Ode to my Notebook.

For someone who spends a rather substantial portion of his time with electronics you may find it odd that this post is dedicated to my rather low-tech notebook. My father, an electrical engineer at Intel, first turned me on to the idea of the "engineering notebook" when we talked once about how impractical it is to try to keep and take notes on electronic devices such as PDA's. I first started to use one a couple of years ago and since that time the notebook have become an integral part of my daily efforts.

My notebooks...

I started out by using simple composition style notebooks that you buy from Staples for like $.99. I really liked these because you could get them in quadrille (grid) print. These worked pretty well but I found that 1) they only have ~80 sheets and that’s not as much as I would like, 2) I really don’t care about the grid ruling, and 3) they wear really poorly over time. I've very recently purchased a faux leather "business journal" to use as my new notebook and I love it. It's got 240 sheets and is much more durable. I can’t to fill it up with all kinds of development goodness.

What's inside?

I put just about whatever I want inside. I have a simple "system" that has evolved out of continuous use, but it works for me. I use the left pages for scratch paper (yes even scratch paper can be valuable to review) and put my notes on the right pages. I put a date at the top left of each entry each day and divide my entries with a horizontal line across the page. I also tend to write a little "recap" in the top right of the entry summarizing what I worked on that day. Other than that, I just go wild. I try not to confine my notes and just scribble down whatever I want. In addition to this I have a couple of pages at the front of the notebook dedicated to "idea" lists and reference information I need to keep handy.

Why paper?

So, what is it about this notebook that makes it better than just keeping notes in my laptop? There are several software solutions that have attempted to bring to the laptop what people have been doing with pen and paper for years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_notetaking_software) Why don’t I just use those?

I think there are a few main reasons that I really find the most value in my notebook:

1) My notebook wont crash, it never needs an upgrade, and it has an incredible battery life. I don’t have to worry about losing my data... well unless I physically "lose" my data. But you are gonna get that with software anyway. :P

2) My notebook is flexible, both physically and conceptually. My notebook can adapt to any kind of documentation or note needs (or doodling) that I feel necessary at any given time. I don’t have to fiddle with settings or formatting. I just puke stuff out onto the page anyway I feel like it.

3) I find my handwriting to be easier to skim through then cold text. That’s probably because I know my own handwriting so well and I remember writing it in the first place.

4) Easy-ish to find stuff. Sure it doesn’t have a search feature, but the ability to flip through it and glance at things is very powerful. I can find stuff in there incredibly fast. I can also drop a sticky note or fold over a page or whatever I want to find that again in the future.

5) My notebook is just plain convenient. It doesn’t require power and is pretty lightweight. I can grab it and flip to the most recent page and scribble something in mere seconds. Much faster than getting to my laptop, starting an app, and navigating to where I can start note-taking.

6) I remember stuff better when I have WRITTEN it down. Typing something will increase my memory of a any random fact but not as well as writing it down will. Maybe that’s because I type much faster than I write and writing gives the thought time to sink deeper into my thick skull, but who knows.

7) My notebook cost me $11, and that’s a nice one, ‘nuff said.

So, I want to know, what do YOU prefer? Do you like electronic notes better? Why/why not? You're not likely to change my mind but I'd like to know what you think.

Interested in your own notebook? Here are some links:

The Engineering Notebook

My Notebook at Staples

The Book Factory: "Real" Engineering Notebooks

My first post...

Well I have been reading blogs for some time now. My wife has been a really diehard blogger for some time now (http://ourdish.blogspot.com) but I always resisted. However for the last few months I have been feeling the desire to start my own blog. When I tell people that I am going to start a blog the most common response I get is "Why?"

The first few times that I was presented with this response I didn’t really know what to say and saying "because I wanna" just didnt seem to be adequate. As I started to think about the kinds of things I would blog about and what form I wanted this blog to take I settled on some reasons why I think this blog will be good for me.

To contribute back to the community...

In some things I can be somewhat of an idealist, and in thinking that my small contribution can be valuable is one of those things. I have been a benefactor of the internet for so long and I feel it is only fair that I can pass on what I know/learn and create a place were we can discuss it all together. For this reason I have allowed anonymous posters to post comments if they so desire. So comment!

To disseminate information...

If you know me you know that I like to send out corny information from time to time. Either technical things I find interesting or other tid-bits of information that I find entertaining and that I think you might enjoy too. This blog will save you from any further such emails. (You're welcome.)

To grow...

Doing this blog will give me the opportunity to keep a journal in some ways but also give me a reason to sit and think about some concepts well enough to write them out in some kind of semi-intelligent manner. If you can't describe a concept then you probably don't really understand it either. This blog will help me learn more than I would if I allowed myself to just casually absorb the lessons and challenges that I am presented with.

So, what do I want this blog to cover? Well, pretty much whatever I want. I'm not really going to cover my personal life (my wife does that better than I could) and I'm not going to promise that this post will always be 100% technically focused. I plan to post about my projects and lessons I learn. I plan to post about things that I think geeks would find interesting. I plan to post things that others in the software industry might find entertaining. You may not always agree with my posts and I'm ok with that. But if you don’t agree or have a question please feel free to post. Other than that, welcome to my geek life.