Jordan Aubry Robison's Blog, page 2

6 Months with the Apple Watch’s Beautiful Imperfections

The first time I can remember someone using a watch for something more than a thing which tells time was in the 1987 film, Dragnet. I was only a kid mind you, but when a young Tom Hanks started watching TV from his wristwatch I was mesmerized.

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Later on, I was disappointed to find out that the TV on Tom Hanks’ watch was the stuff of movie magic and not yet reality.

The idea of wearing a computer on one’s wrist has always been, for me, the stuff of science fiction. The world we are living in now is the future. The science fiction of my youth is now the reality of my adult life. With smart phones, thin laptops, iPads, streaming devices connected to TVs, smart home devices, the internet of things, and now smart watches.

Admission

Let me start by stating my ominous current truth: I do not exercise.

I do stand … for what I believe in.

Sometimes I go for walks after work to help relieve some of the day’s stress. I breathe to maintain the largest muscle in my body. My heart. Without breathing it would not pump any blood through my body. From what I’ve heard that is important. I try to breathe every day.

Here is another admission: I don’t sleep enough.

And now I have six months of stats to support each of the claims.

Trouble in Paradise

The trouble with the Apple Watch is it’s everyone’s fantasy proven false. You can’t do everything via a tiny wrist computer. Even though the options are there they are still a long way from being refined. But once the Apple Watch’s technology is improved to run as smooth as the latest smartphone - its often impractical.

The limitations of a smartwatch include the follwing: A tiny screen, battery life, and the need for an internet connection or Bluetooth connection of some kind. All represent the false truth of every smartwatch.

But still a ton of fun to play with!

It was six months of obsession.

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For six months I obsessed over the Apple Watch. Every time I would find myself in the Apple Store I always found my way to the Apple Watch display area.

The beautiful promise of having a smartwatch was going to solve all my problems. Or at least all of the issues I decided I needed to address. Who doesn’t want to answer a call from their wrist? Especially in a busy street or while waiting in line for your turn to order lunch?

They experts say if you want something don’t buy it right away. Wait a week and see if you still want it. That logic has never worked on me.

Instead, the more time passes, the more obsessed I become. The more time I waste watching review YouTube videos and reading other review articles. Then the fruitful day comes when I finally spend large sums of money on something I don’t need. But something I want.

It was Love at First Sight

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The Apple Watch I ended up getting was the Nike version with LTE. The only difference between the Nike version of the regular version of the Apple Watch are the Nike watch faces. There was no extra cost. So it made sense to give myself that option.

The promise of LTE excited me. I argued in my head this was the perfect opportunity to somewhat future proof the Apple Watch.

Apple has released a new version of the Apple Watch every year. But I knew I would not upgrade the Apple Watch every year once I made my purchase. I can’t afford to do that. I mean, who spends their money on a new smart watch every year? Not me. Certainly not.

Setting up was a breeze. After I connected the watch via Bluetooth to my iPhone most of the set up was done via the iPhone Apple Watch app. So easy.

The only issue was updating the watch’s operating system. It seemed the day I activated the watch Apple released an important update. Not wanting to be left behind I plugged my watch in. (One cannot update their watch unless it’s connected to the charger.) I let the update upload to my iPhone and then upload to my Apple Watch via Bluetooth.

This process took almost an hour. I also found I had to keep my iPhone unlocked with the Apple Watch app open. Thus rendering the use of two expensive devices for almost an hour. First World Problems

My Daily Usage

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My daily usage changed as I grew comfortable with the watch. Along with figuring out what I like and what I didn’t like.

At first, I put the watch on right after my morning shower. Then I would keep it on until I crawled into bed. After four months of doing this, I changed this a bit when I wanted to use my Apple Watch to track my sleeping patterns.

I started having trouble sleeping as work begin to get a little stressful. I thought maybe if I tracked my sleep I might get to the bottom of this unwanted amount of stress I keep having.

To help track my sleep I used Sleep++ . A great app, by the way. Of course, this meant having to leave my watch on and only taking it off when I took my morning shower. It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to shower and shave in the morning.

The watch did not charge to 100%. Since I was wearing the watch more, I found this unsettling. Considering one night, I came home to see my watch with only 2% battery life left. I started taking my watch off after I came home from work and putting it back on before going to sleep. And then letting it charge again while I got ready for work. This proved a better way to keep my watch charged. Without the headache of worrying about whether or not my watch will die.

I’m not sure when Apple will be able to improve the battery life? I don’t fault them on the battery life. Apple is limited by what is possible with technology today. I’m sure one day they might figure out. I have no predictions of when that will be. I do know this: it won’t be happening tomorrow.

Notifications

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Notifications are the same for the Apple Watch and the iPhone. With the only difference being a constant distraction.

I don’t always have my phone on me. At work, I leave it on my desk. At home, I leave it in the charger and only grab it when I need it. I have an iPad which I use while I’m at home. I get all the notifications I need from the iPad.

Now my notifications follow me wherever they go. Attached to my wrist. And each month I turn more of them off. At least I know when someone texts me or is trying to call me (usually SPAMMERS). So I have that going for me—which is nice.

I also muted the Watch. Receiving sounded-notifications from my write was too distracting. Whenever I get notified the watch gently tabs me. That’s the only kind of notification I prefer.

Exercise

If you’re into to exercise, then the Apple Watch may be perfect for you.

I bought the Apple Watch hoping it will encourage me to go out outside and run. Or go hit the gym. Neither of those two happened.

Instead, I found myself annoyed by a notification telling me to stand-up. Or telling me to breathe. Don’t get me wrong! At first, I was enjoyed receiving those notifications. Instead, they turned to an unnecessary annoyance. Primarily when I was deep in thought at work or trying to get some writing done.

