Nostalgia is one of those inevitable things you get pulled into as you get older. Some give into it entirely, refusing to embrace anything new in favor of yelling at clouds and acting as if everything from their youth was better.
The reality is some things were better. Prices were lower. I can remember candy bars costing as little as 10 cents each. They cost more than ten times that now. Is that progress? Yes, if you sell candy bars. But they’re bad for you, so it’s difficult to get overly upset about that bit of inflation.
The reality is also that some things were bad. They are not worth remembering fondly. They are maybe not worth remembering at all, except as cautionary tales to warn future generations.
Fashion comprises almost all of the things in this category. Every decade has its fashion tragedies. Big hair. Acid wash jeans. Parachute pants. Running gear from 1975. You’d think it would be hard to screw up something as basic as a shirt and shorts. Then you see this:
This looks like a publicity still from a 1977 gay porn film. Marathon Men. And what was the deal with tucking in your shirt? At least they’re not wearing those socks. Which socks? These socks:
Yes, I had socks just like these.
But what I’m here to talk about now is music.
I was not an experimental type when it came to listening to music in my teens (time-wise this was around 1977-84). While friends grooved to Dylan, Bowie and Lou Reed, I listened to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Bee Gees and Blondie. Pretty much any band that started with the letter “b.” Now, all of the groups I’ve mentioned are fine and I still enjoy listening to them today. And The Beatles (and even to an extent Blondie) pushed the boundaries on rock music. But for the most part these were safe, mainstream choices.
Below these bands were choices that were perhaps less likely to win armfuls of Grammys, like Boney M. Still, I eventually repurchased Boney M’s seminal Nightflight to Venus on iTunes. It even embraces its retro-ness by including album art that is literally a photo of the CD cover. And I’ve repurchased other albums of yore that were not exactly showered with critical acclaim but that I enjoyed too much to resist–Queen’s The Game, Duran Duran’s Seven and the Ragged Tiger and so on.
But there’s a line I won’t cross, where I have to admit the music I liked way back then was actually pretty bad.
So while I happily reacquainted myself with The Police’s Synchronicity, I could not do the same with Styx.
Sorry, Styx.
I bought two of their albums, 1981’s Paradise Theater and 1983’s Kilroy Was Here.
Paradise Theater is actually a pretty decent album and I loved the concept and even the album art. I liked the album enough to pick up their next, Kilroy Was Here. This was another concept album, about a fascist government (one in the future, not the one the US has now) that outlaws rock music. There was a mini-film and most people who were around back then probably remember the oddball hit “Mr. Roboto.” But here’s the thing. It’s a terrible album.
There are some good songs, like Tommy Shaw’s shimmering “Haven’t We Been Here Before?” but “Mr. Roboto” is cringe-inducing and the concept, which seems to be mocking the Moral Majority, is played completely straight, which makes it all the more ridiculous.
Nostalgia can’t bring me to buy either of these albums, and I played both quite a bit when they were new. I can still quote the (awful) lyrics from “Mr. Roboto.” But there are lines that cannot be crossed, so while Duran Duran, Boney M and the soundtrack for Grease get a pass, Styx does not.
Run 542 Average pace: 5:22/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 11:16 am
Distance: 10.03 km
Time: 53:54
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12ºC
Humidity: 70%
Wind: light
BPM: 170
Weight: 154.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 4217 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
I booked today off to get an extra-long Thanksgiving weekend, so I could make the most of resting and relaxing.
The relaxing started early as I opted to skip my usual Thursday evening run. I compensated today but heading out this morning for a run at the river or lake. I really didn’t know, I just headed out.
It was 12ºC the whole time but with little wind, so it felt cool but not cold. Still, this was one of the first days where the weather had a much more tangible feel to it. The sky threatened rain but the forecast said it likely wouldn’t happen until the afternoon, so I figured I’d probably be good.
Save for a few drops right at the end of the run, I was.
