Taiga Green and Obsidian
Also a desktop calendar that isn't made of paper.
Here in New York we are currently in what we like to call "Fool's Spring". The weather is nice, the snow is melting, the birds are singing, and I believe none of it. The only things in life I know for sure are death, taxes, and that a NY winter isn't over until it's over.
in this issue:
📆 cal-02
📝 Notebook Navigator
🐞 Benchmade Mini Bugout
📆 cal-02
Every now and then I come across something that makes me wish I had thought of it. Usually, it's a simple piece of software or a clever life hack, but this time it was a 3D printed perpetual calendar that YouTuber Matthew Lim created. I'm always on the lookout for interesting gadgets and gizmos to have on my desk. I'm typically looking for objects that inspire me just by looking at them, but if it happens to have an actual purpose then it's a win-win.
At first, I thought this was a ruler or some kind of measuring device. But then I looked closer and realized it's a calendar. It's used for keeping track of time instead of measuring it. It has tiny magnets inside so you can just slide the little orange markers to the correct date. Plus, there are differently colored markers that you can drop on the calendar for upcoming deadlines or important dates.
📝 Notebook Navigator
At some point towards the end of last year I decided to give up on all digital notes. Any random idea, thoughts, or grocery list item that pops into my head now gets written down in a small pocket notebook I carry. It's been working perfectly for everyday tasks but there are some things that require a digital note taking tool (like gathering links, sorting images, and writing about cool stuff for this newsletter). For those project-based tasks I've been leaning on Obsidian. Obsidian is one of the most powerful note taking apps I've ever used where you can save your notes locally in a language called Markdown. The benefit of Markdown is that if I ever want to leave Obsidian my notes aren't locked in some weird proprietary format. The problem with Obsidian is that its default layout is very barebones. If you have a ton of notes it can get very messy. But Obsidian has a secret power called linking, which lets you link directly to other notes.
This let me build out a dedicated home hub that links out to every other major hub in my notes, similar to the Forever Notes system that's popular with Apple Notes users. But again, the default UI is just folders and notes so the side panel just got more and more messy over time. Thankfully, a really smart guy named Johan Sanneblad made an Obsidian plugin called Notebook Navigator, which gives Obsidian a complete UI overhaul that makes it look and function just like Apple Notes. Apple Notes and Samsung Notes are two of the best note-taking apps in my opinion, but I refuse to lock my notes into any one ecosystem. Obsidian is free and open-source and with this plug-in I don't see myself going to anything else.
🐞Benchmade Mini Bugout
I feel like every time Benchmade introduces a new color for its Mini Bugout EDC knife I get the urge to buy one. This time it’s the new Taiga green color with the Grivory handle. What gets me though is the Cerakote blade finish which just looks amazing with the burnt copper hardware. The best thing about Benchmade knives is that not only do they look good, but they're widely regarded as one some of the best everyday carry knives you can get.
I usually lean towards the Mini Bugout solely because of the smaller blade length (2.8-inches/16.4cm), but there is also a full-sized option as well which has a slightly longer blade length. Unfortunately for me, (fortunately for my wallet) this particular color of the Mini Bugout is already sold out. But I'm not worried. I'm sure there will be another color soon for me to drool over.
🆒 Special thanks to Cool Supply members! 🆒
Abstronautica, Taylor Cash, Ben Sorensen, Daniel Hernandez, Becca Farsace, Charles Malave, Dean D, Jacob Mitchell, Justin Oster, Jonathan Potopovich, Ali Rabbani, Airton Zanon, Ben Murphy, Tristan Onfroy, Philipp Knall, Felipe Catano, Anita, Colt Cox, Ben Shearin, Myke Hurley, Noel Farrell, and Ryan E.! ❤️
