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Here Are Some Excuses

You must be waiting anxiously for the Chronodex July-December version to come out, believe that I'm working on it and to be released definitely this week.  In the mean time, here's the excuses of being late.

Excuse 1: Obsession with Tri-Eye iPhonography

Can't stop, it is heavy, it is huge and it is fun.  Usually when people I met get interested in the monster, I got chances to take their "The Dog" photos.  Here's Claudia from Staedtler, whom I met in Shanghai a few days ago.  She is going to spend the next 6 weeks in China, it is a long trip.  Since I didn't go to Paperworld this year, I got good updates from her about Staedtler's new product release schedule from 2012 up to 2013.  She speaks fluent Mandarin coz she studied in Beijing some time ago.

And yes self-portraits is fun too with Tri-Eye, here's me in my own toilet.

I forgot to bring my shaver to Shanghai so I accumulated an ugly 5 days worth of beard, kids took fisheye photo of this begger just last night.

Yes kids, they are losing their teeths, in a healthy way.  Desserts are most welcome to them.

So excuse 1 the obsession continues everyhour, business or personal, it doesn't matter.  Here's Mr. Flury the inventor of Cyberclean.  Somebody said "I'm afraid of his nose poking me if it were a 3D photo".

Excuse 2: Shanghai Frequent Visits

We are going to have a new store coming up soon in Shanghai, our second store there (already 12 stores in Hong Kong and 6 in Taiwan).  Management is sending long emails coz they haven't seen my input enough, yeah yeah yeah I'm working on it, I don't want to hand in rubbish just to shut them up but seems like I have to.  Anyway, I'm confident my current composite of the Stationery section is interesting and strong, I just have to make it easier for people around me.  So, I am travelling there a week or two every month.

The last Monday I bumped into The Amazing Race season 21 first shooting.  They arrived Shanghai the same time I did, it was their first stop of the season and it was in Shanghai.  The camera men were super sensitive soon as I raised my iPhone, a few crazy fans were in Shanghai too, I saw them running around with the crew taking pictures and posting to Reality Fan Forum in real time.  Interesting encounter.

For a stay of just 5 days, the schedule was completely full, meeting after meetings.  Just so happened there was the 106th China Stationery Fair and I went there between meetings, not enough time to see but I got a sense that the show is nice despite the fact that import products are a little rare and usually arrives 6 months to 1 year later than the rest of the world.  Damn China import regulations and customs (sorry, don't ban my blog, I'm just saying it is not efficient).

Shanghai is definitely changing a lot and very quickly, IMHO it is one of the fastest changing cities in the world, after Seoul and Tokyo.  I managed to stop by some of the smaller shops and found inspirations every time.  Well, I just borrowed the toilet in this interesting wine cellar/bar, never had the luxury to enjoy a drink, must find time in June to do that.

Excuse 3: Experiencing for the Future Categories

Things won't be exciting at all if I were to order products from catalogs only.  Yesterday's merchanise makes today's sales, many lacks the vision to create a future category thus constantly being bugged by management for lack of 'concept'.  IMHO, the only way to create a future is to explore and experience as much as possible, inspirations will come.  We have so much to learn from other creative people.

Thanks to Petit Morpho, a tiny place which the owner is obsessed with organizing art/craft exhibitions, I had a chance to learn from famous Japanese rubber stamp crafting artist Ms. Tomoko Tsukui (津久井智子).  She has a pari of super steady hands and published several books (in Japanese) about rubber stamp crafting from erasers.  Ms. Tomoko works for the original rubber stamp crafting supplier Hinodewashi and came to Hong Kong for promoting the art.

2 weeks ago, I brought my kid to the event and learned some basic skills and it was great fun for both of us.

Ms. Tomoko carries a few boxes of her stamps, inkpad (she designed interesting sets of finger inkpads for accurate coloring) and signature stamps in various versions.  Why is there no man in any of these workshops and demonstrations?  They are probably playing with their cameras, iPhones or game consoles.  Oh perhaps their bikes....

Excuse 4: Ride Along

Social cause. Well, not as grand as it sounds, but I enjoyed the Ride of Silence 2012 event with a borrowed bike.  Yes that's an event with 80% male participants contrary to rubber stamp crafting's 100% female.  People close to me don't get enough of my attention and went sour sometimes, cut back or manage better I don't know.  I like the fact that we can ride together but in silence, for the same goal, well understood simple communications.  And I'm not talking about a bike ride only, figuratively rides to somewhere with companionship, just enojy the rides, explore without sourness.

Excuse 5: Researches

When a shop/place is good, you keep hearing things from people and you keep wanting to find out more about it.  What's the essense behind the apparent pleasant things you see?  People in their beta thinking mode usually cannot see deep enough, I prefer to find all angles from word of mouth, a visit and a time to sit back and think.

