Libb

Masking tape and a pen

imagine people can’t afford to watch all the movies produced in a year — crazy supposition I know, but let’s say a ticket has become so expensive people need to pick the film they will watch — would you rather have them pay to see a movie featuring living actors (and while doing so giving those new actors an opportunity to start their career and become the next stars?) or have them pay to watch a product made out of dead actors (and greed) that will only enrich the studios?

Dying is part of the life cycle. Once you’re dead, you’ve become a legit part of the past. And you’re supposed to stay gone, so the younger people have their chance too. Sure, those young will not be a clone of Bogart or Bacall but they could become… themselves. That is, as long as Studios don’t focus their attention (and greed) on dead actors (and AI-powered scenarios, while we’re at it).

Plus, as a 50+ dude myself, imagining an instant I was an actor, I would not want anyone getting the idea that they can inherit my ‘image’ once I’m dead and use it however they fancy. Money and stuff, help yourself but let my image — my effing face — let it disappear with the body it belongs too. I’m not a product, I’m someone — even if I was an actor.

Also, it makes me wonder is their face what people really miss from dead actors? Are Bacall and Bogart just their face?

And then, I imagine neither Bogart and Bacall would smoke in their new movie? Smoking is such a bad habit, we certainly would not want to give kids such a poor example, right? So what the remastered version of Bacall and Bogart would do, instead? I know, stare at their phone screen (and rage on X or share images of their last meal on Instagram), so modern viewers can identify with them even more easily. That sure would be a much better example for kids.

To keep YT under control: Firefox is my web browser, with the uBlock Origin extension installed. So, all Shorts/Suggestions, ‘News’ and ‘Related content’ are now automatically removed from YT '(easy to achieve with uBlock Origin when using Firefox).

😍🥰 Firefox + uBlockOrigin

And whenever Google/YT suggests me some turd content, I dislike it and ask it to not suggest the channel/content anymore.

In the end, my feed is mostly made of stuff I enjoy watching, with so little noise that it can not be considered an issue.

Although I must admit I would feel a bit embarrassed asking them as well 😂.

You, or someone else is paying for that prescription. There is nothing to be ashamed of in asking them to provide something readable.

My eye doctor is a very strange person as she uses that very novel piece of high tech called a computer and a printer, and never writes a prescription by hand. Oddly enough, nobody has difficulty reading what she writes :p

when you put them back in the boxes, how do you do it? Do you put them in chronological or alphabetical order?

Each card as a unique ID (it can take any form you fancy but it has to be unique) and I simply put each card back at its place following that ID, no matter the content of the card. What matters is the info you associate to each card, using its ID as a reference, in your index.

The index is a pile of cards alphabetically ordered that contain a list of keywords. Each keyword will then a have list of pointers to cards IDs and to other index entries to find any related content.

(For example in the D section of my index I will have a ‘Dinosaur’ entry and in my T section I will have a ‘T-rex’ entry. The Dinosaur index may points me to, say, the 222.1.1.10B card (in which I’ve written stuff about the latest attempts in recreating living dinosaurs) and to the 421.1 card (in which I have a few notes on my last visit at the natural history museum, where there are those great dinosaur fossils). It will also have refs telling me to go check the ‘T-rex’ and the ‘Diplodocus’ and so on index entries for more related cards, as well as say the ‘Meteor’ and ‘Species (extinction)’ entries.)

Using the index is akin to using Cmd/Ctrl+F to do a search on text: fast and almost instantaneous. This index is really the key to my Zettel.

Each of the card the index would have suggested I read may itself contain refs to other cards. Like you would have internal links between cards, using Obsidian.

Finally, I have my bibliographical references, an alphabetically-ordered series of cards. Those allow me to quickly find notes from any book and author I’ve read and to reference back to it, using its own unique ID. This also helps a lot when I’m reading to quickly take notes (on blank index cards, with that unique book ID written in one corner). So, while I’m reading it barely takes seconds to write down whatever idea or keyword I want to be able to find later on, plus the corresponding page number in the book. No need to reference the book itself, no need to write long comments or explanations (those will, or will not go later on in my main Zettelkasten cards, when I’m reviewing my reading notes) it’s really all about quickly jotting down a word or two + a page number, which saves a lot of time.

And when you want to find one again, do you have to search through hundreds of cards just to find the right one?

I use the index or the bibliographical refs, depending if I’m searching for an idea or a keyword in general or for some specific book annotations or author. Those point me to all relevant cards in my Zettelkasten. And like I told you each card can then also point me to other relevant/interesting cards on its own.

That said, at times I’ll randomly pick some cards and browse through them (just as a way to ’thought-provoke’ my own brain with random ideas and notions).

Regarding your first comment:

1. Easy backups

I take pictures with my iPhone of all new cards from that day, those photos are then automatically converted by the scanning app into a PDF and saved to my iCloud storage, it’s real quick. All my iCloud being regularly and automatically backed-up on external drives.