Messages and Workflow

At one point I tried to use my Apple Watch to help automate my commute. Sometimes when I am heading home, my wife offers to pick me up. To better help know when to be at the train station I send her texts when I arrive at a specific train stops before my final one.

In the past, I always sent these text via my iPhone. On the train, I have a book out. Or I will be reading from my Amazon Kindle. Having to pull my iPhone out while reading when I have the Apple Watch on my wrist seemed silly.

Using an app called Workflow (soon to be updated to Shortcuts in iOS 12), I automated texts to send to my wife.

The idea: I would tap my watch and Workflow would do the rest.

The problem: both the LTE and WiFi are spotty in the subway.

Sometimes I have to manually connect to WiFi when it’s available if LTE is suddenly unavailable. The iPhone doesn’t do this automatically—yet. And the Apple Watch Series 3 definitely doesn’t do it.

I remember trying to send a text a couple texts to my wife. None of them were sent. This experiment failed.

When I Wear the Watch 6 Months Later

Six months later and I am still wearing my Apple Watch every day. Especially when I am at work or out running errands.

I used to wear the watch all the time—even at home. Now, I leave it on the charger when I am at home. And only put it on before I’m going out.

Already Cracked

There is a small dent on the bottom right-side of the Apple Watch. When I first started wearing the watch I wasn’t used to the extra bump the watch added to my wrist. I kept bumping the watch face on things while reaching for something. As a result, there is now a scratch on the glass. So much for the famous Gorilla Glass. I am concerned that one day I might crack the glass.

I have seen some friends with broken Apple Watches on their wrists. They are braver than myself. If the day comes when the watch face glass is cracked I might just put it away until I decide it I ever need to get a new Apple Watch.

Conclusion

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The Apple Watch Series 3 is a refinement of the last two generations. With the promise of LTE, most were given a chance to using the Apple Watch only and leaving the iPhone at home. But like all good things, it was too good to be true.

With the Apple Watch, I can pretend to be like Dick Tracy. Or talk to my communicator like an episode of Star Trek. It doesn’t always work but when it does it’s pretty awesome.

Beautiful and imperfect.

I Still Remember Columbine, 284 Shootings Later

More than a week ago it happened again. Ten dead in a high school in Texas.  Again grief described as overwhelming. The pain is unbelievable. The astonishing act. The hero who risked his or her life to save many. Again the pit of my stomach turns as I swipe through the headlines on my phone. Reading the same story over and over. Again and again.

After twenty years witnessing the same horror persist I no longer understand when the news anchor describes these moments as unbelievable.

Forty-eight hours of news coverage. Pictures of the people who died. Teachers dead. Students’ life cut short. An exposé on the killer. Now scrambled with fake news with a political bias encouraging more paranoia. Encouraging more division. Rinse and repeat.

I feel numb.

Columbine

[image error]

The first mass shooting I remember was none other than Columbine. Back then, it hit close to home. I was only a junior in High School when Columbine happened. The Columbine victims were the same age as myself and my friends. We had the same interests and dislikes. The killers murdered 12 students with 21 additional people injured, paralyzed, handicapped—not to mention those have lived with post-traumatic stress disorder.

From sixteen and through most of my adult life there has been a school mass shooting neary every year. Or a mass shooting somewhere else.  Twenty years later things have not improved. Gun lobbyists have their Cthulhu tentacles wrapped around the necks of most serving politicians. Money. Money rules our republic. Our democracy stands on shaky ground.

Not a week after Columbine someone called our high school with a fake bomb threat. The prank was lost on all of us. I remember the teachers along with the school faculty ordered us all to gather outside. They told us to sit on our football stadium bleachers and wait. We waited for the terror to pass us. We waited massed together as a group. As if this would save us. As if this was a safe zone. All assuming no one planted a bomb where we sat. Or that among us the would-be killer was sitting there biding his or her time.

I thought to myself, next time the would-be assailants would know where we might gather. Would we be safe here the next time? What if next time it’s the real thing? Would we be unharmed? Protected?

We waited for what felt like an eternity until the school deemed it was safe. The police dogs smelled no explosive or gunpowder on the premises. Those given the option to go home did so. Some of the girls I was sitting with were deeply disturbed by this prank.  They went home.

A girl I had a crush on said, “I don’t feel safe here.” She went home.

I stayed.

From the corner of my eye, I saw some well-known school douchebag giggling. I wondered if they were behind the prank? I was angry. I wanted to go over and punch them in the face. But I didn’t. I did nothing.

I didn’t tell my parents what happened. They found out later when the school contacted all the parents.

Columbine was unbelievably terrifying. But it happened. And yet we hoped this would be the inception of a new topic of conversation. Conversation to help end such acts of violence. Through more openness and understanding we convinced ourselves we could stop the terror. That bullying would finally be addressed. The culture of the intimidator would cease.

A friend of mine, Donnie, found himself suddenly a person of interest. He dressed like a Goth, a subculture of folk who wore mostly black and decorated themselves with macabre themes. He defiantly wore a trench coat to school as our school began to consider the possibility of restricting the wearing of one on school property.

The Columbine murderers were fond of wearing trench coats. They were mistakenly linked to a group of kids at the same high school who wore trench coats and called themselves The Trench Coat Mafia. The Trench Coat Mafia had nothing to do with the massacre.

Suddenly Donnie was wearing his trench coat all the time when he used to hardly wear it. Now he was determined to wear one every day. Especially if our school, like many others at the time, decided to prevent the wearing of trench coats.

I remember the local news came to interview Donnie who thought it was a challenge to his civil rights should our school board pass the new clothing restriction. He seemed caught up in the mania of the moment. He smiled talking into the camera enjoying his five minutes of fame.

I didn’t talk to him much after that. I didn’t want to anymore. It felt like he was juicing the moment to feed his ego and his vanity. Forgetting the most important fact: people had died.

