Projects Update #1

A semi-regular and overly verbose update on my personal projects.

Completed

hisaac.net 3.0.0

Work on version 3.0.0 of this website is basically complete! There are a few odds and ends that still need to be wrapped up before it’s “officially” launched, and I still need to write a wrap-up post about the new redesign, but it is basically ready to go. Please reach out if you have any feedback on the new design. Seriously.

In Progress

Mac mini Server

I recently acquired a 2012 Mac mini to use as a home server, to replace a QNAP NAS. I’ve got multiple projects in flight related to the server.

Set up Arq to backup the computer.

The first step here is to decide on a backup destination. On my personal machine, I’m currently using Backblaze’s B2 Cloud Storage. I’ve been happy with it in every way except the price. I’ve currently got 8.7 TB backed up there, and it costs me around $45/month. I could probably slim that down by thinning my backups, but I haven’t explored that yet. Either way, that’s way more than I’d like to pay.

I very rarely access my backup data, so I plan to move to an “archive class” cloud storage solution. The cost is far cheaper, but you are charged to retrieve your data. I’m most likely going to use Amazon’s S3 Glacier class storage. I already use AWS for my web hosting and related things, and am marginally familiar with the service, so using it for backups seems appropriate.

Migrate eBooks to Calibre

Calibre is the de facto standard for eBook library management. It’s a gross app, but it’s powerful and has tons of support online. I’ve got eBooks and comic books strewn about in files that I’d like to import and organize within Calibre.

Moving from Evernote to Notion

I’ve wanted to move away from Evernote for a long time now, but until recently, hadn’t actually started the process. The biggest issue I had was that I hadn’t yet found a suitable replacement.

Enter Notion. Notion is something I’d heard about before — and even tried out briefly — but never gave any serious thought to it. I’d recently been hearing a lot about it in my online circles, so I decided to give it another look.

It meets most of the requirements that I had for a catchall notes replacement:

• Good apps for both iOS and macOS
  • It can also be accessed via the web, which wasn’t a requirement, but is a nice-to-have
• Ability to host notes as web pages for easy public access
  • I plan to use Notion as a wiki, to replace what I’ve currently called “living documents”
• Ability to embed multimedia within notes
• Easy Evernote import
  • Notion actually has the ability to connect directly to Evernote’s API. Every other service I’ve tested required you to export your notes from Evernote into their proprietary .enex file format, then import them into the app, often with middling results. Notion’s Evernote import is worlds better — both faster and more reliable.
• Easy export of notes
  • Notion has multiple export options, including Markdown! 🎉

There are also some cons to Notion:

• The macOS app is an Electron app
  • I’d much prefer a native app, but the Notion app is at least a decent Electron app. Not great¹ by any means, but decent enough.
• The iOS app is not great
  • It does not work offline, and some of the functionality can be cumbersome. That said, it’s passable, and it meets my needs.
• Notion has the concept of plain notes, but there are also “databases”
  • The database feature is confusing to me. I can’t decide if it’s confusing just because I don’t yet understand it, or confusing because it’s confusing. Only time will tell.

Overall, the pros outweigh the cons, so the migration has started. And the more I use the app and service, the more I like it. I’d say I’m about 60% of the way through. I’m also using the time to clean through a lot of the cruft that has built up in my Evernote database. Once this is completed, I’ll have a fresh clean notes database to use for hopefully a very long time.

I just looked, and I’ve got an Evernote premium subscription until July 16 of this year. That day will come fast!

Upcoming

Research Dynamic DNS Options

I’d like to setup dynamic DNS on my Mac mini server so that I can actually host some things on it for personal access outside my home. I need to research the options to decide which service to go with, as well as the potential security/privacy implications.

Buy New Sweatpants

My favorite sweatpants have started to get holes in them, so I need to buy a new pair. Have a favorite pair of your own to recommend? Let me know what they are!

Buy a New Wi-Fi Router

I’d like to get a new Wi-Fi router that supports Wi-Fi 6 (a.k.a. 802.11ax). Research has just started on this, so I haven’t got much idea yet what to get.

Buy a Bike Trailer

This will be my son’s first full Summer, and my wife and I are eager to get outside with him on our bikes. I need to find a good bike trailer to put him in. Hopefully one that can also double as a stroller.

Moving Research

We’re planning to buy a house in the next year or two, and research and discussion is continuing on what type of housing we’d look for (leaning toward a town home right now), and where we’d like to live. A current favorite of mine is Ramsey, Minnesota’s “COR” neighborhood.