I’ve been reading Getting Things Done recently, considering that I’ve been aware of the system for 20 years this is the first time I’ve read the book. I wish I’d read it sooner rather than just relying on acquired knowledge from various blogs.

I’m starting to come to the conclusion that what I really want is a Mac in an iPad form factor. Or smush the two together so I have the best of both worlds.

Local coffee shop has added a 90 minute limit on their WiFi and I don’t blame them. I rarely work in a coffee shop for longer, but I’ve seen people there all day and only buying one coffee. These small businesses can’t afford such behaviour.

Jamie calls it Shower Brain, for me it’s driving brain.

people’s tendency toward insightful or analytical thinking is evident during “resting-state” brain activity–while a person relaxes with no task to perform or expectation about what is to come.

When I had an hour long commute either end of the day, I would find breakthroughs in projects would come more readily. Now I no longer have a commute I find motorway or “big road” drives have the same effect. The task requires concentration but on a level that has become second nature to me, my mind can then work on things without my realising it.

The personal blog

It’s been an interesting start to the day, one which has felt like 2008 all over again. I sat down at my desk with a morning coffee, opened my RSS feeds and went through opening stories into Safari when I came across something that seemed interesting. Two of those articles led me to two new blogs, personal blogs, from people I’ve never come across before. Now my feed reader has two extra subscriptions to keep track of.

Back in the early 2000’s while I was a student and at the start of my design career, this was a regular occurrence. Blogs would reveal more blogs, which would reveal more blogs, and at the end of it all I would feel inspired and ready to create a post for my own blog. Much like today. In that sense it feels like nothing has really changed. The internet, if we let it, can still serve up new surprises and new interesting people in a way that nothing else can. The small, personal, internet that is.

The last 15 years or so has been damaging to the personal internet. We have surrendered ourselves to the behemoths of social media, falling for the promise of easier connections, when in reality those connections are shallower and don’t last. People get drowned out in the noise and lost in the algorithm. That’s why mornings like this feel more special. Like a mini-revival is taking place. Most of the personal blogs I followed nearly 2 decades ago are gone now, sadly, but new ones are springing up and old timers are returning. People are scrabbling about in the back of the cupboard, finding the old hat buried at the back, dusting it off, giving it a clean, and starting again.

It actually makes me happy, which feels odd to write, but it’s true. I like finding new blogs to read, people to follow, photos to look at. It reminds me that despite all that’s going on in the world, it still keeps spinning. People keep creating, sharing their experiences, and more (please more) often than not there isn’t any politics in sight. It’s like a new renaissance is bubbling up, and I’m here for it.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the two new blogs I found that triggered this post:

Both linked to by Om on his new blog.

Any recommendations for general tech news websites to replace The Verge?

The cactus I bought with my Grandad when I was 4 years old has died, taken by stem rot. Chopped off a couple of bits that still seem healthy in the hope of being able to plant them but it doesn’t look good. Sad times. 36 years we’ve been together.

Today’s coffee is extremely funky! Smells amazing, but might be a bit to much processing for my tastes… ☕️

Dave Rupert in a post about taste:

when the website adds a fifth, seventh, twelfth ad… I know a person who lacks taste is at the wheel. I can feel it in my bones when an app or website has prioritized revenue over user experience. A person without taste or high emotional intelligence broke the unspoken contract we had built on mutual respect.

In my role as a UX/UI designer I increasingly see my job as being a champion of taste. For the majority of users on the web the user experience is good, most businesses have gotten the hang of providing easy paths for users to do things. I now spend a reasonable amount of time championing good taste as a defence of the experience.