Sunday, February 18, 2024

I recently wrote about my upcoming Flickr subscription and whether I would renew after 20 years. I find Glass.photo to be a better visual experience and the conversations there are more frequent and of higher quality. But really they are two different things for me. Glass is where I showcase my photography and Flickr is where I share my photos. The difference is subtle, but meaningful, which is why I'll probably keep both. I'm reminded of PetaPixel's recent post: 10 Reasons Why Flickr is the Best Site on the Internet for Photographers.

Why do I feel an obligation to software? There are apps that I've used for quite a long time and for some reason I feel obligated to continue using them. Tinderbox, TiddlyWiki, and Emacs are good examples. They're all great, but I rarely need the power afforded me and it's not always worth the added complexity. But I tinker, you know. They are part of my muscle memory. I have many (many!) documents that I created using each of them. I suspect that maybe I feel this way because they're also part of my identity. I've written about them often. I could simply stop using any of them and who would care? No one, probably, but since I can't seem to shut up about anything I would still feel guilty, somehow.

I could easily (easily!) run my life using a paper notebook and perhaps a few index cards. Days like today I think about doing just that. Maybe I will.

I'm still not working, meaning I have a lot of time my hands. Having so much time offers me the opportunity to sit and stare at things and over-think everything about them. Where should I document the fact that I upgraded Sonoma on the MBP to 14.3.1 this morning? The correct answer is, "Who gives a shit?!". Spending hours and hours figuring out how and where to document all the minutiae in my life is an unnecessary and life-wasting routine. I need to go out and do interesting and meaningful things so that I no longer have the time nor inclination to document everything all the time.