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Posts by Jonathan Barrett

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Sometimes you get the gold - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

You know, back in the day I used to have more fun with computers. I don't think it's just nostalgia though, I think it's something worth digging up again.

www.relativesanity.com/articles/gold/

2 weeks ago 2 1 0 0
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The plan must never be to have plan - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

Plans are great, but sometimes they only arrive after the first attempt.

www.relativesanity.com/articles/no-...

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Just sitting - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

2025 ended up having quite the story to tell me:

www.relativesanity.com/articles/jus...

3 months ago 3 0 0 0

Really hope so. I'd gone plus sized at first as I figured it could replace the iPad mini for reading (wrong), and then convinced myself my eyes needed the screen size, but turns out the text scales just fine on a smaller screen too.

Also makes me use it less, which was part of the point too.

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

Just catching up on all this, I ended up going in completely the opposite direction: traded my 16 plus in for… a refurb 13 mini. And loving it.

Lighter than the Air, too!

3 months ago 0 0 0 0
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The library - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

Imagine if we invented the largest, most complete, up to date, and accessible store of human knowledge in history, and our preferred interface was… a casino?

www.relativesanity.com/articles/the...

4 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Goldsworthy - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

I went to see Andy Goldsworthy's retrospective in Edinburgh recently, and have been trying to put the experience into words ever since. Here's where I ended up.

www.relativesanity.com/articles/gol...

4 months ago 5 0 0 0
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Hot chocolate season - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

The guisers (and Guys) may be done, but we're still definitely in orange-leaves-and-decorative-gourds season in Scotland. Take a break from the grind with some dangerously tasty (and just plain dangerous, frankly) hot chocolate.

www.relativesanity.com/articles/hot...

5 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Positive bias - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

As we stare down yet another Monday, struggling to wrap our heads around why it's dark at 5pm, what if there was some magic spell we could intone to reframe things a little more positively?

Or, in other words, How are you doing today?

www.relativesanity.com/articles/pos...

5 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Systemic trust - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

I get asked about how I used to do lists and task managers to stay organised. I could never answer well as things kept changing. Things still keep changing, but I have found an answer:

I've stopped trying to stay organised; I'm getting more done than ever.

www.relativesanity.com/articles/sys...

5 months ago 1 0 0 0

The snake eats its tail…

5 months ago 0 0 0 0

The "AI Browser" is the current generation's Internet Fridge. Both these things are useful! That doesn't mean combining them will be more useful!

5 months ago 0 0 0 0
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Waiting - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

A swift one for everyone who's working remotely this Friday afternoon, and maybe decided to get out for a change of scene.

www.relativesanity.com/articles/wai...

5 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Morning - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

Sometimes, mornings are things you just need to let happen. Especially when they're armed and have that look in their eye.

www.relativesanity.com/articles/mor...

5 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Process interrupt - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

Here's a nice Sunday read: an article in defence of processes

www.relativesanity.com/articles/pro...

5 months ago 1 0 0 0
No time like the present - Relative Sanity a journal of thoughts on being and doing

The irony of my longest article in ages tackling the subject of nobody having "enough time" is not lost on me.

It might even be part of the point, especially as I eventually propose a solution :)

www.relativesanity.com/articles/no-...

6 months ago 1 0 0 0

Who are the people most successful in persuading writers to ditch substack? What would make them pitch Pagecord as an alternative?

6 months ago 1 0 0 0
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Curious: I have a bunch of things I’m keen to write about, but wonder what people would be most interested in hearing my take on?

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

Saying it now: I like iOS 26 in general but THE BEST feature is call screening. Absolutely changes my relationship with phone calls.

6 months ago 1 0 0 0

Yeah, the ownership is important. Just find I’m constantly tinkering, and even with obsidian sync I still find things like shortcuts often fail when I trigger them as the sync will happen during or after the shortcut. I’ve lost data that way, which doesn’t inspire confidence.

6 months ago 1 0 0 0

Not that this has stopped me before, of course!

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

Disappearing back down the notemaking app rabbit hole. Again. Obsidian is such a power tool, but mobile sync is just too hit and miss. Giving @bearnotesapp.bsky.social another shot. It really is the prettiest app, and like Things, it may be that simplicity beats options every time.

6 months ago 2 0 0 0

I remember getting the white and silver iPhone X when it came out and it was just so pretty. I may still have it kicking around somewhere. The Air has similar vibes: looks like the future.

Really have no need to upgrade though!

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

Love this. The pundit arc so far seems to have been

Before: who is the Air for? It makes no sense.

After: I have bought an Air

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

Outrage is powerful. This will get traction only because of people who are outraged that so few people know the real statistics.

6 months ago 0 0 0 0
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As someone who has deliberately disengaged with as much of that side of social media as possible, I knew something was up but had no emotional strength to go digging to find out precisely what.

Thank you for writing so I could catch up, but truly, deeply sorry you had to.

What a shitshow.

6 months ago 4 0 0 0

Web apps are fine, just surprised there’s still nothing native.

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

Todo lists have always been my gripe on Linux too. There’s just such a huge gap. It bugged me when I was deep in OmniFocus, and it bugs me now I’m deep in Things.

And even if you’re using org-mode, at that point you’ve stopped using Linux anyway as emacs is a different operating system 🤣

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

Hah, I’m pretty addicted to storing all my posts in markdown files, BUT maybe if there’s a podcast compatible feed option…? ;)

6 months ago 0 0 0 0

Must admit I’m loving how distressingly straightforward it is to slap an audio player on a web page these days!

#realplayer #neverforget #feelingold

6 months ago 0 0 0 0