I uploaded the .txt file and asked Claude to "clean up the attached to be clearer and more concise." Whilst the final output was still plain text, it took little time to add the occasional bold, underline etc.
Hello again, Dear Reader.
In case you're new here, I'm Alastair Johnston and you're receiving this newsletter because you subscribed over at my blog or via a link from Substack. I'm grateful for you giving me some of your time and attention and hope I always inform or entertain you here. If not, please feel free to unsubscribe, I won't be offended.
Here are the latest interesting things I’d love to share with you.
A better way to take searchable notes
As you know, I’m a strong proponent of the handwritten note and the power of paper. But one of the problems I’ve had was when taking notes in my day to day job. Paper was still best, but the sheer amount of information meant that refering back to my scribbles and finding and retrieving bits that I needed to use was a challenge. A number of times I’ve missed something, or couldn’t find it.
But I think I’ve found a solution that works. A way to hand write normal scrawly notes, have an image of these notes to refer back to so that I can see both text and any drawings, sketches or similar, and (and this is the exciting bit) have the words transcribed, cleaned up and available for search and retrieval.
I’ve blogged about the whole process here.
CD’s DVD’s are not dead
Last newsletter I shared why CJ Chilvers’ went back to buying CD’s but it seems we’re not done yet on the DVD either. Again, the ability to own a copy of something that you can play without the internet and without the whims of streaming platforms removing movies ad hoc or inserting ads into your paid movie experience seems to be a good thing.
How to do what you love for the rest of your life – without falling for stupid self-help guru advice
I loved this from Tim Denning’s Substack. It links in really well with Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work that I am now re-reading and re-loving.
Something to listen to…
Yep, I know that you usually find a brilliant musician that I link to here in these posts, but this time the emphasis is on the thing bit of something. I’ve talked about going back to actually purchasing music to listen to offline and in it’s album order. This may not always be at home, so what about when out and about?
The modern portable music player market is a bit split between cheap mp3 players and top end audiophile gizmos. But there may be another way that looks fab to me. A reconditioned classic iPod, updated with better sound, bigger hard drive, bluetooth even! And it’s saving electronic waste as well. If I can be sure of an easy way to synch it to Linux then I may well be treating myself…
That’s it for now.
Be kind and live well!
Comments? Insights? Join the discussion or email me.