Stop Bullying

The Stop Bully campaigns began. The media and politicians were all discussing the culture of bullying. How to end bullying. How to prevent bullying. We were entering a new millennium. Hope was on the horizon. According to one study:

“Research by the Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education involving 37 school shootings, including Columbine, finds that about two-thirds of student shooters felt bullied, harassed, threatened or injured by others.”  -American Psychological Association

Playing the victim

Several months later word got around the local police was looking for student volunteers to help conduct a school hostage training scenario. I volunteered.

I showed up after school. My job was to confuse the police officers with false information and see if they could figure out I was lying as they tried to find bad guys. I got a little carried away, though. Lost in character. I started screaming about the shooter. At that point, one of the police officers, probably disturbed by my character commitment, stopped pretending himself. He grabbed my shoulder and gently squeezed it:

“Okay kid. That’s enough. We get it. Relax.”

Twenty Years of Mass Shootings

We witnessed even more carnage in the following years. Even more massacres. The Virginia Tech University Shooting in 2007. 37 people killed with 17 wounded. The Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting in 2012. 28 people died. The majority of the victims were ages six and seven. The Charleston Church massacre, where nine people were targeted by a bigot because they were black. The Orlando Pulse Nightclub Massacre. 49 people were murdered in seconds from machine gun spraying bullets. 53 persons were wounded. Not to mention the Las Vegas Massacre with 58 people dead and 851 people injured.

But these have not been the only mass shootings since Columbine. They are merely the bigger ones with higher casualties. More coverage. More media attention. More thoughts. More prayers.

Since Columbine there have been over 26 major fatal active school shootings in America.  More than 187,000 students affected by gun violence:

In total, The Post found an average of 10 school shootings per year since Columbine, with a low of five in 2002 and a high of 15 in 2014. Less than three months into 2018, there have been 11 shootings, already making this year among the worst on record.

The United States having the highest number of school shootings.

March for Our Lives
[image error]

Photo by Alex Radelich on Unsplash

I attended the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC. I stood in the crowd hearing each the Parkland survivors speak. I heard other survivors of gun violence speak. A young black girl ten years spoke with more eloquence than most people I know double and triple her age. I admired their youthful optimism. I hoped change would happen this time. I wanted to believe everything they said as the screamed their passion into the microphones hitting us with their pain through the speakers.

After the March for Our Lives, my wife and I walked toward the mall surrounded by the Smithsonian museum’s concrete Romanesque buildings.  I wondered to myself if any of the museums were open? People of all shapes and sizes were crisscrossing. The trash cans overflowed from the march attendees. We found a sweet spot near one of the museums to lie down for a minute. We had been standing on concrete for several hours. Our feet hurt.

I lied down next to my wife sighing a little. I thought about all their speeches. The devoted following the Parkland survivors had already accrued. Their animated intensity which shook me to my core. I didn’t know what to expect when I first arrived. I admit knowing little about these kids. But they rattled me.

And yet I could not shake the cynicism I felt after twenty years of gun violence. After Columbine twenty years ago. Twenty years later only now some of us are moved to march. 

In twenty years I saw no change. I saw it get worse. I saw it increase. I witnessed good people convince themselves gun legislation was not necessary. They ate the propaganda Fox News fed them.

We are Columbine Today

Ten more dead again. More than 214,000 students have already experienced gun violence since 2000. Not including the adults who experienced it along with them. Who will die next? How many will die next? How many more thoughts and how many more prayers until the violence ends? If the winds of change are coming, they are not happening fast enough.

Witnessing Twenty Years of ‘Unbelievable’ Mass Shootings

More than a week ago it happened again. Ten dead in a high school in Texas.  Again grief described as overwhelming. The pain is unbelievable. The astonishing act. The hero who risked his or her life to save many. Again the pit of my stomach turns as I swipe through the headlines on my phone. Reading the same story over and over. Again and again.

After twenty years witnessing the same horror persist I no longer understand when the news anchor describes these moments as unbelievable.

Forty-eight hours of news coverage. Pictures of the people who died. Teachers dead. Students’ life cut short. An exposé on the killer. Now scrambled with fake news with a political bias encouraging more paranoia. Encouraging more division. Rinse and repeat.

I feel numb.

Columbine

[image error]

The first mass shooting I remember was none other than Columbine. Back then, it hit close to home. I was only a junior in High School when Columbine happened. The Columbine victims were the same age as myself and my friends. We had the same interests and dislikes. The killers murdered 12 students with 21 additional people injured, paralyzed, handicapped—not to mention those have lived with post-traumatic stress disorder.

From sixteen and through most of my adult life there has been a school mass shooting neary every year. Or a mass shooting somewhere else.  Twenty years later things have not improved. Gun lobbyists have their Cthulhu tentacles wrapped around the necks of most serving politicians. Money. Money rules our republic. Our democracy stands on shaky ground.

Not a week after Columbine someone called our high school with a fake bomb threat. The prank was lost on all of us. I remember the teachers along with the school faculty ordered us all to gather outside. They told us to sit on our football stadium bleachers and wait. Wait for the terror to pass us. Wait massed together as a group. As if this would save us. As if this was a safe zone. All assuming no one planted a bomb where we sat. Or that among us the would-be killer was sitting there biding his or her time.

I thought to myself, next time the would-be assailants would know where we might gather. Would we be safe here the next time? What if next time it’s the real thing? Would we be unharmed? Protected?

We waited for what felt like an eternity until the school deemed it was safe. The police dogs smelled no explosive or gunpowder on the premises. Those given the option to go home did so. Some of the girls I was sitting with were deeply disturbed by this prank.  They went home.

A girl I had a crush on said, “I don’t feel safe here.” She went home.

I stayed.

From the corner of my eye, I saw some well-known school douchebag giggling. I wondered if they were behind the prank? I was angry. I wanted to go over and punch them in the face. But I didn’t. I did nothing.

