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#+TITLE: Article List
- [[file:why-i-love-whiteboards.org][Why I Love: Whiteboards #+DATE: <2024-01-23 Tue> #+DESCRIPTION: Whiteboards. They're pretty great.]]
- [[file:why-i-love-manuals.org][Why I Love: Manuals]]
- [[file:why-i-love-whiteboards.org][Why I Love: Whiteboards]]
- [[file:why-i-love-the-cold.org][Why I Love: The Cold]]
- [[file:realizing-you-need-to-start-over.org][Realizing You Need To Start Over]]
- [[file:for-want-of-a-more-limited-computer.org][For Want Of A More Limited Computer]]

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for pulling the information you need. There's benefits to both, really.
So I think there's plenty of high quality manuals left for me to read and
refrence. And plenty more that have three sentences of poorly translated English
that leave mep trudging to Stack Exchange to desperately find someone who
reference. And plenty more that have three sentences of poorly translated English
that leave me trudging to Stack Exchange to desperately find someone who
hopefully had the same problem.
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
#+DATE: <2024-02-23 Fri>
#+DESCRIPTION: Brrr.
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice, I say through someone making what could be described as a
catastrophic diplomatic failure, but I wouldn't mind the world ending in ice. I adore the cold.
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
get more miserable. Sure, the sun is nice and all... until I start to actually spend time in it.
I hold those winter nights where the air is cold and you wrap a thick blanket around yourself while you work away at
whatever it is needs to be done in very high regard. There's nothing that beats the serene comfort of coziness, and
coziness is best experienced in winter.
In the cold, you tend to become more focused, more aware, more awake. I absolutely adore this useful little property of
low temperatures. In the heat, you get hot, sweaty, and sluggish. No fun wiping sweat away when you're trying to just
get something done.
Not to mention the beauty of winter. The simple formation of tiny formations of ice as frost on grass is such a
fascinating process, a land of green suddenly encrusted with white, glittery crystals. While ice can be very dangerous,
it can also be simply gorgeous.
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
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
enjoy nonetheless.
I don't just enjoy cold weather. I also just enjoy cold environments. This is the strangest part for most people. I used
to work in a food-production factory where some of my duties involved spending time in the industrial freezers. I
absolutely *loved* it. Wearing nothing but my uniform polo vest, boots, trousers, and hairnet, I would build pallets, pull
out ingredients, and sometimes just hide for a bit. It felt /great./
I could work hard in the cold, too. While your body attempting to regulate temperature uses a lot of energy, especially
in the cold, not getting hot and sweaty meant that I was comfortable to keep going for much longer. I could do a lot
more than I could normally, which had a tendency to surprise me when I attempted to do some of the same work outside of
the freezer.
This adoration for temperatures most might describe as a bit nippy (Approximately minus thirteen degrees Celsius, if
memory serves) only intensified during the height of that summer. A steel-roofed production floor with very little in
the way of temperature control meant I tended to volunteer to do more work in the fridges and freezers, eventually
getting to the point where I'd stop what I was doing to stand in the freezer for a bit.
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
"fabulous days."

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#+TITLE: Why I Love: Whiteboards
#+DATE: <2024-01-23 Tue>
#+DESCRIPTION: Whiteboards. They're pretty great.
Whiteboards. They're pretty great.
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 around with just taking a moment to
appreciate some of the simple things I love about living on this little blue dot
we call Earth, and the first of these things that I'd like to talk about is
simple.
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
around with just taking a moment to appreciate some of the simple things I love about living on this little blue dot we
call Earth, and the first of these things that I'd like to talk about is simple.
Whiteboards. The ultimate human tool for problem solving. Big, small, but
seemingly infinite possibilities for breaking down a problem into diagrams,
equations, bullet points. Dramatic statement, I know! Yet, it's true.
Whiteboards. The ultimate human tool for problem solving. Big, small, but seemingly infinite possibilities for breaking
down a problem into diagrams, equations, bullet points. Dramatic statement, I know! Yet, it's true.
For me, the whiteboard is the engineer's counterpart to the mathematician's
chalkboard, the artist's sketchbook, a writer's notebook. A whiteboard presents
the opportunity to begin the problem solving process in a visual, communicable
form.
For me, the whiteboard is the engineer's counterpart to the mathematician's chalkboard, the artist's sketchbook, a
writer's notebook. A whiteboard presents the opportunity to begin the problem solving process in a visual, communicable
form.