Fang Sou (方所) claims to be the best lifestyle store in China, many suppliers said great things about it, so I paid a visit there on a day trip to GuangZhou.  It is a bookstore with a fashion boutique, a stationery corner, a cafe, a home objects corner and an exhibition area.  Like it, although anybody with sufficient amount of money and connection can build one as easily, it is a noble attempt to composite such a mix especially in China.  It is a beautiful place to be.  I managed to stop by a few other interesting small shops in GuangZhou, all these researches help me to orient and pick the right sets of values to convey to customers when creating the next merchandise mix.

Excuse 6: Personal Projects

The best advice to a Gemini is probably "to focus", and I'm still meditating on it.  Leather projects for personal use and to gloat about are fun, creating something useful like GTD index cards and Chronodex to share with people is satisfying, blogging about products not available just yet is ..., ok some of these projects must go somewhere soon.

Excuse 7: Beautiful Hong Kong

Extremely proud of this city, such a great melting pot for many of the world-changing things to happen. Many wrote to me asking for interesting spots to visit, and I gave them a Google map if we have some common interests.  Some day our Tourism Board should have independent agents like me all over the place, equipped by the coolest map and stationery travel kit.... 

Excuse 8, 9, 10...: Skipped

Yup, I'm just giving you excuses, getting back to work now.  I hope you can have a sense of the "mess" I'm in.

Look At Serious Stuffs As Games And Remember The Happiness Within

I was enjoying a research evening walk in Shanghai a few months ago, in an area called Shanghai Old Street (上海老街).  Carrying a Canon F1 was painfully heavy, I brought along a 85mm f1.2 lens and that added weight, my body screamed "What the fxxk, you are carrying this weight for the whole day and you haven't shoot a thing".

Well, when the moment was right, I saw a lovely socializing chess game going on in a public area and I pulled out my camera.  They were so happy laughing, one guy lost and another guy jumped in to the game, so I took photos of the scene and everything around it.  Happy moment for me, got to remember how they enjoyed their game and how I should enjoy my own gameS.

Film: Rollei 200

Wotancraft's Traveler's Notebook and City Explorer Camera Bag Review - Part 2

I've been using Wotancraft's Ranger bag for 25 days and it is only now suitable to give you this review from my personal experience.  My Ranger was with me all the time during my business trip to Taipei and Shanghai, as well as daily uses after I came back to Hong Kong, in rainy days, hiking and beach side BBQ, etc.

The soul behind Wotancraft is James, whom started researching about 5 years ago to create a camera bag he would use.  I had a great time visiting James and chatted about his creation for about an hour.  The name and logo of the company bears a resemblance of the Warcraft role-playing game logo, but James never knew about it when he named the company.  Wotancraft means in every sense a desire to achieve perfection in craftsmanship.  "Wotan" the old high German form of "Odin", is a major god in Norse mythology who is associated with battle, victory, wisdom and magic.  James would like his company to be a powerful one almost achieving a mythical status through highest possible quality standard.  He believes careful craftsmanship is better than mass production.  Let's see how much details are being put in this US$449 all purpose bag.

Ranger's distressed and nomadic look is not only defined by its unique navy grey canvas and dark brown leather mix, but also the carefully aging processes done to the material.  For example, to achieve the effect, the canvas was washed, wrinkled, brushed and stained before a final wax coating was put on it.  Although this aging thing sounds a bit superficial, but the minute you start to use it, you literally skip the honeymoon period trying to use the bag carefully, it feels like you've been using it for a while and it is part of you.  I mean it, not to worry a bit about scratches on leather, nor to spend time intentionally distressing it heavily in order to feel a personal ownership.

The look is just one of the many carefully planned features of a Ranger.  A lot of the satchels you see in the market have those two straps coming down from the top over the flap, they are there mostly for decorative purpose and not designed to function.  Ranger's straps are there because James wanted to solve one problem, to carry a jacket when you don't have an extra hand.  I'm sure many of you have the same problem, the places we go to take photos can have huge temperature differences, nobody wants to carry a larger volume bag just to take care of the jacket.  These straps became very handy because they are extra long yet adjustable, I could tie my scarf or slide my leather jacket beneath them with zero efforts during business trips.  On rainy days, I also carry a retractable umbrella like that for quick access.

Two additional straps fixed to the bottom of Ranger can also be used to carry your jacket or tripod.

Let's talk about external pockets.  There are two side pockets for small stuffs, I wish they were big enough to put my iPhone though.  The two front pockets are large enough for small cameras like my Natura Classica or Olympus EP-3 with pancake lens.  One problem with these front pockets is that there is no flap to secure the contents inside, I might have to stitch a leather flap with snaps by myself someday so that I can feel safer to put camera or keychains in them.  This is obviously a point for improvement.

