My goal the last two years has been to read 24 books each year. I’ve managed to read 25 in both 2020 and 2021. I’m not currently on GoodReads or a similar platform, so I’ll just list the books I’ve read the last couple of years, since I didn’t post about this last year either.
Continue reading “Reading Goal for 2021 Achieved”Seasonal Theme Update
I decided this fall would be my Season of Creativity, since it felt like my Year of Transition had nicely wrapped up at that point. I wanted to give myself the freedom to pursue creative projects, and not get myself hung up on what I should or shouldn’t be doing with my time. I enjoy creating, and I owe it to myself to let that enjoyment come through.
I think this season was a mixed success. I spent more time reading and writing, focusing on creative projects, and letting my mind wander. However, I also gave myself more to do, both in volunteer work and some freelance work on the side. While these both can tap into my creative side, it doesn’t feel quite the same since they are often dictated by others and their established timelines.
However, I still feel satisfied with how the last few months went regarding creativity. While I have more I want to do, I believe I’ve set myself up to accomplish my various goals, and I’m planning on having my theme in 2022 reflect that desire.
macOS Podcasting
Being back in Minnesota for a month really lit a fire beneath me to find a better solution to recording podcasts when away from home. In the past, I’ve either recorded episodes ahead of time, or brought an additional laptop running Linux to do the recording. I wanted to avoid that this time, and so I learned how to use new tools on macOS.
A majority of my podcast listening is taken up by technology-focused shows, and they have a tendency to discuss how they record as part of the show. As such, I was familiar with a few. The standout was always Audio Hijack by Rogue Amoeba. This tool allows you to record any number of devices from any number of inputs to any number of tracks. For my setup, that means a single program lets me record my microphone to a single track, my cohosts on Skype to a separate track (for a rough backup), and a third track that combines the first two as a way to synchronize our voices.
It’s a fantastic piece of software, though I had a little trouble with their auto-snapping block setup at first. But once that was figured out, everytime I open it the various devices and tracks are all in place, and I only need to hit “Record”. It’s elegant and makes my life much easier.
There are programs that do something similar on Linux in conjunction with the JACK software, but the interface is not as clean, and audio routing is far more complicated. It is certainly powerful enough, but the benefit of Audio Hijack is that it’s simple enough for my use case, making the entire flow easier.
I’m not sure if I’ll stick with this long-term, but it is good to have options, and more importantly, have this travel recording setup figured out.
Tasty Cookies
We’ve been using a new chocolate chip cookie recipe for several months, but it’s now the holidays and I was able to introduce it to my family. In short, it’s been a big hit. Here’s a direct link to the recipe, with none of the blogging excitement.
A key difference in preparation is that this recipe calls for browned butter. I’d never gone through the process before, but it does provide more depth to the flavor. Comparing it to our previous-favorite Toll House recipe, a few other changes are more sugar and less flour. And, specifically with the sugar, this new recipe focuses heavily on brown sugar, whereas the Toll House recipe uses equal amounts of both.
I’m not big into baking, but chocolate chip cookies have been a holiday staple my entire life, and it’s worth the bit of extra time to make something even better.
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.
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.
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.
Continue reading “Google Stadia Review”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.