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.
Productivity tricks at work
The quality of work at my job this week has been higher thanks to a couple of renewed workflows I adjusted to my current role. I wanted to share some of these “mind tricks.”
I got my new sand timer (I don’t like the word hourglass, it doesn’t make sense) Tuesday. A big 30-minute glass with a sky-blue sand version of the pomodoro technique, it has two roles. First, it divides my work into 30-minute sessions; this keeps me productive while motivating me to pull through and finish a task as I watch the steady flow of sand getting me closer to a break. Second, it measures how many “sessions” I have in a day, which makes my productivity measurable in units. Having my time tangible like this is a nice boost to creativity I didn’t expect.
My checklists are back as well, and the effect was immediate. I found patterns in my workflow that allow me to automate more tasks mentally and spend time on details. One outcome, for example, is more organized communication with coworkers and adding it directly into each task’s notes rather than replying to endless email threads or chat logs. The details themselves are helpful and would make it easier to find references in the future.
I also started using the Microsoft style guide more often. This guide is generally accepted among technical writers for editing and regulating instructions. Now I have “use” and “do not use” word lists. For example, using “select” over “click” or “tap” when writing instructions for users to choose an option in a workflow, the manual is full of such examples to interact with the UI. I also hope to review our own work guide and add information about visual aids, headings, fonts, colors, etc. Rather than correctness, the emphasis for me is on uniformity.
It’s been a long week. I feel tired but accomplished. I made good progress this week in the right direction, and in turn, this will lead to better work and more quality in my free time.
Good morning!
Todays breakfast sandwich 🥪 is one of my favorites: goat cheese, reddish, brussels sprouts, and mustard.
