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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> <feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom'> <id>https://compudanzas.net/biosejo.html</id> <title>biosejo - compudanzas</title> <author><name>sejo</name></author> <generator>a mano</generator> <link href='https://compudanzas.net/biosejo.xml' rel='self'/> <link href='https://compudanzas.net/biosejo.html' rel='alternate'/> <updated>2022-05-19T20:00:00Z</updated> <entry> <title>Packing and unpacking - biosejo 120220519</title> <updated>2022-05-19T20:00:00-05:00</updated> <link rel='alternate' href='https://compudanzas.net/biosejo_120220519.html'/> <id>https://compudanzas.net/biosejo_120220519.html</id> <content type="xhtml"> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <h1>Packing and unpacking - biosejo 120220519</h1> <p>Moving things around and deciding what to keep and what to leave behind, internally and externally. </p> <h1 id='Packing'>Packing</h1> <p>During the past week we rehearsed packing for the grand move, in order to see if we were in our space and weight budget. It was a nice way to conclude a process that we have been going through in the past few weeks, "minimizing" our stuff and figuring out what we really need (and what we really want to really need) </p> <p>As we were going our budget a little bit, this was a good opportunity to push further and let go of some other stuff. </p> <p>In parallel, we have been having a nice experience of gifting stuff to friends, finding places to donate things (e.g. hacklabs that could use electronic components), trying to sell some others, and bringing the rest to recycling places. </p> <p>This is definitely a big jump into the unknown, so we are hoping we don't end up needing something that we thought we wouldn't. </p> <p>In any case, doing all this brought me in contact with several past notebooks and works of mine: these were windows for me to see who I was, who I have been, and who I wanted to be. </p> <h1 id='Unpacking'>Unpacking</h1> <p>During this week, these windows-notebooks made me ponder a lot about my identity, especially about my online identity. Part of me would prefer not to, and just flow (embracing chaos and the absurd?). I'd prefer to use that time in some other way. </p> <p>However, another part of me is intrigued about how I've changed, online and offline. </p> <p>It seems that now I'm more conscious, compassionate, understanding, and open-minded. It seems that before I was way more sure of myself and my actions, and also more outgoing. I wasn't hesitant to start projects, to connect with people (online) or to embrace my humor. Always an introvert, though :) </p> <p>I wonder if that overconfidence came from being younger or only from being more naive. Both seem difficult to revert, but probably something can be done about it. </p> <p>Regarding naivete, I can identify how, when becoming more privacy-aware, I stopped using my legal name online, I deleted a lot of traces and connections, and I went "into the dark". </p> <p>I can also identify how, when becoming more aware of the upcoming <a href='./collapse.html'>collapse</a>, I stopped doing a lot of things that I found fun, I became somewhat cynic (despite not wanting to!), I questioned everything I was doing and being part of, I got paralyzed, and again, I went inwards, "into the dark". </p> <p>Additionally, all of this got combined with becoming aware of feminism and realizing all the stupid stuff I did due to being a man. I guess I over-corrected and then I wanted to lower my voice, to not occupy any space, to stop initiating and instigating creative projects. Going into the dark. </p> <p>As one can imagine, and as I realize now, thanks to a slow process that has been aided by this big change: that is not a nice way to live! And neither it's helpful, for me or for anyone! </p> <p>Side note: I was a little bit hesitant to write about this, but now I'm finding it very illuminating and lighter-feeling-inducing :) </p> <p>So here I am, slowly crawling outside. Slowly repeating, "my voice is important". I realize and remember, I'm part of a so-called minority, I shouldn't be the one shutting up. My voice is important. How does one gets their confidence back? How does one cultivate it? It's okay to shine. </p> <p>My outline implied talking about some other personal conflicts (the performance of professionalism), but interestingly this has given me enough to process already. </p> <p>Thanks for being here, dear reader, allowing all this to go outside. </p> </div> </content> </entry> <entry> <title>On systems, dreams and practice - biosejo 120220511</title> <updated>2022-05-11T09:00:00-05:00</updated> <link rel='alternate' href='https://compudanzas.net/biosejo_120220511.html'/> <id>https://compudanzas.net/biosejo_120220511.html</id> <content type="xhtml"> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <h1>On systems, dreams and