April 2025

I like his argument of solving a problem once, never looked at it this way so far.

I realized that one of the best things about open source software is that you can solve a problem once and then you can slap an open source license on that solution and you will never have to solve that problem ever again, no matter who’s employing you in the future.

It’s a sneaky way of solving a problem permanently.

⤑ A selfish personal argument for releasing code as Open Source.

/link

I’m sitting in Hyde Park in the Speakers Corner. It looks starkly different this morning from yesterday afternoon. There are no speakers here, only other tourists eating breakfast.

 

Arrived in London. And already filled my day for tomorrow by watching Hamilton 😍 and the Starkid concert in the evening.

Now I need to decide what to do on Sunday.

 

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🍿 Fly Me to the Moon (2024)

Sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones, brought in to fix NASA's public image, wreaks havoc on Apollo 11 launch director Cole Davis' already difficult task of putting a man on the moon. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup, and the countdown truly begins.

⤑ TMDB.

/movie

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🍿 The Gorge (2025)

Two highly trained operatives grow close from a distance after being sent to guard opposite sides of a mysterious gorge. When an evil below emerges, they must work together to survive what lies within.

⤑ TMDB.

Liked it quite a lot, especially because it has a different pacing compared to other action movies.

/movie

I’m organising my notes right now and stumbled over this quote:

You’re not building a note-taking system, but rather a way to capture, explore, and generate ideas. by Jorge Arango on page 181 Duly Noted

/quote /note-taking

?

Writing notes is much more than just writing notes. Done right, it’s a way of working with ideas: I’m organising my notes right now and stumbled over this quote: You’re not building a note-taking system, but rather a way to capture, explore, and generate ideas. by Jorge Arango on page 181 Duly Noted Chris Verbree https://vmac.ch/posts/2025-04-21-i-m-organising-my-notes-right-1745220311/

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A piece of white paper has been cut into the shape of an abstract animal resembling a horse or a llama. It features a long neck, four legs, and a rectangular body. Simple facial details are drawn on it in blue pen, such as an eye and a few lines representing hair. The paper lays flat on a dark, textured surface.

Is it a Camel or a Dinosaur?

/accidental-art

@V_ You’d imagine a camel would have a hump! I’d have gone with horse though, that’s definitely a mane! Are we going to find out?!

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@V_ not sure, but it’s definitely screaming into the Void

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@Omrrc You are absolutely right in regard to the missing hump. And @joshuapsteele makes a good point that it is screaming into the void – I did not notices this at all. So it is a screaming horse now.

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Does anybody have any ideas how to motivate a child to do his homework. Especially when the thought of working for school causes physical pain to them. I could need some help right now.

 

@V_ No advice. But you have my sympathies. I’m in a similar spot with one of my kids that schoolwork and stress causes physical pain.

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@heyloura thanks a lot! And I give you my sympathies as well. The past two days were a bit better. And it looks like we now have the maths done – puh.

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I just finished reading Duly Noted: Extend Your Mind through Connected Notes by Jorge Arango.📚

 

@V_ any good insights or thought provoking ideas?

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@ChrisJWilson, that is a good question — I think not. But I think this is because I had already read other books about the topic (How to Take Smart Notes). So Duly Noted was more of an overview book on the note-taking space for me. Therefore, I would not recommend it if you already have experience in the PKM / note-taking space. If you are completely new and don’t know anything about it, then it is a good book.

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@V_ thanks. I read how to take smart notes about four years back and loved it. I blitzed a Zettlekasten book last week as a refresher and it reminded me of some things I had forgot and had some nice applications of ideas so I was wondering if you’d had a similar experience.

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@ChrisJWilson, you’re welcome. Which book did you read as the refresher?

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@V_ Digital Zettlekasten by David Kadavy. I think you could get 99% of the value I got from reading this post.

 on

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🍿 Breathless (2024)

A passionate medical team is devoted to saving lives in a bustling public hospital where tensions — and romance — keep their pulses racing.