I opted for the lake and originally thought I’d stick to a 5K but instead did a full loop and turned in a pace of 5:22/km, shaving three seconds off my previous best. I was not expecting this.
The trail was pretty quiet, with only a few other runners and a couple of walkers present, one of who I passed twice as she rounded the lake clutching a giant paper cup of coffee and wearing a big jacket with a fur-lined hood pulled up over her head. She looked comfy.
No bears again. They should be heading off for hibernation soon, I think, if they even do that here.
A bunch of new signs have been posted at the entrance to unofficial trails that literally say STAY OUT. I predict they will have minimal effect. Since most of them lead to a pair of railway lines, I suspect Metro Vancouver is trying to cover itself for liability in case someone gets taken out by the Rocky Mountaineer or a 150 car coal train en route to whoever still uses coal for energy.
I started out the run telling myself to stay steady and indeed the first two km were the slowest. In fact, the whole run was strangely reversed, with the first km pace being 5:35/km and the last being 5:04/km (which is fairly blazing for the end of a 10K–maybe I was concerned about the rain starting and my nipples exploding). The fifth km was always weirdly faster than most at 5:12/km. I think for that one I was maybe thinking of only doing a 5K and wanted a strong finish then found myself going on, anyway (my average pace would have been about 5:26/km if I had).
Around the 6K mark the tendon in the left leg started getting stiff, but it leveled off again as it had on the last 10K, and after about five minutes or so it felt much better, as the back half of my run illustrated.
Overall, a perfectly cromulent run and it stayed dry on the walk home, too, which was a nice bonus. I opted not to use the AirPods today because of the potential rain. While I’ve never had a pair of EarPods damaged by rain, it only costs $30 to replace them should they get damaged. The AirPods cost about seven times that, so I’m a bit reluctant to expose them to precipitation. I’m willing to bet they’d be okay, but I need to spend more time using them before I can get past the idea of potentially wrecking them. Get my money’s worth first, you know. I listened to two Tom Petty albums for the run (Full Moon Fever and Into the Great Wide Open) and while I’m bummed that he’s gone, it still seems a little surreal at the same time. Tom Petty dead of a heart attack at 66 just seems off, somehow.
A few days ago I was grocery shopping and one of the end caps was festooned with boxes of Cheerios. I am a big Cheerios fan and was sad when my favorite kind, Multi-Grain with Ancient Grains, was apparently dropped from my local store. The addition of the ancient grains was just the right zany compliment to the regular multigrain. So now I settle for regular multigrain and am a little sad.
But this end cap did not feature Multi-Grain Cheerios. Or Honey Nut Cheerios. Or Apple Cinnamon Cheerios. Or even the decadent Chocolate Cheerios.
No, it featured Pumpkin Spice Cheerios.
Let me say two things:
Pumpkins are not spicy.
Barf.
Really, it’s bad enough that we get eggnog in September, now “pumpkin spice” is being added to, apparently, everything.
Let me ask you: Is “spice” an ingredient you have always hankered for in a breakfast cereal? I’m betting that you would be more inclined to pick nuts or grains or big heaps of sugar if you want a real pick-me-up in the morning. But you would not want spice. Or pumpkins.
In response to this gastronomical travesty, I am declaring today National Not Pumpkin Spice Day and vow not to buy any pumpkin spice-flavored whatevers, which is pretty easy since all of them gross me out.
Also, all future days will be National Not Pumpkin Spice Day. I say to you: enjoy!
Run 541 Average pace: 5:00/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Start: 6:04 am
Distance: 5.05 km
Time: 25:15
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16-14ºC
Humidity: n/a
Wind: light
BPM: 172
Weight: 155.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 4207 km
Devices: Apple Watch, iPhone
With the sun setting at 6:46 p.m. I headed out as quickly as I could for tonight’s run. With clear skies it was only slightly gloomy by the end but it’s pretty clear there’s probably only another week or so left before it’s going to be getting downright dim and then dark for after-dinner runs.
