Only one item was damaged during the cross-country relocation and that was my Royal Scrittore typewriter. I was looking forward to using it but apparently these things don’t defy gravity or react well with hard surfaces. I took it apart today to repair it and I have everything fixed so I thought.
The carriage return does not advance but the backspace does. Some of the letter keys stick but that can be poked back down. It may be time to look elsewhere and I do have my eye on this white typewriter from eBay.
It’ll go with the new decor so it’s justified(?) I’ll stew on it for a bit.
Why write publicly? I’ve asked myself this question at least once a year, and my answer gets easier every year—no one cares.
Writing, for me, is a tool to organize my thoughts and process them. It’s also a log for me to remember and look back on to see how I’ve progressed over the years. But writing is a lonely hobby. If there is a limited audience, then what is the point? Put it into an email or a text message and be done with it, right?
Writing online with my domain, my website, and a server can be expensive. It doesn’t have to be, but I choose this over a third-party host and give up all of my rights, privacy, and autonomy.
Social media is not an option for those same reasons.
Social internet is an answer, but it takes too much time to build.
The hardest part of blogging, sharing my passions or thoughts, doesn’t always mean the people closest to you care to read them. Then the doubt creeps in, “Well, if they don’t care, why would anyone else? Why am I doing this, and putting myself out there?”
So, I do what I always do, which is to write for me first, and just hope that maybe someone else might find something of value in there. But over time I just became so frustrated with it all, I am going to close my website down and just go back to journaling for a while.
Why write publicly? I’ve asked myself this question at least once a year, and my answer gets easier every year—no one cares.
Writing, for me, is a tool to organize my thoughts and process them. It’s also a log for me to remember and look back on to see how I’ve progressed over the years. But writing is a lonely hobby. If there is a limited audience, then what is the point? Put it into an email or a text message and be done with it, right?
Writing online with my domain, my website, and a server can be expensive. It doesn’t have to be, but I choose this over a third-party host and give up all of my rights, privacy, and autonomy.
Social media is not an option for those same reasons.
Social internet is an answer, but it takes too much time to build.
The hardest part of blogging, sharing my passions or thoughts, doesn’t always mean the people closest to you care to read them. Then the doubt creeps in, “Well, if they don’t care, why would anyone else? Why am I doing this, and putting myself out there?”
So, I do what I always do, which is to write for me first, and just hope that maybe someone else might find something of value in there. But over time I just became so frustrated with it all, I am going to close my website down and just go back to journaling for a while.
In the early days in the life of this website, I never had a writing workflow. Each post was dumped from my brain to the keyboard with a shrug and a push of a button to send. Over time, I picked up tools such as converting all-in to the Apple ecosystem and accompanying software that manifested into a more thoughtful and organized work path.
First things first, I need ideas. These come from various input/output sources, such as reading frequently, or having multiple creative outlets. From here, ideas formulate and sometimes appear after connecting a string of previously consumed inputs/outputs to connect the dots. These go into a file on my personal database, Grey Matter. I’ll let them percolate in my brain for a bit, do some research, check sources and relax. Now I have something to write about.
These ideas generate from multiple inputs such as a book I am reading, RSS feeds from other’s personal websites, X, formerly known as Twitter, Substack, et al. Once I see an article I’d like to return to I will send it to Matter to read it later and delete the rest. Inside Matter, I will return to a saved article, highlight the interesting bits and add my notes and initial thoughts into the marginalia.
Now it is time to sit down to the MacBook Pro, open up the Ulysses writing software and draft an outline. That’s the skeleton of the article, so it’s time to flesh it out. Here’s where everything from the inputs, the outputs and my thoughts just start flowing into this massive article, not caring about grammar, spelling or formatting yet. Eventually, there are words and paragraphs that need to be paired down and culled. Inside Ulysses there are helpful tools that checks for grammatical mistakes, typos, punctuation, etc., and prompts me to make the needed changes before publishing the draft to my website.
Image 1: time to edit that down – Image 2: time to edit those mistakes
Now that the draft is in, it’s time to format and design of the article because it is a mixture of design, photography, etc. To get an over-all visual I run a new branch in Git that runs a new file with metadata such as title, author, date.