A whiteboard represents an idea that is being *actively* worked on, in a form that
few other tools can replicate. Simple lines of red, blue, black, and green, or
occasionally other colours if you're the fancy type that doesn't purchase the
first 4 pack of markers you see. In an instant, ideas can be reworded, redrawn,
reformulated, cleanly, simply, with just a wipe.
A whiteboard represents an idea that is being *actively* worked on, in a form that few other tools can replicate. Simple
lines of red, blue, black, and green, or occasionally other colours if you're the fancy type that doesn't purchase the
first 4 pack of markers you see. In an instant, ideas can be reworded, redrawn, reformulated, cleanly, simply, with just
a wipe.
Once an idea is fully formed, you can transcribe it into a permanent form, the
ink on the whiteboard is inherently temporary. This is not a downside, but a
major advantage. Until an idea is finished, completed, made into a permanent
Once an idea is fully formed, you can transcribe it into a permanent form, the ink on the whiteboard is inherently
temporary. This is not a downside, but a major advantage. Until an idea is finished, completed, made into a permanent
form, it's able to be reworked with no effort, no loss.
But why not a chalkboard? Well, for starters, it's a lot more rare to find a
good-quality chalkboard and chalk. There's stories of mathematicians hoarding a
specific brand of chalk, and for good reason, as if you're not careful, you end
up with a stick that crumbles into powder before so much as leaving a mark! Not
the case with a whiteboard! Buy yourself a marker and some wipes, and you're off
to the races!
But why not a chalkboard? Well, for starters, it's a lot more rare to find a good-quality chalkboard and chalk. There's
stories of mathematicians hoarding a specific brand of chalk, and for good reason, as if you're not careful, you end up
with a stick that crumbles into powder before so much as leaving a mark! Not the case with a whiteboard! Buy yourself a
marker and some wipes, and you're off to the races!
Plus, there's the benefit of often creating much clearer lines than chalk, in a
way that's more displayable than something like a notebook or sketchpad, which
is often more intended for the view of a single person.
Plus, there's the benefit of often creating much clearer lines than chalk, in a way that's more displayable than
something like a notebook or sketchpad, which is often more intended for the view of a single person.
What makes whiteboards the ultimate tool, however, is how they can be used to
collaborate. A picture tells a thousand words, even a crudely drawn one in
temporary ink. Nothing is easier than passing the marker to the next person to
think of something, or to change a detail with a simple wipe.
What makes whiteboards the ultimate tool, however, is how they can be used to collaborate. A picture tells a thousand
words, even a crudely drawn one in temporary ink. Nothing is easier than passing the marker to the next person to think
of something, or to change a detail with a simple wipe.
In fact, I love whiteboards so much that I often have to find alternatives when
one isn't available. This can range from tabletop surfaces after an exploratory
poke and wipe to make sure the ink comes off, battle mats from tabletop RPGs,
In fact, I love whiteboards so much that I often have to find alternatives when one isn't available. This can range from
tabletop surfaces after an exploratory poke and wipe to make sure the ink comes off, battle mats from tabletop RPGs,
mirrors, and windows!
My alternatives have even stemmed to the aluminium clad walls during my first
"proper" job, in a food production factory, where I often stood in an alcove off
to the side of the production floor, inscribing a spreadsheet to calculate 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 was *problem-solving*, and yes, it made me
much faster.
My alternatives have even stemmed to the aluminium clad walls during my first "proper" job, in a food production
factory, where I often stood in an alcove off to the side of the production floor, inscribing a spreadsheet to calculate
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
was *problem-solving*, and yes, it made me much faster.
However, the poor whiteboards' name has been marred, thanks to the whiteboard
interview, a parlor trick for prospective programmers to prance before possible
professions. Often misused, but beyond the scope of the positivity of this
article.
However, the poor whiteboards' name has been marred, thanks to the whiteboard interview, a parlor trick for prospective
programmers to prance before possible professions. Often misused, but beyond the scope of the positivity of this
article.
Although, if you ask me, the only real problem with whiteboards is you never
seem to have enough to hand. And the fact that whiteboard paint is more
expensive than chalkboard paint, hence my bedroom chalkboard wall.
Although, if you ask me, the only real problem with whiteboards is you never seem to have enough to hand. And the fact
that whiteboard paint is more expensive than chalkboard paint, hence my bedroom chalkboard wall.
So in short, if you want to increase your engineering team's productivity, or
need a gift idea for that nerd in your life: get them a whiteboard.
So in short, if you want to increase your engineering team's productivity, or need a gift idea for that nerd in your
life: get them a whiteboard.