I will have to decide what to do soon.
But not right yet.
Tonight’s run was a bit different, technology-wise, as I picked up a pair of AirPods, Apple’s wireless ear buds. I also synced a bunch of music to my Apple Watch and so headed out without my phone for the first time in a good long time, relying on my Watch’s GPS to track the run and the AirPods to play entertaining music from the Watch. It all went surprisingly smoothly, with no hitches in the sound, the AirPods staying firmly in-ear and even the battery of the watch surviving without taking a big hit. It felt weird to not have the phone, which shows how dependent we’ve become on the infernal devices, yet nice at the same time to just pop on the AirPods and go, no belts or cords to mess with.
A side benefit is the AirPods carry the Workout app’s sounds. I almost never notice the haptic feedback from the watch when running and only occasionally hear the sound that plays at each km interval. It was nice to actually hear all of them clearly for a change, taking me back to the days of using the Nike+ app (maybe one day I’ll try that again, too).
The only real downside is without any cell/internet connectivity the run couldn’t record the weather conditions, but that’s a fair trade-off since I’m actually in the weather and everything while running.
And speaking of which, it was a pleasant clear evening so I felt rather spry. As a bonus, only minimal sweating and it didn’t start until after the 3K mark.
Now, I have no idea how accurate the Watch GPS is vs. the one on the iPhone, but tonight’s pace was a year’s best 5:00/km, with three km coming in under five minutes. This beats my previous best of 5:09/km. If I had known I was so close to breaking the five-minute mark I would have pushed just a tiny bit more but still, it’s a nice round number.
The left leg is still feeling a little stiff but it’s entirely tolerable and recovered quickly after. As long as I don’t go all crazy and start sprinting I think it will be fine.
Overall, a pleasing result, both in terms of the new set-up and the performance. Here’s to getting at least a few more runs in before The Long Dark Winter with guest star Long and Almost as Dark Fall, sets in.
Or what you do when your preferred writing application goes subscription-only.
I love playing around with software, so looking for a new writing program is kind of exciting in a geeky sort of way. At the same time it can be a convenient excuse for not actually writing, so I am determined to make a choice as soon as I can.
Now that I have eschewed Ulysses (see here for more) I need to pick another piece of writing software to use for all my writing needs and desires. The first thing I need to establish are the must-have features this software will have:
Must let you type words into a computer and save them to disk or “the cloud”
Must work on both a MacBook Pro and Windows 10 PC or more broadly speaking, it must work in both macOS and Windows environments *or* support a file format that is natively supported in both OSes without requiring magic or witchery to work properly.
Must please me in somewhat arbitrary and ill-defined ways
Must not require a subscription. Paid or donate to unlock all features is okay.
Now, let’s review the criteria:
1. Must let you type words into a computer and save them to disk or “the cloud”
This one is easy as literally any program except whimsical comp-sci projects will pretty much let you do this. This does not narrow the criteria down in any way whatsoever, so my inclusion of it here was simply to start the process with a little levity. A tiny smidgen, if you will. Moving on…
2. Must work on both a MacBook Pro and Windows 10 PC or more broadly speaking, it must work in both macOS and Windows environments *or* support a file format that is natively supported in both OSes without requiring magic or witchery to work properly.
This is where it gets trickier. There are some programs that work across both platforms and these are my preference. However, if I opt for a common file format such as text (.txt) then I can write in different programs and the actual work will be the same in each. The biggest downside to this approach is probably the mental shift required when switching off between programs that could potentially work very differently even as they ultimately accomplish the same thing.