—
title: ${title}
date: “${date}”
type: ${type}
tags:
notoc: true
cover: cover.jpg
coversocial: social.jpg
path: /blog/${path}/
description: write description here
—
write content here
—
Afterward, the header image is added — always in black and white to maintain consistency and an overall clean look. Colors can be too distracting, I think.
Once the article is ready to post, I ensure whether to distribute as an article, to my newsletter subscribers and always out to RSS.
According to Ulysses, this article will take you almost two minutes to consume on your device, less if you are scanning, so you can hurry and go check your social feeds (lol.)
I was enjoying this playlist while editing this article:
I have been an avid reader since I can remember, and that memory goes back quite the distance. And in that whole time I’ve always felt that there is a story for me to tell, something that hasn’t been written yet and it was up to me to tell it since no one else will. The trick is to tell a compelling story that is unique or maybe offer a small twist. I do not have lofty aspirations nor fancy myself as a brilliant writer- at all.
Now that the disclaimer is out there I can proceed.
The idea of a my first novel came from a photo book documenting the Angkor province of Cambodia from the Khmer Empire, a topic that hardly anyone knows anything about so of course I was intrigued and have been pursuing research and ideas on how to tell a story there. That has been burned in my brain for the past thirty years.
During this past month I was in a hotel room alone with my thoughts and there were plenty of thoughts for other novel ideas. Work by day then come back to the hotel at night to read and write. As I said, for one month I have generated almost thirty-five (35!) novel ideas and concepts. I have even gone so far as to come up with plot lines from start to finish on most of these. At least ten unique characters to be interjected as well.
To break them down I’d say at least 20 of these are novel sized with the remaining 15 are more like individual short stories that can/will be combined into one overall story with a common theme.
My brain and fingers are swollen from over use but I am pleased.
There are so many issues though with the most difficult being- which story do I want to start first? Which one do I invest my time in research and development? Should I start on a smaller series and build from those small victories?
Check up on some of the progress on my Writing page above.
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.
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
I am slowly building out a separate web page dedicated to writing and I think I have it. The posts on this page is signaling intent on novels, short stories and series. First with tentative titles and an underlying premise. Only four are added with another 25 to go so stay tuned. You can view it by clicking on the WRITING tab in the menu or here.
I have been an avid reader since I can remember, and that memory goes back quite the distance. And in that whole time I’ve always felt that there is a story for me to tell, something that hasn’t been written yet and it was up to me to tell it since no one else will. The trick is to tell a compelling story that is unique or maybe offer a small twist. I do not have lofty aspirations nor fancy myself as a brilliant writer- at all.
Now that the disclaimer is out there I can proceed.
The idea of a my first novel came from a photo book documenting the Angkor province of Cambodia from the Khmer Empire, a topic that hardly anyone knows anything about so of course I was intrigued and have been pursuing research and ideas on how to tell a story there. That has been burned in my brain for the past thirty years.
During this past month I was in a hotel room alone with my thoughts and there were plenty of thoughts for other novel ideas. Work by day then come back to the hotel at night to read and write. As I said, for one month I have generated almost thirty-five (35!) novel ideas and concepts. I have even gone so far as to come up with plot lines from start to finish on most of these. At least ten unique characters to be interjected as well.
To break them down I’d say at least 20 of these are novel sized with the remaining 15 are more like individual short stories that can/will be combined into one overall story with a common theme.
My brain and fingers are swollen from over use but I am pleased.
There are so many issues though with the most difficult being- which story do I want to start first? Which one do I invest my time in research and development? Should I start on a smaller series and build from those small victories?
All titles shown are incomplete, personal property and are subject to change
I’m continually looking for methods to utilize my devices and software to maximize productivity and today I am focused on utilizing the M1 iPad Pro. Combined with the Magic Keyboard I’ve transformed this into a dedicated writing device, much like a typewriter.
