Thaddeus Hunt

I've always been a huge fan of journaling. It's you taking time out of your schedule, stepping out of the constant stream of everything that barrages us every second of every day, to simply acknowledge what you've seen and experienced. It's an activity worthy of anyone's energy and time.

This all said, I haven't been able to stick to journaling at all in the past. My mind forms pages of prose WAY faster than my pen can race across any given page. So as much as I love the concept of it, I am not disciplined enough at doing it. There was always the option of opening up a text editor on a computer and creating entries that way, but that is disorganized, aesthetically lacking and it feels like any other activity you'd do in front of a computer. Not you taking time out for yourself.

But what if someone decided to create an application dedicated strictly to capturing the spirit of pen and paper journaling? Furthermore, what would be your stipulations for such an app? Here are mine:

1. Like a notebook, it would have to be readily accessible. In my pocket and on my desk (on portable devices AND stationery computers).
2. Because of the above, it would have to sync between said devices. Updating multiple instances of the same journal would get frustrating and old quite quickly.
3. It would have to supply a user experience that somehow takes you out of the day to day work you do on a computer. So that when you opened it, you would think "it's time to write in my journal!" not, "it's time to journal, oh, let me check my Twitter feed first! Oh yeah, look, I've got new email. Should look at that now..."
4. It should be simple to use and get out of the way of the user's need to write, yet have powerful features that are there if you need them.

The good news? There is an app that supplies these things for me and it's the new reason I journal and have been journalling (sometimes multiple entries a day!) every single day for the last year. So what's this magical unicorn of an app? Enter "Day One Journal"!

From the outset, this app is no-nonsense! You open it for the first time and with a little initial one-time configuration, you can be writing your first entry in under five minutes. The app is available on OSX and iOS (universal), so it's available on every tech device I have (Mac mini, iPhone and iPad) and because it syncs with iCloud (or Dropbox if you prefer and have an account) all of my entries are constantly in sync no matter what screen I am looking at.

The UI is quite elegant on all platforms, organizing your entries in a variety of ways (in a daily "stream-based" view, a in a calendar view, or in a section listing entries that you've favorited). You can even set up alarms to remind you to write in your journal (you can turn them off as well!).

When you open a new entry, you are greeted with some inspiration in the form of famous quotes from people present and in the past (A nice touch, but thankfully you can disable these as well). The date and time is filled out for you and you are left with this wonderful white space to type in! Once you get your thoughts and memories down you click/tap the "Done" button and that's it! It syncs instantaneously in the background, backing up our words as well as making them available anywhere that you have Day One installed. If you don't wan't your words in the cloud and just want them stored locally on your computer, you can do that as well (though you lose the syncing capability). Don't want other people reading your words? No problem? You can password protect your entries!

Have you written something you'd like to share? That's easy too! By clicking the share button on the entry you can get social in many different ways, email, Twitter (built in iOS integration), you can even export your entry if you feel the need.

It sounds like a lot of options and it is, but I can't express enough how much the developers of Day One made them all secondary and unobtrusive to the simple of act of writing in your journal. I haven't even touched upon the quick entry window in OSX that's nestled in your menu bar at the top of your screen, allowing you to add an entry without opening the app itself, or the different fonts you can use, or that it supports the highly readable markdown code… there's a lot! But here's the thing: it's not overwhelming. Which is the point right? Writing in your journal should be easy! It should be a joy and not a chore!

That's why it was crucial and wonderful that the developers of Day One nailed this experience.

When I am not writing lengthy entries, I actually use it to write Twitter-like observations in my day to day (leaving my actual Twitter stream more lean and curated). Little memories, anecdotes, ruminations or whimsies, all the little stuff that gets lost typically, is documented in my digital journal now! Also, I have to admit, once you've started, it's amazing to go back and read what you were doing the same day last year.

It reminds you that you've lived and to me? That's pretty damn precious!

There are a few improvements that could be made to the app (a lack of a search function, you can't embed pictures into entries, iCloud sync is new and thus is a little buggy at times…) but they don't detract from the experience and, in the case of the ones I listed above, they are all being addressed in future releases of Day One (which are free by the way). It's also Mac only. Sorry Windows/Linux users.

