Circus_Ponies_Notebook – Page 3 – ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

Luhmann’s Zettelkasten with DEVONthink

2013-09-29

How Luhmann's Zettelkasten can be realized with DEVONthink.
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“Oh, du weißes Blatt, inspirier’ mich … oder besser nicht!” — Wissenschaftliches und fiktionales Schreiben ohne Inspiration (aber mit Inhalts-Outlines, Scrivener, u.v.m.)

2013-08-07

I've written a brochure about scientific writing. It's written in German and I can only highly recommend it if you are working on your thesis -- and understand German.
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What to do when Scrivener hangs during “Compile” – “Converting file format …” (error)

2013-07-29

Recently had to deal with a strange compiling error when using Scrivener. Was possible to solve it, though.
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Reading Digitally (Videos)

2013-07-17

Two videos showing my reading workflow -- how everything I highlight is exported and how it ends up in my topic notebooks. Very comfortable way in dealing with notes.
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I’m a digital squirrel — what are you?

2013-07-05

My animal totem is a crazed squirrel that went digital, and I love it. Seriously, an information infrastructure that not only works but works very well.
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Warning: Do not store Circus Ponies Notebook files in DEVONthink

2013-06-19

A terrible bug that makes CPN files unusable. Occurs rarely and I suspect it occurs due to a saving error. (Update: Nope, also occurred outside of DEVONthink.)
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Dealing with Secondary Sources

2013-06-17

How do deal with articles citing other articles in an content outline -- which one do you add with which source information, and why?
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Workshop: Scientific Work — Writing #3 Re-Writing

2013-06-14

Third part of the writing series, here about perfection in texts, the importance of re-writing, how to do revisions and keeping older versions (which Scrivener makes effortless). Also: Recommended Literature.
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Workshop: Scientific Work — Writing #2 Knowing What To Write

2013-06-12

It's easy to get stuck when you want to write, usually because the structure is not clear. You do not know what you want to write (otherwise you'd do it, wouldn't you?). Here's a way to get past that barrier.
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Workshop: Scientific Work — Writing #1 Getting Down to Write

2013-06-10

How do you get your ass in the chair (or where ever you write) and make it a habit? Some suggestions for starting a wonderfully excruciating journey.
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This is a private blog showing my opinions. If you have an issue with what I write here, either don’t read it or talk to me directly. Don’t waste your time — or mine — dragging my employer into matters where they hold no authority.

The institution I work for, or rather the people officially representing it, have already distanced themselves from this blog. I find this unnecessary, as I’ve clearly stated in the «About this Blog» section that this is a personal blog.

Frankly, I have nothing but contempt for those who lack the backbone to address their concerns directly and instead resort to passive-aggressive tattling to others. Such behavior strikes me as not only cowardly, but also spineless, gutless, and wholly unprincipled. Moreover, these efforts are as pathetic as they are futile.

That said, I might listen if you present compelling arguments and evidence, as constructive feedback is always welcome. Who knows? We might even both gain something valuable from the interaction.

A comment for those seeking to use this site for personal gain: Given the increase in requests, let me be clear. I write on this blog because I want to. It’s my hobby, my playground. Sometimes people point me to interesting products/services and I write about them. But any request regarding ads or sponsored placements ends up the trash without a reply. And if you think something would be of interest, differentiate yourself from the spammers by referring to a posting — in an intelligent way. (I get enough auto-generated mails to identify them immediately.)

BTW, posts can get updated after I published them if I spot spelling errors (not a native speaker) or think a different wording might improve precision and clarity.

This blog is not focused on a single topic, or method. As long as it is relevant to improving creativity (or allowing it in the first place), it's fair game.
Some postings on this blog deal with freedom, as I think that we need freedom of thought, of speech, of association, etc. pp. to solve mankind's problems. Thus, some postings may seem a bit remote when it comes to organizing creativity. Freedom is, however, the bedrock of creativity.
The heterogeneity of the postings can make reading this blog a bit cumbersome, at least if you are only interested in one topic. You can either use the search function (above), or use the categories or the tags to narrow down the postings you see.