⤑ TMDB.

Did not hope for much. But after having watched three episodes I quite like it. It has different air compared to other medical shows.

Read 2 remaining paragraphs...

/tv

So, I finally managed to move my note automations over to my new computer.

 

Nice bug? I found today with Apple Mail. When I run an AppleScript rule manually, it reports a message count of 2 instead of 1 for the selected message. Not sure why it happens, and it does not happen when the rules are triggered automatically.

/automation /applescript /note-taking
A paper napkin featuring an illustration of a black cat with large, yellow eyes. The top of the napkin has the text "BE different" in bold, black letters. The napkin is placed on a wooden table.

The kitten reminds me of the main character in the film Flow. But I don’t think it him/her. But these napkins are so cute.

 

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🍿 The Residence (2025)

A brilliant, eccentric detective must solve a murder in the White House residence — where the staff and guests at a state dinner are all suspects.

⤑ TMDB.

Loved the show, did not like the conclusion.

/tv

Another point for my love/hate relationship with Hugo: The where function in combination with the not in operator does not work as expected when the value argument is a empty slice :-(.

/hugo

Came home to a failing external hard drive on my old computer. And as it contains my Dropbox folder all my automations stopped working. So should I fix it on the old computer or finally move them over to my new one?

/automation

Lessons learned: if there is a direct flight take it. It takes so much more energy and time when you need to change airplanes.

 

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🍿 Waitress: The Musical (2023)

A waitress and expert pie-maker dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage.

⤑ TMDB.

This movie made me cry and I could not relish in the feeling due to being in an airplane. Loved it would watch again.

/movie /musical
A pop-up window on a screen prompts the user to "Enter the password for the Exchange account." The email address is partially obscured. Below the message are two buttons: "Edit Settings" and "Cancel."

I don’t like this dialog. It always pops up when I’m doing something else and is removing my focus. And I love it when I’m in the mail app on iOS (writing an email) and the app decides now is the moment to push a modal dialog into my face.

/ios /ux

@V_ and the obvious action would be to just enter the password and be done with it. But I don't want to now (its a work account and I'm on holiday). A remind me next week button would be nice.

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I’m surprised to learn that the Shinkansen also has fast and slow trains (trains stopping at every train station) — for it to be generally thought about as an express rail line.

/japan /kyoto
A wooden stool with a curved seat, placed against a wall of green tiles. Below the stool, there is a white plastic bin on the concrete floor.

I find this box for your bagpack a good idea. I’ve seen it in multiple restaurants here in Japan. And would wish we had them as well at home.

/japan /kyoto

@V_ That's a very simple but effective idea. How sensible!

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A person holding a package of 7-Eleven Premium fat spread. The packaging features an image of a slice of bread with a dollop of spread. The text includes Japanese characters and states "Fat Spread" along with nutritional information indicating 59 kcal per serving. The design suggests a butter-flavored product.

Not sure what I was thinking but I read “Flat Bread” instead of “Fat Spread”. My daughter was not happy that she got 300g of margarine for breakfast :-)

/japan /kyoto

@V_ LOL I'm misreading things more and more often these days — not helpful when it's crossword clues. ????

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Was in a Cat cafe for the first time today. Not sure what I think about the experience. It certainly was not crowded and the cats hat spaces to get out of Patreon reach. But it sure felt like they did not want much interaction with you. Only when you had treats of course.

/japan /kyoto

@V_ I went to one about 8 years back and I remember they were very hesitant until I'd been there for about 15-30 mins and then finally approached us. .

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@ChrisJWilson could be that I was a bit too eager/impatient today I've tried sitting down and waiting. But perhaps it was also to late in the afternoon already and they needed a break :-) I can fully understand having all these strangers entering your domain all of the time.

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Looks like I’m nearly over my jetlag now. Only around one hour away from my regular waketime without an alarm now.

/japan