“In hindsight Courier is such an obvious name, but only through iterating on our idea did we actually come up with it.”
Month: February 2011
Nicholas Felton’s 2010 Annual Report →
This year it’s an encapsulation of the life of Nicholas’ father, based on artifacts like slides, calendars, postcards, and journals.
I never view the PDF; I order the print version every year and always wait for that to arrive before reading Nicholas’ Annual Report.
Obsession Times Voice →
And, speaking of growing as a writer, this 2-year-old article by John Gruber is great inspiration for “anyone who wants to publish or write on the web to pursue their obsessions in a serious way.”
“Perfect Kills Published” →
An article by Chris Brogan on writing that complements what I wrote this morning.
“Put your words into something so that you can look at them outside of your head.“
[Sponsor] MarkdownNote →
MarkdownNote makes it really easy to create notes using John Gruber’s popular Markdown markup language in your iPad. Using live preview feature, you can preview your Markdown markup syntax to HTML on writing. MarkdownNote allows you to create and organize your notes in folders with Dropbox.
Writing vs. Writing
This is me, thinking out loud about my writing.
There is writing, and then there is Writing. And I am amazed at how often I will shy away from the former because it doesn’t feel like the latter. There are times when I put far too much emphasis on the fine-tuned components of writing, and not nearly enough emphasis on simply getting the words down.
You know the difference I’m talking about. The latter is tangible — it’s the times when the words seem to write themselves. But then there are times when you feel like you’re back in the 2nd grade playing Oregon Trail and it’s all you can do to remember the Home Row. In fact, for me, writing rarely feels like Writing.
I may never be a capital “W” Writer. I may never win a Pulitzer, or write for the New Yorker, or even get pen to paper for what could be the next great American Novel. But I want to shoot for it. I want to be the best. I want my writing to be engaging, clever, and quotable. I want my articles to be insightful and memorable. But that will never happen if I only ever allow myself to write when it feels like Writing.
It’s suicide to stop before I start just because I’m not feeling it. I’ve got to settle the fact that sometimes it’s just plain writing and get over it already. Because wanting to write is not the same as writing.
And thinking about writing is not the same as writing.
Reading about writing is not the same as writing.
Tweeting about writing is not the same as writing.
Having a conversation about writing is not the same as writing.
Some of these help me grow into a better writer, but how often are they really just ways of procrastinating that don’t ever produce something written? If I’m not sitting here writing then I’m not writing.
If I’m not sitting here writing, I’m not writing.
Dorothy C. Fontana said: “You can’t say, I won’t write today because that excuse will extend into several days, then several months, then… you are not a writer anymore, just someone who dreams about being a writer.”
Do I want to be a capital “W” Writer? Yes. Do I want all my writing to feel like Writing? Yes. But I have to be okay with the fact that right now, I’m not and it doesn’t. I’m just a writer and most of the time writing is hard. It may never be otherwise.
But suppose one day I do arrive at some level of skill where the ink flows like honey and the prose like fine wine. I wonder if I’d even realize it. It may very well feel just like it does right now — like today — when it seems as if I can’t even put two words together using copy and paste.
Typewriter Picnic →
Love that orange.
Cellphone Usage in America →
Some mind-blowing stats. Like: 200 Trillion text messages are received every day.
Update: In fact, that’s so mind blowing it can’t possibly be true. 200,000,000,000 text per day, divided by 310,500,000 (the population of the United sates) would mean each individual gets 644,122 text messages every day.
Hook Your Instapaper Reading Log to Readability →
Log in to your Instapaper Account screen and you’ll find the ability to link your Instapaper reading queue to your Readability account.
As a side note, last week I mentioned how the sites I most want to support are usually not the sites I’m throwing into Readability. But after using Readability for the past few days, I learned that not just sites you read using Readability are given a donation, also the sites which you simply bookmark for reading later. So now, if I read an article in the browser, I just bookmark it and it gets earmarked.
The History of Computing →
Commodore 64 → iPhone 4.
Well, it certainly skips a few, but that’s not the point. (Via Pat.)
HiTask →
Many thanks to the guys at HiTask for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. HiTask is a free, web-based, task-management app.
There are many task management apps out there, and I believe that these unique and diverse apps are being built because people themselves are unique and diverse. Each of us has our own way of dealing with our responsibilities and our own expressions of productivity. We’re not looking for the best app out there, but rather the best app for us.
There is no cost to sign up for HiTask, and it has many features and options. It will let you work with team members, it has an in-line calendar view (both high-level and granular), it helps you with time tracking and reporting, lets you create tasks via email, and more.
iPhone 4 Breaks All Verizon Sales Records in Two Hours →
It’ll be fun to swing by my local Apple store next week and say hi to all the Verizon customers standing in line for their iPhones. Too bad for them the Verizon iPhone isn’t launching in the summer when it’s warm outside…
Media Temple’s Upgraded (dv) →
Media Temple just upgraded their (dv) hosting service with new hardware, updated software stacks, and better options for scaling and upgrading your hosting once you’re on a (dv) plan.
I migrated shawnblanc.net to a (dv) server in September and have been very pleased with its performance. If you’re looking to set up a hosting account with Media Temple then use this link and I’ll get a small kickback to help cover my own hosting costs.
New Premium Features in Simplenote →
New features for those with a premium subscription to Simplenote: (a) Sync via Dropbox if you prefer, and (b) you can now turn a note into a legit to-do list on the iOS versions of the app. The list feature is super clever and well implemented.
And the price of the premium subscription has also gone up slightly. It used to be $12/year, but now it’s $20 (or just $2 a month). I’ve been a premium member since day one, and will happily pay the slightly higher cost when it’s time to renew. Simplenote is by far one of my most-used apps.