I recently wrote a post about starting to use some old Field Notes I had in a drawer. Well, I just finished my first Field Notes pocket notebook (August 31, 2026 - October 8, 2026) and I’m excited about it. I don’t think I’ve ever filled a notebook from cover to cover. Ever. Sure, they’re thin (just 48 pages), but I’ve written in this one almost every single day. That’s worth celebrating, right?

Why paper?

I’ve come to really enjoy stationery. Notebooks, rollerballs, fountain pens, even pencils. For years before, they were just for fun. I never really used them for anything meaningful. So, my ideas were scattered everywhere. A new app would come out and I’d put some ideas there. Then another app would come out and I’d put some ideas there, too. I tried pulling everything into Apple Notes, with Obsidian for long-term storage. But those lived on my computer, which wasn’t always with me. They were on my phone too, but I didn’t want to pick up my phone. I wanted to take a little break from the screen. I wanted to shake up my routine and carve out some “me” time. The notebook gave me that. It gave me permission to slow down, reflect, and keep all my thoughts in one place.

What goes in it

Right now it’s a “Catch All.” I know some people keep separate notebooks for different things, and maybe I’ll get there. For now, everything goes in:

• Daily notes (basically a daily log)
• A food log
• A tracker in the center spread
• Printed photos of noteworthy moments from my Canon QX20 portable photo printer.

That tracker, by the way, is… not going well. I start tracking, forget for a few days, then try to remember what happened. Who knows how accurate it is. I put it right in the middle, where the staples are, after seeing the idea in one of Peter McKinnon’s videos. The notebook falls open to that page on its own, which is kind of genius. I might keep tracking things I want to remember, like my weight or blood pressure, but as a simple list instead of shading in a grid.

Writing tiny with low vision

This is where my setup is probably different from most. You’d think someone with low vision would write as big as possible so they could actually see it. Nope. It’s the opposite.

I use an electronic magnifier. I slide my notebook under it, and on the screen my writing looks huge. But look at the actual page and it’s tiny. Even my wife, who has great eyesight, says it’s really small. I love it, though. It looks clean, organized, and a little technical.

Yes, that means I have to sit at my desk in front of the magnifier to write. That’s okay. That’s my time. For quick, temporary notes I use an app called Gravity, and I have other notebooks for scribbling. But over the past few weeks I haven’t needed to write anything on the fly. When I have ideas or things to say about my day, I make time to sit down and write them out in my Field Notes.

I don’t want to call it a routine. It’s more of a ritual. Don’t get me wrong, there are no candles involved. I just sit, slow down, relax, and write. And I really enjoy it. It is the equivalent of taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

My favorite pens ✍️

I tried pencils, even the 0.9mm Pentels I love, but they looked too light on the page. These are my two favorites, so far:

• uni-ball Jetstream 0.38mm: So dark, so bold, and so thin. It’s amazing. I love that pen.
• Kaweco Brass Sport(fine nib): A touch thick for this notebook, and I wish I’d gotten the extra fine. But I love how it feels and how it writes on this paper. It does produce some bleed through, though.

What surprised me

I started this notebook hoping it would help me slow down. What surprised me is how well that actually worked. It gave me permission, and the chance, to hit pause every day. Now that it’s full, I get to keep it. I’ll store it somewhere so I can look back on it later, instead of having it fade into the digital ether. Maybe my kids or my wife will want to flip through it someday. For now, though, it’s just for me. And I love it.

I’ve already gone back and opened it to random pages, and I’m like, “Oh yeah, that’s what I was thinking that day.” It reminds me of a quote from the writer Jessamyn West: “People who keep journals have life twice.” I don’t think of this as a traditional journal. It’s more of a daily note. Okay, fine, it’s kind of a journal, but cooler 😎.

What’s next

I only had two Field Notes left: the Pitch Black edition I’m using now and one spare. I was afraid I’d run out. So what did I do? I ordered a bunch of cool-looking ones that were still in stock.

• The National Parks box set
• Birds and Trees of North America set
• “Lucky” pack

Here’s to notebook number two. And three. And four… YesI finished this one, but it is certainly not the end. It is just the beginning of, what I hope, is a life-long habit for me. Let’s see how it goes.

