Author: Mark

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2021 NaNoWriMo Result

I failed.

There was a part of me that anticipated this. In 2019, I was almost finished by Thanksgiving, which was important since I wouldn’t be able to do much writing that week. This year, I was “on pace” by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, and I had very little time or focus to continue writing.

I ended up reaching just over 30,000 words in November, and finished three of the six stories I was aiming to write. However, I’m happy with the basic drafts of those three, and am still motivated to keep writing the others. I can make the time to do so, even if it isn’t under the auspice of NaNoWriMo. I won’t be updating the NaNoWriMo page though, as the PDF linked there is a record of my actual progress during the month.

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The Subtle Notebook

I finally bought a couple Subtle Notebooks from Cortex Brand. I won’t go into their whole deal; I’d like to just focus on this particular product.

I’m a notebook hoarder. I’ve always enjoyed having journals around, with different shapes, paper types, and cover styles. Admittedly, many of these are still blank, or only partially filled. Some of them have a specific use-case that has run its course (or has been extensively delayed), while others are too nice, too boring, or just don’t feel quite right for some things I have in mind.

I’ve had a few cheap moleskin notebooks I bought for work, and they have been slowly filled with notes, bits of math, and quick reminders. They’ve been great. However, my others have been languishing. I’m not a huge fan of lined paper for general note-taking, and it feels wrong to use, for example, an Italian leather journal gifted to me by my sister for random notes during a podcast.

Yet, I still bought two subtle notebooks after I saw my fiance had one. Its stitching makes it lay flat incredibly well, the cover is a pleasing soft-touch, and it has dot-grid paper which has become my favorite type over the past five years, eclipsing my previous preference for blank. After a few weeks of sitting on my desk, untouched, I finally decided they would be my writing journals. I would sketch out ideas, make any notes, or be a receptacle when typing into a computer doesn’t feel quite right.

It’s worked perfectly in this role. I’ll walk around with it in my backpack, and leave it open on my desk. While it’s a bit on the expensive side, and I can be reasonably served by other products, the fit and finish is superb, in particular the thicker paper that works with any pen I use, and how well it lays flat. So, the increased price is worth it to me, given how slowly I move through notebooks. If you’re in the market, give it a shot.

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Google Stadia Review

Because I subscribe to YouTube Premium, I was offered a three month trial of Google Stadia, which is Google’s game-streaming platform. I decided to take up the offer and, with some stale Google Store credit I had lying around from an old phone trade-in, I also got a Stadia controller. These services are very intriguing to me and, whether this particular one stays afloat, I can picture myself making use of them in the future.

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NaNoWriMo 2021 Check-In

I’m nearly halfway through National Novel Writing Month. You can check out some more info, including a PDF of my semi-current progress, at the NaNoWriMo page.

This is my second time fully committing to this project. My first time in 2019 was pretty straightforward. I just let myself write, and really did not worry about the quality, or whether I was “finishing” the story at any point. This year is a little different. I planned out some ideas ahead of time, and want to use these stories as part of a larger project in the coming year.

When the month started, between the increased perceived value of this time around and some other commitments reducing the time I had available, I started off real slow. I didn’t write at all the first few days, and wrote on and off for the next week. However, I’m finally reaching my pace. I’m still technically behind in amount (based on approximately 1,667 words a day average), but the pace I’m keeping has me catching up in the next few days.

I’m happy with my output so far. I find my own stories intriguing, and I’m enjoying the process yet again. Having a consistent set of creative work really helps me maintain that flow, rather than reduce it. I’m excited to see where I end, particularly knowing that I’ll be revisiting these drafts over the next few months.

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Price of Performance

Apple recently launched new MacBook Pros, complete with their new M1 Pro and Max chips, which are incredibly power-efficient while still maintaining a high level of performance in professional applications. However, the Apple ecosystem of software and hardware remains essentially locked down. They continue to be hostile to user repairs and upgrades, and they certainly are no friend to the open source community. Although I’m not currently in the market for a new computer, it’s impossible to ignore how excellent these computers are, and how Apple’s offerings are going to be uniquely positioned when I am considering my next purchase. As I go through that thought process, I’m realizing how certain philosophies in the computing world are in a strange position. The tradeoffs for remaining with, or switching to, a Linux platform are becoming increasingly skewed against.

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Chasing Down Order

My projects and obligations outside work have grown over the past six months. Alongside my usual podcasts and writing, I started volunteering for a tutoring organization, and am looking to take on a contract role for some extra money. With everything building up, I need to reevaluate the tools I use to keep track of everything so I’m not letting anything slip by. The beauty of them being personal projects is I can use whatever system I want.

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