3. Must please me in somewhat arbitrary and ill-defined ways
This category covers “nice to have features” that aren’t strictly required but in a way actually are. For example, the ability to set a writing goal is pretty essential for National Novel Writing Month and some of the major programs like Microsoft Word do not feature this, because they focus more on making the writing look pretty, rather than the actual process of putting the words down.
built-in support for cloud services like Dropbox, OneDrive or others
and other things
4. Must not require a subscription. Paid or donate to unlock all features is okay.
This is pretty straightforward, unless the chosen program does what effectively amounts to a bait-and-switch by changing their pay model after you purchase the software (as happened with Ulysses, which went from a traditional paid program to subscription). There is an increasing move toward subscriptions (boo) but enough options exist outside the model to allow me to steer clear of it for now.
With the criteria set, let’s look at the pros and cons of some candidates.
Microsoft Word
Pros:
supports Windows, macOS, iOS
integrates nicely with OneDrive
offers web version in a pinch
familiar
supports indents
.docx format is widely supported
has a full screen mode
Cons:
no options for setting goals
no focus mode
no easy way to move scenes or chapters (it can be done, just not easily)
the WYSIWYG approach can lead to fighting the formatting
no built-in support for markdown, though it will auto-convert some markdown to formatting, such as using asterisks for italics.
about the complete opposite of a Zen writing program
WriteMonkey
Pros:
supports Windows and macOS (Mac version is currently beta-only and not feature-complete)
supports cloud services for saving
supports indents (Windows version 2.7 only)
can auto-generate backup files to a specific location
supports distraction-free/full screen modes
has focus mode
allows you to set both overall and immediate goals, with visual aids
word count is always visible
many options to customize the look and feel, along with theme support
supports markdown and in version 3 offers good visualization of markdown in the editor
saves in simple .txt format, making it easy to load its files in other programs (this changes a bit in version 3 but is still possible there)
Cons:
Mac version is in beta and lacks some essential features, such as indents, meaning cross-platform support is not really there yet. The workaround for now is to use version 2.7 on a Mac running wither in Bootcamp or through a VM solution like Parallels.
UI is a bit fiddly and can be difficult to work around (I’ve gotten past this particular hump, though, having used the program for several years now)
FocusWriter
Pros:
supports Windows, macOS and Linux
clean interface without billions of distracting options
can save to .txt format for maximum flexibility
supports setting goals
supports indents
shows word count
customizable themes, including different wallpapers and sound effects for distraction-free mode
can save to cloud services without issue
will start up with the last opened document to allow you to jump right in
Cons:
no real markdown support, though it offers one tag as a divider to separate scenes or chapters
maybe a bit too Spartan
Typora
Pros:
supports Windows and macOS
supports indents (awkwardly, as it has to be implemented by editing a theme file)
Cons:
doesn’t offer anything that isn’t also available in FocusWriter or WriteMonkey
focus is clearly on technical writing, not fiction
Scrivener
Pros:
supports Windows, macOS, iOS
supports indents
supports goals
offers focus mode
offers distraction-free/full screen mode
shows word count
highly customizable
allows for easy shuffling of scenes or chapters
excellent community support
can easily handle large projects
Cons:
UI feels dated and can overwhelm with options
offers poor cloud support due to the way it saves projects as collections of files. This can lead to corrupt projects.
Windows version perpetually lags behind Mac version in development (though files always remain compatible between the two)
weirdly forces you to name your project before you can start writing
No indent support
As mentioned above, supporting indents is crucial for fiction writing because a dialog exchange between characters woulds requiring hitting the Enter or Return key all the time and looks weird, as illustrated below:
“Hi John.”
“Hello Sally.”
“How are you?”
“I am swell, how are you?”
“I broke the Enter key on my computer.”
“Oh, that sucks. How did it happen?”
“My preferred writing program doesn’t support indents.”
Both John and Sally cried and bonded over this horrible tragedy.
It turns out that a lot of markdown editors lack support for indents, which was one of the things that made Ulysses so nice.
Here are programs that might have been considered but are ruled out because they lack support for indents or are platform-specific or both:
iA Writer
Bear
Editorial
Pages
MacDown
plus about a billion more
The Big Decision
In the end there are only a few reasonable choices.
