Recent Posts

376

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on November 14, 2020, 04:14 AM »

I want to stay local, I like wikilinks in the text, plus the bits of markup and formatting that I use while writing and editing.

I'm happy for formatting for publication to be separate, but markdown doesn't do that anyway.

377

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm reconsidering a Plan B

« Last post by Dormouse on November 13, 2020, 02:56 PM »

My original Plan B when I started mostly using Obsidian was to switch to another program (possibly Foam, even Zettlr or even newer ones) and change all the syntax in the notes as required.

I've been thinking about it again recently. I'm still comfortable with Obsidian. But I look at all the feature requests and what they all have in common is increased complexity in exchange for adding features that would help a small minority of current users and a tiny proportion of users should Obsidian go mainstream. That may not be a problem if they are all added as optional plugins, but I've been here many times before. Reacting to user requests is a good thing, but it has its dangers. The vast majority of current users (at least those who post) are techie (even the ones who seem incapable of understanding what they're doing). There's any number of conversations about Mermaid. No appreciation of KISS or UI at all. There's been one example already - block refs - many wanted them, but the implementation is necessarily a hacky workaround which impacts the underlying document (only alternative would have been a database).

So I reviewed my own usage. There are major features (eg Graph) that I barely use at all. Many others where it seems currently weak, but might improve in the future (though I'm not confident, since the user base is the main potential source of plugins); I deal with that by using other programs. What I've learned by using it is the value of nested vaults and the productivity of wikilinks; and that using many programs on the same file is pretty seamless.

And the major source of friction is markdown. Plaintext is great, markdown grates all the time. Some simple things are just unnecessarily convoluted (whoever thought that counting #s was the bees knees?0 and some simple things it can't do at all (for me multi-coloured highlighting comes high on the list - atm forces me to switch to RTF or other WP format when I need it). Asciidoc looks better, and org-mode much better again (at least if it weren't for the compulsory complexity). But markdown doesn't seem likely to be avoidable in any future Obsidian alternatives.

So then it came to me. Design my own system. I could probably even do much of it with current plaintext/markdown editors and text expanders for conversion (which is what I already do to some extent). But I wouldn't need compatibility since it would only be for me. I could have better interfaces with other file types (I assume Obsidian will eventually, but I've no idea what they might look like). So there we are. A new Plan B. Not Plan A, and it might easily be superseded by something else. But will sit in my mind as something quite feasible and maybe even desirable.

PS
I note that logseq has gone open source.

378

General Software Discussion / Re: YouTube-dl has received a DMCA takedown from RIAA

« Last post by Dormouse on October 24, 2020, 06:02 PM »

How is it a surprise that the RIAA are taking down a streaming app they have not specifically allowed? They've been doing this for decades. And while I might dislike the RIAA, as a copyright holder, I'm all in favour of copyright holders' right to close unapproved access to copyrighted content.

379

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 22, 2020, 07:23 PM »

a kanban app that reads todo lines from plaintext files.

-Nod5 (October 22, 2020, 04:17 PM)

There was this post too: https://forum.obsidi...d-from-markdown/5184
pointing to a vscode extension TODO.md Kanban Board

380

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 22, 2020, 05:13 PM »

The one problem I've run across dealing with [[]] is how spaces and other things are represented

-wraith808 (October 19, 2020, 04:32 PM)

There seem to be perennial problems with spaces in markdown. And I don't think HTML helps much either.

381

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 22, 2020, 05:03 PM »

I like the general idea of adding todos quickly and with relatively little structure along the way when in just-get-text-out writing mode and then use some such tool later to help overview and act on tasks orderly, via kanban or some other method.

-Nod5 (October 22, 2020, 04:17 PM)

I've not used it and I've never been a big users of todos, though I play with them every now and again.
There's definitely been discussion there about a script to collect all undone todos across the vault and put them together, but I didn't take in any of the details.
If I was going to do that in Obsidian, I'd be tempted to just park the Todoist plugin in a sidebar and add them there as I went along.
I suspect that there will be quite a lot of development of this type of functionality.

382

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 19, 2020, 04:17 PM »

I have achieved the setup that accomplishes the goal I originally wanted

-superboyac (October 17, 2020, 04:35 PM)

Congratulations!.

I'm still tweaking and extending, but I now have a single workstream for everything, writing as well as research. I regard Obsidian as the prime custodian - afaics it is the fastest developing and most professional of the options, so a good bet for lasting the course. I'm not very keen on the alternatives - the best appear to rest on VSCode which I dislike - but I'm sure I can do any conversions required should Obsidian die and others come to the fore. If nothing else does, I'll be a bit stuck because I don't want to do without the linking, but I'm sure I'll get by.

