I thought asking myself questions would help me write, but it turns out they hinder me. The frameworks we put ourselves in were not invented by us and not specifically for us. Yes, we are all Homo sapiens¹ — we can be classified and have instructions written for us. But instructions on how to do morning exercises or count in a column are one thing, and how to think and create is another — we have different intellectual abilities, interests, and our moods often change. There are many variables, and the best rule that will work is no rules (frameworks). Write.

I wrote that you need to find a goal. But searching for a goal is very stressful. And just going along a path to an unknown destination sounds romantic, but in practice we stop and look for a goal again. We are designed in such a way that we need meaning.

And sometimes the search for a goal turns into a goal:

• “I don’t know who I am”
• “I don’t know what I want to do?”
• “I don’t know why I’m here?”

You should come up with a goal. Then the necessary tools are immediately pulled up to it, people are met, and suddenly the path takes on meaning.

And the goal… you could be wrong. But you will definitely meet it - the one, yours.

Typically lists are sorted alphabetically. How to be first on the list? You either need to be born with a name starting with the letter “A” (DONE!), or come up with a nickname, site name or something else starting with… a symbol (!@#).

Example from my RSS aggregator. I subscribed to the blog arseny.page and it immediately proudly took first place. Of course! I don’t know if the author did this intentionally or not, but it’s funny. By the way, I’m still in the top three (and yes, I signed myself up - of course)! And I finally understood why 37signals at one time returned the name. ;-)

P.S. Judging by the screenshot, it’s been a while since I watched what’s new!

I’m walking around warm summer Minsk with my camera.

Designed the album cover.

I’ve been interested in filmmaking for about two years. Sometimes a film needs high-quality recorded sound - for example, a thunderstorm, the noise of passing cars, a siren or something else. Typically, a film maker (musician, game designer, podcaster, etc.) follows pre-prepared links in search of a suitable sound. Or searches Google for a query such as “train sound.”

I do that too. But I’m interested in finding sound in the world around me and recording it myself. Having control over every part of your product is a very rewarding feeling. I know where the sound was recorded, I know all the technical nuances and restrictions, and I have full rights to use it. Yes, there are an infinite number of “train sounds”, but mine is unique because I paid attention, spent energy and time to record it.

Hot day, balcony, calm noise of the summer city.

Here I tell you what it is and why:

Today I am opening a section on the site “Sounds”, in which I will post recordings in excellent quality, available for free download and free use under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license - their can be used in your own piece of music, podcast, movie, computer game, etc., can be edited and modified, used in a commercial project.

In childhood, many different events happened - everything was new, everything was for the first time, everything was interesting. But the older we get, the more “flat” and monotonous life feels. It seems that now there is little surprise, but a lot of routine. You may well remember the moment you met a peer on that cozy winter evening in the schoolyard twenty-five years ago, but you don’t remember the topic of an interesting conversation with a friend two months ago or the delight of yesterday’s sunset.

People strive to diversify their lives, to make it brighter and richer, but if you turn around and look back, everyone will see a dark, calm river. Life flows, but we do not remember its moments.

Looking at childhood, we understand that we have become better. Growth and development are noticeable in the comparison of the current and previous moments (retrospective).

Here’s what I wrote about this in my regular note 2024-05-19:

In general, the question of coercion and motivation is open. Is it necessary to do this or am I thus preventing myself from maturing and being reborn, renewed? Without renewal I am degrading. A child cannot refuse to grow and mature. But as we age, if we do not observe progress in retrospect, we do not develop. I wanted to write that time is not worth it and you need to keep up, but is an oak tree or a leaf trying to keep up? Are they generally afraid of being late?

But I will focus on this. The point is not to compare something to look smart. Today, from every “iron” you can hear a call to become even more intelligent, well-read, analytical, and comparing. Nope! You need to be human and just try to live the moments more carefully, not lose the precious “beads” of life, but carefully collect them and string them on a fishing line, enjoying life, observing and drawing conclusions about yourself and the world around you.

What to do? Start documenting your life!