB external hard drive and pointed to where I wanted the photo copies stored inside Mylio. I am ecstatic to see all those decades of images in one library. Next I added the Archive Backup hard drive and did the same thing.

Import From The Mac

Next, I started importing photos from folders on my Macbook Pro. Not much there since I send the previous month's images to the Archives. Example: Only February 2023 is in the Photos Folder on the Mac.

Import From Apple Photos

Every image that is currently in Photos gets copied to Mylio instantly. A great addition to the 2TB iCloud storage and backup.

Import From Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, Google Photos with Mylio

Ever since downloading all the photos I have posted to those social media accounts and then deleting those accounts, I have stored them away for safekeeping. The time has come where I have the ability to see them all in one place. Everything is organized by year and month. Boom.

Organize, Sync, Backup

After adding all your photos, Mylio has a variety of ways to help organize. Date, keywords, favorites, geotagging etc. Once organized, Mylio syncs to the vaults stored on all of your devices.

Editing

I haven't played around with this too much because of the other, more professional tools I use but the capability to make basic edits is baked into Mylio.

Conclusion

This is a fantastic solution, one I wish I had discovered sooner. It is a time-saver, a life-saver and alleviates a lot of self-induced frustration at my lack of digital asset management. Once everything was imported and sorted, I then clicked "subscribe." Yes, it is another subscription, but it ticked all the boxes for my requirements of photo archive management.

Signal Loss

2023-02-25 05:49:40

I have so much to say and not enough time to say it. But to be fair, I am probably the only one listening to the Radio Denbow podcast anyway. And how the hell do I plan on making it interesting if it is just me on the broadcast? Hmm.

Digital vs Analog

2023-02-25 13:47:57

02-25-2023

Analog vs Digital

I observed my Royal Scrittore typewriter collecting dust this morn g moring and thought I would give it a go. Two sentences in and my fingers hurt. Compare this tothe keyboard on my MacBook Pro where every key stroke is effortless and does not hurt.

Do I want/need to sell this piece of ..antiquity? I love the aesthetic but it feels more annoying than. beneficial. And if it doe does not. inspire joy, then it is out the door.

Damn. Back to the Mac.

Goodbye Adobe

2023-02-27 01:11:24

After decades of relying on Adobe photography software to host, edit and organize my archive, it is time to say goodbye. Photoshop and Lightroom are second to none with one exception- a subscription. With all the competition out there in this space, I can no longer justify $120 annually for it. Yes, they've hosted my photography website too, but I am moving on.

In a frequent effort to manage my tools and workflow, I am in downsizing mode. Call it minimalism or essentialism. I've discovered Mylio, a software tool that organizes your archives quickly and more efficiently than Adobe.

Last year I paid a one-time fee for Pixelmator Pro which is baked right in to the Apple ecosystem so much, I am surprised Apple hasn't bought them out.

Last month I re-upped my Flickr photo-hosting membership. This is where my images can be discovered online as opposed to my old photography site (PhotoDenbow.com)

Apple Photos is of course, on all the iDevices that I own and synced flawlessly through iCloud. With 2TB of cloud storage, I am good for awhile there too. Besides, it is a joy to view the images in there. It reminds me of the old film contact sheets we used in the darkroom before making prints.

All of this is subject to change, without notice and usually on a whim. But for now, I am confident that this will help save money and lighten the workflow.

UPDATE 3/3 - That didn't last long. I renewed the membership, if only to get the Adobe Portfolio web hosting that comes with it. Every other web host is $$.

2023: Chapter One

2023-02-02 06:01:39

Today is the day! It is February, 2nd, 2023 and it is time to start a new chapter for the new year's resolutions.