383

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 19, 2020, 04:06 PM »

Tag syntax isn't standard markdown is it?

I'm in two minds over extending markdown. As far as I can tell it's been standard practice for a long time and it's the only way to add functions elegantly. otoh it's a pita when apps disagree.
I find some standard markdown with two syntaxes for the same thing distinctly kludgy and some looks like poor design choices - but they're what we have, like qwerty and MS shortcuts.

Obsidian has just introduced block references. By definition that's another markdown extension.
For my money, old markdown has no way of coping with the new PKM uses and so those apps have to adopt their own usage. Preferably with some sort of tacit agreement, in the end, about what those extensions will be.
I prefer [[ ]], so I'm pleased it's becoming a standard, even if it hasn't broken through to editors yet. Editors won't understand other extensions, but that doesn't really matter because they probably won't have that functionality either, and if they decide to add it they will presumably go with the syntax that's been newly established.

384

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 17, 2020, 06:32 PM »

they have a features filter so you can quickly find a most appropriate software for you:
https://www.noteapps.info/features

-panzer (October 11, 2020, 01:39 AM)

Problem is that they're wrong or misleading. They have Obsidian up now so I could just read to see how bad it is. Even by the standards of internet reviews, I'd regard it as a very shoddy job.

385

General Software Discussion / Re: NanoAdblocker is now malware

« Last post by Dormouse on October 17, 2020, 10:24 AM »

More widely, it's one of the problems with less popular apps and extensions that you give permissions to - they can always be sold, and you won't find out until it's too late.

386

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 09, 2020, 06:01 PM »

Encyclopedia of note taking apps:
https://www.noteapps.info/

-panzer (October 09, 2020, 03:15 PM)

Idiosyncratic selection of a few mostly recent apps so far,
but this quote seems reasonable:

@Conaw has won Twitter, cornering the the market on note app hype.

And this one might explain idiosyncracy:

This site is maintained by a professional researcher who is paid by Amplenote.

Looks biased to me. Under the customer centric heading,  they have 'has averaged at least one blog post per month over last year's. Unsurprisingly that's a box Amplenote can tick. And some comments aren't accurate, including at least one about Roam; and I'd hardly describe believer as $100 a year. I can only presume that Amplenote have been given quite a lot of money to throw around.

387

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 06, 2020, 08:52 PM »

I think it could,  though that's not what I do. It does have macro functions.
My use of the #s here is for markdown headings rather than tags - that being useful in Obsidian.

388

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 06, 2020, 12:22 PM »

In Obsidian everything is updated with all changes.

389

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 06, 2020, 08:48 AM »

20201004 134652 Plasterboards
Or
Plasterboards 20201004 134652
Or
###### 20201004 134652 Plasterboards
Or
###### Plasterboards 20201004 134652

The first two being .md notes
The second two being headings in other notes, and so easily linked in Obsidian.

Obviously I don't bother if I'm not looking for a UID.
Which goes first depends on whether I expect to primarily search/link by date or title - only affects where they come in the list of options.
Also use it when I want to time stamp an entry.

390

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 06, 2020, 04:54 AM »

If you don't want the headache of renaming html files constantly....use the ID.md filenames
If you want a descriptive html filename...use a descriptive md file.

-superboyac (October 05, 2020, 12:43 AM)

I use PhraseExpress shortcuts to produce the zet style date/time UIDs, one in a ###### header. I can then add any title text I want either before or after  the ID. Any text expander should do this.

So, I can have descriptive titles and UIDs in the same title.

391

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 04, 2020, 05:05 AM »

first suggestion was Pico CMS...i tried it, it's good...I'm sticking with this one, it seems to check all the boxes.

-superboyac (October 03, 2020, 06:30 PM)

For Neuron, I really like it and want to use it. But I want it accessed through my domain, not my github site.  This is where I'm stuck.

-superboyac (October 03, 2020, 08:12 PM)

I tried syncing files, and it is working as I desired!!

-superboyac (October 03, 2020, 08:12 PM)

???
Both?
Or dumped Pico?

392

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on October 04, 2020, 05:01 AM »

Well done! Looks as if you've made a lot of progress with this stuff.

I don't have any interest in publishing my notes, so far at least. Obsidian has just brought out its paid for Publish service (still in its very early stages), so interesting to see these posts arrive at the same time.