Behind the front pockets is a zip pocket large enough to put your iPad, this became my quick access pocket to important things like my Traveler's Notebook.  Now these three pockets are behind the bag's leather flap, but you don't need to unfasten the snaps to access them, just quickly pull over the flap to reveal and retrieve, very handy and speedy!

Gear protection.  Heavily inspired by WWII aesthetics, Wotancraft highlights Ranger with aluminum buckles and brass snaps on the outside, but gets serious with gear protection on the inside.  The removable MK.I pouch, using the same material as military hovercraft's air cushion on the surface, sealed by YKK water-repellent zipper, is almost 100% waterproof.  According to James, he is planning a MK.II version which is completely seamless with even better waterproof features.  Well, waterproofing is not what I'm looking for, but you can see how dedicated he is to the details.

On both the MK.I pouch and the external bag, there are hidden velcros.  They are there to make sure your MK.I pouch is fixed firmly inside the bag, but when they are not needed, the velcros are hidden to prevent scratching on your equipments.  The inside of MK.I pouch is made from high density foam covered with very smooth micro fiber cloth, making camera retrieval a low friction effort in addition to the heavy duty protection.  Four dividers are provided so that you can create your own suitable compartments.  I can put 3 cameras inside: Canon F1 with 85mm f1.2 lens, Voigtlander R4A with Nokton 35mm f1.2 lens, Olympus EP-3 with 12mm f2.0 lens.

So literally you have 3 layers of protections.  Waterproof anti-shock MK.I, external waxed canvas bag with zipper and the leather flap.  For my daily use, I actually don't need the MK.I pouch, I usually put a slimmer Artisan & Artist inner pouch to carry 1 camera, the Ranger immediately shrinks into a transit friendly casual bag.

Here's some more smart features of the Ranger.  For a large bag like this, it takes time to unzip all the way and resistance at the two corners is inevitable.  If you are not a zipper person like me, you can leave the canvas cover half zipped half opened, this can be achieved by folding the cover in half, it snaps in place by itself because of the built in magnets, it makes cameras accessible yet secure inside, very smart design.  If you are an insecure person and always want to zip up everything, speedy access is still possible because there is a small leather tab you can leave dangling outside, with just one quick pull of the tab, both zipper heads fly open in split seconds!  James nailed it, satisfying men's desire to access their tools with speed, imagine this design on a pair of jeans :)

A final note on features.  There is a laptop compartment inside the canvas bag, suitable for my 13" Macbook Air or 15" models.  There are small pockets for pen and accessories sitting behind the laptop compartment as well, although I don't use them that much.

I have to mention the weight, which is important to photographers.  My Saddleback briefcase medium size is a heavy 2.95 kg monster, I love the bag but I just can't use it to carry cameras, it is killing my shoulders and spine.  Wotancraft's Ranger is 1.72 kg without the MK.I pouch (which is 0.52 kg by itself).  The reason why it is slightly heavier than a typical canvas bag is that wax was not only coated but actually soaked thoroughly into the canvas, you can see I had no hesitation to leave my Ranger on a wet football field in one of the photos.  The softness of cushioned canvas also makes it more comfortable to body than hard thick leather used on the Saddleback briefcase (well I know, Saddleback's was never designed for photographers anyway).

The shoulder strap.  Beautiful piece of craftsmanship, it feels very comfortable hanging down the shoulder or diagonally crossing the body.  Even though its length is adjustable, I still found it a bit too long coz I like to carry weight close to my center of gravity (I'm 5'8" last time I checked 20 years ago).  So I did a little modification to suit my need.  There are two small built in D-rings near each end of the shoulder pad, I stitched safety hooks on them with scrap leather, giving me an option to shorten or quick releasing the strap in 5 possible lengths.  Now I can carry my Ranger comfortably as a messenger bag or as a clutch bag.

If you are new to Wontancraft's Ranger, I must remind you to use sand paper to blunt the buckle pins coz they are very sharp.  I also found that some of the leather edge finishing paint may fall off, I have no problem with that because it helps to give the distressed look I like about Ranger.  In any case, Wotancraft is serious about quality, according to Wotancraft and both distributors I know (one from Hong Kong (Annie Barton), one from Netherlands (Vintage 217)), they are fully committed to give Wotancraft users complete satisfaction, just shoot them an email if you need support, they are all decent and nice people as far as I know.  Again, Wotancraft is not a corporation but just a few artisans behind doing what they enjoy most, you can expect friendly services and dedication to details.  I would give Ranger a 9.5 out of 10 score as a cool stylish and function rich camera/casual bag.

During my discussion with James in their Taipei showroom, he told me that he is designing a future add-on to the Ranger bag, a strap to convert Ranger into a backpack!  I need that James!  Especially in a long day I need it to be a backpack, then it is perfect!

