OneNote Bliss

One of my favorite features of OneNote is the ability to call up a mini version of it while working in another program! All you have to do is click the little OneNote icon in the task bar, and a new miniature version of OneNote pops up. In OneNote vernacular, these mini windows are called Side Notes. Side Notes stay "topped" while you're working in another program, so you can easily switch between your Side Note and the application you're working in, without having to do the window shuffle.

Brilliant!

But that's not all -- if you right click on the icon, you can choose to instantly start an audio recording of the current "meeting", or take a screenshot of what's currently on screen -- the screenshot can then be sent directly to the clipboard or to a new page in the OneNote application.

Oh yeah, the example pictured is from my programming lesson...while working on it, I realized that I could pop up a Side Note to take notes while working through the lesson.

Oh yeah, OneNote is a master at handling ink--you can handwrite your notes and leave them in your handwriting (completely searchable, natch), convert them to text, copy them to Word, or use the keyboard like I did here. It's equally powerful when using the pen or the keyboard. There's an assumption out in the real world that OneNote is a TPC program -- it's not. It works equally well with a keyboard or pen. Or a combination of both!

Spotted in the Wild

Learning to crawl...

I'm learning to program. Okay, for the third time. Each time I've delved into this arcane science I've gotten my fill after a couple short but intense weeks. It's not something you can learn in a week I've found, it really isn't, and that sucks. I wanna. I wanna be scarfing down Twinkies and Jolt colas late into the night as my fingers fly over the keyboard, as I create variables and pointers and avoid recursive calamaties. I wanna make one and one add up to two. I wanna flip through APIs and know what I'm reading. I wanna be talking Alpa releases, Beta releases, and the inevitable version two with my cats.

I wanna do it all.

Now.

But I can't. I'm only 5 hours into a 24 -hour primer. I'm only scratching the surface of coding and simply flirting with object-oriented design concepts. I've only just begun. I'm a neophyte. A wanna-be. A poser.

Why oh why am I subjecting myself to this I hear you ask? And it's a good question. A question I've asked myself. I've got two reasons that make sense to me. One, I've been waiting for someone to code a version of my favorite word game, and you know what they say about "if you want it done right"? And second, it will look GREAT on my resume. Trust me -- guys and gals who know how to program have it pretty sweet in the field. Really. If I can say, "See this here game? This one, right here. I programmed it in my spare time. Just for kicks and to keep the wheels greased." Just typing that makes me smile.

So that's what I'm up to. One of the things. And it's getting hard. But I must persevere this time. I must trade my layabout tendencies for the dedication of the delusional. I must spit in the wind. I must forge ahead. I must do it this time. Just do it.

Hmm...okay, I'll keep you posted. Really. This time. For reals.

Back for Now

Okay, it's been a while, hasn't it? Personal life got out of control. Still trying to reign it in. Since that doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon, I'm going to have to force myself to make time and post more regularly. Yeah, it's like that.

So what have I been up to creatively? Tablet PCey?

Creative stuff

Unfortunately, not much. Began a short story. It was going well, but I set it down before I figured out what I was really writing about. I will pick it back up this week and see if I can fall back into the story and complete the first draft. It's horror, and a bit more personal than I'm comfortable with, but I will return. Whether it's a "success" or not is still way up in the air.

I'm also reading/proofing a novel that a friend wrote. I hate to say that I'm really behind on the edit, and even more important, I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't offer to read it before this, the final stage. That said, it's a clean read, and he uses this way cool shifting POV thing that's really a lot of fun to read. But the writer in me wants to suggest ways to make it creepier. And that's not fair at this stage of the game. Not at all. My loss. Hopefully, I'll complete it before the weekend.

And then there's the writer's groups. Both of them. One is flowing pretty smoothly, the other one is stalled. I need to solicit more writers. Quick.

On deck: 3 stories to critique for writers group 2, and a horror screenplay by another friend. Oh yeah, and the novel trilogy!

Tablet stuff

Hmm… watching Vista progress very closely and very close to throwing up my hands, giving in and installing it on Eleanor 2. I have no right to do so. At least not until Vista is released, in late January, and I can benefit from all the last minute tweaks and finishing touches. Hopefully, Vista Ultimate will include an extra tablet feature or two to sweeten the pot.

As it stands, the tablet-specific features in Vista should make the OS even sweeter to use.

Why I'm such a dull boy

Still working the same contract. The team is VERY cool, but the online editing task is pretty evil. The people make up for it though. In fact, they sent me one of the new 2^nd generation iPod Shuffles as a Thank You for the work done during phase one of the project. Hmm… Is that too nice or what? Of course. I'm sold on Microsoft's All You Can Eat Plan, and have a Yahoo account, so this is out. There's no way I'd convert all my music, boy the stuff I've rented, etc. to use the Shuffle. Too bad, as it's a sweet little device land, well, it was free. In truth, the limitations (no display, etc.) would drive me up the freakier wall in no time at all. Of course, iRiver has some sweet devices…

Okay, I'm back. And I promise one more posting before the week's out.