So, to bring it all home, if you've been on the fence about keeping a journal or maybe you've been thinking of getting back into it but want a more modern twist on the act of keeping one, I can't recommend the Day One Journal app enough. I've loved it immensely!

~Tad

Helpful links:

1. Day One Journal Site
2. Day One Journal Mac App Store
3. Day One Journal iOS

PS: ALL pics in this post were snagged from Day One's press kit found here on their site

• writing
• ios
• mac-software
• simple
• what-i-like
• journaling
• osx

I touched upon this in a previous post but, as that post was focused on the software I used, I thought I'd expound a little more on my writing setup from a hardware level and why I chose the setup that I did.

I've taken a very minimalist approach to the hardware I use in my writing nowadays. I used to have a 13in MacBook Pro and that was WAY more hardware than I needed for 90% of what I do with a computer everyday. I considered selling it for one of these, but even that seemed like overkill. So when the last iPad came out I was then convinced that I could whittle things down even further, go even lighter, even more portable. So I did what a lot of people in the tech and writing field still consider to be unthinkable: I traded in the laptop for a iPad.

I won't lie, it hasn't been the easiest transition but, to be honest, it hasn't been that bad either. I actually only find the setup to be irritating in the most small and unexpected ways. But the cool part is, is that there are always ways around any issue or hurdle I've come across so far. Do I miss my laptop? Sometimes. That's unavoidable. There are still some instances where I have no choice but to seek out some more robust hardware to do some heavy lifting. But, in all honesty, it's been shocking at how much I don't have those situations pop up.

Bar none the iPad's been amazingly capable.

So! With out further adieu, here is my current hardware setup for writing (and a ton more)!

1. An iPad - (2012, 3rd generation)
2. A stand (TwelveSouth's Compass)
3. Apple's bluetooth keyboard

There are plenty of alternatives out there that I considered, BUT, I already owned a spare Apple bluetooth keyboard and I had no interest in spending the extra cash involved in buying an alternative.

The good news is, purely by circumstance and not experience, I actually ended up prefering my setup to a clamshell-based iPad case for a variety of reasons. Here are the Pro's and Cons!

PROS:

1. Because the keyboard isn't attached, I am not handcuffed to being a set distance away from my iPad. I can sit as far away or as close as I want. It also helps with ergonomics if you have issues with that. Separating the keyboard from the screen really affords a lot of customization. Me? I typically have the keyboard on my lap and the iPad on the stand on the table in front of me. It's just more comfortable for me that way.
2. The particular stand I bought allows for some natural adjustment of how the iPad sits on it. So there's some good angle adjustments you can make to make sure you are not Quasimodo-ing over your screen. The free standing nature of it all gives a great amount freedom to place things where you want. It accommodates you rather than the other way around.
3. The 2012 iPad's screen resolution. Yes, I'm sure you've heard all about the wonders and spectacle (including unicorns) of the most recent iPad's screen resolution but, I gotta admit, it's pretty damn glorious and way nicer on eye strain than the models before it. If you can spare the extra scratch, I highly recommend it. Especially if you plan on spending a good amount of time in front of it. Think of it as an investment in your ever faithful eyeballs. :)

CONS:

1. Everything's separate and in individual pieces. No, I'm not crazy. I know I just extolled the fact that separate pieces are my preference. But it's also one of my setup's greatest weaknesses. An "all-in-one" setup is easy to grab, throw in a bag and go. It's definitely more convenient. But in this case I chose my own comfort over ease of use. When you get to your writing location with an all in one setup, you put it on the table, open it and get to work. With my setup, you sit down, take out the stand, unfold and set it up, place the iPad on it, take out the keyboard, turn it on, sync it to the iPad and then get to work. In short, it's definitely something to consider.
2. Stand weight. As much as love my stand, the TwelveSouth stand is woefully hefty. Some might argue that the ruggedness is a strength and testimate to the quality of the product. It's hard to argue against that but, I'd prefer a stand that was WAY lighter and made with the same quality. I haven't found one yet, but I'm definitely on the hunt.
3. Battery life. A bluetooth keyboard needs batteries and, in return, crushes the battery life of your iPad as well. So, wireless convenience definitely comes at a price. And packing extra batteries or a charger can definitely be a drag.