I didn’t tell my parents what happened. They found out later when the school contacted all the parents.

Columbine was unbelievably terrifying. But it happened. And yet we hoped this would be the inception of a new topic of conversation. Conversation to help end such acts of violence. Through more openness and understanding we convinced ourselves we could stop the terror. That bullying would finally be addressed. The culture of the intimidator would cease.

A friend of mine, Donnie, found himself suddenly a person of interest. He dressed like a Goth, a subculture of folk who wore mostly black and decorated themselves with macabre themes. He defiantly wore a trench coat to school as our school began to consider the possibility of restricting the wearing of one on school property.

The Columbine murderers were fond of wearing trench coats. They were mistakenly linked to a group of kids at the same high school who wore trench coats and called themselves The Trench Coat Mafia. The Trench Coat Mafia had nothing to do with the massacre.

Suddenly Donnie was wearing his trench coat all the time when he used to hardly wear it. Now he was determined to wear one every day. Especially if our school, like many others at the time, decided to prevent the wearing of trench coats.

I remember the local news came to interview Donnie who thought it was a challenge to his civil rights should our school board pass the new clothing restriction. He seemed caught up in the mania of the moment. He smiled talking into the camera enjoying his five minutes of fame.

I didn’t talk to him much after that. I didn’t want to anymore. It felt like he was juicing the moment to feed his ego and his vanity. Forgetting the most important fact: people had died.

Stop Bullying

The Stop Bully campaigns began. The media and politicians were all discussing the culture of bullying. How to end bullying. How to prevent bullying. We were entering a new millennium. Hope was on the horizon. According to one study:

“Research by the Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education involving 37 school shootings, including Columbine, finds that about two-thirds of student shooters felt bullied, harassed, threatened or injured by others.”  -American Psychological Association

Playing the victim

Several months later word got around the local police was looking for student volunteers to help conduct a school hostage training scenario. I volunteered.

I showed up after school. My job was to confuse the police officers with false information and see if they could figure out I was lying as they tried to find bad guys. I got a little carried away, though. Lost in character. I started screaming about the shooter. At that point, one of the police officers, probably disturbed by my character commitment, stopped pretending himself. He grabbed my shoulder and gently squeezed it:

“Okay kid. That’s enough. We get it. Relax.”

Twenty Years of Mass Shootings

We witnessed even more carnage in the following years. Even more massacres. The Virginia Tech University Shooting in 2007. 37 people killed with 17 wounded. The Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting in 2012. 28 people died. The majority of the victims were ages six and seven. The Charleston Church massacre, where nine people were targeted by a bigot because they were black. The Orlando Pulse Nightclub Massacre. 49 people were murdered in seconds from machine gun spraying bullets. 53 persons were wounded. Not to mention the Las Vegas Massacre with 58 people dead and 851 people injured.

But these have not been the only mass shootings since Columbine. They are merely the bigger ones with higher casualties. More coverage. More media attention. More thoughts. More prayers.

Since Columbine there have been over 26 major fatal active school shootings in America.  More than 187,000 students affected by gun violence:

In total, The Post found an average of 10 school shootings per year since Columbine, with a low of five in 2002 and a high of 15 in 2014. Less than three months into 2018, there have been 11 shootings, already making this year among the worst on record.

The United States having the highest number of school shootings.

March for Our Lives
[image error]

Photo by Alex Radelich on Unsplash

I attended the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC. I stood in the crowd hearing each the Parkland survivors speak. I heard other survivors of gun violence speak. A young black girl ten years spoke with more eloquence than most people I know double and triple her age. I admired their youthful optimism. I hoped change would happen this time. I wanted to believe everything they said as the screamed their passion into the microphones hitting us with their pain through the speakers.

After the March for Our Lives, we walked toward the mall surrounded by the Smithsonian museum’s concrete Romanesque buildings.  I wondered to myself if any of the museums were open? People of all shapes and sizes were crisscrossing. The trash cans overflowed from the march attendees. We found a sweet spot near one of the museums to lie down for a minute. We had been standing on concrete for several hours. Our feet hurt.

I lied down next to my wife sighing a little. I thought about all their speeches. The devoted following the Parkland survivors had already accrued. Their animated intensity which shook me to my core. I didn’t know what to expect when I first arrived. I admit knowing little about these kids. But they rattled me.

And yet I could not shake the cynicism I felt after twenty years of gun violence. After Columbine twenty years ago. Twenty years later only now some of us are moved to march. 

In twenty years I saw no change. I saw it get worse. I saw it increase. I witnessed good people convince themselves gun legislation was not necessary. They ate the propaganda Fox News fed them.

We are Columbine Today

Ten more dead again. More than 214,000 students have already experienced gun violence since 2000. Not including the adults who experienced it along with them. Who will die next? How many will die next? How many more thoughts and how many more prayers until the violence ends? If the winds of change are coming, they are not happening fast enough.

How to be Successful on Medium without Really Trying

This past week I experienced something I never experienced before on Medium. A  successful and popular article .

Cue the confetti.

In this article, I will detail every methodical step I took to achieve sheer popularity on Medium. How I received acceptance from my fellow writers. I will write how this validation finally made me no longer doubt myself as a writer. Now I write like never before. No writer’s block. No fear. Just pure energetic writing.

Of course, that is all a pile of stinking bullshit.

Background

[image error]

‘Adaptation’ (2002) © Columbia Pictures. All rights reserved.

I have been writing on Medium for a few years. More or less, off and on.  I treated writing as a hobby instead of a dream of one day fulfilling.

It wasn’t until 2018 I resolved to write more. Right now my goal is four blog posts a month, or if possible, one a week. So far, since February of this past year, I have been able to reach that goal.

Writing became a more significant goal for myself. For a long time, it has been in the back of my mind. Gnawing at my brain to stop thinking about being a writer. I needed to commit and execute. I have already written a novel which I like to remind others of this accomplishment if rarely to myself. But I have done very little since then. Was it a fluke? Was it all for naught?

