The Column
Continuing a couple themes from last Column:
- Appreciation of the things I use every day.
- Doing Excalidraw Art
Future Technology Toolset
This is the trajectory I see myself walking as needs come up. I’m not going to abandon what I have that’s working great right now in lieu of this imagined “better” future. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t obsess over this for 3+ hours yesterday, but this is, the Year of Letting It Be.1
Big iPads
This is the 4th or 5th iteration of me writing about consumer technology choices and the different possible combinations thereof. It’s the first time since Column 199 that I address the “what combination of form factors makes sense”. Not a ton has changed, actually. This update reflects my time & experience with the toolset I chose and poses hypothetical benefits of the road not taken.
My Setup: Theory
The theory I had was that a desktop with a big monitor was just a better experience than a laptop, and that the big iPad was just a better experience than a small iPad. That my use cases for needing the power of a computer on the go were minimal enough that I could either use the iPad directly to satisfy them - its screen is as big as a laptop anyway - or in a pinch I could use my iPad to remote into my desktop… and that’s what I do.
My Setup: Reality
Ah. Whoops.
In reality, these theoretical benefits have not panned out. I was wrong about how frequently I’d want to be doing computer-like things away from my desk. Even right now I’m at my desk because I like this keyboard & proper multi-window workflows, but I’d rather be in the living room with the family, writing near them.
Future Setup: Theory
If I’d gone less expensive on the iPad, I could have repurposed that money to change from the Mac Mini to a Macbook Air. This would give me better multitasking & typing on the go. A 2nd display for when I’m at the desk… and an easier to use and more portable iPad. Current best guess is that my setup will evolve to this over the next 3 to 5 years.
Beneficial Hobbies
Context
I roughly follow Tiago Forte’s “PARA Method” of personal organization. I was thinking about how excellently-matched my hobby of Puzzle Box making is for my life “areas”. It got me wanting to make this graphic.
This is a matrix crossing my hobbies with a list of areas of my life, displaying roughly how beneficial each hobby is at “advancing” that area of my life. It’s all subjective, but was enlightening nonetheless. Maybe think about what yours would look like.
Top 5: Most Broadly Beneficial Hobbies of Mine
This does not mean “most important”, but instead most-broadly important.
5. Podcasting
4. Cooking & Meal Prep
3. Writing
2. Life Tracking
1. Puzzle Box Creation
Quote:
Duct tape happens Jon G
Bragging means talking and talking about nonsense My 6 year old
It was going to be that or ‘picklebiscuit’ but idk if that means drugs nowadays Fintel
Footnotes
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Pro-tip I’ll randomly leave here - if you’re on a computer you can just hover your mouse over links I have within this blog and the destination of that link will pop up. This is an easy way to look at what context I’m referring to without actually opening a new page. ↩