So no doubt, there is a good bit to consider and there definitely isn't what I'd call a silver bullet solution. Like many things, it all comes down to your life and your preferences. For me, my setup definitely outweighs the inconveniences that are packaged within. They suck up mere minutes and only add a little extra weight to my bag. Does it successfully replace my laptop? Yes, for me it does. But please remember that I predominantly write, check email, Twitter, and browse the web. I do occasionally code but not at a rate that would necessitate anything above my memory and a basic text editor. So, in short, this setup works for me, but it may not work for you! Don't get suckered into the latest round of "ditch your laptop for an iPad" propaganda. It's a romantic notion for sure, but it definitely doesn't accommodate everyone's wants and needs. Not yet anyways.

Hopefully you found this useful! Hit me up up on Twitter if you didn't or have something to add! I would genuinely love to hear it! I think a lot of folks are curious about this situation. I know I was!

Hope you all had a good week,

Tad

• writing
• minimalism
• travel
• tech
• portability
• hardware
• writing-setup

This site is pretty spartan by design and that's exactly how I wanted it.

That all said, there was some basic functionality that I wanted to retain when I made the move to this space. So when my wonderful partner in crime asked me last night if there was an RSS feed to my site, I thought, of course there is! But then I looked and saw that even though there was in fact a feed, there was no obvious way to get to it.

So this quick post is to announce the new RSS link in the nav bar above for your feeding enjoyment!

• syndication
• improvements
• new-feature
• rss
• news
• site-announcements

In the hopes of mixing things up in this space, I plan on putting up some "What I Like" posts that will talk about anything and everything that I am currently enjoying quite a bit. Think of them as one shot reviews of things, services, web sites, gadgets, books, beer, hiking gear, tea/coffee, movies, really anything! These types of post are aimed at being a snapshot of what ever is striking my fancy at the moment.

In the end, my hope for these posts is to bring your attention to something that maybe you have never seen before that I hope you would enjoy (like I do).

So! Shall we? Yes? Sweet!

Today's Topic: is a little gem of a social web service called "This is My Jam". It's a relatively new web site (it's still in beta actually), but it started getting wider adoption at the beginning of this year.

What's it Do?: it allows you to choose a song as your "jam" and it posts the tune up for the world to see (and your followers) for as long as 7 days before it asks you to choose another one. It also allows you to display your curated picks on Twitter and Facebook, if you like. The final icing on the cake? You can also listen to a stream of your followers selected "jams" as well!

I particularly like this feature because when your friends or like-minded followers create a playlist for you, it affords all kinds of fun and surprising music possibilities! It's eclectic, engaging and, most importantly, fun!

Ok, but how easy is it to use?:

1. Log into the site at thisismyjam.com
2. Search for and pick a song to share. Preview it if you'd like.
3. Write a quick blurb about the song and why you chose it (this is optional).
4. Post it.

The Verdict:

That's it! It's an über simple service and I think it's simplicity is it's greatest strength. It serves only one purpose: to help you share your favorite tunes with the world.

But even the simplest ideas can fall flat if the implementation is poorly thought out or awkward. Thankfully, the folks behind TIMJ made the user experience and interface clean, simple and nice to look at (always a bonus). It also takes very little time to use (the last thing you or I need is another social network taking up your time).

In a world of bloated and complicated everything-and-the-kitchen-sink web-based services, it's nice to see one that has taken a simple idea and implemented it so well.

As I said before, it's still in it's fledgling stages and while plenty of people use it, I wouldn't say it's thoroughly caught fire yet. But regardless, check it out, sign up, create an account and invite your friends! You'll be sharing AND discovering new music in no time, I promise!

One con? I do wish they had a mobile app, but I don't think that's not a deal-breaker. The best picked tunes are the ones you are sitting down and listening to anyways.