I’ve established the perfect writing environment by organizing my writing apps and customizing my settings. Currently I am using two writing platforms, the first being my very own Grey Matter database. Everything goes in here and is backed up to the cloud in .txt files. Text files stand the test of time and are readable on any device. The second platform is a subscription service (yuck) called Ulysses. iCloud based storage helps keep my chapters and verses organized and backed up.
Typewriter mode, Editor Focus and dark mode all help eliminate distractions and helps me crank out words more effectively.
When I’m ready to sit down and start writing I automatically pick up Maximus and I am great to go.
I’m continually looking for methods to utilize my devices and software to maximize productivity and today I am focused on utilizing the M1 iPad Pro. Combined with the Magic Keyboard I’ve transformed this into a dedicated writing device, much like a typewriter.
I’ve established the perfect writing environment by organizing my writing apps and customizing my settings. Currently I am using two writing platforms, the first being my very own Fox OS database. Everything goes in here and is backed up to the cloud in .txt files. Text files stand the test of time and are readable on any device. The second platform is a subscription service (yuck) called Ulysses. iCloud based storage helps keep my chapters and verses organized and backed up.
Typewriter mode, Editor Focus and dark mode all help eliminate distractions and helps me crank out words more effectively.
When I’m ready to sit down and start writing I automatically pick up Maximus and I am great to go.
Hi! In case you are new around here, I am Chris. If you are new around here, here is something About Me and why you should read my newsletter. In this letter, I share what’s on my mind, my latest writings, articles worth reading from around the web, my recommendations & sometimes my photography.
Every now and then I receive an email stating “I think your readers would be interested in _____.”
While I am grateful for the comments and feedback, that is not how this personal website works. Initially I write for myself and occasionally people agree with me and find it useful. Thank you! I can fill this website with all manner of interesting topics to maximize an audience but by then it becomes click bait. Instead, I write about topics and themes that I am interested and then others may find interesting as well then they decide to share it. See the difference? By all means, keep sharing topics of interest so we can all benefit. This is the heart of the social internet.
The articles I write here are infrequently consistent. They are written when time allows. When silent I am either working the day job or reading/researching topics of interest to myself and then saved for later use and sharing here or in the newsletter. Ah yes, the newsletter. Every member (free!), will get an inbox notification for each post created here. I’m contemplating a weekly round-up of the aforementioned topics of interest and sharing them. The format will loosely a bit like this:
An Image List of 5-10 topics, links, etc
Interesting article from web
Interesting article from web
Another subject
Link to interesting subject
What I’ve read
What I listen to
What I watched
A photo of something I discovered that week
A relevant video
Personal update
First, I check my website and see if there’s anything that I think is worth linking to. Then, I’ll check my log/journal for interesting topics, music, movies, or books, etc. Then, I’ll review my Twitter feeds that I’ve saved to share. After that I will scour the feeds I’ve saved in ReadWise, Matter or Feedbin.
I want to send out a newsletter to interested parties about topics that I have actually read and am genuinely interested in.
If you don’t already, you can click that subscribe button the website header or at the bottom of this article. I promise no spam, no advertising. Ever.
I’d like to put it out there to the World Wide Web right now- if I ever use artificial intelligence to write this website for me, I’ll shut it down first. But, until the damn thing grows arms, breasts and sentience, I’m in charge, so we’ll do things my way.
While it is true that artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we work, read, and create, I don’t believe it will take away the human soul’s creativity. AI can absolutley be seen as taking over if you think of it as sentient, but it isn’t. It is all programmed, programmable and flawed. Just like us.
AI is a tool in our toolbox, nothing more. Those tools are no different then a hammer/chisel to sculpt. No different then pencil/paper, paint/canvas, light/film/photo.
AI can be viewed as an intern. Some interns are paid and most are not. But either way, we can allow AI to do some research for us, format the data and organize data to fit our desired outcome. Now, would I trust an intern’s copy without proof-reading? No. We polish it up and make it our own, conform to our needs and desired outcomes.
If I ask AI to generate a blog post for my website I am sure it will be very competent in spitting out text that is very factual, very droll, with keywords that will generate search engine optimization and offer suggestions on how to best get the best return on investment for all of it’s hard work and I take all the credit.
