Procastination or Creative Block?

There are a few things that I've been meaning to do: make a case for my journal and get back into journalling, crochet, drawing, sewing, etc. Things I've been meaning to do but just haven't been bothered with... yet. Every time I want to start a new project in one of these categories, it usually ends up as either "it's already been done" or "I'm too chicken to try it". Cue the angry bunny.

 

Balancing old with new

In between studying for Extreme Programming tomorrow (reflective extended response Q&A) and thinking up new programming projects, I came across a couple of interesting articles by Michael Hyatt.
The links are here if you want to check them out yourself:

• Using a traditional paper notebook with Evernote
• Three questions you should ask before buying an iPad 2
• Recovering the lost art of notetaking

After reading them, I started to question the real value of having an iPad. Sure, it can do the entertainment stuff a lot better. But as I still have a certain fondness for books, especially sketchbooks, I started wondering if it was even "do-able" to balance having an iPad with a traditional paper notebook.
Before I brought my iPad, I used to take a notebook everywhere with me. Even on short trips to the local shopping centre. If I saw a nice looking sketchbook at the art store, I'd get it - even though my current sketchbook might still have several pages left.
In the first couple of months after buying my iPad, I used to take it everywhere with me. As with my iPod Touch, I was prolifically downloading app in the first couple of weeks.
At this point in time, the "shininess" of the iPad has worn off and it doesn't seem like the cool gadget it was when I first got it. It's starting to feel more like a useful tool, like a necessity of sorts. I miss my old sketchbooks: I miss using them as a repository for my ideas. At the same time, I'm equally concerned about the durability of sketchbooks - mine get dog-eared quite easily.
As to what I use the iPad for these days, its mostly internet browsing on the go, music, YouTube, casual gaming and task management.

More Android apps

Now that I'm a sleep away from handing in my Mobile Applications Development assignment, I'm looking for more project ideas. I want to try doing apps that haven't been done yet or, if there are similar ones out there, haven't been done well. Previously, I was looking through the Android Market app reviews and picking out those that were rated 3 stars or less and seeing what the users thought could be done better.
I found a couple of things that I wanted to try in an Android Community forum post. In the past I've just put together a series of controls and not really done anything to make them look prettier. This time around, I need to try and put as much effort into the aesthetics as the back-end code.

Needed: Inspiration & focus

When I first read The Decorated Page (which was sometime last year), I wanted to try my hand at keeping a journal. I lost interest soon after, as I couldn't find a lot of sources of inspiration. That, or I was being too picky towards what was going to influence my journal's content. Everything seems to be screaming at me for my attention these days. Reading, gaming on my DS, playing Sims 3, writing in my journal, watching DVDs... the list goes on. As soon as I start on one activity, another starts competing for my attention.
Priority and decision-making... things I need in my life; at the same time, they're things I don't want to have. I want to find more inspiration... but  its getting so hard to come by these days.

Review: Blogger's Template Designer

 I'm not an international authority on web design, but I still like to play with my blog's design. Previously, if one wanted to customise the look of one's blog (colours and the like), one had to step into Edit HTML mode. For the average blogger, trying to make sense of the existing code can be a real pain. The new Template Designer mode takes a lot of hassle out of cusotmising one's blog by organising the different functions into a few broad categories. Among the additions I really like are: layout customisation, background images and generated colour schemes. The drawback is that if one wanted to make changes Template Designer doesn't cater for, one would still be required to use Edit HTML mode.
My final verdict? I like it.