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#+TITLE: Article List
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#+TITLE: Article List
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- [[file:why-i-love-whiteboards.org][Why I Love: Whiteboards #+DATE: <2024-01-23 Tue> #+DESCRIPTION: Whiteboards. They're pretty great.]]
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- [[file:why-i-love-manuals.org][Why I Love: Manuals]]
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- [[file:why-i-love-manuals.org][Why I Love: Manuals]]
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- [[file:why-i-love-whiteboards.org][Why I Love: Whiteboards]]
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- [[file:why-i-love-the-cold.org][Why I Love: The Cold]]
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- [[file:realizing-you-need-to-start-over.org][Realizing You Need To Start Over]]
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- [[file:realizing-you-need-to-start-over.org][Realizing You Need To Start Over]]
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- [[file:for-want-of-a-more-limited-computer.org][For Want Of A More Limited Computer]]
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- [[file:for-want-of-a-more-limited-computer.org][For Want Of A More Limited Computer]]
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@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ to hold in my hands, the replacement isn't too bad, and searching is a *godsend*
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for pulling the information you need. There's benefits to both, really.
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for pulling the information you need. There's benefits to both, really.
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So I think there's plenty of high quality manuals left for me to read and
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So I think there's plenty of high quality manuals left for me to read and
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refrence. And plenty more that have three sentences of poorly translated English
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reference. And plenty more that have three sentences of poorly translated English
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that leave mep trudging to Stack Exchange to desperately find someone who
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that leave me trudging to Stack Exchange to desperately find someone who
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hopefully had the same problem.
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hopefully had the same problem.
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And if you're not an Emacs user, and are complaining that GCC or some other
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And if you're not an Emacs user, and are complaining that GCC or some other
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#+TITLE: Why I Love: The Cold
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#+DATE: <2024-02-23 Fri>
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#+DESCRIPTION: Brrr.
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Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice, I say through someone making what could be described as a
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catastrophic diplomatic failure, but I wouldn't mind the world ending in ice. I adore the cold.
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I tend to remember why I love the cold as soon as the weather starts to warm up. Days get hotter, days get more humid, I
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get more miserable. Sure, the sun is nice and all... until I start to actually spend time in it.
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I hold those winter nights where the air is cold and you wrap a thick blanket around yourself while you work away at
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whatever it is needs to be done in very high regard. There's nothing that beats the serene comfort of coziness, and
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coziness is best experienced in winter.
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In the cold, you tend to become more focused, more aware, more awake. I absolutely adore this useful little property of
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low temperatures. In the heat, you get hot, sweaty, and sluggish. No fun wiping sweat away when you're trying to just
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get something done.
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Not to mention the beauty of winter. The simple formation of tiny formations of ice as frost on grass is such a
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fascinating process, a land of green suddenly encrusted with white, glittery crystals. While ice can be very dangerous,
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it can also be simply gorgeous.
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Not to mention cold air. I don't know what the cold might do for air quality, but when I breathe in crisp, winter air, I
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tend to feel as if it is almost *cleaner*. It's probably just the cooling sensation as I breathe, but it's a sensation I
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enjoy nonetheless.
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I don't just enjoy cold weather. I also just enjoy cold environments. This is the strangest part for most people. I used
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to work in a food-production factory where some of my duties involved spending time in the industrial freezers. I
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absolutely *loved* it. Wearing nothing but my uniform polo vest, boots, trousers, and hairnet, I would build pallets, pull
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out ingredients, and sometimes just hide for a bit. It felt /great./
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I could work hard in the cold, too. While your body attempting to regulate temperature uses a lot of energy, especially
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in the cold, not getting hot and sweaty meant that I was comfortable to keep going for much longer. I could do a lot
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more than I could normally, which had a tendency to surprise me when I attempted to do some of the same work outside of
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the freezer.
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This adoration for temperatures most might describe as a bit nippy (Approximately minus thirteen degrees Celsius, if
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memory serves) only intensified during the height of that summer. A steel-roofed production floor with very little in
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the way of temperature control meant I tended to volunteer to do more work in the fridges and freezers, eventually
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getting to the point where I'd stop what I was doing to stand in the freezer for a bit.
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So, if the sun would just get a bit cooler for me, that'd be excellent. I can't be dealing with all this "sunshine" and
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"fabulous days."
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#+TITLE: Why I Love: Whiteboards
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#+TITLE: Why I Love: Whiteboards
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#+DATE: <2024-01-23 Tue>
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#+DATE: <2024-01-23 Tue>
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#+DESCRIPTION: Whiteboards. They're pretty great.
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#+DESCRIPTION: Whiteboards. They're pretty great.
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Whiteboards. They're pretty great.
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Whiteboards. They're pretty great.
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It's my New Year's resolution to be a bit more positive this time around the
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It's my New Year's resolution to be a bit more positive this time around the Sun, and to do that, I've been playing
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Sun, and to do that, I've been playing around with just taking a moment to
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around with just taking a moment to appreciate some of the simple things I love about living on this little blue dot we
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appreciate some of the simple things I love about living on this little blue dot
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call Earth, and the first of these things that I'd like to talk about is simple.
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we call Earth, and the first of these things that I'd like to talk about is
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simple.
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Whiteboards. The ultimate human tool for problem solving. Big, small, but
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Whiteboards. The ultimate human tool for problem solving. Big, small, but seemingly infinite possibilities for breaking
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seemingly infinite possibilities for breaking down a problem into diagrams,
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down a problem into diagrams, equations, bullet points. Dramatic statement, I know! Yet, it's true.