Image Credit: Me (human) + AI
But it isn’t me. It won’t be personal now matter how I try to spin it off as my own. It is artificial, emotionless, calculating and maybe too perfect in comparison to my flawed brain, typos, run-on sentences, etc.
This website will no longer be a personal website at that point. It would be formatted to reach the most viewers based on the most current topics of thing that I personally don’t give a damn about. That isn’t a personal blog. It is artificial.
To be clear, I do not fear artificial intelligence. As a closet geek, I am amazed at what programmable software can do right now and still wonder what is holding us back to do even more. I took a few semesters at Stanford online for quantum computing and quantum mechanics and was in awe at the theories and possibilities. Combining quantum computing with machine learning and artificial intelligence is a step forward to benefitting mankind. I do fear that like all tools in the hands of humans, that it can be perverted to do harm to others.
🤖
“We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything that we’ve done, like we did with the Cylon. We decided to play God, create life. And when that life turned against us, we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn’t our fault, not really. You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you’ve created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can’t hide from the things that you’ve done anymore.” – Commander William Adama
🤖
“Technology changes, but people stay the same.” – Robopocalypse
However, as I said earlier: until the damn thing grows arms, breasts and sentience, I’m in charge of this personal website, so I’ll do things my way.
“Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individuals who choose the subject they will study, their studying material, and the studying rhythm and time. Autodidacts may or may not have formal education, and their study may be either a complement or an alternative to formal education.” – Wikipedia.
That reads as impressive, no? All that to say, I enjoy reading, studying and figuring things out on my own, for my own enrichment. Over the years I am slowly fine-tuning the process. I have built my own personal knowledge database which houses decades worth of knowledge, thoughts, writings, white papers etc all in .txt, .pdf and .md formats.
📚
If you enjoy reading for knowledge, do you receive value for that time? How do you retain what you’ve read? How can you refer back to a specific instance that you came across but can’t remember where?
This is where my personal knowledge management database comes in. I call it “Grey Matter.” Others refer to their database as a “Second Brain.”
A visual graph of decades worth of inter-connected notes in my Grey Matter databaseLook at that web of connected notes!
After converting then, importing all your documents into the database, you then need to sort and organize in a way that seems logical to you. I choose to sort by year/month such as: 2023/03. If you take good notes, you should be able to sort by categories after that. An extra step for me is to backlink each note to another relevant note. Example: By typing double brackets, [[photo workflow]], the database then suggests previous documents with your suggested topic. As soon as you do this, the database generates a link to that document in your current document.
Back-linking for the win
When you perform a search for something you want to recall, look it up and every document with that tag or backlink will display and you can choose your relevant article. Neat, yeah?
Make connections to your thoughts scattered over time
As a self-proclaimed autodidact, I enjoy hybrid models of both, old knowledge and new knowledge. The challenge is discovering solutions to merge the two of them together for your benefit.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what I do, what I want to do and understanding my motivations. Not sure if this is because I just turned 50 and may be having some kind of crisis. Doesn’t feel like it. I am learning how to prioritize activities and being more intentional with my time.
I enjoy writing, not just for my website, but also for my personal knowledge database. Whether it be manual scribbles or typing on a keyboard, I love writing. And for the past twenty-two years, there has always been a nagging question: “Why are you doing this?” The question always exists of “what is it for”. I wrote about this recently in fact.
Sure, Chris, you write because you enjoy writing. True.
I don’t do this for attention, money, clicks or internet fame. I’ve had all of that in the past but no longer need them.
No, my interest and motivation is solely internal. If I wanted to write to an audience, I am going to have to step up my game with relevant content and frequency. If you are still reading or have stayed with me through the years, bless you.
These thoughts give reason behind simply enjoying the process of writing instead of the results. I love writing out my thoughts and that is enough motivation to do it. Although enough of it takes place in private that hitting publish barely seems worth it at all, the process could be enough. Although it is a joy to hit “PUBLISH” and send out to the WWW.
Besides, haven’t you ever done something just for the hell of it?