practice - biosejo 120220511</h1> <p>Updates regarding systems I'm using, dreams that are coming back, and insights on daily practice. </p> <p>Something I like about weekly processes like this one is the perspective it sheds to the arbitrary, human-decided period of seven days. I guess it's like some kind of prism or lens: it can be seen as too long, or as too short of a period. </p> <p>I take several notes of the things I'm doing or want to be doing each day; this past week I made a new list of what are the things I want to be talking about in the post. </p> <h1 id='Systems'>Systems</h1> <p>Going from more to less technical: Obsidian the tool, a thesis talk as a framework, and some new perspectives on reading. </p> <h2 id='Obsidian'>Obsidian</h2> <p>I started using Obsidian.md, a text-editor focused on "interconnected note-taking" (my words). <p><a href="https://obsidian.md" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" class="arrow">Obsidian</a></p> </p> <p>I had read several good comments about it, but I thought it was yet another note-taking "app" with its specific database and probably non-compatible way of saving notes. </p> <p>Last week I found out it uses a directory with plain-text (markdown) files, and that it was completely compatible with the way I started writing in ceti, my digital zettelkasten that I mentioned on <a href='./biosejo_120220503.html'>biosejo 120220503</a>. </p> <p>Additionally, it has many nice features like link auto-completion, suggestion of possible backlinks, templates for new files, a nice way of previewing the markdown format, and the "famous" graph view to see the interconnectedness of the notes. </p> <p>I decided to use it as an ergonomic way of getting my notes on "paper" (on file?) while at the same figuring out what are the features that I would like to implement on my own tool. Again, the fact that all of the notes are text files allows me to write on them "manually" or to use Obsidian as an interface. </p> <h2 id='Thesis talk'>Thesis talk</h2> <p>The doctorate school of my university is organizing a "Thesis talk" event, where PhD students/candidates present their project to a non-specialized audience in up to 3 minutes. </p> <p>I thought it would be a great idea to participate! I saw it as a way of getting involved with the school activities even though I'm not "there" yet, and also (and maybe more importantly?) as an opportunity to have a deadline and push myself to define in a clear and concise manner the research project I'll be developing. </p> <p>It happens that in June a requirement of the program is to present an initial research plan. I saw the Thesis Talk as a way to prepare for that! </p> <p>My advisor approved the idea: now I am signed up for the event, and I have until the end of May to submit a video recording of my presentation. If I make the cut to the final event, I would be able to present it live on the end of June: In theory we should be there in the university by then. </p> <p>I guess a past version of me wouldn't believe that I signed up for this: I'm glad I'm able now to bring myself to the table, and participate. </p> <h2 id='Reading'>Reading</h2> <p>One way I see that the two previous points are connected is that I'm using my zettelkasten and the thesis talk opportunity as a way and system to figure out how to read better and how to map the different topics of the state of the art and also of my interests. </p> <p>The past few days it happened to me that I remembered some specific diagram and framework from an article I had read before this system, and I had a little bit of a problem to re-locate it. </p> <p>Thankfully, I'm using Zotero to manage my references and I could find it again. </p> <p>However, I've been in similar situations before: reading something casually, thinking that it wouldn't be important in the future, and then weeks/months/years later having an insight related to that, but with the reference being. </p> <p>This situation reminded me of that, and motivated me to keep my intention of growing this "external brain" in the form of my zettelkasten. </p> <p>Now the thing to overcome is sometimes feeling overwhelmed by the thought of "reading right", with notes and so on; this feeling has happened a couple of times in such a way that it makes me prefer not to do it right now. </p> <h1 id='Dreams'>Dreams</h1> <p>This past week I had a very nice and useful insight about re-contextualizing my work. </p> <p>Most of my life I have admired the work of Nintendo. Nowadays I'm not a fan of the ways they have been handling some things like anti-piracy. Regardless of that, even though I didn't have a lot of games, I've been a fan of how they use cuteness, humor and ingenuity in play. </p> <p>I'm sure they are not the only ones who work in that way; let's say I'm only taking them as a referent. During my life there have been only very few big companies where I had said I'd like to be part of, and Nintendo