Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
And welcome to 2023! I hope you had a good break (assuming that you were able to take one), and that you're rested and ready to try to face the new year.
This time 'round, a slightly more personal edition of the letter. One that looks at a subject that's close to my heart, and I hope to yours.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On Engaging with What We Read
If nothing else, 2022 was a good year for reading. I managed to work my way through a number of new or new-ish volumes, a couple of classic I'd never read before, and re-read a handful of books that I hadn't set my eyes on in decades. I even managed to cap the (reading) year off with Thomas Piketty's tome Capital in the Twenty-First Century. A book that left me drained and overwhelmed, but also excited.
What might surprise you, though, is the number of books I read in 2022: 21 of them. A couple of people I know pointed out, oh so helpfully, that there are others out there who read eight, nine, or even 10 times that number of books in the same 12 months. And, continuing their efforts to be helpful, those acquaintances pointed me to articles that purport to explain how anyone can wade through 100, 150, or even 200 books in the space of 365 days.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
This time 'round, something a little less cranky and a bit more personal. This edition of the letter is a mix of an amble down memory lane, a paen to the titular item, and a reminder that aspiring to own something can bring its own joys.
And just to let you know, the letter is going on hiatus to two weeks. We'll be back to our regular schedule on 4 January, 2023. Until then, stay well and safe.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On the Jukebox
In my life, there have only been two material items, both out of my reach financially, that I've truly coveted. Not which I just thought that would be nice to have but ones for which I borderline ached. Those items? An Aston Martin Vanquish sports car and a jukebox.
The Aston Martin ... well, it's pretty obvious why I coveted that. It's a beautiful piece of design and engineering, and which can go like a bat out of hell. But they jukebox?
It all started when I was about seven or eight years old. While I'd seen jukeboxes on TV and in movies, it was in 1974 or 1975 that I saw one in front of me. I can't remember where, but I do recall the fascination that I felt upon seeing that big, solid, loud, and gaudy Wurlitzer model. It wasn't the aesthetics of the machine that caught my attention (I was a bit too young to appreciate that). It was more a visceral attraction to the machine. And I was taken by the fact that I could hear any song I wanted with the press of a button.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
As I note in the /now section of my home page, I've been trying to reevaluate my relationship with the technology world and with technology in general. There are a few reasons for that, which I'm more than happy to discuss over a beverage of some sort.
This edition of the letter isn't a discussion about, a paen to, or a defense of the titular technology. It's more a use of that technology as the starting point for a musing about my dissatisfaction not just with technology in general, but also with pockets of the tech world. In some ways, it's (once again) me being a cranky old man yelling at clouds.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On (the Idea of) Chromebooks
In early September, 2022 a tech blogger published a post about why he uses devices running ChromeOS (the operating system that powers on Chromebooks and similar devices). That post had the dubious honour of making the front page of a certain technology news aggregation site. The comments on the post were, to be kind, interesting. More than a few of them questioned the blogger's choice of using something running ChromeOS as his daily driver. Just as many pretty much stated that the blogger had made the wrong choice, that he had better options.
Once again, it was a group of strangers telling someone what's best for them. I find that attitude more than slightly arrogant and more than a bit condescending.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
This week, another idea that's been floating around in my brain for a while. I've discussed this idea a bit in previous musings, but it's been starting to take a fuller, more cohesive form in the last couple or three weeks. What you're about to read isn't my definitive statement on the subject, but I'm getting there.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On Tweaks, Not Hacks
Hacks are the thing in productivity circles. They have been for as long as I can remember, and I can point to far too many examples of people going to absurd ends with their hacks.
What's a hack? In my view, it's a drastic change, a big adjustment to way in which you do things. That could be altering your workouts, how you take notes, how you cook, or even just ride transit. All with the goal of saving time or becoming more productive or solving problems in fanciful ways.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
This time 'round, a look at something we all forget from time to time, no matter how hard we try. And I'm one of those people who sometimes forgets (even though I won't admit it!).
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On Context
For me context is the key — from that comes the understanding of everything.
I have a few habits and quirks that tend to annoy my co-workers at The Day JobTM. One of those annoying habits is continually asking for context.