A friend of mind pounded out over a dozen novels the same time I published my first. His example should have inspired me, but didn’t. I will always regret not taking the free time I once had to sit and write. Write to my heart’s content. To live and breathe the written word.

It is known.

[image error]

Which lead me to the following conclusion.

Conclusion

One morning I woke up with a revelation about my writing. I realized I had stopped writing consistently. When at one point I had been productive enough to write an entire  novel Now, I was unable to complete even a  five hundred-worded blog post.  How did I ever sink so low?

Why not write about that, then? Write about the struggle of writer’s block and over coming it. Writer’s block is often addressed as an esoteric obstacle every creative individual experiences. There were many articles on how to write and how to get started. But few discussed what do to when you get stuck. Or when you’ve already written something and find yourself unable to go any further.

I wrote the first draft and then headed over  The Writing Cooperative to share. There I received some excellent feedback via one of there Slack channels. Feedback from some other writers of the same mindset as myself. The same kind of people burning to light up a screen with words. Words about something. Words about anything. But words, nonetheless.

And then I published it. I got a few glances. But nothing more. I knew I had written a great article. But it was getting no hardly anyone took any notice for almost two weeks.

The Experiment

[image error]

‘Weird Science’ (1985) © Universal Pictures. All rights reserved.

I then decided to run a small experiment with my little post. In Medium one can now change who can view their article after they publish. There is ‘free to the public,’ which allows anyone to read your article. Then there is a view where Medium’s paying members are given preference. Non-paying members can still view these articles, but they are only allowed to view no more than three Members Only articles a month.

I switched the Audience view from ‘free to the public’ to ‘available to paying members only.’ Within a day’s time, my article took off like a bolt of lightning.

[image error]

The rapper known as Pitbull dancing.

I was as happy as rapper Pitbull, in a music video. Dale!

Paying Members Preferred

Medium features articles focused on those willing to pay for the membership program. But that was only half of it. The other part was ensuring I had an excellent story to write. Ensuring I had something to honest say. Thoughts I wanted to share.

No Filter

When I write without a filter I have discovered I am a better writer because of it. When I try to hold back or try to change something that isn’t true it shows. For me, dishonesty parallels with poor writing. If I am not authentic to the person typing these words, then those words will reveal nothing but bullshit.

I do not want to keep my writing for only paying members. But it is undeniable Medium is prioritizing articles for their paying members.

Understandable since they have no other way of gaining income at present.

We writers are lucky Medium is a place where no advertisement exists. No pop-ups. Only the pure an unadulterated field of writing. How long can we writers keep this playground for ourselves? How long will it be before it’s too late?

In the meantime, keep writing.

How to Be Successful on Medium

This past week I experienced something I never experienced before on Medium. A  successful and popular article .

Cue the confetti.

In this article, I will detail every methodical step I took to achieve sheer popularity on Medium. How I received acceptance from my fellow writers. I will write how this validation finally made me no longer doubt myself as a writer. Now I write like never before. No writer’s block. No fear. Just pure energetic writing.

Of course, that is all a pile of stinking bullshit.

Background

[image error]

‘Adaptation’ (2002) © Columbia Pictures. All rights reserved.

I have been writing on Medium for a few years. More or less, off and on.  I treated writing as a hobby instead of a dream of one day fulfilling.

It wasn’t until 2018 I resolved to write more. Right now my goal is four blog posts a month, or if possible, one a week. So far, since February of this past year, I have been able to reach that goal.

Writing became a more significant goal for myself. For a long time, it has been in the back of my mind. Gnawing at my brain to stop thinking about being a writer. I needed to commit and execute. I have already written a novel which I like to remind others of this accomplishment if rarely to myself. But I have done very little since then. Was it a fluke? Was it all for naught?

A friend of mind pounded out over a dozen novels the same time I published my first. His example should have inspired me, but didn’t. I will always regret not taking the free time I once had to sit and write. Write to my heart’s content. To live and breathe the written word.

It is known.

[image error]

Which lead me to the following conclusion.

Conclusion

One morning I woke up with a revelation about my writing. I realized I had stopped writing consistently. When at one point I had been productive enough to write an entire  novel Now, I was unable to complete even a  five hundred-worded blog post.  How did I ever sink so low?

Why not write about that, then? Write about the struggle of writer’s block and over coming it. Writer’s block is often addressed as an esoteric obstacle every creative individual experiences. There were many articles on how to write and how to get started. But few discussed what do to when you get stuck. Or when you’ve already written something and find yourself unable to go any further.

I wrote the first draft and then headed over  The Writing Cooperative to share. There I received some excellent feedback via one of there Slack channels. Feedback from some other writers of the same mindset as myself. The same kind of people burning to light up a screen with words. Words about something. Words about anything. But words, nonetheless.

And then I published it. I got a few glances. But nothing more. I knew I had written a great article. But it was getting no hardly anyone took any notice for almost two weeks.

The Experiment

[image error]

‘Weird Science’ (1985) © Universal Pictures. All rights reserved.

I then decided to run a small experiment with my little post. In Medium one can now change who can view their article after they publish. There is ‘free to the public,’ which allows anyone to read your article. Then there is a view where Medium’s paying members are given preference. Non-paying members can still view these articles, but they are only allowed to view no more than three Members Only articles a month.

I switched the Audience view from ‘free to the public’ to ‘available to paying members only.’ Within a day’s time, my article took off like a bolt of lightning.

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The rapper known as Pitbull dancing.

I was as happy as rapper Pitbull, in a music video. Dale!

Paying Members Preferred

Medium features articles focused on those willing to pay for the membership program. But that was only half of it. The other part was ensuring I had an excellent story to write. Ensuring I had something to honest say. Thoughts I wanted to share.