#FieldNotes #Writing

I have been trying out all sorts of notebooks lately, and honestly, I have loved every single one I have picked. Traveler’s Notebooks in regular size, Midori pocket notebooks, the Plotter Mini 5 in pocket size, and an A5 Leuchtturm. They all have their place. Some live on my nightstand, others stay at my home desk.

The ones I reach for most, unsurprisingly, are the pocket notebooks. They are always with me, or at least far more often than the bigger ones. My Plotter pocket size was one of those, but it tends to live in my bag instead of on me. It has a metal bar along the spine, and I am just not comfortable slipping that into my back pocket and sitting on it. I keep picturing it bend.

So I went back to where I started: the good old Field Notes.

I even dug up a cover I used way back when. This thing has made the rounds through the whole family, from my son to my daughter and back to me. It is small, flexible, thin, and easy to fill up. Best of all, it lets me rotate different cover designs and keep things feeling fresh.

There was just one problem. I only had the black one you see in the photo above, so I started hunting for more options. And of course, I think they all look awesome. So for the first time ever, I subscribed to their quarterly offerings.

Here is what is coming my way:

• Fall 2026 (not released yet, which is half the fun)
• Winter 2026
• Spring 2027
• Summer 2027

Four surprise packs, one whole year’s worth of anticipation. I have a feeling I will enjoy these a lot more than the plain Jane ones I have used in the past. I can’t wait!

#FieldNotes #Notebooks #Stationery

How I Use My Notebooks: Writing Letters Without Posting Them:

Since November 2023 I have picked up a new habit of sorts – writing letters without posting them.

What a great idea! I believe it is incredibly important to think on paper. Writing things down helps us process tangled thoughts and complex feelings that we otherwise may not know what to do with.

Like the article above describes, writing a handwritten letter to someone you know, whether they are alive or have passed away may be the key. Having a purpose and a specific audience in mind helps me organize my thoughts. It allows me to develop them in a way that ultimately brings me clarity and peace.

When you lose someone close to you, you quickly realize how many things you still want to share with them. I lost my mom to cancer in 2011, and not a single day goes by without me thinking of something I wish I could tell her. Sometimes I just want to reminisce about a sudden memory. Other times, I feel a strong urge to ask for her advice on life’s complex situations.

Even though she will never read it, sitting down to write her a letter might just give me the outlet I need. The next time I feel that heavy desire to get something off my chest, I am going to pick up a pen and give it a try.

#writing #analog

Inspired by The Pen Addict Ep. 704 and their accompanying blog post, I created my own page listing my Analog Defaults.

Of course, I did not stop there. I also created a page for my App Defaults, after seeing Robb Knight’s apps page. I was surprised that I use a lot of the same apps he does.

But wait… there’s more. I also added my Ham Radio Defaults, too. Check it out!

I like finding practical solutions to my problems. I love finding practical solutions to my problems when I can use tech and don’t even have to leave the house to do it .

I’ve been trying out a lot of pens and pencils with my notebooks lately, but they’ve been scattered all over my desk. I decided I needed a proper place to put them. Instead of going out to the store and buying something, I 3D printed a holder for my desk.

It came out really good. It is nice and smooth, except for the textured outside walls. That part was on purpose.

#3DPrinting #DeskSetup #Organization

Kodak Quietly Begins Directly Selling Kodak Gold and Ultramax Film Again

It is probably too soon to say how big of a deal this is, but it is at least exciting for people who are in the resurgent film photography hobby, who are desperate for any sign that companies are interested in launching new products, creating new types of film, or building more production capacity in an industry where film shortages and price increases have been the norm for a few years.

I remember back in the day when I was learning to shoot film. My parents would take me to the local drugstore where we’d buy Kodak Gold film. Man, that sentence makes me sound and feel so old. Anyway, those rolls came in either 24 or 36 exposures, and I had to make every single shot count. Once I’d finished a roll, we’d take it to Eckerd or whatever drugstore was nearby to get it developed.

Kodak has always held a special place in my heart, mainly because of nostalgia. After a decade away from direct sales, I’m thrilled they’re making a comeback.

I’m the guy who bought an Apple device right before a new one came out. I don’t regret it one bit

… if you already have an M4 iPad Pro, you shouldn’t worry about buying a new one.

