Intro
September is here, and my calendar and to-do lists make sure that I’m aware of it. Thankfully, the weather is returning to its normals and not making things harder for me.
In case you’re wondering, I took the photo with the new app I’m obsessed with these days called BitCam. It’s way more fun than I expected.
Greetings from Sangarius. Hope you’re all doing well.
Mission Control
Inbox: 264
RSS Reader: 525
Open Tabs: 235
Upcoming Events/Travel in Next 30 Days: 1
- Last week was non-stop meetings; this week looks similar but calmer.
- All of the meetings also mean now I have a good amount of planning and writing tasks on my desk. Which also means more meetings or calls might appear on my calendar.
- Some projects also need document writing, so that’s another big part of my week as well.
Check my Now page if you want to see what I’m up to in a more detailed way. And feel free to get in touch with me if you want to work together.
From Last Week
- Oyun Trendleri Nasıl Dönüşüyor? | TGP s02e15: We talked about how gaming trends and habits are evolving in our most recent episode of Tuhaf Gelecek Podcast.
- 🧒 Çocukları İnternetten Kovunca Sorun Çözülmüyor: On my monthly media and journalism newsletter for Newslabturkey, the focus was why age verification and other attempts to ban children and teens from internet is a stupid idea.
Distracting Tools
September means things are speeding up for me. Which means I’m going through my work setup, tools, and whatnot to make sure it’s all ready to go. Which may sound like an unnecessary thing, unless you’re easily distracted by small things not functioning as I wanted, like me (which is mostly the result of my ADHD brain).
Let’s look at pens, for example. Even though I’m not someone who is obsessed with going analog with stuff (I write, take notes, and read things digitally just fine), I still have pens and notebooks with me all the time. It’s a different kind of space for work and thinking for me. But my tools are not functioning properly; it can turn into a major distraction.
I’m a gel pen person; I tried and still occasionally use fountain pens, but the amount of maintenance and potential issues it can cause makes it impossible for me to use them as my daily pens. All that work, plus additional stuff I need to think about when I’m carrying one with me, is just too much noise for my brain.
Sadly, not all gel pens are created equal. Especially if you’re left-handed like me and need to consider things like how easily it writes or how fast it dries. It eliminates so many pens and brands.
I started my gel pen journey with Pilot Frixion, but its ink fades quickly, and turns out it doesn’t like how hot it gets in here during the summer. Then I moved to Uniball Jetstream pens. Which were good to me for a while, but for some reason, it got harder to find here, and when I tried to look for refills, it was impossible to find where I am or online. I even had email conversations and phone calls with Uniball Turkey, and the only option for me was to go to a specific store in İstanbul.
I didn’t think about it much because I had enough backups in my office for a while. Then last month, both pens I had on my desk decided they’re quitting. Both had lots of inks inside, yet they simply refused to use it. I’ve tried every trick and cleaning method online, but nothing worked. Meaning I had to start my research again to find a new pen for myself.
After a deep research and elimination process, I’ve landed on Pentel Energel pens. It’s been just a couple of weeks, but I’m happy with them so far. It writes well and doesn’t have a problem with any of the notebooks I have. Plus, it looks like finding refills is much easier than most of the other brands around.
I just hope that I don’t have to think about pens for a long time. I have so many things to do, and I would like to do those without being distracted by my tools.
Song of the Week
I love it when a band goes to a bunch of artists from different genres and says “Here are our songs, do whatever you want”.
Reading Log
“What do we get from doomscrolling? Why even call it that? Can we not use grown-up words like self-soothing, numbing, rumination, avoidance, paranoia, insecurity, anxiety, despondency, resentment, despair, anger etc. to describe our behaviors and the feelings behind them?”
obligatory one month without social media on my phone substack essay (contrarian edition)
“We talk about “the algorithm” stealing our attention, but that’s not strictly true, and it absolves us of our complicity in the process. In fact, we steal one another’s attention; the algorithm merely ranks and rewards us for the attention-stealing strategies we develop in response to these crude yet devastatingly effective gamified incentives.”
ours is the tragedy of the silent stars – Velcro City Tourist Board
“You’ve probably watched the transition in someone you know. It’s the move from “things I swear by” to “this is the hill I will die on—and bring hell down on you while I do it.” Swearing by something is testimony: personal, revisable, indifferent to whether you join in. The hill is different. The practice stops being something I do and becomes something you’re wrong for not doing. My supplement stack becomes your negligence. Your breakfast becomes my business. What changed isn’t intensity, but vector. The preference grew teeth. Once you see that threshold, you see it everywhere: diets, money, parenting, fitness, faith.”
New Hills to Die On
Mailbox
I’ve mentioned my good friend Jay Springett here several times. This time the reason is the zine I’ve received in the mail yesterday. His new format for Permanently Moved podcast is great, and if you haven’t listened before, I highly recommend setting some time aside to listen to its latest episode “Internet Operator”. While you’re there, consider following his blog and podcast, and order the zine or support him monthly to receive new ones.
Outro
And I think that’s enough to start the week. Take care of yourselves, do something weird this week and I’ll see you around.
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