Here is a quick list of things I want to do for the new year:

• Learn Spanish
• More meditation & yoga
• Organize the photo Archive as a database
• Minimalism/essentialism
• Quit smoking
• No alcohol
• Lower BP
• Lose 20 pounds

Learn Spanish

My goal of learning Spanish kicked off 35 days ago, on December 28, according to DuoLingo, my language app. 35-day streak is fairly impressive if you know me at all. I've had little opportunity in applying what I've learned in the real world but cannot wait to have conversations with the Spanish-speaking community this year.

Meditation and yoga almost daily.

I've prepped for these goals by investing in a few Apple software helpers such as Apple Fitness+ and Music for guided meditation and workouts. Subscribing to specific podcasts have been helpful too. A new padded floor mat has been added and I am looking forward to more fitness, flexibility and patience.

Photography Goals

Learning Adobe photography software tools should be easy for me  after all these years but I've overlooked the fundamentals.
But this year I want to do a deep dive. I have all these tools but feel like I am scratching the surface and want to maximize the tools I have.  I've put in a lot of work these past thirty years but there is a need for photo archive organization. The end result will be an organized archive system where I can easily find and use any one photo on demand.

Minimalism and essentialism

My brain toggles on/off when it relates to stuff. I need this or that until I get bored with it and then accumulate more stuff that I don't use. Well this year, the toggle is in "OFF" mode. It's time to purge down to the essentials and keep only the things I use and enjoy. Everything else is...just that.

Quit smoking

The tobacco pipe is in use as I write this on February 1 in anticipation of quitting by February 2. What tobacco remains now will be destroyed, the pipe cleaned and accessories put away in storage. I am over smoking and the removal of the tobacco pipe paraphernalia should help. This will help me lower my blood pressure and overall health.

No Alchohol

Alcohol consumption is not difficult for me, and I can refrain even while at a bar with friends. This is an easy one so I should see less weight and overall health as a result.

Lower Blood pressure

Priority one. Less, salt. Less sugar. Less eating out. Increase my cardio with more walking, yoga. More supplements and eventually the diuretic prescription again. All of this should help me lower my weight and eventually those readings will come down.

Lose 20 pounds

In the past few years, I maxed out at 217.4 pounds. That isn't great for a 5'7" frame. I am currently down to 204.4 pounds on February 1. My goals is to get down to 185 pounds. 175 is better, but let's be realistic. The issue here is nutrition. The job has me out in the field for 8-10 hours daily and the temptation to eat out is strong. But the job is also a physical one so I should take advantage of all that lifting and walking.

In the past 10 years or so, I have attempted a variation of resolution themes in an attempt to hold myself accountable, and all of them have had limited success. The first few attempts were centered around my resolutions and a monthly check-in by way of accountability. For ten years I would focus on what I called Groundhog Day Resolutions. The kickoff would always start on February 2nd or 2/2. This was a little over a month after the western calendar of New Year's Day on January 1st.

This year I want to do a variation of a monthly accountability check-in. I mentioned the “Groundhog Day Resolutions” and its limited success. While I believe the theory behind those initiatives were sound, the practice was not. So it's time to have a re-think about the process.

In 2023, I am writing a book on it. This year I am thinking of each month of this year as its own chapter in a book. I’ll do a chapter review on the same date that corresponds with the month.

Example: The book will start on February 2 (2/2) and will go on until March 3rd or 3/3. On 3/3 I will conduct a review of the previous month, and so on and so forth. With the chapter review, I’ll throw in some highlights of the previous month in hope that by the end of the year (11/11), I’ll have written a book I can be proud of.

It's time to get to writing that book and start a new chapter. See you on March 3rd for a review of Chapter 1.

Apple Watch SE

2023-02-27 02:58:01

After ordering and returning the Apple Watch Ultra upgrade, I went two weeks without. I felt naked without it at first, and then made peace with the situation. Right up to the point where T-Mobile offered a huge discount on the current SE model and I jumped on it. So now I am back to tracking my workouts, closing my exercise rings, making secure payments with a flick of my wrist at the check out stand and more. But that cheap silicon band has got to be swapped out for a more attractive band.