Some would say we have an unhealthy relationship with our phones. That for many it is a digital attachment to our hands, ever present in a world that increasingly encourages it. Others would argue it’s a revolution, allowing us to be more connected to each other and have more information at our fingertips than ever before. We all sit somewhere on the spectrum between those two extremes, but I find it essential to try to establish where you are, and where you want to be.
Due to my fixed nature and habits I don’t change my home screen very much. It stays pretty static, containing one page of icons and some widgets in slide over and that’s it. Not using your phone much has its benefits, but a few changes are worth sharing, so here’s an update to see out 2021.
AppsUlysses - I think I have tried every notes app out there, and despite trying to use Obsidian for everything, I love to write in Ulysses.
In early 2020 I was dismissive. Stuck with the majority of the country that scoffed at the thought that some flu couldn’t be anything more than media hype. It had happened before, and although we’d had a few scares with other viruses, it was easy to write it off.
The first step was being sent home from work, nothing more than a little holiday. I’d wanted to work from home for ages anyway.
Matt Birchler on his need for photography to be fun:
Additionally, since Glass is paid and artists generally like people to be able to see their work, it doesn’t make sense for really talented people to post there (certainly not only there) because it’s limiting who and enjoy (and maybe purchase) their work.Although this post talks more about Matts waining use of Glass, this little part towards the end stuck out to me.
Despite many years of taking photos, I have only visited a camera shop twice. Once to sell all my gear and another to purchase a new camera. It was the second visit that really stuck with me. It opened my eyes to the fact that the things you use should ‘fit you’ in more ways than one, and it’s how I look at the world now.
I intended to buy a new A7iii.
I am not even sure how I stumbled on Brain FM, but I have been using it for years. Stumping up for a lifetime subscription (no longer available) a while ago due to its ability to providing me with awesome background audio to my daily life. When I say that, I really mean it because it is nearly always playing through my headphones.
Loads of services aim to provide constant looping audio as a means of filling silence.
There is a theological perspective called “god of the gaps”. This idea is that whenever humans are exposed to something they don’t understand, they fill it with a notion that they have already accepted. At many times in history, that was with gods and mythology. As so, all the gaps humans had in their knowledge were explained away easily.
This is not to say the god, but a god was always responsible for everything that appeared outside our control.
Snapped this whilst out walking the dog earlier. I’ve taken it before with my camera, but there is something about the Christmas lights I see when walking my dog in the evening that fills me with joy. They are not over the top, not the most lavish afraid but beautiful in the dark evening.
Christmas always make me think about those that have gone before. Times I spent as a child growing up with all my extended family, eating and drinking until we can’t stuff anything else in.
Matt Birchler tweeted and wrote about the Dunning-Kruger effect recently. I have no idea what prompted the post, but I hope to god it wasn’t me. On looking at the graph posted I realised that I am very susceptible to this and there is a very specific point on it just for me. I am calling this the ‘Morris Point’ because it's caused me so many issues in my life, so I’m claiming it as my own.
I’ve never been a fan of prime lenses. Although they are a staple of almost all photographers I admire, their fixed nature has never appealed. I viewed them as being too restrictive, whereas a good zoom lens can get me a wider range of shots by adding on a little more weight.
Yet, every beginners photography guide I read or watched told me to get a good prime and learn to “walk with my feet”.