So that's it. If you like it, drop me a line on Twitter (the "follow" link is above in the header if you feel so inclined). Honestly, if you are music lover, I can't imagine you being let down.

Here's my TIMJ link: http://www.thisismyjam.com/thaddeushunt

Enjoy!

Tad

• simple
• social
• what-i-like
• music
• web-sites
• enjoyment

As you could probably surmise from the length of my last post, I'm not only into techie geeky stuff, I also love to write.

Since I was a boy I've always loved telling stories. It's what I did then (with my toys, friends and Dad's old typewriter he had in the office) and what I still do today (less toys, better friends that also write, and many, many word processors). Though the platforms I use have changed drastically and will continue to do so, the spirit of it all still very much there. So what do I like to write? I typically write fiction of a darker tone, focusing a lot on Horror and Science Fiction. I'm pretty much always in the middle of writing something novel-length that I'll inevitably have a hard time finishing.

But as much as I love writing and telling stories, I've also been falling in love with the process of writing as well. More specifically, the tools that are available to all of us today. So, with this in mind, I thought I would take some time to describe my current writing system to you all. My hope is that might inspire some to write more often and in more places. Because inspiration can happen anywhere!

Ok, full disclosure. I'm a Mac user and enthusiast. It's what works for me and it all works quite well. I'm not going to debate the merits of other platforms, they all have their strengths. That all said! Here's my setup on a hardware level:

1. A 2011 Mac Mini in the office.
2. An iPad (3rd gen) for writing remotely. Had a laptop, the iPad replaced it recently. I also use a stand and an Apple bluetooth keyboard.
3. iPhone (this gets replaced every other version. Currently it's a 4)

When I'm home, I generally use the Mini, it's a little powerhouse, has much bigger screen and has a full size keyboard. All make for easier writing in general.

When I am out and about and I know that I am going to write, I'll bring my iPad setup. This consists of the iPad, a stand (The Compass by TwelveSouth) and Apple's bluetooth keyboard.

Otherwise, I always have my phone on me, so note taking or even full on writing is always at hand. Though, admittedly, it's tough to pull off a full-on jag of writing on an iPhone, I have done it a few times, which to me is kind of amazing.

So that's the hardware involved. I've yet to have a serious problem with this setup. In fact, in the last year I paired down a good bit of my setup when it became clear I could supplement my iPad for a laptop with very little sacrifice.

But we all know that hardware is only as good as the software you run on it, so here are the tools of my trade, as well as the two scenarios I constantly run into that they accommodate.

First Scenario: I know that I am going to be writing on my iPad in the morning, finishing up a thought on my iPhone during my commute and tidying up on the computer (iMac) in my office. One document, on 3 separate devices, saved and synced each time.

Solution: iA Writer (OSX and iOS Universal)

This little gem of an app utilizes Apple's iCloud service to sync between all of the above devices almost instantaneously. It's pretty amazing to watch actually, and I've yet to see it fail. Not even once. Because it works so well, I've come to rely on this first system 75% of the time. It saves your files in text format or in straight up markdown (which is quite handy for blogging). While it's preferences are basically non-existent (it's a focus-based text editor), it performs it's function, letting you write, quite well. I do wish it had better sharing options but there are a lot of easy ways around this. All versions of this app are full screen and very easy to read, leaving just you, the screen, and your words. Highly recommended and a silver bullet solution to the scenario above.

Second Scenario: I know I'll be writing on any platform on the planet, PC, MAC, Unix, iOS, Android, etc… and will need to edit it on my iOS or OSX device later.

Solution: Elements for Dropbox (iOS-based) and a free Dropbox account for cloud storage along with the free corresponding Dropbox iOS apps (also found for Android devices as well).

