Plain text capture, a Bauhaus obsession, and the keyboard that finally fits my EDC Screenshots are from each company’s official website Today I’ll be sharing a new app for getting text into Obsidian the iOS version of the Bauhaus Clock the Nillkin Cube Pocket Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad No affiliates,...

With Obsidian instructions for seeing today’s schedule in your daily note I can still scarcely believe that what was supposed to be a 2-week experiment turned into a sustainable, calm-inducing way to keep up with all the time-specific events that make up my life. My aim in writing about it is not to have you do the...

How a phantom currency keeps bank account reports clean Envelope budgeting is the practice of planning ahead for known expenses, by regularly putting money into pre-determined categories, or envelopes. As the name suggests, it is often done with real cash placed into real envelopes. Envelope budgeting can be done in...

A casual roundup of productivity tools, tips, and rabbit holes No deep dives today, just a list of worthwhile productivity related things I’ve come across lately. Some universal, most Apple flavoured. Clever (but unnecessary?) Apple Shortcut for lost iPhones Create an automation in Apple Shortcuts that fires when...

Nesting queries inside collapsible callouts, plus custom colours and icons It’s true that plain text can be beautiful when it is boring in all the right ways, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun. Let’s take a look at an unashamedly Obsidian-only tweak I’ve been playing around with for the task lists...

For writing more, without worrying about losing or lending your pen Photo by the Author, taken with a still going strong iPhone 14 Pro I love writing lists and making plans using simple, practical tools. Tools like locally stored plain text, fountain pens, and mechanical pencils. As much as I love the feel and space...

It was a nice surprise to discover that Shottr can replace two apps! I’m slowly working my way through the list of the (Mac-only) Setapp apps I’ve used for years, looking for free or one-time purchase alternatives. Three apps I’ve started testing are Maccy (clipboard manager), Textshot (OCR), and Shottr...

On cautious, informed renting, and the lie of personal ownership Mum on the gas box at the house she and Meema lived in before moving to the cottage Lately I’ve been looking at the subscription software I use, trying to decide what should stay and what needs to go. The evaluation process is not as straightforward as...

A quest for simpler, more independent tools Recently I talked about the importance of owning your work, not just the app you used to create it. Another side of that idea is nicely put in this advice from Trevor Flowers — The best advice I have for new nerds: Refuse to pay rent. Don’t subscribe. Don’t lease. Don’t...

Hand written text by the Author, 1988 Today I discovered I Write Like, a browser-based Markdown text editor from Koding Robots doo. Apparently, I write like …Corey Doctorow. This is obviously not a comment on my use of expletives! I Write Like is free to use in your browser, with a one-time payment for premium...

On confidence and slop, and the words that still fit There’s no getting around it; Artificial Intelligence (AI) has ruined some phrases that used to work just fine. I can’t help caring about that, though I wish I didn’t! And so I am working on gaining the confidence to write whatever I want, when I want — the same...

How to keep your work accessible no matter what happens to the software you used to create it Could you complete your work today if your usual apps were inaccessible? Consider this your wake up call is to store your work in open formats, even if (actually, especially if) you are required to use closed format apps to...