393

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by Dormouse on October 01, 2020, 01:43 PM »

More toned down

-mouser (October 01, 2020, 01:26 AM)

So, less likely to distract your opponents.
I suppose that would be fairer ...
... if that's what you want.

394

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on September 29, 2020, 08:17 PM »

Institutional investors, being bound by concerns about fiduciary responsibility and reputation, need to be more cautious than individual and small investors who my chose to take an  occasional ‘flyer’ and hope for the best.

And who knows? Sometimes long shots do pay off. Just so long as you can responsibly afford the risk - and understand it’s more akin to gambling than investing - there’s no harm done.

-40hz (September 28, 2020, 09:01 AM)

And the opportunity is here:

Since our last update, veryone's been asking whether or not they can invest in Roam! We are currently preparing the paperwork, via WeFunder, and we'll be giving first dibs to Believers. We want everyone in the broader community to also have the chance to invest.

Since we don't want to go public, the government is making us jump through a lot of hoops to make equity available to those aren't accredited investors. So stay tuned as we jump through those hoops for you!

I noticed that the spellchecker didn't seem to be working. 

More seriously, I'd regard 'believers' as a financially vulnerable (but not poor, so an attractive target) group by definition.
My view is the the existence of robinhood etc already tempts too many people who don't know what they're doing into share trading and this makes me uncomfortable.

395

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by Dormouse on September 28, 2020, 06:12 PM »

I used that, and finished everything as if it were going to be seen.

-mouser (September 28, 2020, 12:45 PM)

A follower of Henry Ford I see
 “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."

'Tis pretty spectacular
Sadly I've never had the patience for that level of practical perfection

396

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by Dormouse on September 28, 2020, 06:06 PM »

See if you can spot cody

-mouser (September 28, 2020, 12:55 PM)

Spoiler

Pride of place

 

397

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on September 28, 2020, 05:57 PM »

Another rabbit hole for me to go down!

-wraith808 (September 28, 2020, 01:47 PM)

It's a very powerful and successful technique. I wish you well.

But it takes some planning and a commitment to regular practice.

-40hz (September 28, 2020, 11:38 AM)

Indeed.
My experience is that people will take it up, overcome initial snags (possibly with some direction), and are amazed at how well it works.
But speak to them six months later and they've given it up. Finding things sometimes without effort is more seductive than a little effort and constant success.

It works as an example of Henry Ford's maxim : “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success” and further explains why success is rare.

398

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on September 28, 2020, 05:45 PM »

It has echos of an older technique that’s usually referred to as a ‘memory palace,’

-40hz (September 28, 2020, 08:53 AM)

You're right. I hadn't made that link myself. But many common aspects.

399

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on September 25, 2020, 06:31 PM »

Just rearranging deck chairs,
trusting I'm not on a Titanic design.

I was heavily into tags and links with few folders. I came to realise that there was little gain from that when a tag was categorical with boundaries that were rarely crossed. So I've shifted notes around so that some are in sub-folders. Creates the option if making them vaults,  even if I don't see a need right now.

It's also highlighted the dependence of nearly all designs on folders, even where tags can do a better job. If I could cut and dice tag views in the same way I can folders, I would have had no temptation to change. As things stand with many programs, the most flexible visual options come from using both folders and tags together.

400

General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten

« Last post by Dormouse on September 25, 2020, 02:04 PM »

I'm not sure whether it's just odd, but I do find it puts me into a better mindset for working. You'll maybe have noticed that there's a different vibe in each section.

I noticed someone on the Obsidian forums using a seedbox analogy, presumably with further steps leading to evergreen notes. So it's not just me.

The target with my overall system is removing frustrating friction and points where indecision creates stasis. And I expect the names to create a mental impression of somewhere I associate with the right type of productivity.

The one I'm least comfortable with is Nalanda because, as far as I know,  there was no contact between it and the Vivarium, though I'm sure they'd have been keen to copy their manuscripts if they'd access. Most accurate examples just have Library in their names which would have created a clash. Serapeum might be accurate, but was just a short-lived remnant of the Great Library of Alexandria. Pergamum would have been good (probably the second greatest Library in the Roman Empire), but the infamous Robert Maxwell named his publishing house Pergamon Press - later bought by Elsevier which I also dislike, so would have just irritated. So I  had to go further afield, and Nalanda works and had many similarities with the Vivarium.

Helps me be in the right mood like having music on.
But I know that doesn't work for everyone either.