Excursions

I am reading many people's writing process today and am absolutely stunned at how simple my writing needs are. I don't write drafts after drafts in any tool. All my drafts are one line ideas in my notebook or saved articles with tags "to-write". I find time for writing and complete a post about an idea or article.

For that matter, most of my posts are spontaneous -- I get a thought and I put it down into a post. I don't insert too many images, individual or as part of the posts. Sure, there are times when I need to spend time on researching or explaining some projects that I am working on. Or when I am writing a fiction. Such posts are very rare, though (and continue to become even rarer as the time goes on).

Plus, I like writing in Markdown. But I am not too attached to the language. I could very well go about writing posts after posts without using any of the Markdown syntax. The most I do is emphasize a word or a line. It won't matter to me how I do it. That said, I continue to enjoy writing my post in Markdown editors and would do that wherever I get a chance.

There was a time when all my posts originated in some text editor installed on my laptop. But that's not the case any more. Most of the posts that I write are in a portal of sorts hosted on web - mainly Quill. (I wish Micro.blog had a better writing interface, though. The current one is too basic and doesn't work well for longer posts). On a mobile device, I only write microposts and I would post them from some Micropub client -- I use Micro.blog apps (Gluon or Dialog) or Indigenous.

All in all, I have realized I have a simple publishing workflow. I open a web or mobile app, put down my thoughts and hit publish. So, what use do I have for the text editors any more?

I dislike the fact that I have published very few long form posts recently. It's as if I can only think in micro form. Should it matter? I don't think so. But I have slowly come to the realization that I am writing with one eye on the character count. It's really foolish of me to do that. But I do this subconsciously.

Somewhere deep down, a thread also continuously evaluates how the post is going to look in a timeline -- the only one where I believe it matters would be Micro.blog. Again, it's foolish. But I have realized it affects me. If it didn't, I would be publishing more posts with titles.

I need to bring my mind out of the habit to character check my posts.

Could Gen Z Free the World From Email? →

The main problem with email then is not necessarily that there is too much of it, but there is too much competition.

And yet, email continues to stay relevant.

Falling in love with Strangers →

I knew I missed little exchanges with strangers during sheltering in, but I’d forgotten just how beautiful and hilarious humanity really is. We are so silly.

No doubt, today’s the age of pampered kids. Is it good? Is it bad? Does it have to be one of these?

How Growing Up in the ’80s Felt Like Freedom

I’m struggling to find a convinient way to share videos with family members for a recent wedding event. I want one that provides convinience for receivers but allows control with me as sender. I’m not sure if YouTube performs copyright checks even on unlisted videos.

OnePlus completely messed up my upgrade plans with its product launches this year.

I have been pleased with my OnePlus 7, it has worked brilliantly for the past two years. For that matter, the phone continues to work well for me. It hasn’t slowed down. Battery still lasts me throughout the day. I just wish for better cameras now.

I had made my mind that my next phone was going to be the pro variant of next OnePlus. But somehow the company has managed to screw up its most valuable brand.

First, they priced the devices far too high this year. In itself, it’s OK if you can match the offerings of the other flagship brands - mainly Apple and Samsung - beyond the device. OnePlus still has some work to do to reach that state.

Then, after unnecessary hype, they launched a product which has been marred by coverage that they could very well have avoided. They mindlessly under-spec’d the non-pro variant of the device. The pro variant is facing the outcome of overpromising and then deliver just on expected lines.

I could still decide to ignore the negative coverage and go ahead with the Pro variant. The reviews haven’t been too bad, and I know what I can expect from a OnePlus device now. But I wish the company did not make the decision so difficult for me. I had just started warming up to the Android platform and its benefits.

It still boggles my mind that there is no link to GoodReads from Amazon when I am looking at a book there. Or way to add it to lists – for example in “Want to read” list.

I looked at my daughter get frustrated that a book is too boring for her - it never holds my interest she says. I asked her to stop reading it, to which she said, “But I have it now, so I will have to read it someday, right?”

I guess it’s time for her first lesson to read more - stop reading it if you find it boring.

Is pinboard still the best bookmarking option that exist out there?