remarkable 2: first use / impressions

I've had the reMarkable 2 for about half an hour now (writing this on it) and three things are apparent: one, my handwriting is shit in physical or in digital form and I'm really glad I bought the TypeFolio - keyboard is quite excellent (though I'm still getting used to the layout); two, while I can see me using this for writing drafts and braindumps (like this one - indeed, I bought it as a replacement for whiteboards and legal pads), I can't yet see it replacing my paper journals (UPDATE: SEE COMMENT BELOW)); and three, the design for lefties like me leaves a bit to be desired: I have to write with it set up for a right-handed person because my left hand constantly hits the x on the top left corner of the screen and closes the doc in progress (UPDATE: SOLVED; SEE COMMENT BELOW). Other than that, no complaints; have a feeling that the more I work with it the more I'll find to do with it. Will update accordingly.

reMarkable (2) incoming...

After a few years of looking at one, I finally took the plunge yesterday and purchased a reMarkable 2 writing tablet (along with the typepad folio)...

Goals: a capture device and an easy-on writing device for pieces here – as well as fulfilling (and amplifying) the usual functions of my Boogie Board: handwritten explorations of specific sections of a WIP. Planning to use the reMarkable app on desktop and mobile to facilitate the export and import of notes and scaps and other writings from reMarkable to Obsidian for work and zettelkasten archiving. Potential use as a Daily Note device too?

Should arrive next week. Penning this to start the tag and log its purchase.

spewflow(state)

Stumbled into a relationship with vomit drafting that seems to work: I use Flowstate with a five minute timer, and just let things come, spewing whatever’s in my brain all over the screen (handy that FS starts deleting everything after five seconds of inactivity). Once the five minutes are up, I copy and paste what I've “written” into Obsidian, and then sift through the carnage to find words or phrases that repeat and work / build from there. While the results are more often than not little more than gibberish, I’m occasionally able to use the repeating words, phrases, and rhythms to generate the bit, the fragment that I was looking for.

Kaweco Original 250 medium nib

Wanted to give the new pen a few days before I proclaimed it to be my new beloved, but, within a few hours...

I've loved the Kaweco AL-Sport for awhile, but, because of the very thing that made it so appealing (stature and portability), I couldn't use it on a regular basis; the nib was also too scratchy for my taste.

But I loved the look and the feel and now I'm ecstatic that not only has Kaweco has released the Kaweco Original, a full-sized iteration of the AL-Sport, but that the Original is possessed of a wider (250 or the standard 60; I went with a medium 250) nib that has, – within a few hours of tearing open the box – made it among the smoothest I've experienced. Perfect weight and balance.

Probably should give it a few more days before deciding if it's a simply a shiny new dalliance or the one that brings my long-term Lamy relationship to an end – though I'm reasonably certain I already know where this one is heading.

boogie board return

After a few years away – it was a 2018 post by Aral Balkan that initially turned me on to it – I started using my Boogie Board Blackboard writing tablet instead of legal pads this morning: I've lost the penchant for the over-romanticization of handwriting and paper and turned more towards writing in Obsidian / Drafts so I don't need the paper to write, only to think, and the Boogie helps me do that (and prevents me from killing too many trees in the name of my inane and mostly illegible jottings). Pen / stylus nearly same weight as my beloved Lamy Studio fountain pen so there's little lost in translation; also nice that my inveterate southpawness doesn't result in (as much) smearing as it does with dry erase boards and ink.

Current workflow: determine the specific point – the more specific I am, the more useful it is – that I'm working from, then spew thoughts and notions all across the "boogie-page" (nice to use my right fingernails to circle stuff as I go about scrawling with my left), scan for something worthwhile (though I do tend to do that as I go, a habit picked up from living with my shitty handwriting because it's hard for me to read what I wrote five minutes later), type that up, hit the delete button on the Board, and start again.

One complaint: a bit hard to see in my low-light Paintshop cavern, especially when my left hand covers much of the light. Moving lamp to right side helped considerably - though I wish I could write in white on the black screen as I do in the computer on Obsidian. Still, a useful tool – glad to be back with it.

kinesis freestyle 2 blue

After becoming fascinated with the one Susan Zalkind was using in Hulu’s THE MURDERS BEFORE THE MARATHON (really worth a watch, BTW), I finally picked up a split keyboard, a Kinesis Freestyle 2 Blue (that it holds the same name as my pre-H.E.R.B.I.E. CGM is rife with delicious irony). Results of first morning with it: I really like it – but I did order the tenting/pad addition because I like to have my keys at an angle, especially since it’s on the Uplift standing desk converter; at least after this first morning, I prefer using using the keyboard while standing to sitting, but either way, it’s far better than previous ergonomic efforts.

implements/20221117

Thought I might make this a regular feature here, my own version of “Uses This” / “Cool Tools.”

on screen :: primary writing app / second brain is a combination of Obsidian (for generating, storing, and linking) and Muse (for drawing scribbles all over texts and arranging it all across a 34-inch widescreen monitor).

in hand :: Lamy Studio LX black with fine point nib (same nib I've used on all of my Lamy pens: I always take the one that came with the pen off and replace it with that first nib, been there since my first Safari) flowing with black Pilot Iroshizuki Take-Sumi ink upon Baron Fig Confidant notebooks held in a Cold Creek Leather A5 journal cover..

on person :: Rite in the Rain's (appropriately titled) On-the-Go mini notebooks for being on-the-go in Rite-In-The-Rain Wallet (which is pretty useless as a wallet but is an excellent running/daily-wear-n-tear holder) with mini-pen; first thing that goes in my pocket in the morning and stays with me all day long…. Gerber Lockdown-Pry Mutlitool: I never realized how much I would use a small exacto knife until I used it all the time. The rest of the components are great too. I was using a Leatherman Skeletool but I need scissors far more often than I need pliers on a daily basis…. Any one of two “tough solar” Casio G-Shock watches in the current rotation: a GAB2100-1A or a GAB2100C-9A. Simple, no-frills. Love them both.

in orbit :: CW&T's Superlocal: my relationship my daily ritual has been forever altered. A work of functional art… House of Marley Stir It Up turntable: oh, how I love this thing – and how I love the ritual of vinyl. Will probably upgrade speakers though – I prefer more bass than the HOM speakers allow…. Donner Practice Pad + Vic Firth American Classic 2B sticks (wood tip) + George Lawrence Stone's STICK CONTROL: a perfect combo for drumming while thinking. STICK CONTROL is a warhorse, published in 1935, still the go-to-text. Repeat each exercise 20 times. A meditative way revisit a previous iteration when stuck in the current – and keep my increasingly arthritic hands moving.