It doesn't matter what the situation is. I know some of my co-workers dread hearing me ask, or dread reading a comment from me that asks, Can you give a bit more context around that, please? Or something along those lines. At least I try to be polite about it ...
I don't do that to play dense or pretend to be the devil's advocate. And I definitely don't do it to be a jerk or to troll or to be that person. You know the person I mean.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
This time 'round, a musing that focuses on something that's been on my mind for a while now — longer than I care to admit or remember, to be honest. Something that has to do with the way in which I earn (at least part of) my living.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On Content
Unlike some writers I know and read, I don't obsess about every little detail. I don't obsess about every word. I don't lose sleep over every term. I don't stress about whether or not that phrase or sentence or paragraph is perfect (whatever that means).
I doubt that makes me unique among writers, but I really don't sweat the small stuff. There is, however, one word I'm struggling with. It's one I've been struggling with for quite a while now. That word? Content.
I'm definitely not a fan of that term, and haven't been since I first heard it applied to writing online many a year ago. I admit, though, that I'm sometimes as guilty as the next person of referring to what I read online as content.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
In this edition of the letter this week, I dive into some more thoughts about an idea I explored way back in Musing 118. These (I hope) fresher thoughts were inspired by some things I've observed recently. And less than recently.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On Jumping Between Tools
While my RSS reader is packed with a few dozen or five blogs and online publications that I regularly read, there are also more than a handful of blogs that I drop by every so often. Sometimes weekly, sometimes a couple of times a week, sometimes at longer intervals.
Around the middle of 2022, the person who publishes one of the blogs that I occasionally read decided to switch blogging platforms. I think that was his third or fourth time 'round with that in the last 12 months. His reasons were partly technical, but mostly (to my mind, at least) silly. Although it was unstated, the impetus for the switch was a pursuit of the perfect way to blog. You know the one: the way that doesn't actually exist.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
This time 'round, thoughts about something that many of us experience at one time or another in our lives. In some cases, at more than one time in our lives.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On Being Good Enough
No-one else appeared to hear my project unravelling, the sound of un-met expectations crashing to the floor. The gulf between what I expected of myself and my perception of what others expected of me widened, until eventually I was unable to function at all as a musician.
A little twinge. A nagging doubt. A tiny question. One here, another there. Then those twinges and doubts and questions start to slowly, silently multiply. That feeling gets stronger as time goes by. The twinge, sharper. The doubt, heavier. The questions, more frequent and harsh.
As you get deeper into working on a project or anything else, that feeling starts to take control. You see in your mind's eye that project coming apart at the seams. You watch as the gulf that Bill Bruford mentioned widens. Your doubts about what your working on become stronger, whether or not those doubts are valid.
It reaches a point at which those doubts become so strong that you crush what you're working on into a small ball and toss it into the proverbial wastebasket in disgust.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
Over the last 168 hours or so, a couple of ideas for this edition of the letter have been pulling at me. I spent as much time as I could trying to tackle both, and what you're about to read is the one that won the tug of war for my attention.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On Relying (Too Heavily) on Technology
I can walk down the street, there's no one there / Though the pavements are one huge crowd
My family has a little monthly ritual. When the first Friday of a new month rolls 'round, we get a takeaway from a local restaurant. It's a bit of a treat, and since we only do it once every 30 days or so, that treat doesn't break the bank. It also gives us a chance to sample the variety of dishes offered by various restaurants in our area.
In August, 2022 it was my daughter's turn to choose what to have. As she usually does, my daughter chose fish and chips. Luckily, there's a good place for that in small mall a few minutes walk from where we live.
Welcome to this edition of Weekly Musings, where each Wednesday I share some thoughts about what's caught my interest in the last seven days.
This time round, something a bit different but something the same. In this edition of the letter, I try to set straight a misconception that some folks have. A misconception I've come across more than a few times when publishing words to paper or online.
With that out of the way, let's get to this week's musing.
On (Software) Alternatives
In the years since I started putting fingers to keyboard, I've published more than a few things here and there. Some of that output has been in the form of articles and blog posts that introduce some alternatives to popular or commonly-used software.
As you might expect, those articles and posts garnered their share of responses from various corners. And, as you might expect, some of those responses took me to task for what I wrote. Why? Not because I had the audacity or temerity to share options other than my correspondents' favourite applications and tools. Well, not always at any rate.