is still one of them. For the record, Pixar would be the other one, although right now I wouldn't know what I'd like to do there. </p> <p>The point here is that I realized that my PhD research project, based on playful computing for body games and experiences, could lead me to Nintendo. </p> <p>Interestingly, that almost immediately changed the way I looked at the project, and allowed me to think of resources (like cuteness) that I wasn't probably considering yet. </p> <p>The real insight came when I realized that I don't have to be working for three or four years towards that: I can work right now "as if I was" already there. Or, said in another way: I don't have to be ever there to work and create as if I was there! </p> <p>I can keep analyzing what are the elements that I like about their creations and creative processes, and use them in my own way with my own team. The goal of eventually getting there is very nice and motivating, and I'm not discarding it as impossible or undesirable: it's just that I find it great how I can already feel very different and even more excited about my research right now! </p> <p>I have found it very interesting how this perspective has allowed me to think beyond the arbitrary "academic limits" that I had unconsciously set for myself and the project, despite not having a lot of academic experience. </p> <p>This new way of looking at things has been a nice counterpoint to some instances of self-doubt and of getting overwhelmed with all the topics and their interconnectedness. </p> <p>One step at a time, as if I was already in the dreamt place. </p> <h1 id='Practice'>Practice</h1> <p>For me, all of this connects to the idea of practice, and to how I've been traditionally attracted to the ideas of discipline, determination, daily practice, and to people that have their "own thing" that develop during all their life. </p> <p>We watched Tony Hawk's documentary, Until the wheels fall off, and it made me think deeply again about these things. </p> <p>Interestingly, I tend to feel as if I didn't have my "own thing" yet, but to my partner it's obvious it's "computers". And well, not only to them: cleaning up the house and getting rid of previous documents and school papers, I read many times that several instances of myself in the past ~16 years thought that they were "good with computers" and wanted to work and create with them. </p> <p>I get a little bit intense and I think: "Well, if that's my thing, am I really practicing enought and getting better at it as time passes?" </p> <p>I can recognize how there have been times where e.g. I had a 100+ days practice of generative art, but at some point I lost focus. I guess that when I think I don't have "my thing" it's because 1) I'd like to see it as a creative practice, 2) I haven't been able to feel like I'm pulling it off, i.e. consciously and constantly getting better at it. </p> <p>In any case, I see now how the PhD project can serve me to have this focused framework and explore these ideas of practice. What would I normally do, if I was already "there" in the dreamt place? What would I practice? How would I enjoy and have fun? </p> <p>Also, to help this, I think and I know I have to be careful with the resources I consume: reading a lot of critical theory paralyzes me and makes me feel I can't do anything because everything seems to be "wrong". </p> <p>Similar to how performance allows us to enter in a state of "suspension of disbelief", I think I can find a way to enter a state where I can practice, play, enjoy, and have fun. </p> <p>In any case, I know some "critical people" have argued for the importance of play and fun. For the moment, I'll let them do the arguing, and I'll stop thinking I have to justify myself. </p> <p>One step at a time :) </p> <p>As a final note, and as an intersting turn (?) of events, we have been playing with our NDS consoles, and I got a way to download and play even more games. Even though this could be part of the research I'd like to do, I prefer to think of it as just giving myself the opportunity to have fun. </p> <p>Feel free to <a href='./contact.html'>contact</a> me to further discuss any of this. For the record, I'm glad to have this space to share! </p> <p>See you next week! </p> </div> </content> </entry> <entry> <title>Here we go: Intro, research and notes - biosejo 120220503</title> <updated>2022-05-03T18:00:00-05:00</updated> <link rel='alternate' href='https://compudanzas.net/biosejo_120220503.html'/> <id>https://compudanzas.net/biosejo_120220503.html</id> <content type="xhtml"> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <h1>Here we go: Intro, research and notes - biosejo 120220503</h1> <p>In which I introduce <a href='./biosejo.html'>biosejo</a> and talk about my plans regarding research, note-taking, and movement. </p> <h1 id='Intro'>Intro</h1> <p>I tend to enjoy writing in chronological posts. </p> <p>Now that I think of it, I've done that