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equations, bullet points. Dramatic statement, I know! Yet, it's true.
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For me, the whiteboard is the engineer's counterpart to the mathematician's
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For me, the whiteboard is the engineer's counterpart to the mathematician's chalkboard, the artist's sketchbook, a
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chalkboard, the artist's sketchbook, a writer's notebook. A whiteboard presents
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writer's notebook. A whiteboard presents the opportunity to begin the problem solving process in a visual, communicable
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the opportunity to begin the problem solving process in a visual, communicable
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form.
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form.
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A whiteboard represents an idea that is being *actively* worked on, in a form that
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A whiteboard represents an idea that is being *actively* worked on, in a form that few other tools can replicate. Simple
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few other tools can replicate. Simple lines of red, blue, black, and green, or
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lines of red, blue, black, and green, or occasionally other colours if you're the fancy type that doesn't purchase the
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occasionally other colours if you're the fancy type that doesn't purchase the
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first 4 pack of markers you see. In an instant, ideas can be reworded, redrawn, reformulated, cleanly, simply, with just
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first 4 pack of markers you see. In an instant, ideas can be reworded, redrawn,
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a wipe.
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reformulated, cleanly, simply, with just a wipe.
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Once an idea is fully formed, you can transcribe it into a permanent form, the
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Once an idea is fully formed, you can transcribe it into a permanent form, the ink on the whiteboard is inherently
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ink on the whiteboard is inherently temporary. This is not a downside, but a
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temporary. This is not a downside, but a major advantage. Until an idea is finished, completed, made into a permanent
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major advantage. Until an idea is finished, completed, made into a permanent
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form, it's able to be reworked with no effort, no loss.
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form, it's able to be reworked with no effort, no loss.
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But why not a chalkboard? Well, for starters, it's a lot more rare to find a
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But why not a chalkboard? Well, for starters, it's a lot more rare to find a good-quality chalkboard and chalk. There's
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good-quality chalkboard and chalk. There's stories of mathematicians hoarding a
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stories of mathematicians hoarding a specific brand of chalk, and for good reason, as if you're not careful, you end up
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specific brand of chalk, and for good reason, as if you're not careful, you end
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with a stick that crumbles into powder before so much as leaving a mark! Not the case with a whiteboard! Buy yourself a
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up with a stick that crumbles into powder before so much as leaving a mark! Not
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marker and some wipes, and you're off to the races!
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the case with a whiteboard! Buy yourself a marker and some wipes, and you're off
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to the races!
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Plus, there's the benefit of often creating much clearer lines than chalk, in a
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Plus, there's the benefit of often creating much clearer lines than chalk, in a way that's more displayable than
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way that's more displayable than something like a notebook or sketchpad, which
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something like a notebook or sketchpad, which is often more intended for the view of a single person.
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is often more intended for the view of a single person.
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What makes whiteboards the ultimate tool, however, is how they can be used to
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What makes whiteboards the ultimate tool, however, is how they can be used to collaborate. A picture tells a thousand
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collaborate. A picture tells a thousand words, even a crudely drawn one in
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words, even a crudely drawn one in temporary ink. Nothing is easier than passing the marker to the next person to think
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temporary ink. Nothing is easier than passing the marker to the next person to
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of something, or to change a detail with a simple wipe.
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think of something, or to change a detail with a simple wipe.
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In fact, I love whiteboards so much that I often have to find alternatives when
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In fact, I love whiteboards so much that I often have to find alternatives when one isn't available. This can range from
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one isn't available. This can range from tabletop surfaces after an exploratory
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tabletop surfaces after an exploratory poke and wipe to make sure the ink comes off, battle mats from tabletop RPGs,
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poke and wipe to make sure the ink comes off, battle mats from tabletop RPGs,
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mirrors, and windows!
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mirrors, and windows!
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My alternatives have even stemmed to the aluminium clad walls during my first
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My alternatives have even stemmed to the aluminium clad walls during my first "proper" job, in a food production
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"proper" job, in a food production factory, where I often stood in an alcove off
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factory, where I often stood in an alcove off to the side of the production floor, inscribing a spreadsheet to calculate
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to the side of the production floor, inscribing a spreadsheet to calculate the
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the optimal onion count for each day's needs, causing my manager to stop and ask if I were having a stroke. I was not. I
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optimal onion count for each day's needs, causing my manager to stop and ask if
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was *problem-solving*, and yes, it made me much faster.
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I were having a stroke. I was not. I was *problem-solving*, and yes, it made me
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much faster.
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However, the poor whiteboards' name has been marred, thanks to the whiteboard
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However, the poor whiteboards' name has been marred, thanks to the whiteboard interview, a parlor trick for prospective
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interview, a parlor trick for prospective programmers to prance before possible
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programmers to prance before possible professions. Often misused, but beyond the scope of the positivity of this
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professions. Often misused, but beyond the scope of the positivity of this
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article.
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article.
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Although, if you ask me, the only real problem with whiteboards is you never
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Although, if you ask me, the only real problem with whiteboards is you never seem to have enough to hand. And the fact
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seem to have enough to hand. And the fact that whiteboard paint is more
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that whiteboard paint is more expensive than chalkboard paint, hence my bedroom chalkboard wall.
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expensive than chalkboard paint, hence my bedroom chalkboard wall.
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So in short, if you want to increase your engineering team's productivity, or
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So in short, if you want to increase your engineering team's productivity, or need a gift idea for that nerd in your
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need a gift idea for that nerd in your life: get them a whiteboard.
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life: get them a whiteboard.
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