No Filter

When I write without a filter I have discovered I am a better writer because of it. When I try to hold back or try to change something that isn’t true it shows. For me, dishonesty parallels with poor writing. If I am not authentic to the person typing these words, then those words will reveal nothing but bullshit.

I do not want to keep my writing for only paying members. But it is undeniable Medium is prioritizing articles for their paying members.

Understandable since they have no other way of gaining income at present.

We writers are lucky Medium is a place where no advertisement exists. No pop-ups. Only the pure an unadulterated field of writing. How long can we writers keep this playground for ourselves? How long will it be before it’s too late?

In the meantime, keep writing.

I Write in the Morning to be Less Distracted

5:30 AM. I creep out of bed fighting the urge to crawl back in. Resisting the urge to snuggle between the warm sheets. Fighting the urge to keep my head resting on my fluffy pillow. Instead, I shuffle my way toward the bathroom where I take to pee and take a shower.

I let the hot water hit my naked body. Everything must be clean. I am beginning to waking-up, but I am still fatigued. Before I end my shower (if I can remember) I switch from the hot water to ice cold for several seconds. The frigid shower water sends a shock to my nervous system.

I am awake. Now.

Breakfast & Coffee

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6:00 AM. I then get dressed and proceed to make my  Aeropress  coffee while preparing my breakfast. I have been having the same breakfast for the last year or so. A toasted egg, tomato, and baby spinach sandwich. A small bowl of greek yogurt with blueberries and honey. A full glass of water which I usually chug down first thing when I enter the kitchen.

I eat this full breakfast at the dinner table which connects to the living room. I watch a couple of Youtube videos via my Apple TV. After finishing my meal, I return back to the kitchen and clean all my dishes.

I then grab my Aeropress brewed coffee. I take a few sips as I sit down in my favorite  IKEA POÄNG  chair. I open my laptop and begin my writing routine.

Journal Writing
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Jenny Chang / Getty Images / BuzzFeed

6:25 AM. I always start writing a daily journal entry. The journal entry must at least 250 words. No less. It’s okay to go a bit over. But at least 250 words or I haven’t, or I know I am being lazy. It might seem silly to some. For me, if I allow myself to alter this small word count, I can then fall into an abyss of more excuses.

The journal writing has proven an excellent practice to start my writer engine. For the journal entry, I write whatever comes to my mind. It’s designed as a way to get my juices flowing. No pressure. Here I write in a sort of stream of conscious style. And it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make any sense. I never go back and read my journal entries.

Writing the Book

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After completing my journal entry, I open my file for the book  I am working on. That is the main reason I wake-up so early. To write a book one needs time to write many words. I know this is self-explanatory but think of it as a race. The second I let up, then it becomes harder for me to catch up unless I sprint. I have found writing in sprints to be less productive than writing at a consistent pace each day. It’s slow, but the numbers do not lie.

The morning is only time I have to myself, and it’s two hours. To write. Sometimes I have less than ninety minutes to write everything I can that day.

My thoughts are fresh in the morning. Though, I’m tired. I’m tired in a different way.

Why I Don’t Write in the Evening
[image error]

‘Midnight in Paris’ (2011) © Sony Pictures Classics. All rights reserved.

In the evening, I am also tired. But tired from a full day’s work. Tired from commuting via the subway. Tired. I don’t want to think about anything when I get home. I want to vegetate. I want to relax and let the day’s stress melt away from me.

I used to get home feeling this way but also with the feeling of guilt. Guilt that I hadn’t written anything yet that day. I wanted to write something. This was when I was supposed to commit. I now had time to do it. But not really. No. My mind and body wanted nothing to do with writing. They wanted to go in neutral. They had already been in drive mode all day.

Why it Works for Me

Forcing myself to wake-up the early works. It works for me. I often have a hard time committing to writing anything over the weekend. To busy trying to relax or run errands or do the chores or go do things. Monday through Friday in the wee hours of the day. As the sun is beginning the breakthrough in the sky, I write.

Now I must conclude this blog. The time is closing, and I have to get ready to commute to work. Then work. Then I will commute home. Have dinner. I will still want to write more after all this. But I will no longer feel guilty. Guilt for turning on the TV. Since I know, I already wrote in the morning. It’s okay for me to watch a show on  Netflix  while scanning  Imgur  posts on my smartphone.

It’s finally okay for me to relax.

Other Articles to Consider:

Jeff Goins offers the opposite advice based on his personal preference.
Lifehacker argues for three pages of garbage every morning.
Wake-Up Writing: Morning Rituals for Busy Writers

Writing in the Morning

5:30 AM. I creep out of bed fighting the urge to crawl back in. Resisting the urge to snuggle between the warm sheets. Fighting the urge to keep my head resting on my fluffy pillow. Instead, I shuffle my way toward the bathroom where I take to pee and take a shower.

I let the hot water hit my naked body. Everything must be clean. I am beginning to waking-up, but I am still fatigued. Before I end my shower (if I can remember) I switch from the hot water to ice cold for several seconds. The frigid shower water sends a shock to my nervous system.

I am awake. Now.

Breakfast & Coffee

[image error]

6:00 AM. I then get dressed and proceed to make my  Aeropress  coffee while preparing my breakfast. I have been having the same breakfast for the last year or so. A toasted egg, tomato, and baby spinach sandwich. A small bowl of greek yogurt with blueberries and honey. A full glass of water which I usually chug down first thing when I enter the kitchen.

I eat this full breakfast at the dinner table which connects to the living room. I watch a couple of Youtube videos via my Apple TV. After finishing my meal, I return back to the kitchen and clean all my dishes.

I then grab my Aeropress brewed coffee. I take a few sips as I sit down in my favorite  IKEA POÄNG  chair. I open my laptop and begin my writing routine.

