Not So MuchAlexander Gräfe blogs herehttp://notsomu.ch/2014-01-11T12:21:00ZAlexander GräfeNow with added swag!http://notsomu.ch/2014/01/11/now-with-added-swag/2014-01-11T12:21:00Z2019-01-18T11:08:21+01:00Alexander Gräfe<p><strong>From the pretty-pretty-pixels dept.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote">1</a></sup></strong></p>
<p>That whole "minimalist" thing sure lasted long…</p>
<p>But after seing <a href="http://www.bigfootjs.com">Bigfoot.js</a> turn ordinary footnotes into sexy inline popup notes, I revisited my minimalist stance.</p>
<p>If this trend continues, byt next month I'll probably have those awesome<sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote">2</a></sup> water reflection applets and animated GIF backgrouns</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:1">
<p>Slashdot reference. YOLO! <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:2">
<p>Not actually awesome. <a href="#fnref:2" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
Tools and Inertiahttp://notsomu.ch/2014/01/11/tools-and-inertia/2014-01-11T12:12:00Z2019-01-18T11:08:21+01:00Alexander Gräfe<p>Every so often, especially on occasions such as the start of a new year, I take a moment and reflect on my current toolchain.</p>
<p>Well, not so much "reflect", more like "I want to throw it all away and start over new, maybe this time will be better". <sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote">1</a></sup></p>
<p>A sample of what's currently floating around in my brain:</p>
<ul>
<li>Throw away <a href="https://github.com/carlhuda/janus">Janus</a> and build my <code>.vimrc</code> from scratch.</li>
<li>Ditch vim for a while to learn more Emacs.</li>
<li>Switch from <a href="http://rvm.io/">RVM</a> to <a href="http://rbenv.org/">rbenv</a>.</li>
<li>Rework my <a href="http://dotfiles.github.io/">dotfiles</a></li>
<li>Replace <a href="http://brew.sh/">homebrew</a> with <a href="http://www.macports.org/">macports</a><sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote">2</a></sup></li>
</ul>
<p>Which sounds like a great idea in theory, but when I sit down to actually do it, fear and inertia sets in:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"This could totally screw up my productivity, I won't get anything done anymore"</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And so in the end, nothing gets done.</p>
<p>Which is why <strong><em>New Laptop Day</em></strong> is always such a joyous occasion. That feeling of almost limitless possibilities!</p>
<p>And then, after about a year, the cycle continues.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:1">
<p>Spoiler: It won't <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:2">
<p>Mostly because the way homebrew does stuff only works with a single user. And <a href="https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew/wiki/FAQ#why-does-homebrew-say-sudo-is-bad">their stance on sudo</a> is just weird to me. <a href="#fnref:2" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
Music that helps you focushttp://notsomu.ch/2014/01/05/music-that-helps-you-focus/2014-01-05T11:28:00Z2019-01-18T11:08:21+01:00Alexander Gräfe<p>I recently came across <a href="https://www.focusatwill.com">focus@will</a>, a site that claims:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Focus@will technology delivers various "Attention Amplifying" music channels scientifically designed to engage with your brain's limbic system. This soothes the easily distracted fight or flight mechanism increasing attention span and general focus.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That sounded quite interesting, and the free demo playlists sounded like the stuff I liked from stations like <a href="http://somafm.com/groovesalad/">Groove Salad</a> or <a href="http://somafm.com/beatblender/">Beat Blender</a>.</p>
<p>Also, <a href="https://www.focusatwill.com/science/how-it-works/"><strong>Science!</strong></a></p>
<p>And so far, I have found it quite useful. The <em>Up Tempo</em> channel and a set of <a href="http://www.ultrasone-headphones.com/en/products/hfi/hfi-580">good over the ear headphones</a> really help me concentrate. </p>
<p>Really worth the money for a Pro account.</p>
Book Recommendation: "Small Favor"http://notsomu.ch/2013/12/30/book-recommendation-small-favor/2013-12-30T16:08:00Z2019-01-18T11:08:21+01:00Alexander Gräfe<p>Last night I finally finished <a href="http://www.amazon.de/Small-Favor-Novel-Dresden-Files/dp/0451462009/">Small Favor</a>, the tenth book in Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" series.</p>
<p>The whole series has been pretty good so far, but the last six chapters were the most suspenseful thing I have read in quite a while. At least on two occasions I had to stop reading, take a breath, and read the last paragraph again, just to make sure that, yes, <strong>that just happened</strong>.</p>
<p>Now I have only four more books to go, until I can finally read the <a href="http://www.evilhat.com/home/dresden-files-rpg/">Dresden Files Roleplaying Game</a> without getting spoilered to hell.</p>
(Almost) new year, new bloghttp://notsomu.ch/2013/12/30/almost-new-year-new-blog/2013-12-30T14:23:00Z2019-01-18T11:08:21+01:00Alexander Gräfe<p>After spending way too much time fiddling around with the previous iteration of a <a href="http://middlemanapp.com/">Middleman</a>-based static blog, this is sort of an <abbr title="Mimimum Viable Product">MVP</abbr>.</p>
<p>It has been pared down to just a list of articles and the articles themselves. No comments, no tags, no fancy Middleman tricks. That might come later.
Only a <a href="http://www.google.com/fonts/specimen/PT+Sans">single font</a>, some <a href="http://bourbon.io/">Bourbon</a>, <a href="http://neat.bourbon.io/">Neat</a> and <a href="http://bitters.bourbon.io/">Bitters</a> for styling.</p>
<p>It may not be the prettiest website, but at least it's finally published.</p>