Choice 1: WriteMonkey
My preference is to use WriteMonkey because I am familiar with it and it has worked well for me in the past, despite some rough edges on the UI. The main issue here is the beta version works well but lacks any way to use indents, so if I’m writing on my MacBook Pro I need to use a different program that saves to .txt format or I have to use Parallels/Bootcamp.
As it turns out, I’ve actually set up Parallels and while the Windows 2.7 version of WriteMonkey works well enough in it, something about the arrangement makes me nervous. Still, this remains a viable option.
One workaround is to use FocusWriter when on the Mac, as it has a native version of the program. I’ve tested and haven’t noticed any weirdness when switching between files created in WriteMonkey and then edited in FocusWriter and sent back to WM again. FocusWriter doesn’t support markdown but it also doesn’t do anything with markdown in the body of the document, either, so it’s still there in WriteMonkey.
Once WriteMonkey 3 is out of beta this should be a much stronger choice but it’s being developed by a single person, so work is not surprisingly proceeding at a slower pace (the first public beta came out in September after a private beta that ran most of the year).
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 indents
Choice 2: FocusWriter
FocusWriter’s strength lies in its simplicity and its native support for both Mac and Windows platforms. It doesn’t support markdown but perhaps because of this, it offers more fiction writer-friendly features.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 indents
Choice 3: Scrivener
I spent enough time using Scrivener, including writing NaNo novels with it, to learn most of its quirks and workflow. Then I stopped using it for long enough that I’ve forgotten most of that.
If you are simply typing words into the editor it’s pretty easy to use. It gets complicated as soon as you do anything else. The UI is bad.
The good news is its getting a major revamp to version 3. The less good news is that it’s not out yet, though the Mac version is expected by the end of 2017, with the Windows version coming in early 2018.
My biggest issue with Scrivener, though, is the way it saves files. By default it saves after two seconds of inactivity, which is nuts. This can be changed, but still, it seems like a recipe for introducing file corruption by invoking near-perpetual writes.
Along with this, the cloud support is very bad. It can work decently with Dropbox but people are actively told to steer away from OneDrive, iCloud and Google Drive. OneDrive is my preferred place to save things in the ephemeral cloud, so being told it’s not a good idea is a bit of a put-off.
I also lost a large chunk of a NaNo novel a few years ago when I botched the local/cloud saves while using Dropbox. This is mainly on me, but I felt it likely wouldn’t have happened in a different program due to the way Scrivener bundles projects into a multitude of files.
Rating: 3 out of 5 indents
Choice 4: Microsoft Word
The ubiquity of Word is probably the best reason to pick it. Its supported everywhere. You can probably run Word on your toaster now. But it offers few features for a fiction writer that are very nice to have. It lets you write the words and make them look pretty. It doesn’t do much beyond that.
Rating: 3 out of 5 indents
Darkhorse possibilities
There are some web-based editors that can usually work in offline mode if you lose connection (your work is automatically synced when the connection is restored) but I’m very leery of going web-only for my writing.
I could also just use a typewriter. No one ever lost a save file on a typewriter. The trick would be to find one. Plus I hate using typewriters because I’m not Harlan Ellison.
Finally, there’s always a notepad and pen. The very thought is causing my hand to spontaneously cramp, so no.
In the end it looks like the best candidates are:
WriteMonkey
FocusWriter
Scrivener
My plan, then, is to do some testing as follows:
Write a small project in WriteMonkey 2.7 (Windows version) and edit it on the MacBook Pro using both the same version in Parallels and through FocusWriter and see if anything screws up and also if the workflow actually works. I’ll use OneDrive for saving in a specially made folder for testing.
Create a Scrivener project in Windows and make changes back and forth in Windows and Mac. I’ll save in a specially made Dropbox folder (in theory OneDrive should work if the folder/files are set to be available in offline mode but I can’t be bothered jumping through this many hoops. I’m not a good hoop-jumper).
After the week of testing I’ll commit to my decision and go on to great writing glory. Hooray!