A few weeks ago, I went to buy a new iPad. This time around, I decided to go with the M4 13-inch iPad Pro with cellular, which I love, by the way. I did this despite strong rumors that an M5 version would be coming out soon.

Once the M5 launched, I second-guessed my decision and thought maybe I should have waited the extra two or three weeks and just gotten the new one. However, I’m pretty much in the same boat as Filipe Esposito from Macworld.

Like him, I decided to get the M4 version for a few reasons. First and foremost, I needed the bigger screen iPad, so waiting wasn’t completely an option. Yeah, I could have pushed through and worked around things to make do, but I decided not to.

Second, I got some pretty good deals on it. For one, I got the educational discount, which I could have gotten with the M5 as well, but they also had some other promotions for accessories. I decided to go with the Magic Keyboard and got it almost half off its regular price.

After reading Filipe’s Macworld article, it confirmed what I already suspected: there’s not a lot of difference between the M4 and M5 versions of the iPad.

The screen is the same, the keyboard accessories are the same, the cameras are the same, and the speakers and hardware are all the same. As far as I can tell, the only two things that changed were the M5 chip and the fact that it comes with 12GB of RAM instead of my 8GB. Actually, come to think of it, I think the new M5 model also has Apple’s new modem in it, but again, the current modem in my M4 model works perfectly well.

Despite these upgrades, I don’t feel my iPad is suffering from any kind of slowness. I do everything on it and never wish it was faster.

As an aside, if you’ve never used a cellular-enabled iPad, I highly recommend it. Yeah, it’s a little more expensive and yeah, you have to pay the carriers, but it’s so freeing to just use it anywhere.

Before, I used to tether it with my phone’s hotspot, but that wasn’t always ideal and I had data caps on my hotspots to contend with. With the cellular plan, I get “unlimited” data.

As of yet, I haven’t even been throttled, so I think it really is unlimited with AT&T. Either way, it’s just nice to have one self-contained device, and I’m glad that it’s my M4 iPad Pro.

I received my Plotter order earlier than expected. The order consisted of the following items, as my introduction to the Plotter binder system. Since it is my first experience with this line of products, I decided to go with the Mini Size.

• Shrink 6-Ring Leather Binder PLT5003
• Plain 80 sheets PLT0003
• 2mm Grid 80 sheets PLT0004
• Blue Paper 2mm Grid Quadrant Graph 50 sheets
• Lifter 2pcs PLT0010
• Leather Ring Supporter PLT0013

My wife always says I have expensive hobbies, like photography and ham radio, and now I’m afraid I’m falling into another one: the analog world of premium notebooks, paper and pens.

I’ve always loved notebooks and writing things down, no matter where I am. But I’ve always stuck to cheaper options from Target or Barnes & Noble. I never actively sought out anything fancy because I was afraid I’d buy something beautiful and then never want to write in it. My goal has always been simple: have something where I can jot down thoughts as a temporary holding place before moving them somewhere more permanent, maybe even digital. At the same time, I’ve always appreciated the beauty of leather-bound notebooks and fountain pens. Right now, that’s where my interests are leaning.

I always carry a Field Notes notebook with me. I have one in pretty much every bag I own: my laptop bag, my iPad sleeve, you name it. But I’ve always wished these little notebooks had one feature: the ability to move pages around or tear them out without damaging the staples. Well, I think I found something that might work for me.

It’s from a company called Plotter, and they sell leather-bound binder systems ranging from pocket size to full notebooks. I’ve been eyeing them for about a year now but never pulled the trigger because they’re pretty pricey.

Today, that changed. I decided to go for it and ordered the Plotter Mini, which is about the same size as a Field Notes notebook but features a five-ring (or is it six-ring?) metal spine that accepts their refills. Along with the Plotter Mini, I grabbed some unlined refills, grid refills, blank refills, and a lifter (basically a hard plastic divider that protects your paper, while giving you a solid writing surface). Plotter says it’ll take about five to six days to prepare the order before shipping, so I’m expecting it in the next two weeks. or so

I’m excited to try it out and see how this system works for me. I think it’ll be a perfect match since it’s flexible: I can refill, change papers, or move things around as needed.

Hey, at least I didn’t go down the route of expensive fountain pens, yet. Maybe that’s next?