Speaking of jrnl, did I mention that I’m testing jrnl as my daily logging tool? Since I’m sticking to CLI-based tools for the month, I needed a replacement for my Emacs “Daybook”. My Daybook relies on all sorts of capture templates and snippets in Emacs. Since that’s out, I figured I might try the One Big Text File (OBTF) approach. By default, jrnl writes entries to one big text file, so it seemed suitable for this purpose. ...

I’m slowly learning how to customize Hyprland. I’ve been playing with jrnl as a way to do a daily log. It’s been successful enough that I wanted to streamline it a bit. What I wanted was to bind a key to opening my jrnl prompt in a floating terminal in whichever workspace I happen to be in. Here’s how I did it: # Keybinding for floating centered terminal bind = SUPER SHIFT, J, exec, alacritty --class floating-term -e jrnl --config-override editor "" windowrulev2 = float, class:(floating-term) windowrulev2 = center, class:(floating-term) windowrulev2 = size 800 60%, class:(floating-term) This gets me a conveniently sized and placed terminal window with jrnl waiting for me to type whatever I want. A simple CTRL-d and it creates the jrnl entry and the window goes away. ...

Since I’m using only CLI and TUI apps in November, I needed to find a replacement for Mu4e in Emacs. As a long-time Mutt user, I assumed that’s what I’d use. A couple people recommended that I try aerc instead. I’ve run into aerc before, but assumed it was some super geeky thing meant for emailing software patches around. While it does do that, it handles “regular” email pretty well, too. ...

I think I’ll try something. I think I’ll try using only CLI and TUI apps during the month of November. So this means: NeoVim / LazyVim instead of Emacs and Org-mode for notes Mutt instead of Mu4e for email Taskwarrior instead of Org-mode for tasks LazyGit instead of Magit for Git. Newsboat instead of Elfeed I might even give nb a fair shake, just for kicks. Why would I bother with this? No reason other than that it’s fun. Omarchy comes with a pretty complete LazyVim setup and I’ve been surprised by how nice it is. ...

I use Zen Browser on Linux. While playing around with LazyVim (I know, I know) I learned about Tridactyl which is a plugin that let’s you manipulate Firefox (or Zen) using Vim-like key bindings. It feels weird and I keep tripping over myself, but I feel like once I’m used to it, this is a great way to browse.

I spent all morning toying with a few different static blogging options that could replace Hugo. Kev had generously sent me a head start on a Jekyll theme that mimics my WordPress theme at baty.blog. I installed Jekyll and (to my surprise) I didn’t hit any Ruby walls. While it was a great head start, I realized how much work remained, and I’m still not sure I want to use Jekyll. ...

It’s weird how I spend a few days relaxing in WordPress, then I wake up one day and think, “Maybe I’ll generate my whole website with Org-mode and Emacs!” I probably won’t do that, but I sometimes consider it. I don’t want photography be just another way to generate files to play with on the computer. The temperature dipped to freezing for the first time this year. This usually means it’s truly the end of summer. Blech. ...

I prefer seeing a new tab, not the URL search dialog

I’m fishing for a new theme. I’m willing to change SSGs to get one I like.

I’m becoming a fan of this awkward kit. The F100 is such a sleeper and can be had relatively cheaply. I ended up with that weird-looking SB-20 flash as part of a local Facebook purchase. There might be something to this TTL flash, auto-focus, auto-exposure photography thing.

My therapist asked me why I thought it was a problem to have so many blogs/cameras/notebooks/etc. and I couldn’t give her a good answer. It often feels like a problem, but is it? Maybe not. Maybe I’m just having fun and that’s fine. I’m using WordPress lately because it’s easy and I don’t have to think about anything but the typing. Images are easy to add and it can do fancy things when it needs to. Sure, it’s a bit bloated and janky, but if what I do most of the time is hit “New post” and write, who cares? ...

I have so many great cameras, and I have the free time to use them. Yet I’ve barely been taking any photographs. Why is that? I’d love to figure it out. I wake up every day wondering who I’m going to be that day. Both WordPress and Hugo have things to like about them, so I keep using both because I don’t want to miss out on the good things about one when I decide to use the other. It’s silly, but there we are. ...

I impulse ordered the new Pebble smartwatch as soon as it was announced. At the time, I was looking for excuses to stop wearing my Apple Watch, and this seemed as good as any. The watch arrived yesterday. It’s very white :). There was no setup to speak of other than downloading the app so I can pick from thousands of faces. That should keep me busy for a while. I love e-paper screens. ...

I’m trying to spend as little time as possible on any social media. I’m finding it difficult. I started posting over at baty.blog again for some reason.

It’s nice having a pocketable point-and-shoot film camera with me. Normally for me, this either means an Olympus Stylus Epic or Ricoh GR1. Both of these are having issues, so I impulse ordered a Canon Sure Shot AF-7 from eBay. It was $30 shipped, so there wasn’t much risk. Here’s a self-portrait using the self-timer from the first roll (Kentmere 400) through the new camera: Self-portrait at my desk ...

Me, on this day in 2019: For like a week now I’ve gone to bed with the ThinkPad and using Linux to actually do stuff. It’s fun. Not easy or care-free, but for the first time I’m having a little fun. It’ll stick eventually. The 3.1.0 update to Omarchy has been released. The Discord channels are awash with people having trouble with the update, but I ran it on both my machines anyway. No issues so far. ...

I should probably write more about Linux and the NAS and the little Canon AF-7 and the sorry state of the US, but I don’t have the energy to put the words together in a useful way. So I’m kind of doing it one sentence at a time here in the dailies. If I’d have stuck with one system/process for longer, I’d really have something. As it stands now, all I have is a big fat mess. ...

I don’t know where to put things. I have several dozen files in my Downloads folder and I’ve no idea what to do with them. All the second engine does is fly you to the scene of the crash. – Pilots It’s possible I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. New desktop and laptop. New OS on both. New NAS. New media streamer (Jellyfin rather than Plex). New Immich install (via Docker on the UGREEN NAS). New photo editing software (Darktable). It’s a little overwhelming. My M4 Air is taunting me from the shelf over there. ...

Thinking about including a status thingy at the bottom of my daily posts. Got the idea from Warren Ellis. Do I actually do enough to justify writing it down every day? Maybe. Gruber doesn’t get art: Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal: ‘A Cartoonist’s Review of AI Art’ STATUS: 6h 24m sleep. Weight is ⬇️. TODO: Organize computers/cables. Water change in fish tank. READING: The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels LISTENING: Painkiller, by Judas Priest

I’m still working on my photo workflow in Linux. It’s gotten to the point of being tolerable, but it’s still not enjoyable. Darktable is powerful but there are too many ways of doing everything. I feel like I’m just throwing stuff at the wall, hoping it turns out. I suppose I will eventually find a process that works consistently, but right now I’m not even close to that. I really miss Capture One. ...