in several instances for a period corresponding to at least half of my life. </p> <p>Here in the compudanzas site I've been exploring a <a href='./wiki.html'>wiki</a>-like structure, because non-linear arrangements, and specifically hypertext-based ones, have attracted me for a long time as well. I hadn't had the chance to explore this until I received plenty of inspiration from the Merveilles webring, especially from the XXIIVV wiki. </p> <p><a href="https://webring.xxiivv.com/" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" class="arrow">Merveilles webring</a></p> <p><a href="https://wiki.xxiivv.com/site/home.html" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" class="arrow">XXIIVV</a></p> <p>I have enjoyed the process a lot. I even started a digital Zettelkasten now, to create a living archive of my knowledge that I can explore to find new insights (more on this below). </p> <p>However, I also enjoy reading other people's chronological posts. I was okay reading them, not writing them, until... something (relevant) changed. </p> <p>I'm starting a predoctoral research position focusing on playful applications of computing to improve proprioception and movement! </p> <p>We have yet to move to another country in another continent. Meanwhile I've been reading, noticing that this would be a great time to improve my long-term retention of what I read, and therefore deciding to improve how I actually read and learn. </p> <p>This is where the Zettelkasten comes into play, but I'll talk more about it in a moment. </p> <p>The thing is that I decided that it would be a great exercise for me to linearize here not only my research, but also the surrounding events (aka "life"). On one hand I love knowledge-sharing, on the other this could be a way to keep close people (that will now be relatively far away) in touch with what I'm living, and on the third hand (or first foot?) I find this could be a great way to practice my writing. </p> <p>My intention is to write and share here once a week. </p> <h1 id='The Zettelkasten'>The Zettelkasten</h1> <p>Very simply put, the Zettelkasten is a method to take and organize interconnected notes that tend to represent someone's knowledge. You can read more about it in the following link; these past few days I've been reading many of those posts! </p> <p><a href="https://zettelkasten.de/posts/overview/" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" class="arrow">Getting Started - Zettelkasten Methon</a></p> <p>I decided to start one because I realized that for my preliminary readings for the PhD program I wasn't really taking meaningful notes. </p> <p>Additionally, because what I'll be doing will be super interdisciplinary: relating movement, psychology, social sciences, philosophy, neuroscience, and also computer science and electronics, I thought that I would need a way to make sense of all this and to avoid getting lost. </p> <p>I had read about the method already, but now I went deeper and then started with a simple system based on plain text files. The automation and ergonomics will come later whenever I start feeling friction. </p> <p>My objective here is to improve my reading, being more deliberate about it. I tend to read relatively fast, sometimes just skimming, and I kind of "get" the main points, especially when I talk with my partner about them. </p> <p>However, I notice I could get a lot more out of reading if I take a more attentive and careful approach, creating and tending notes, interconnecting them with previous ones. Also, I can see how this can lead to longer-term retention and knowledge creationg. </p> <p>I'm excited about it! </p> <h1 id='Movement and less screens'>Movement and less screens</h1> <p>Lastly, I want to share that I'm currently going through a process of simplification. Following a relatively common trend in my circles, I want to spend less time online, and less time in distraction (procrastination disguised as distraction?). </p> <p>For the zettelkasten I'm taking notes in paper first, and I'm also using paper notebooks to organize my ideas. This very post was outlined in paper! </p> <p>Also, the text-based focus of what I'm doing right now means that I can use my main computer in "text mode" or "console mode", and that I can use my android tablet with termux and a keyboard to have a similar and more portable writing experience. </p> <p><a href="https://termux.com/" rel="external noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" class="arrow">Termux</a></p> <p>I'm also getting back to <a href='./running.html'>running</a> and moving, and I'm being more deliberate with my on-screen time by using a timer. </p> <p>It has been great to alternate focus with breaks, in contrast to being aimlessly in front of the computer for a long time! </p> <p>I'm really excited about all this and what's coming next. </p> <p>I reiterate my intention: See you next week! </p> </div> </content> </entry> </feed>