Journal Writing
[image error]

Jenny Chang / Getty Images / BuzzFeed

6:25 AM. I always start writing a daily journal entry. The journal entry must at least 250 words. No less. It’s okay to go a bit over. But at least 250 words or I haven’t, or I know I am being lazy. It might seem silly to some. For me, if I allow myself to alter this small word count, I can then fall into an abyss of more excuses.

The journal writing has proven an excellent practice to start my writer engine. For the journal entry, I write whatever comes to my mind. It’s designed as a way to get my juices flowing. No pressure. Here I write in a sort of stream of conscious style. And it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make any sense. I never go back and read my journal entries.

Writing the Book

[image error]

After completing my journal entry, I open my file for the book  I am working on. That is the main reason I wake-up so early. To write a book one needs time to write many words. I know this is self-explanatory but think of it as a race. The second I let up, then it becomes harder for me to catch up unless I sprint. I have found writing in sprints to be less productive than writing at a consistent pace each day. It’s slow, but the numbers do not lie.

The morning is only time I have to myself, and it’s two hours. To write. Sometimes I have less than ninety minutes to write everything I can that day.

My thoughts are fresh in the morning. Though, I’m tired. I’m tired in a different way.

Why I Don’t Write in the Evening
[image error]

‘Midnight in Paris’ (2011) © Sony Pictures Classics. All rights reserved.

In the evening, I am also tired. But tired from a full day’s work. Tired from commuting via the subway. Tired. I don’t want to think about anything when I get home. I want to vegetate. I want to relax and let the day’s stress melt away from me.

I used to get home feeling this way but also with the feeling of guilt. Guilt that I hadn’t written anything yet that day. I wanted to write something. This was when I was supposed to commit. I now had time to do it. But not really. No. My mind and body wanted nothing to do with writing. They wanted to go in neutral. They had already been in drive mode all day.

Why it Works for Me

Forcing myself to wake-up the early works. It works for me. I often have a hard time committing to writing anything over the weekend. To busy trying to relax or run errands or do the chores or go do things. Monday through Friday in the wee hours of the day. As the sun is beginning the breakthrough in the sky, I write.

Now I must conclude this blog. The time is closing, and I have to get ready to commute to work. Then work. Then I will commute home. Have dinner. I will still want to write more after all this. But I will no longer feel guilty. Guilt for turning on the TV. Since I know, I already wrote in the morning. It’s okay for me to watch a show on  Netflix  while scanning  Imgur  posts on my smartphone.

It’s finally okay for me to relax.

Other Articles to Consider:

Jeff Goins offers the opposite advice based on his personal preference.
Lifehacker argues for three pages of garbage every morning.
Wake-Up Writing: Morning Rituals for Busy Writers

Google Keeps Making Me Regret Using their Services

About three months ago I resolved to start using Google’s  URL Shortener  service. It was free and offered basic analytics allowing me to track the number of clicks for my shortened URLs.

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How Google responds to customer complaints when they abruptly end any service.

I had hoped Google might one day incorporate https://goo.gl/ into Google’s massive and powerful Google Analytics program. Google is, after all, an ad company. The majority of their income originates from ads. And providing analytics on consumer behavior. They are one of the most prominent organizations for this market segment. And so far, they’re the best.

R.I.P. Google Shortener

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Then tragedy struck when last week I saw the above disclaimer in yellow.

Google has decided to end their URL shortening service. This is the price one pays for trying out something free. I should have known better.

For a moment I thought it was my fault. Had I messed up somewhere? Why would Google do this me? I’ve always been loyal to you. We can make this work! Give me another chance!

Why does Google keep doing this? Google releases things in the wild like a kid diagnosed with severe ADHD. They lose interest in it and abandon, or they let it die a slow death by providing no updates and little support. This is why it has always been hard for me to go all in Google.

Not that I would consider Googles atrocious privacy record. But still—at least Apple and Microsoft didn’t release Windows or MacOS only to abandon it years later. To Google’s credit, they are still supporting Android and Chrome OS … for now. But, with the consistent rumors of Google’s new  Fuchsia OS , (feel free to take a look at the  code  on  Github ), and Google’s new slow strategy of closing Android’s openness, it’s a matter of time before Android biomes a thing of the past and Fuchsia is the thing of the future. For however long that will last.

Google Pluses & Buzzes

Look at Google Plus. At first, a massive effort by Google to take on Facebook and social media, in general. It is still there but the push to make everyone on Google a part of the Google Plus bandwagon has been over for quite some time.

[image error]

Look at Google Buzz? Do you even remember Google Buzz? Google’s attempt to take on Twitter? How about choosing an IM client from Google? They are several hundred (more like several, but still!).

Google has supported Gmail, Google Drive, Google Search (of course), Google Photo, among many other of their hundreds of services. For a while, it looked like Google was going to abandon Google Voice. Which I loved when it first came out. I was even considering port my number over to Google Voice when I was using a Nexus.

But when I made the switch over to Apple’s iPhone, the temptation to do that grew thin. Then the support of the app wained for some time. It wasn’t until last year did Google return support to their Google Voice app and service. But once hurt than never again. It’s too risky to give everything over to Google only to find out Google decides it’s not worth supporting anymore.

This ADHD behavior has more to do with how Google run’s their company. There was an interesting  article  by  Steve Yegge, a former Google employee, on what his experience was like while working at Google. Their current structure leaves many with a desire to be on the next big project. And little want to remain in support of an existing product, otherwise risk being looked over for promotion. Hence, we have products get abandon because Google employees have lost interest.

Will Google ever correct course on this kind of behavior? Hard to say. I would argue that Google may never change since it hasn’t hurt them as much. Again, they still make more money from their advertisements than anywhere. Until it hurts their bottom line, they will continue to release and abandon with indifference.

Google’s URL Shortener is No More

About three months ago I resolved to start using Google’s  URL Shortener  service. It was free and offered basic analytics allowing me to track the number of clicks for my shortened URLs.

