You’ll notice that I highlight short phrases in many of my daily post entries here. I think this makes it easier to scan things later. The HTML markup for this is just a styled <mark> tag wrapping the text to be highlighted.
I write my posts in Org-mode and convert them to Hugo-compatible Markdown using ox-hugo. The path from Org-mode to HTML for this is a little convoluted, so I cheat and use a macro to generate the markup.
Continue reading…TL;DR No.
I’m typing this post in the WordPress editor. I don’t enjoy writing here unless I’m adding an image gallery or some other fancy embedded content. It just feels off. “So write in MarsEdit or Ulysses or something instead,” you implore. Nah. I’ve tried that and decided that if I’m going to write in one place and publish somewhere else, I may as well just write in Emacs and publish a static website.
Continue reading…If you aren’t willing to put in a little effort to learn the Emacs way, please go away.
jcs – Emacs Buffers, Irreal
I understand the sentiment, but dammit, gatekeeping statements like that are unnecessarily off-putting for new users. Why are we surprised that people new to Emacs are initially befuddled by “buffers”, “frames” and weird key combinations? I sure was! If the first thing someone said when I asked “why” or otherwise questioned the status quo was “go away,” I would have done just that. And then we complain about the lack of uptake and “nebbishes”.
Do better.
For years, I’ve kept a paper notebook at hand. I always have a Moleskine-style bullet journal or a Field Notes pocket notebook or a Hobonichi Techo nearby. Sometimes all three.
Lately, I’ve been feeling hampered by keeping my journal on paper. My handwriting is terrible unless I write very slowly and deliberately. I worry that personal journaling suffers from too-slow, overly-deliberate writing. I spend too much time deciding between and playing with various writing instruments. I love my fountain pens, but I’m left-handed, and fountain pens are not ideal. The ink and paper must be just right, and that’s hard to arrange.
Eleven years ago I started using Day One, a journaling app for macOS and iOS. Day One is a fantastic app, dedicated to journaling. I’ve used it intermittently ever since. I’m now using it all the time.
Continue reading…Somehow my attempt at blog consolidation has drifted out of focus and I’m once again posting willy-nilly all over the place. For example, just today I’ve posted on Write.as, my wiki, Roam, Drummer, Mastodon, Twitter, and finally, here at baty.net. I recently paused my Micro.blog subscription and Tumblr gives me a headache, or I’d probably have written there, too.
I don’t know what to do about this, or if something even needs doing. I’m just making a note of it. I still dream of having One True Website™ but we all know that will probably remain nothing more than a dream.
While I’ve been a little obsessed with the MP since getting it, my M6 is a special camera and deserves some attention. I put a roll of HP5 through it today. It really is a great camera. And that little Voigtlander 35mm Color-Skopar suprises me.
The usual suspects, namely, photos of my dog and self-portraits.
I just sold my wonderful Leica Q2 Monochrom. This was the second time I’ve owned a Q2M and the second time I’ve sold one.
Continue reading…Long story short, I have successfully rationalized the purchase of a new iPad Pro and keyboard.
Continue reading…A week ago I did that thing where I blow up my system because I noticed I’d been doing that other thing where I spend all my time tweaking everything.
I’m calling it an experiment, and I’m naming it “Reset to Defaults”.
The idea is to revert to stock macOS apps where feasible, or simple and established apps otherwise, and avoid tools that lend themselves to constant tweaking. This hurts because tweaking is what I spend much of my time doing. I enjoy it! But, it’s a distraction and I should do less of it. To this end, I’ve restructured task management, blogging, journaling, note-taking, photo editing, file management, etc.
Yesterday I wrote that I no longer wanted to talk about my process. Yet, here I am talking about my process. I’m doing it because this is what helps me sort things out and remember how they were sorted. So, what the hell, let’s make it a blog post.
Here’s what I’m trying.
Continue reading…Anyone following along with me here should be used to changes. I never leave this site alone for more than a couple months. Turnover has been unusually high recently, though. I’ve gone Hugo->WordPress->Hugo->Ghost->Hugo in the space of two months. And as of today, May 19, 2022, we’re back in WordPress. Again.
Continue reading…
Do not expect consistency.