The app I use is ‘Scanner Pro’ by Readdle (I purchased the license many years ago and the scanner still works perfectly with the latest iOS). It’s very simple aka quick to use, it does an impressive job at auto straighten the card no matter how poorly I present it to the camera, then it creates a PDF with all the day worth of images and then save it to iCloud, all by itself.

2. No physical storage space required.

It’s not really an issue for me as my Zettel is not that large. That said, it does take space but I can use it without a computer/screen (which also takes space)… and for storage, old shoe boxes don’t cost much ;)

I might look up some tutorials next, but I don’t want to overcomplicate things. With any system there’s a point where you end up spending more time fussing with the scaffolding rather than just building the building, if you know what I mean.

100% agreed. If it works well enough, then it’s all one needs.

Watching a few videos to better understand the appeal of a digital Zettel myself, I realized it was something many ‘new’ users were not aware of and also something way too many video creators were not worrying enough about.

I mean, some of those videos are very well made but they’re also mostly empty chatting and/or trying to chase a unicorn by focusing on what to me seemed like insignificant details or an unrealistic desire for perfection. Doing so, they spend a lot of their time and energy, and a lot of their viewer’s time and energy too.

I do understand keeping the user watching as many videos as possible, for as long as possible, is the entire business model of making video on YouTube (more talking + more videos = more watching time = more ads viewed = more money) but as a user I don’t think it’s worth my time and efforts so I don’t watch them ;)

Is that normal in your opinion?

Imho, a better question to ask yourself would be to consider why you’re giving up quickly?

If you give up because you realize you can’t be bothered with whatever that activity is, fine. I tried a few things I realized had little value to me. No big deal.

If it’s because you don’t want to make the effort of learning to do it properly and/or because you can’t accept that, as beginner at it, your not already good and get not success. Then, it’s probably not a great decision.

I see two things our society as a whole (even more so when it is lived through social media lenses) tend to discourage younger people to reflect upon:

1. Not being good at something new is normal.
   It is to be expected from most beginners. That’s why as adults we’re supposed to teach ourselves (so we learn and get better at that thing), and that’s why, as little kids, we are being taught by adults. And that learning takes time and practice. A lot of both.
2. Failing at something new is to expected too.
   Failing is how we learn. Remember how you learned to walk as a toddler? Was it by being good at walking? Or was it by falling on your diapered bum many, many times over and over again like a clumsy toddler? At least, that’s how I learned ;)

That’s also how we learn to read and to write. By doing mistakes. Not by picking up our first pen and writing the next best-seller.

So, to get back to your question, if you give up on something because you would want to be good at it instantly, you’re probably missing out on something.

Yep, it would have helped a lot. Back when I was in university, we did not even had a single note-taking/research course. We had to figure it out by ourselves, which i know a lot of my fellow students did not bother doing.

As for Obsidian, do not hesitate to share a few insights as I have yet to see how it can help me better than paper does. I mean, beside a faster search inside my notes (which is not what matters the most to me). For example, the fact I cannot manually/freely reorder my notes, in a note-taking app, is beyond me and it’s something I do all the time with my slip of papers. But I’m also willing to admit I’m missing out on something important.

None.

Countries don’t have a unique identity I could like or dislike as a whole.

They can vary widely from region to region, city to city, block to block, street to street… heck even person to person. I may not like some people, or at worst some region because of this or that reason but that is all.

You’re welcome ;)

If you decide to give a try to a Zettelkasten and if I was to share a single advice it would be to keep it simple. Ignore all subtleties, you will know it when you need them.

First, thx.

Then, to answer your questions:

The Zettelkasten was devised to be constantly updated and searched and linked, be it analog or digital. My index is the key entry point, next to the my many bibliographical and authors cards and then I simply follow the links from one card to the other(s).

I can easily update any entry by adding more cards to it, with a sub-digit ID linking it to its parent.

I’m not a huge fan of videos, but you could do worse (much worse) than watch a few on Scott Scheper’s channel (https://www.youtube.com/@scottscheper/videos) the only real downside imho, beside the sheer amount of videos, is how much he insists on being hostile to digital. Even though I’m an analog user myself I find his constant attacks tiring (not necessarily all wrong, but tiring) and counter-productive. The same with his book (a really excellent understanding of what an analog Zettel is and how one could use it, with way too much anti-digital remarks). A more neutral and not less interesting reading would be Bob Doto ‘A system for writing’ (https://bobdoto.computer/) — reading it this very moment and not yet finished, but I like what I’ve been reading so far. The kind of book I would likely offer to a newcomer.

