The Weekly Review: Vol VI Issue 15
Hello fellow netizens 👋
A good part of this issue was written beside the shores of Francois Lake, where autumn is nigh, and the breeze is cool enough to make you second guess your choice to bullishly insist that it’s still shorts weather. Such is life in Canada, my friends!
My week was split in quarters with time spent in front of a book, a notebook, a laptop screen, and the great outdoors with two of my boys. I cherish the times when I can both focus on one or two of our kids for an extended time, plus enjoy a little solitude in the wee hours when they’re asleep. Those opportunities abounded when they were all babes & toddlers, but are few and far between now that we’re into the teen years.
But scarcity makes you appreciate things a whole lot more!
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A messy desktop
Regarding things technical, I’ve been thinking about how certain changes sneak up on you and change your habits. Between the improvements to iCloud Drive and the functionality of Stacks in macOS, I find myself working a lot from my desktop these days.
Previously, I was one of those people who never had anything on the desktop. If something did get saved there, it was very temporary and never lasted from one day to the next.
But with my desktop contents being synced to iCloud, my work in progress is always available on both of my computers. I love the ability to keep temporary, top–of–mind stuff in view and being to pick up on things at a later time.
However, I don’t like a messy desktop. But that’s where the Stacks come in — they keep the chaos just enough at bay that it’s changed my behavior.
I've stopped paying attention to the Apple cycle and product news at this point in my life, but I'll occasionally realize where a software improvement has made a positive difference.
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Items of note
Yeah, I’m a sucker for this kind of post — I love to read about what people purchase for traveling and how they pack it all to go. Craig Mod shares his kit, and since his recent travels are a little more robust than most, the list is long and contains some gear many of us do not need.
But it’s fun to read regardless.
I didn’t go through the exercise, but I’m betting Craig’s list here is more than $20,000. Good gear costs more for good reason, and I’m a fan of spending more to make fewer purchases overall. But this list is not realistic for people most people … so be sure not to succumb to the internet siren song of comparison this time.
Why Categories for Your Note Archive are a Bad Idea
I’ve been wrestling with the usage of the Zettelkasten method for months. At first, my interest was merely piqued. Then I started to consider how I could benefit from using this method. Finally, I started to consider how to get started.
That eventually led to purchasing How to Take Smart Notes, which has been an enjoyable read (I’m currently about 75% finished). The problem? The focus has been very much on why you should use this method, but hardly much at all has been said about how you use it. Or rather, how one gets started.
This has led to a lot of review of previous blog articles I’ve read previously, then a lot of Google searches. Finally, I ended up back at Zettelkasten.de, landed on their curated article overview, and started reading through every post mentioned there.
Under the topic of what to store in your first note, this thought well captured the mental state I found myself in:
Starting your Zettelkasten note archive can be confusing at first. Getting it right first seems so important to some folks that they get stuck completely – paralysis by analysis.
Thankfully, I found inspiration in one of the other posts mentioned near the top of the overview. In a discussion of why categories are a bad idea, Christian states the following:
If you’re stuck setting up your knowledge management system, stop setting up anything at all. Just add information to it. Store text in files of your liking and put them in a folder if you’re uncertain which software to use. Starting is always better than not doing a thing. You can’t analyze your way into the perfect system without getting your hands dirty. Only experience reveals where the bottlenecks are, and whether you are really going to use (or miss) the oh-so-awesome feature X of the super expensive app Y.
I hope to have more to discuss in the coming weeks.
Beta Testers Wanted! Help Us Polish Ulysses for iOS 13, iPadOS and macOS Catalina
On the note above regarding notes, this update from the Ulysses team caught my eye.
In addition to that, version 18 will bring the ability to use Ulysses’ own file format in external folders. This is bigger than it sounds, as it removes almost all of the limitations when working with these folders. You’ll not only be able to use all of Ulysses’ Markdown XL tags, but also to add writing goals, images, keywords and notes. Dropbox will therefore become a serious alternative for anyone who can’t – or doesn’t want to – rely on iCloud for synchronization. We’re happy about willing testers for this one, too.
As I’ve thought about adopting the Zettelkasten method, I’ve wondered whether Ulysses was a good choice. One concern with these types of things in lock-in: if I invest a lot of time putting notes into Ulysses, what happens if I ever stop using the product? Can I easily get my notes out of it?
Using Ulysses with external folders was a thought I had. This news that the advanced formatting Ulysses provides would be available for use with external folders caught my attention as it’s not currently possible. My research continues.
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Quote of the week
In my slightly less agonizing situation, the trap is more of a bait and switch: the promise is of infinite knowledge, but what’s delivered is infinite information, and the two are hardly the same.
Peggy Orenstein, Going Offline in Search of Freedom
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Currently
Reading: 2nd Peter. Over the years, certain books of the Bible caught my attention and my heartstrings right away. Others, like the Psalms, took time for me to appreciate. And still others remain a bit of a mystery to me. 2nd Corinthians, for example. I love Paul’s epistles and his writing, but this book just feels odd.
For the longest time, John and Peter’s epistles were some of my less favorite books of the Bible. But I’ve recently enjoyed Peter’s a little more. Specifically, 2nd Peter — as I went through in my reading plan this year, I found myself opening up to what it contained.
Whereas Paul focuses on the depths of Christ’s work and what it means for us, 2nd Peter digs into how that should impact how we live. That probably turned me off slightly for a period as I was learning to focus less on doing and more on being. Passages like 1:10–11:
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Peter, you make it sound as if I don’t practice these qualities (listed in verses 5–8), I could fall. And an entrance may not be provided. That feels super uncomfortable.
But again, it comes back to the tension between what I believe and what I do. Peter was right to encourage the believers of his day — and us today — to make the most of the gift they’ve been given, to give evidence of their hearts of living flesh.
This book came alive in a new way for me this week and this sentence, in particular, caught my heart:
For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
– 2nd Peter 2:19b
What a great reminder and exhortation! THere’s a reason Paul describes this life “the good fight.”
Listening: A lot of Andy Mineo. His new album dropped this month, and we’ve been working through his older stuff as well.
Drinking: I recently tried a brew from a brewery that was new to me: Superflux. This particular brew is named Pretty Much Yeah and is of the hazy variety, which is becoming an increasingly common option. What was interesting about this one as the inclusion of lactose in the making of this beer.
The result? A very robust, full feeling beer. Does it taste like it has milk in it? No. But it does feel a little like drinking a milkshake; not in terms of flavour, but in its fullness. I can’t quite find the words to describe it well. But I can say that I enjoyed it very much.
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Can I just say thank you for reading (once again)? Thank you! It’s such a privilege to make a way to your inbox, and I wish you a fantastic week ahead.