make progress on posts

blog.org

@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@
 
 * Meta                                                                :@Meta:
 * Technology                                                    :@Technology:
-** A perfect email setup (for me)
+** TODO A perfect email setup (for me)
 :PROPERTIES:
 :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: a-perfect-email-setup-for-me
 :EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER: :toc true
 :END:
+
 I've never been satisfied with any of the email clients most people use.
 I've tried [[https://www.thunderbird.net/en-GB/][Thunderbird]], [[https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evolution][Evolution]], [[https://getmailspring.com/][Mailspring]], [[https://support.apple.com/mail][Mail.app]], [[https://roundcube.net/][Roundcube]],
 [[https://sogo.nu/][SOGo]], [[https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Geary][Geary]], and /many/ more. /None/ of them handle multiple accounts
@@ -350,6 +351,221 @@ accounts as you want to send email from.
 
 *** TODO Pong fluffy when finished
 
+** TODO Making yourself overly available
+
+*** References
+[[https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-cal-newport.html?showTranscript=1][Stop. Breathe. We Can’t Keep Working Like This.]]
+
+*** Notes
+**** Get rid of information that isn't important
+**** Escalate the info that is
+**** Set /clear/ boundaries for when you are available
+**** Enforce those with automatic DnD rules or use timers
+**** With groups...
+***** Specialisation is /good/ and should be /encouraged/
+***** /All/ of the above points apply with coworkers as well
+
+*** TODO Pong Jake when finished
+
+** TODO Catchy title about Supernote being "the new paper" :Supernote:Writing:Productivity:Organisation:
+:PROPERTIES:
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: something-about-supernote
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER: :toc true
+:END:
+
+I like writing things down. I like the feel of the pen (preferably a
+fountain pen) glide smoothly over the paper, that nice solid feeling of
+the tip against the table, seeing the ink dry as it flows from the nib,
+accidentally swiping my hand through it before it's finished and
+smearing a bit of ink across the page, cursing under my breath as I dab
+it up with a handkerchief or a napkin or something else nearby. I also
+love that writing things by hand [[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614524581][has an impact on memory and improves
+retention]].
+
+*** The problem
+Unfortunately, I don't love keeping up with that paper. Across many
+different classes, even with dedicated folders for each one, something
+important inevitably gets lost. Notebooks are also bulky and can take up
+a lot of space. I tried [[https://bulletjournal.com/][bullet journalling]] for about a month earlier
+this year and, while the process was enjoyable, the maintenance was not.
+My brain moves faster than my pen (even though I have terrible
+handwriting) and I inevitably forget letters or even whole words. This
+is a problem while writing in pen because white-out looks ugly and I
+dislike wasting whole pages because of a couple mistakes.
+
+The obvious solution here is to get an iPad with an Apple Pen, right?
+Right??
+
+Wrong because Apple bad[fn:2].
+
+*** The solution
+Enter the world of ... what are they even called? E-ink notebooks? Paper
+tablets? E-R/W[fn:1]? Do they even have a "device category" yet? I don't
+know but they solve my problem in a wonderful way.
+
+As the names suggest, these are devices that can /usually/ open and read
+e-books (EPUBs, PDFs, etc.), annotate them, and create standalone pages
+of notes as if they were full notebooks. The most well-known of these
+devices is likely the [[https://remarkable.com/][reMarkable]]. They had a [[https://venturebeat.com/2019/10/08/remarkable-raises-15-million-to-bring-its-e-paper-tablets-to-more-scribblers/][hugely successful
+crowdfunding campaign]] and produced the reMarkable 1, followed by [[https://blog.remarkable.com/remarkable-2-the-next-generation-paper-tablet-91b47d0080cb][the
+reMarkable 2 in 2020]]. There are a few others by now but we'll look at
+the reMarkable first.
+
+*** The reMarkable
+This device boasts all of the features I was looking for. It renders
+digital content, from books and manuals to comics and light novels,
+allows you to mark those documents up as you would if it were physical
+media, create full notebooks of hand written text, organise them,
+search, and, if your handwriting is legible enough (mine certainly is
+not), perform OCR on your notes and email a transcription to yourself.
+It even runs Linux and the developers have opened SSH up so you can
+remote in and tinker with it as much as you like. Because of this,
+there's a pretty awesome [[https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable][community of people creating third-party tools
+and integrations]] that add even further functionality. My favourite is
+probably [[https://github.com/bordaigorl/rmview][rMview]], a really fast VNC client for the reMarkable that allows
+you to view your device's screen on any computer.
+
+After watching all of [[https://www.youtube.com/c/MyDeepGuide][MyDeepGuide's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsSI9-gaSSmiXwb7Vjk5Vb-nB41UTnrXd][extensive playlist on the
+reMarkable]], however, I decided to go with a different product.
+
+*** Enter the Supernote A5X
+The [[https://www.supernote.com/#/product?type=SN-A5-X][Supernote A5X]] has all of the basic features the reMarkable has:
+reading documents, writing notes, and organising your content. Its
+implementation, on the other hand, seems to be much more polished. It
+also lacks some features from the reMarkable while adding others.
+
+*** Operating System
+While the reMarkable runs Codex[fn:3], a /"custom Linux-based OS
+optimised for low-latency e-paper"/, the Supernote just runs Android.
+There are both benefits and detriments to this; on one hand, they're
+running all of Android, bloated that it is, on a very lightweight
+tablet. On the other, they don't have to develop and maintain a custom
+operating system. This allows them to focus on other aspects that are
