New iPad Mini (the 7) arrived yesterday and I've already forgotten the M1 iPad Pro I've been using for the last several years. While the downshift in size isn't without its limitations (it'll take a bit to get used to using TouchID again), none of them are dealbreakers because a.) I hate drawing on the iPad and b.) all I really wanted out of the thing was a battery that didn't need recharging four times a day; so far, that latter qualification's been met. Always did prefer the size of the Mini to its larger brethren (if I want to hold a monitor, I'll use a laptop) anyhow. I'll eventually figure out another (plugged in) use for the Pro – though for now it's relgated the archive bin of tech past.
Back to paper notebooks for my journals and thinking, reMarkable Paper Pro as my legal pad / whiteboard for The Work. Shift has freed me up more in this space than I thought it would. As for what that freedom looks like, 🤷
More of this? Most likely. Still seeking that hybrid of what this site started as (single daily text postings) and what it's become (whatever this is). Attendance Card to start, textual posting to end the work day? IDK – I like both for totally different reasons. Happy medium, happy medium.
Ahead: More action figure arrangement and Sunday morning beer imbibing at Campesino. Happy birthday, Madam Vice President; I raise my glass to the one who isn't talking about Arnold Palmer's genitalia.
reMarkable Paper Pro just arrived. Setup took less than five minutes, especially since I don’t use their Connect service. First impression: small enhancements that make a big difference. Not sure how I feel about the new Marker tips, but I’ll give them a chance. Paper feel is light years better than the rm2 (which was already excellent), and being able to see highlights in color is wonderful. Its paces, they begin.
M3 morning one
First morning with the M3 Air being one of experimentation, of figuring our way around each other, of making do with improvised risers (have an actual laptop stand coming later today), and adapting previous processes to this new tool: it's been a most welcome change. 15" M3 screen so good I don't miss the 20"-loss from the 34" I was using with the Mini – though Obsidian canvi are a tad unwieldy on the smaller screen (but the focus of going back to single documents has been grand). Only thing I do miss, rather terribly, is the Elgato Stream Deck, but I'll eventually get that hooked back up. Maybe that could be today's job; remembering all those custom Obsidian hot keys has been… challenging. Kinesis Freestyle 2 Blue keyboard and Logitech Ergo M575 trackball integrated flawlessly (though it'll be nice to spread the Kinesis out a bit more with the dedicated laptop stand).
Day two of giving the reMarkable 2 another go: seems that the latency issue which caused me to switch back to paper NBs is gone (probably just crap from my hand that I couldn't see and I, as is my way, made a mountain out of a hillmole) but the main reason is that my hands hurt all the time now and I've found that the digital Lamy Safari + rM2 is (literally) less painful for me to use, a pleasant textural mix of fountain pen and Papermate Flair in digital form. Kinda nice to (again) include a PDF of the page in my Obsidian Daily notes without need for duplicates and rewriting; makes the daily notes significantly more useful.
As I've been experimenting with adding a third reading section to the day (basically, post-breakfast, lunch, and dinner), I'm finally using my Kindle for something other than hospital visits and waiting room time-slaying via short stories: reading non-fiction (currently, Cal Newport's latest, SLOW PRODUCTIVITY). Whereas I previously penciled up books with brackets and an overabundance of illegible scrawls that I'd hate myself for never reviewing, now I can read, highlight and, when I'm done, send the highlights to myself and put them in Obsidian. While fiction (except short stories) will remain corporeal-exclusive, it's not unlikely that non-fic will switch to digital-only - though if I want it on my shelf, I'll buy a physical version later.
reMarkable 2: six weeks later
Despite the occasional nostalgic yearning for and effort to return, haven't rushed back to paper journals as I found that, as soon as I used the reMarkable 2 for work, I missed using it for everything and went back to its digitally papery embrace, a combo of writing with a thick fountain pen and a Papermate Flair.
(Rite in the Rain index card wallet more than fills the handwriting capture void – though I've shifted from pencil to a Rite in the Rain pen; prefer the clicky on the go).
Present function is as combo daily note, journal, and scrap workings, all scrawled across a single infinite scroll page and moved into Obsidian as a PDF at the start of the next day, rinse/wash/repeat. Tried the Typefolio again, but, as my wife said of hers (she bought an rM2 a few days after mine arrived, and has been loving it for teaching), the instinct is to write by hand and so I do. Pen remains the Lamy EMR nib / top half with my Lamy Studio bottom half (prefer the weight) and posted cap. Don't feel a need for erasing since I did everything in pen before anyhow. Only complaint is that I wish there were more highlighter color options.
Still in love and don't see that changing anytime soon: easily the best work purchase in ages. Essential.
rite in the rain index card wallet
Since switching over from paper journals (and legal pads and whiteboards) to the reMarkable 2, I've shifted away from my still-beloved fountain pens (that the EMR I'm using is Lamy's EMR variation on their AL-Star fountain pen is a big help) to pencils for my non-digital notetakings and processings.
As such, I've been seeking a pocket notebook that both a.) could be used both during running and general leavings of the house, and, b.) didn't overstuff my already-stuffed pockets (read: Herbie the insulin pump). Happily, the Rite In The Rain Index Card Wallet, packed with their waterproof index cards and scribbled upon with my Kaweco Special S 0.7mm mechanical pencil, more than satisfies those requirements.
One hiccup, though: the RIR cards are (more than) a bit expensive - $16-$20 per pack of 100 - so I'm going to do a test with one of the regular, $2/pack of 100 cards that I've got lying all over the place to see if the waterproof part really makes a difference: while I know full well that it does with paper, I'm not certain it matters with cards, especially since I'm using pencil.
Either way, very happy to have solved this particular long-standing quandary.
so yeah about that time I passed judgement on reMarkable-as-journal way back in Sunday's newsletter
A conversation with my closest friend brought me round to reconsidering it and I can report that, in spite of a few hiccups, the reMarkable is not only my journal again, but something different, something I had in the back of my head that I wanted to do but never knew how to do until now: a combination of my journal with my planner/timeblocking and – and here's the big change, thanks to the advantages of continuous scroll digital notes – my rough drafts / thinking vomits of the day's work: this is, i think, the best representation of my day and my brain – one that cannot be replicated on paper and one that takes advantage of the remarkable's unique abilities.
Taking it one step further: I've since combined all of this with Obsidian's Daily Notes feature, making a PDF of the previous day's scroll and embedding it on the sheet made for the day, along with that day's Attendance Card and accompanying alt text. I then add tags (or copy them from the ones I give in reMarkable, as, unfortunately tags aren't imported on a PDF conversion).
Result being a happy think place that combines the best of analog (oh, that Lamy EMR pen) and digital (continuous scroll FTW) to create something i didn't know i wanted or needed until now I can't imagine working without it.