As for cost. There are many options to reduce it to barely nothing (say, much less than the cost of a cloud subscription to host your files for a few decades):

• You may not use index cards but standard paper. Much cheaper. And it has another advantage: it will eat less space in your boxes since standard paper is thinner than index cards. For years, I was reusing the back of letters and documents, the back of my drafts and so on I cut to size (A6, aka 4x6 in the USA). I made thousands of cards for cheap, if not for free. My only expense was to buy a (used, cheap) office paper cutter (one of those guillotine-like thingy with a large blade that can easily cut 20+ sheets at once). So it was really quick and neat to make a bunch of new ‘cards’ from my recycled A4 sheets.
• You may buy index cards in bulk or even second hand. I’ve recently purchased 10.000 A6 (4x6) cards brand new still wrapped in packs of 100 from a shop that was closing down for less than… 40$, shipping included.

For storage, I have yet to find a decent filing cabinet. Living in France, I don’t have access to the variety of new cabinets you have in the USA, or only at absurdly expensive prices. And used 4x6 filing cabinets are not that common. So, for the most part I’ve been using a (high tech) mix of shoe boxes (they work surprisingly well) and of those office index card boxes (plastic or metal boxes with a removable lid and optional separators). Both are ugly as fuck, that’s for sure, but at least they do their job. One day, hopefully, I will get my hand on one of those nice and well-made cabinet :p

Edit: typos (part thx to Apple’s autocorrect moronic decisions, part because I just suck at English ;)

Nope. I simply refuse to watch ads.

Either the website or their author will have provided the means to support them directly, or I won’t. And if they try forcing ads on me, I quit using their website.

I’m fine with spending money to support content or services I appreciate. I refuse to waste a second of my life watching ads. That’s the reason why we have not owned a TV since the early 00s: my spouse and I realized we were screwed as, at least here in France, we were supposed to pay for watching TV but still would have to watch ads, more and more of them for that matter. So, gone the TV.

As much as I can, I will use analog tools instead of digital.

• I keep a paper agenda.
• My to-do is paper too.
• I draft all my papers longhand.
• I sketch using pen and paper.
• I do all me y research using an analog Zettelkasten (a fancy word to designate a large pile of index cards stored in boxes). I’ve tried using the digital modernized version of that Zettelkasten (a concept that was formalized between the 1960-90s) using an app like Obsidian but it absolutely did not work for me. Paper suits me best.

No notifications, no update/upgrade, no recharging, no bugs and no temptation to go check something online every few seconds. 100% focus.

I’m not saying that analog is better than digital, just that it works best for me and since the better I work the faster I do the work and the less I have to work. The happier I am ;)

Thx for the clarification.

I actually have a sit stand desk. And do use it some. But I have some issues with my hips and SI joints. Standing without walking gets painful pretty fast.

It can sure get painful quickly. A few things worth considering:

• Do you use one of those dedicated mat to stand on? I don’t know the English name for those, but they do sell padded mats made to stand up on them. They help increase the duration of my standing position. Even more so if you also regularly switch your weight form one leg to the other, or just move on that mat. Get a good mat as it will help more.
• Don’t force yourself to make long standing sessions, make them shorter but more frequent? Standing should not hurt.
  For me (50+ dude that was in really poor shape and health when I started), what matters is to regularly get my ass out of that chair for 10 or 15 minutes, sometimes more but as long as I have my 10 minutes I’m happy. Be it to stand at the desk or to do stuff around the office/home. It’s the regularity, making it into a habit, that I find the most helpful. At the beginning I used a timer to remind myself to stand up and, yep, it was a pain to get constantly interrupted by that stupid alarm but since it seemed to help my back (edit: and knee and feet) a little I kept on using it up until the day I realized I needed it no more. I don’t think about it, I just regularly move my ass out of that chair — ad I use one of those mats I mentioned.

I don’t know about your specific situation so this may not apply at all, but getting back into walking also helped me immensely (as does help wearing good shoes: the day I switched to better walking shoes my endurance skyrocketed). That and healthier eating habits were key in me getting back into some kind of shape and health despite starting real low: I barely could walk at all.

Not exaggerating, I celebrated like if I was Armstrong stepping on the Moon, the first time I managed to walk down and back our street without being exhausted and without my joints, back and feet hurting so much for the next few days that I had to lay down (it was that bad). Nowadays, I walk up to 10 km daily, never less than 6. Sure, I’m no athlete and my health issues won’t go away ever but what matters is that most of my chronicle pains have vanished almost entirely, even the most enduring ones that plagued me for… decades. And I can move around and use my body almost normally. I also lost a hefty chunk of fat, which is a neat bonus ;)

Sorry for that too long reply to your comment. It’s just something I consider so worth talking about ;)

Why don’t desk chairs have seat belts?

Because unlike in cars there isn’t much chair accidents? ;)

More seriously, no seat belt can help you sit correctly in a chair. What can help you, easily and cheaply, is sitting less. Regularly make breaks and get up, move do stuff that you can do standing up. This one is not cheap but using one of those sit/stand desks can help in that regard — I consider mine the second best health spending I ever made, the first one being: good walking shoes (another great habit for one’s health is to walk as much and as regularly as one can).

You mean use a custom avatar and add a short bio + links? I do, but if you’re thinking of anything beyond that I would not know where and what to look for, sorry ;)