If you have an iOS device and any kind of computer the solution above works great! It's not as streamlined as the first solution but it isn't difficult and it achieves the same result. Your writing will be synced and available across multiple devices. In fact, I have to hand it to Dropbox. Their service/product alone has enabled SO many opportunities to folks who need mobile cloud-based storage it's pretty amazing. This solution worked perfect for me the other day when I was working on a text file at the office on my PC. When I was done, I saved it to my Dropbox account and headed out. I had some time at a coffee shop a bit later and fired up my iPhone to edit it more there, once complete, I synced it with Dropbox again and headed home where it was waiting for me to edit on my Mac with any text editor I had at my disposal. Easy peasey!

Elements is also a WAY more robust and full featured editor compared to iA Writer, which is incredibly spartan intentionally by design. I've used Elements for many other text editing functions other than writing. I've actually coded web sites in it on my iPad! Lots of options and very easy to use. In fact, if it supported iCloud sync and had a corresponding Mac app, I would be inclined to ditch iA Writer entirely and just use Elements. It's that good. But both text editors are superb, they just were built for different purposes that's all.

So that's it! That's my current writing system. I personally couldn't love it more. I can write literally anywhere and when I don't have a data connection, everything saves locally and syncs the next time that I do. With this setup, the technology finally gets out of the way, and with my full screen, distraction free text editors I am focused. Which is important when you are in a public place and get distracted easily. ;)

I whole heartedly recommend one or both of the solutions above for your writing. I currently use both weekly (sometimes daily depending on my needs). Hopefully it will encourage you to write more, in more locations and give you less excuses not too.

Here are all the links above in one place:

1. iA Writer (OSX and iOS Universal)
2. Elements for Dropbox (iOS-based)
3. A free Dropbox Account
4. Dropbox app iOS apps (also found for Android devices as well)
5. The Compass by TwelveSouth
6. Apple's bluetooth keyboard

Also, if you are even remotely interested in an exhaustive list of all of the text editors available on the iOS platform, I recommend checking out this incredibly thorough article by Brett Terpstra. I can't even imagine the time it must've taken to put this together.

Lastly, the very popular tech site "The Verge" just recently did a post about this very topic! So if you are looking for another take on all of this. Check it out here..

UPDATE: One of my favorite Mac and tech writers out there, Federico Viticci, literally today (04/27/12) just posted a very in depth article about his personal writing workflow as well! Be sure to check it out here.

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully you found this useful!

~Tad

• writing
• ios
• mac-mini
• ia-writer
• writing-systems
• iphone
• icloud
• mac-osx
• dropbox
• elements
• ipad

So when I first started looking into redesigning this site, I originally wanted to redo it in WordPress. Over the years I've been quite the WordPress evangelist. I've built themes, client sites (even for my day job), gone to a couple of local WordCamps and I've recommended it on many occasions to people who ask or care. In fact, if you were to ask me again, I still would recommend it. It's a solid platform, has tons of dev support, is highly theme-able, very versatile (Blog or CMS? It's both really.), is easy to use (for the most part) and it isn't a web solution that will be going away anytime soon.

But, (and you probably saw that coming eh?) when it came time to pick a platform to rebuild thaddeushunt.com I really wanted the following:

1. I wanted to own my content and I wanted to have access to it at anytime. I also wanted it to be available in the flat file format (preferably .txt or some flavor of it) I created it in.
2. In addition to the above, I absolutely required ease of use. This is different for a lot of people. Me? I wanted to open a text editor (any text editor), write my post, save it in a directory and have that magically become content on my site/blog. Also, in the same vein, I was shooting for a platform that supported Markdown. This wasn't required, but it would be a definite bonus.
3. I wanted to somehow ditch the cost of hosting. The direction that my life is eventually heading towards, will require me to pinch every damn penny I possible can. Yes, I know there are a lot cheap hosting companies out there. But a quality, free solution is always a better option if you can find one.
4. Piggybacking on that, I didn't want to hop on board with an ad-based solution. Sorry, Ads are obtrusive, distracting and tacky. There are quite a few pre-established free options out there (Blogger, WordPress.com,Tumblr, to name some biggies) and sure, you can pay to add or remove advertisements, but why not avoid that all together from the outset? Also, these services often restrict you from customizing the look and feel of your site. Which leads me to…
5. I wanted complete control of how my site looks and feels. The minimalistic look of this site you are currently reading is completely by choice. My choice. It's definitely not for everybody, but I wanted the ability to tweak the HTML and CSS of my site.
6. I wanted it to be a light weight site. I didn't want browsers to be bogged down by bloated code created to give me everything and the kitchen sink. I wanted it to display text, the occasional picture or video and I wanted it to render very fast using as little bandwidth as possible.
7. Lastly, and this was big one, I wanted the freedom to write and update it from anywhere on the planet. At my desk at work, on the Mac at home and anywhere I had my phone/iPad. Definitely a requirement. No exceptions.