[image error]

How Google responds to customer complaints when they abruptly end any service.

I had hoped Google might one day incorporate https://goo.gl/ into Google’s massive and powerful Google Analytics program. Google is, after all, an ad company. The majority of their income originates from ads. And providing analytics on consumer behavior. They are one of the most prominent organizations for this market segment. And so far, they’re the best.

R.I.P. Google Shortener

[image error]

Then tragedy struck when last week I saw the above disclaimer in yellow.

Google has decided to end their URL shortening service. This is the price one pays for trying out something free. I should have known better.

For a moment I thought it was my fault. Had I messed up somewhere? Why would Google do this me? I’ve always been loyal to you. We can make this work! Give me another chance!

Why does Google keep doing this? Google releases things in the wild like a kid diagnosed with severe ADHD. They lose interest in it and abandon, or they let it die a slow death by providing no updates and little support. This is why it has always been hard for me to go all in Google.

Not that I would consider Googles atrocious privacy record. But still—at least Apple and Microsoft didn’t release Windows or MacOS only to abandon it years later. To Google’s credit, they are still supporting Android and Chrome OS … for now. But, with the consistent rumors of Google’s new  Fuchsia OS , (feel free to take a look at the  code  on  Github ), and Google’s new slow strategy of closing Android’s openness, it’s a matter of time before Android biomes a thing of the past and Fuchsia is the thing of the future. For however long that will last.

Google Pluses & Buzzes

Look at Google Plus. At first, a massive effort by Google to take on Facebook and social media, in general. It is still there but the push to make everyone on Google a part of the Google Plus bandwagon has been over for quite some time.

[image error]

Look at Google Buzz? Do you even remember Google Buzz? Google’s attempt to take on Twitter? How about choosing an IM client from Google? They are several hundred (more like several, but still!).

Google has supported Gmail, Google Drive, Google Search (of course), Google Photo, among many other of their hundreds of services. For a while, it looked like Google was going to abandon Google Voice. Which I loved when it first came out. I was even considering port my number over to Google Voice when I was using a Nexus.

But when I made the switch over to Apple’s iPhone, the temptation to do that grew thin. Then the support of the app wained for some time. It wasn’t until last year did Google return support to their Google Voice app and service. But once hurt than never again. It’s too risky to give everything over to Google only to find out Google decides it’s not worth supporting anymore.

This ADHD behavior has more to do with how Google run’s their company. There was an interesting  article  by  Steve Yegge, a former Google employee, on what his experience was like while working at Google. Their current structure leaves many with a desire to be on the next big project. And little want to remain in support of an existing product, otherwise risk being looked over for promotion. Hence, we have products get abandon because Google employees have lost interest.

Will Google ever correct course on this kind of behavior? Hard to say. I would argue that Google may never change since it hasn’t hurt them as much. Again, they still make more money from their advertisements than anywhere. Until it hurts their bottom line, they will continue to release and abandon with indifference.

Don’t See ‘Avengers: Infinity Wars’ Unless You’ve Already Seen the Previous Films

WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD

Avengers: Infinity Wars is the film to see right now.

Fair warning: If you haven’t been watching the Marvel movies in the last ten years, then don’t expect to have any idea what is going on.

This film assumes you’ve seen all the previous films. It wastes no time on exposition. It starts after the end of another movie and ends to start another film.

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Avengers: Infinity Wars is a film meant to fill in space. It has not a real beginning. It has no real ending. Between the beginning and the end of the film, we are greeted with some of the best stories to consider throughout the Marvel film franchise. All are established characters. Their powers are well-known.

We as an audience who has spent the last ten years getting to know these characters are already invested in them. There is no need to place this film as a separate entity. It is merely a piece of a puzzle that is the Marvel movie franchise.

In a film with no exposition (other than the eighteen some previous films), the action is immediate. Sometimes the action seems a bit of a distraction. The fights could have been much shorter. More time could have been spent on the characters development. At least, that is what I started thinking. I watched it thinking every action sequence was a methodical step to a climax that never delivered.

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The character (Josh Brolin) is presented somewhat sympathetically. At one point I wondered if he was the protagonist? Others have questioned if Thanos should’ve received an origin story for himself. Perhaps. But arguably Avengers: Infinity War is his origin story. He has been behind the scenes in many of the films. Here he is the central antagonist, and some might argue the central character.

Some prominent characters are killed off in the film. And yet I didn’t feel moved by it. I’m not sure what it is? But the deaths seemed cheap and were over too quickly. Or the moment was broken by a joke or sight gag. Which surprised me since I had already grown to love many these characters.

(Tom Hiddleston) dies at the very beginning. (Zoe Saldana) dies. Vision dies (though Vision was never easy to like. All-knowing and way too fucking two-dimensional. He was an antagonist in Captain America: Civil War). Not to mention, the cheap spontaneous combustion of so many characters near the end of the film. Left me wondering if Marvel thinks death is only temporary and not permanent?

It’s hard to packs many characters into one film. Making sure all get enough screen time is hard. Some are thrown in the movie like cameos.

I enjoyed this film. I would recommend it to anyone who loves Marvel. Anyone who has seen most, if not all, of the Marvel films. But if you haven’t seen any of them don’t bother. It would be pretty stupid to walk in to see this film without having a least some knowledge of the characters. Again, this is a film with no exposition. There is no time for that.

There is time for action. There is time to give each character a moment to be funny. There is a time a chapter in a series. A section that will close making you want to go to the next chapter. And then the next. And then the next. All the while Disney and Marvel are laughing to the bank as we keep coming back for more. Just one more hit. Only one more film. Just one more CGI sequence. Just one more mediocre moment and flashy moment of drama disguised as something more than what it is: a comic book movie.

Avengers: Infinity War | Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | PG-132h 29m

NY Times Review

Washington Post Review