+arguably more important so I don't actually mind that it runs Android.
+
+The only place that Android stands out is in system operations; file
+transfer uses MTP and, when you swipe down from the top of the device, a
+small bar appears as in early Android. This lets you change WiFi
+networks, sync between the companion app on your LAN, the remote
+servers, take a screenshot, search, and access the system settings.
+Nothing else about the device really makes me think of Android.
+
+*** Community
+I don't usually browse Reddit but [[https://old.reddit.com/r/Supernote/][the Supernote community]] there is
+fascinating. I haven't looked around enough to know exactly what his
+relationship is with the company, but one of the members, [[https://old.reddit.com/user/hex2asc][u/hex2asc]],
+seems to represent Supernote in something of an official capacity. He's
+incredibly active and usually responds to posts and questions within a
+couple of days.
+
+Before I purchased one, [[https://old.reddit.com/r/Supernote/comments/lhffyd/sync_targets_open_document_formats_and_crossnote/][I wrote a post]] asking about a couple of things
+that concerned me: sync targets, open document formats, and cross-note
+links. I don't ever plan to write full documents with a keyboard on the
+Supernote but it would still be nice. The other features would be
+absolutely killer for me as I would like to maintain a Zettelkasten (I
+wrote about [[/vim-as-a-markdown-editor/][using Vim to do so]] last year but didn't end up sticking with
+it) and manage document synchronisation with my own Nextcloud server.
+The community was quick to respond and confirm that Zettelkasten
+functionality would be implemented soon™. u/hex2asc responded /the day
+after/ and said that WebDAV would be supported but not earlier than May,
+ODF would likely not be supported, and cross-note links were definitely
+a possibility. Another community member has been avidly following the
+subreddit and even put together an [[https://app-rm.roadmunk.com/publish/03e6dca3d769e2b7015f7f48a649cb3f75f44d9e][unofficial roadmap]].
+
+*** Interfaces
+
+**** Home & Organisation
+
+***** TODO Record very short videos
+
+**** Settings
+
+***** TODO Record very short videos
+
+**** Writing & Annotating
+
+The following images are screenshots of the full page above with the
+possible UI variations while reading a book. This first one is default,
+with the editing bar at the top. It is exactly the same as what's
+displayed on the blank pages for hand writing full notes. From left to
+right is the Table of Contents toggle, the pen tools (fineliner,
+"fountain" pen[fn:5], and highlighter), the erasers, lasso select tool,
+undo/redo, context menu, palm rejection toggle, previous page, goto
+page, next page, and exit.
+
+[[/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-default.png]]
+
+You can hold your finger on that bar and drag it down to detach it from
+the top. The default width exposes all the tools without whitespace. You
+can move it around the screen by dragging the circle with a straight
+line through the middle on the far left.
+
+[[/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-medium.png]]
+
+If you tap that circle, the width shrinks and everything except the
+pens, erasers, and undo/redo buttons are hidden. It can be dragged the
+same was as in the previous image and tapping that circle will expand
+the bar again.
+
+[[/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-small.png]]
+
+The last mode is with the bar completely hidden. You achieve this just
+by dragging it to the right edge of the screen. Once hidden, you can
+swipe right to left from the edge and it will be revealed flush with the
+right edge.
+
+[[/assets/pngs/supernote-reader-minimal.png]]
+
+*** Experience
+**** Reading content
+I love e-ink. I think it looks beautiful and would love to have an e-ink
+monitor[fn:4]. That said, the Supernote has an especially nice display
+with 226 PPI (pixels per inch). The image below was taken with my
+phone's camera so it's not very good. However, if you zoom in a bit, you
+can see that the curved edges of some letters are /slightly/ pixellated.
+Viewing with my naked eye at a comfortable distance, it does look better
+/to me/ than some of my print books.
+
+[[/assets/pngs/supernote-resolution.png]]
+
+/At the moment,/ I am pretty disappointed with Table of Contents detection
+for ePUBs. A great many of my books seem to use a legacy ToC format that
+the Supernote sees and tries/fails to read before attempting to read the
+more recent
+
+**** Writing notes
+I write notes as often if not /more/ often than I read and annotate books.
+It's the main reason I purchased the device and I love the experience.
+
+**** Surfacing Content
+
+*** TODO Pong Isi and Volpeon when finished
+
+** TODO Setting LXC up for local "cloud" development
+* Education                                                      :@Education:
+** TODO Homeschooling
 * Music                                                              :@Music:
 * Pipe Smoking                                               :@Pipe__Smoking:
 * Dungeons & Dragons                                :@Dungeons__and__Dragons:
+
+* Footnotes
+
+[fn:5] It's not really a fountain pen even though that's what they call
+it; it's just pressure-sensitive.
+
+[fn:4] While this would be absolutely awesome, it would also be
+prohibitively expensive and difficult to write software for. E-ink
+displays are /far/ from cheap and the incredibly low refresh rate would
+render usual computing habits ... odd. For example, words wouldn't show
+up right as you type them; the delay there would be significant and the
+same goes for a mouse. The idea is nonetheless compelling.
+
+[fn:3]Taken from their [[https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006699537-About-reMarkable-2-][support page about the reMarkable 2]]; search the
+page for /operating system/ and it should show up.
+
+[fn:2]I dislike Apple's operating system, their hardware, business
+model, privacy practises, and much of what they stand for as a company.
+Don't @ me.
+
+[fn:1]E-R/W is a play on media commonly being labelled as R/W when you
+can read from it and write to it.