So that was my task, find a light weight, tweak-able web solution that was easy to use, allowed me to own my content, provided an easy way to create content (from anywhere on the planet from multiple devices), that cost nothing to host, was ad-free and preferably supported markdown code.

That's a super tall order! And it was one that, frankly, I expected I'd have to compromise on. But, in the end I think I found the perfect solution. It delivers on every single line item above AND it only costs me, drum roll please… $10 a year and that is only for the annual registration of my domain!

How'd a pull this all off? Scriptogr.am.

Scriptogr.am allows you to create a site/blog that hooks into your Dropbox account creating a folder where you can save files written in Markdown. After the file is saved, you then synchronize the service (this is handled on Scriptogr.am's end) and, with the click of a button, your flat text file (.md extension) is posted on your site as html! That's it. It couldn't be more simple to use and it's fully customizable theme-wise. It's open source so it's free (for now) and you can open up a Dropbox account (even if you don't have/want a site, you should definitely consider Dropbox as a free cloud-based storage solution) for free that has plenty of space for your site. They have some apps on they way (iOS offerings), but you don't even need them. You just need an iOS or Android-based text editor and the Dropbox app. Plus, they support custom domains with a little bit of registrar work.

I'm about a week in using this site, but so far it has been rock solid! Now that I got the site looking the way I want, my workflow is as follows:

1. Open a text editor on my device of choice. Write away with a little a bit of Markdown code (seriously, very little). Proof-read it.
2. Save it as a ".md" file to my Dropbox folder (/apps/scriptogram/posts).
3. Synchronize the site on SG's admin panel.

That's it! So many steps removed from my previous workflow (mostly saving for back ups, copying and pasting text, proofreading, wash-rinse-repeat if I found errors, look at it in a browser, ugh…). I know Markdown may sound scary but it's not. It's actually HTML for writers. Definitely hit the link at the top of this post. Or directly below in the reference list.

So, there you have it! As I am sure you can tell, I'm pretty smitten with how everything turned out. I plan on making some additional posts on the apps/services I use for my writing workflow as well as a few processes I've learned on posting to Scriptogr.am. So stay tuned!

To keep things simple, here's a bulleted reference list of the services I've mentioned above that I utilized in the building of this site. Thought I'd add them here since I buck-shot them everywhere above. Just easier for you to find.

1. Scriptogr.am
2. Dropox
3. John Gruber's Markdown

Hope you found this useful and informative!

~Tad

• tech-stuff
• site-news
• markdown
• scriptogram
• dropbox

Hey all! Made some pretty huge changes in the last 48 hours. Welcome to the new thaddeushunt.com!

So why the change? Well, the main reason I did it was simply because of cost, but also because I wanted to improve on a few parts of my life and the path it will be taking in the near future. Simply put, I need website, but I also need it to be on the cheap while still offering the things that I am accustomed to when developing a site.

My first stipulation was to find a site that took a staunch minimalist approach. I'm pretty happy with what I found! You don't get much more spartan than what I have up right now. Yes there are few things missing still but I think I can add them in with a minimal amount of effort. This leads me to the next stipulation for the new site: I didn't want to have to mess with it very much. The last one was that I wanted it to be light weight (in other words perform it's duties/load very, very fast).

There were other highly geeky things I wanted that I achieved as well, but that can come at another time. (I'm already feeling the need to write about the construct of this site, it's pretty awesome!)

So, as I said before "Welcome"!!!

I have big plans for this space now that I've rebuilt it from scratch.

Stay tuned!

Tad