How I Computer

Desktops, laptops, tablets, phones & docks

What’s Within? This post contains a breakdown of how I use a computer, laptop and phone. I’ve made some significant changes over the last few years due to worsening health hassles. Everything here has been iterated over time in order to create a compute environment that makes my life easier to manage. Especially when my my health hassles are at their worst. Feel free to borrow ideas, adapt things and generally use the contents of this post as you see fit. [Read More]

On Writing Digitally

It would seem I’ve regained the ability to write more frequently and regularly despite my health hassles My Preference Normally I write posts for this blog by hand using a pen, Tomoe River paper and a clipboard. Sadly, my health hassles make this approach to writing very difficult and I do not have the capacity to write using analog methods regularly or reliably. Over the last few years I’ve had to patiently wait for windows when my health hassles doesn’t interfere with my writing. [Read More]

How I Research

A digital methodology

What’s Within? This post lays out how I research topics. I’ve struggled with “research” in the past and, thanks to a friend, finally figured out a methodology that actually works for me. This post goes through my methodology, how I use it with success and the details needed to recreate and/or adapt it. Table of Contents What’s Within? Table of Contents What / Why / How Important Context Holy Potatoes Batman! [Read More]

My notebook & organizer journey

All things digital and analog

What’s Within? Within is a walk through of all things analog and digital that I put together to be effective with notebooks and organizers. Things I’ve cataloged, setup, used, tinkered with and more. It even includes the how and why of my personal needs, preferences and opinions. In short: it’s a very long breakdown of everything that actually works for me as well as many things that didn’t work for me. [Read More]

Health Hassle Handwriting

Editors note: KemoNine wrote this post before realizing they had already written Digital Writing Tablet Mini Review 3 ish months ago. Some information below overlaps with the prior blog post but the core of this particular post is how KemoNine is using a drawing tablet day to day for handwriting. Prelude Let’s get this out of the way up front: I am a pen and paper human at heart. Despite being labeled a ’tech nerd’ I use pen and paper as a default medium. [Read More]

Samsung XCover6 Pro Rugged Phone Mini Review

Prelude I’ve used rugged phones and other rugged electronic devices since ~2009. I’ve worked in the trades as a career. I’ve worked truly Dirty Jobs. I used to write custom firmware for rugged phones including the Samsung Rugby Smart, Samsung Rugby Pro and Kyocera DuraForce. I’ve been hired to work on Android firmware for rugged phones by companies creating Android phones (OEMs). My resume is deep and I do not fuck about when it comes to ‘rugged phones’. [Read More]

Digital Writing Tablet Mini Review

This post is about 2 different writing tablets. The Wacom One and XP Pen G430S. Both are very small drawing tablets. I bought both of these recently to help me with note taking on my computer. For my $dayJob I do a lot of implementation work and I regularly receive PDF specifications that I need to annotate. I’m also a remote worker (work from home) so I can’t just print the files and use a pen to annotate. [Read More]

Linen Sheet Mini Review

Figure 1: Cat tested and approved For a few years I’ve wanted to replace a synthetic fleece blanket with a natural material. After a bit of research I settled on replacing my blanket with a large linen sheet I could fold over on itself. Why? Linen is an excellent, durable material that breathes well. It’s similar to cotton but has a bit more of a texture, is more durable, is less absorbent (good for my sweaty skin) and when ‘doubled up’ has a similar warmth to synthetic fleece. [Read More]

Xaiomi Mi Band 7 Review

TLDR The Mi Band 7 should be a top consideration for anyone considering a smart watch or a fitness tracker. The only potential ‘problem’ is the software can be fiddly to setup but works incredibly well despite setup hassles. For full details and thoughts, continue reading. The Hardware The device itself is setup to look more like a bracelet than watch when worn. It has a similar look to the bracelet styled fitness trackers. [Read More]

Boox Palma (e-reader) Review

Prelude Awhile ago I spent some time reviewing how I read books, news and random internet articles day to day. My goal was to bring a Kobo Clara HD back into regular use as I greatly prefer e-ink displays for reading. As with most things in my life, a “straight forward tech rework” was just the beginning of something far bigger. I read a lot: an average of one hour plus per day with some days being over four hours of reading. [Read More]