September photo 📷 challenge day 1: Abstract
Evaluating writing in a notebook
Today, I wanted to know if my notebook 📙 has been useful to me. I’ve been writing down notes in the morning on and off since February, so I have about six months of experience to consider.
Writing in a notebook is very restricting, especially when compared to a versatile tool such as Emacs and a wonder like a Mac and the internet at your fingertips. The notebooks I keep are all pocket-sized, so I have little room for my scribbles before I run out of space. Restriction, though, is not always a bad thing. The wonders of technology can be very distracting. Having access to all the information is useful most of the time, but not when you only have a vague idea or a “feeling” about something that you’re trying to define.
There’s also comfort in this restriction. I often get overwhelmed by information overload. One side of my mind is like a madman laughing into the brainstorm; the other is left in the dust, yelling at me to slow down. In a notebook, I have to slow down if I want my notes to be readable. This slowness makes the notebook inviting to use. It also feels nice to write on pen and paper in a way typing on a keyboard is not 🖊️. It’s not that I get no joy from the computer; it’s just different.
Because the notebook is not connected to the internet, there’s no Google to hold my hand and guide me on a journey of tangents. The only entity behind the pen is me; hence, the only person who can guide my thoughts is me. I feel this level of personal intimacy is lost on us in the digital age. Our thoughts are constantly in danger of being underdeveloped, distracted into oblivion - Death before depth.
There is time and place for thinking and processing large amounts of information, and it’s good we have the tools to do so. At the same time, we lost the ability to think deeply, even sulk. We’re afraid of boredom and perhaps depression. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to dive in and revisit these thoughts, even if they carry a weight. Having a pen and paper anchors me down, like entering my mind-maze with a yarn ball to leave a string behind.
My movie watching habit in org-mode
Not too long ago, I organized my routines on Emacs with new habits. I’m particularly satisfied with my “watch a good movie” habit:
This chart might look confusing, but it’s simple once you get used to it.
Each colored rectangle represents a day. The exclamation mark represents the current day, and an Asterisk represents the last time the habit was completed. The green is the “good range” of the habit in days, which means I have that many days to complete the habit. For example, the head buzz habit above the movie one has today and tomorrow (one more green rectangle) to complete. A day after that is yellow, indicating the last "good day" to do so. After that, the red rectangles indicate days behind on completing the habit.
Once I mark a habit complete, the colored rectangles disappear from my agenda until I'm in range (green) again. The blue rectangle represents the days before this happens. For both the head buzz and movie habit, I have two days (two blue rectangles) after I complete the habit before I should do it again.
So, for the movie-watching habit, today is the first day to watch a movie, after I watched one two days ago. If I don’t have time, I still have about a week ahead of me (in the green).
In addition, I also started to log what movies I watched and when:
As you can see, Emacs keeps a log of when I complete each habit. I then
add a note with the movie name (C-c C-z) in the logbook
drawer.
This is another fine example of why I love using Emacs org-mode to organize my life.
Grumpy Old Men, 1993 - ★★★
I felt like I wanted to watch something lighter, and this was definitely it. It's the 90s through and through, with humor and the budding start of giving women a role that's going a bit beyond (but not enough) the constant cringy 80s roles. Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon are of different time periods, but that doesn't mean they can't deliver good comical relief today.
Pouches and Organizers
As evident from the notebook, I was thinking about pouches this morning. I was inspired by Adam Savage’s YouTube video. His company makes nice sturdy ones, but they also have a nice sturdy price - a set of 5 for $125. That’s a bit much, so I spent a good chunk of time looking for ones on Amazon and elsewhere, realizing in the process that the good ones cost over $10.
Thinktank, the makers of my awesome camera messenger bag, make a nice looking one at the size I’m looking for (more or less) for $16. I might end up with two of those and probably pay around $50 with tax and delivery. Actually, they’re available on Amazon, so I can get them for a bit over $30 if I want two.
These will be useful for hygiene/shower stuff (toothbrush, contact lenses, solution, glasses, nail clipper, etc.) and charges for both my phones with extra cables. If I find the older pouch I buried around this room somewhere, I will have three total and use one from the two I’m going to get for my pens and notebook, which are scattered right now without a suitable placement.
My brain when I don’t sleep:
“I think I can figure out how to get Emacs Org-mode instead of my work’s annoying GUI options for text.. a bit of Pandoc magic here, a bit of HTML source grab from the site, and poof! There we go!”
My brain when I sleep:
“Do what now..? Nah, Let’s go for a walk.” 🤷♂️
Finished reading: The Maid by Nita Prose 📚 yesterday. Nicely written, from a somewhat different perspective of Molly the maid. Suspense and a couple of plot twists, I enjoyed this one overall. Got it from the library.
The latest S3 video is now up:
I was looking into Star Trek strange new worlds yesterday, then realized I never watched it’s predecessor or Enterprise. That last one is with Scott Bakula, one of my favorite actors thanks to Quantum Leap. I got the first season on the spot. So far It’s such a fun show!
Joyland, 2022 - ★★★★
When this movie starts throwing punches, it doesn’t let go. Joyland has many layers that are both beautiful and terrible. It’s culturally refreshing, emotionally draining, romantically charming, gender and traditions devastating. It’s a milestone when you consider its Pakistani origins.
What I immediately liked the most about it was its slice-of-life manner of delivery. Nothing is fantastical. The actors are authentic and candid (especially Alina Khan and Rasti Farooq). You get a front-row sit into the intimate life of a family who could easily be your neighbors, sans the language and the country. The assumed culture is, surprisingly, too uncomfortably close to home.
Go in emotionally prepared and with a box of tissues nearby. This one’s gonna hurt.