From thoughts to text

A few years ago, I started collecting notes and quotes from various sources. Like books, blogs, and occasionally the comment section of Hacker News. The inspiration came from author Ryan Holiday. Ryan takes notes on subjects he reads about. Later uses these notes as a foundation when writing his own books.

One of the quotes (sadly I forgot to write where I read it) goes as follows:

“Let them keep doing what’s popular. You keep doing what’s necessary.”

Like most of the notes I have collected, this one is short and powerful. No explanation needed. Do what is necessary. That’s it.

Of course, it is one thing to read it and understand it. It’s not much to read (11 words), and it is easy to understand.

But to live up to it; that’s the hard part. Doing the popular thing is, by all accounts, more popular. Which makes the necessary thing even more important.

So what will you do? The popular thing, or the important one?

I was trying to find a book suitable for teenagers, so I searched Google out of old habit. Now, searching Google these days means that their AI will answer first, because that’s how Google rolls these days.

It did suggest a few books; one about a father and a son going on a fishing vacation, meeting a family with a daughter and promising some romance.

So I copied the title of the book and the author into another tab, only to be told, by Google AI, that this book was not written by that author at all. However, it was a book alright — a book about holocaust. Now, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad idea for teenagers to learn about holocaust, but it was not exactly the story the first Google AI told me it would be.

So I asked Google in the first tab about it, and it apologized — which is why so many people love AI these days I guess, that and the “excellent question” it loves to throw around — telling me it made it up.

And this is what the crazy in USA is saying we should call “Super Intelligence”, or else we would be “the enemy”. It says a lot about the “intelligence” over at the White House at the moment.

You have probably see them; people with headphones listening to…something. Whether on the bus, the mall — even sometimes while hiking.

And there are probably a lot of interesting podcasts to listen to, but there certainly is a lot interesting things to listen to outside too.

When I go for a walk, I like to listen to whatever is around me. Leaves dancing in the wind. Birds singing songs. Streams of water seeking a path downhill.

And it is not just about sounds, it is about what the eyes sees as well. Observing the dancing leaves. Trying to spot the singing birds. Looking at the stream of water rushing past.

Once you are tuned in to the outside, it is easier to get tuned in to the inside as well. Listening to your own thoughts, getting to know yourself.

If you feel your thoughts overwhelm you; do not suppress them with music. Try meditation. Learn to quiet the voice while still allowing ideas to form, to grow.

Do not be afraid of your own thoughts; embrace them.

Garmin Vívoactive 5. It is not my first smartwatch, but it is the first I have bought myself.

My first smartwatch was a Christmas present: a Fitbit Charge 2.

I call it a smartwatch since it counted my steps and heart beats. I think it even could show the time. Eventually it stopped charging. Ironically, given the name of the device.

My second smartwatch, a Polar Ignite 2, was a hand-me-down from my father when he got a new one (for Christmas). It could count a lot more than the Fitbit, but then the touch screen stopped working.

It still counts steps, heart beats, sleep, and more, but getting it to track my activity has gotten increasingly difficult without a way to interact with the watch.

All I want is a way to track my kayak trips. But since my smartphone, for one reason or another, turns off the GPS tracking literally the moment I tuck it away, that is not an option.

And yes. I have tried to change the battery options to no avail.

I know Garmin Vívoactive has a lot more functionality. But I have turned off all notifications, and I have no intention to use it to stream music, read messages or use it as a payment method.

It should simply be out of the way, and occasionally, on my request, track my activity.