Sunday, 19th April, 2026

The more the kids use the computer, the more I look for somewhere else to sit. Now that it’s not freezing, I’m in the garage with my Apple keyboard and printed phone stand and this is where I’m writing. The worktop is a bit messy, and the keyboard must be slightly different to the one I’m used to as I keep hitting \ for enter and sometimes other keys. However, it’s a nice typing experience and I’m pleased. I did think about getting an iPad so. The screen is bigger but then the kids will just snaffle the iPad and I won’t see it again. Whereas no one takes my phone. I could get a laptop that’s just mine (hello Neo) but I worry it’ll be prone is distractions and just another device to watch YouTube / look at reddit on when I don’t really want to. I obviously could use it to do productive things (whatever those might be) but I still like the idea of fewer devices in the house.

So I’m thinking about a new phone 😅. I’m quite drawn to the new iPhone 17 Pro as I think it has the 48 MP telephone (unless that was the max - I can’t remember, still half way through a conversation with Gemini about comparing iPhone models) and when I’m out hiking, I do often use the telephone to frame the interesting features. I rarely use ultrawide, I just find the distortion too much, I suppose I could crop it a little, but I find the standard lens a good focal length for capturing the broad summit views. What I do like to take though, are photos of other summits in the distance, and this I use the telephoto for. They’re okay on my 13 pro - it has a telephoto lens but 12 MP, so any zooming and it’s a pixel mess. Also occasionally I’ll see a mountain hare or eagle or other more interesting wildlife and it would be nice to capture that so it’s more than just a splodge on in the frame.

These phones are more than the Neo, and basically MacBook Air prices. However, it is the most used device and the camera aspect is instead of me carrying a camera - which I could do but the three lenses in the device is nice. I do have thoughts of bringing a medium format camera with me up a mountain - and in fact there’s a nice thread about it on the SOTA reflector. But this isn’t going to replace my phone - maybe I’ll do it this week…not sure what 120 film I have but it’s probably going out of date.

I’ve done my Mountain Goat to get to 1,000 points and now I’m not sure what my purpose is. What my purpose should be is to have nice walks out, enjoy the scenery, get some peace and quiet, get some exercise and have a bit of fun on the radio. I still can’t help being drawn to checklists and completing sets - like doing all the munros, or doing all the Central Scotland summits (I’ve done all the Eastern Scotland ones but then that’s where I live) - and so I’ve lost interest in the summits close by. Have to say, I do get a bit tired of all the driving when I want to go further afield. This week coming I could take Monday off and have a long day, but the weather looks disappointing, especially when the whole of the rest of the week is blue skies and sunshine. The only other day I can sensibly take off work is Friday, but I have to do the school run, and so I don’t get much time. However, I’m going to do it and go on Friday vs. My plan of going on a long walk in the drizzle and cloud to tick off another Munro. I’m going with Fraser, so it’ll be a nice day out anyway.

Reading that Digital Minimalism book in bed at night is probably not the best way. I tend for forget about the book when I go to sleep and then remember it again when I start the next night. This is fine for fiction books as I remember the story but I’m not doing anything with it later. Whereas this book is perhaps instructive and I should be thinking about what I should do.

Last night it was about walking and solitude. That resonates with me! The book is written with social media and phones in mind, whereas I think for me, it’s the computer. Sometimes I will look at reddit on my phone for too long - I have set zero minutes for screen time but I think that doesn’t work as I just skip it at the start, whereas giving myself 10 minutes then it stops helps cut me off when I’m on it. I’ve not investigated a way to completely remove it from my phone - I’m just visiting in a browser - and if that would be better - i.e. do this 30 days with no reddit to break my idle impulses to open it up to see if there’s anything interesting (rarely is the answer).

We sorted out one of the boy’s Yoto card collection, and I made new cards for the audiobooks that are only on my phone. So now he can listen to anything and not ask for my phone to control stuff. He also wanted to print a new box to hold them all in, and of course there are already 100s of designs on makerworld and we just picked one. I dug about in my colours and found several I’d ordered by never opened. I’ve not done much on the printer recently, so it was nice to have something to print. I think I should finish or maybe redo the 5” rpi rack I was printing and actually setup the pis in it.

There are a few other projects lingering that I’ve not started yet. Again, I should probably finish them - a few radio antenna, and a mic I want to make. I’ve got all the bits, just need to actually do it. They’re the perfect thing to do in an evening - not particularly difficult or a big project. Just never work up the motivation to do it - or just tired.

My excitement for Obsidian peaked and died very quickly. I think I’ll stick to using it for work, as it’s nicer to read the text than VS Code was, but not sure about the whole note system and everything else for home use. Feels like creating work. I reminded myself of my dynalist setup, which once upon a time was supposed to be my note system. Still has a bunch of notes in it from way back, some are useful and some aren’t. Mostly a collection of lists. I’m just not sure what I want to make notes on.

Read a book, make notes, change your life. Maybe.

Analyse spending to see where money is going. This boils down to “don’t buy stuff”. Most everything else either has no option or I look for the cheapest at time of renewal. All the kids activities cost money, but not going to not do them. Streaming stuff - we have Netflix, Spotify and BBC TV licence (bloody tax). It’s me who spends money on stuff!

There’s logs of “useful” things, like doing x with car, or met so and so, and whatever that I might want to remember later. I think I like the idea of capturing those things. Just never seem to get round to it.

Then there’s a DayOne family journal I like to keep - although it’s been bare for quite a while now. I tell myself I’d rather spend time writing in that, than some well organised system of notes. But I do neither.

I’ve not even touched the subject of paper notes, typewriters, and pens etc. Least you get lovely physical things if you go down that route.

Perhaps I should try and migrate myself away from here into my personal daily notes, and then anything and everything can go into them. Which might be surprisingly as often this site is everything and anything! Probably time I wasn’t hiding in the garage and was doing something.

I also like this keyboard as it has a physical on/off button, which makes it simpler to disconnect from my phone.