A week ago, Steve Huff reviewed Wotancraft's City Explorer Paratrooper camera bag, check out his video below.

 

Instayay - Hong Kong's Thriving Instagram Community, A Day With My Kid

Today is the 1st anniversary gathering of our very own Instagram community in Hong Kong, the 11th meet up since a year ago and going strong.  Thanks to the founding members and friendly IGers, even though I joined only 3 photo walks so far, I feel like knowing them for a long time already, probably due to the constant feeds we shared and "liked" on daily basis.

The weather today was unbelievably great, casual hiking in Cheung Chau island and BBQ was just the right thing to do.  I brought along my son and we shared a great time together, I thought he was bored but at the end of the day he said he was very happy, to be able to see a pirate's cave, play at the beach and meet new friends.  He was quietly enjoying the father and son outing, loving it.

My trusted combo "Polaroid 110A + Fujifilm back" often works magic, just that I failed to find more time mingling with IGers and take those "wow" shots.

What a great day to lay on a beach drinking beer watching my kid playing sand, no words can describe it :)

Don't be fooled by his look, he was tired outside but happy inside :)

Earlier the day when his schoolmate was around on the hiking part, they took pictures by the shore, each of them had a Digital Harinezumi.

Cheung Chau is a beautiful island, except for computer electronics, you can almost find everything in this tiny island, old and new, mostly very local.  Here's a fishing village.

You can almost certain that sooner or later, some of these images will be hard to find due to modernization.

The day before this trip, I got a sample Digital Harinezumi 3 for review, great timing.  I made a strap for my kid out of scrap leather pieces and both of us are proud of the outcome.

While everybody was having fun BBQing, we found this weirdo Ken laying on the beach in strange posture.  Later my son told me his butt was entirely exposed at the back, Ken is Ken you know :)

Welcome to Hong Kong - Our Nice and Culture Rich City

There's been much talk in the media and social networks about rich mainland Chinese coming to Hong Kong to spend millions in luxury shopping and how their etiquettes ruin everyday life of Hong Kong people, a kind of culture clash.  Fumed by emotions against the increasingly severe income disparity and developer hegemony, our society has become pretty restless.

Demonstrations after demonstrations is one way to deal with hegemony and poor government policies, it has to be done, but we can do better in other small ways too.  Let's not forget that those rich Chinese are just a small portion of the entire Chinese population whom God knows where they get their money from, let them waste their money on luxury goods, there are a lot of young people who genuinely want to explore our nice city and culture, including people from other countries too.

(photo: Voigtlander 35mm, UXi200)

A few weeks ago I spent a little time taking a young couple from Shanghai to see our nice and culture rich city.  It was a short day's tour but it was great fun sharing stories of our streets, I wish the government had ambassador programs to teach us how to do it properly (but I guess there is no point waiting).

(photo: Voigtlander 35mm, UXi200)

If you haven't eaten our famous street snacks like fish ball, you haven't been to Hong Kong.  It can be fun to watch my tourist friend ordering snacks to fish ball ladies :) I wish they can put up a more welcoming face to foreigners though.

(photo: Canon F1 85mm, UXi200)

A stroll in the Upper Lascar Row near Hollywood Road gives you a glimpse of antique business in the old days (my Dad roamed around this area a lot!) and you can get some pretty nice reproduction (or genuine?) goods like watches, communist badges/books, old vinyl records and posters, etc.

(photo: Leica CL, AGFA400)

In some areas, newer galleries and cafes sit right beside temples and old buildings, very romantic to write your travel journal while absorbing the contrasting atmosphere.  If modern cafe is not your cup of tea, go Mido Cafe to experience Hong Kong's afternoon tea culture (Time: Hong Kong 10 Things to Do).  The place is close by to Temple street, an interesting flea market often crowded late in the evening, if you are lucky you may be able to have your fortune told in a small fee.  There is also another flea market just a few stations away called Apliu Street, suitable for geeks and audiophiles, often very crowded in the afternoon around 4pm.  The Audio Space tube amplifier show room, made famous by the movie Infernal Affairs (American adaptation The Departed, well I suggest you watch our Hong Kong original, it is way better), is right on Apliu Street!

(photo: Voigtlander 35mm, UXi200)

Passionate about analogue photography?  You must visit FilMe where you can find hundreds of 135/120/Polaroid/Fuji/etc film brands, you will love the atmosphere there.  Interest to get an old but refurbished Polaroid SX-70?  Well the technicians at :Mint: do hell of a great job fixing these treasures, the shop is a distributor of Impossible Project films and they designed and made their own SX-70 battery operated flash!

(photo: Voigtlander 35mm, UXi200)

If you are coming to Hong Kong and like what I'm recommending, message me and I'll see if you are worth to give out a google map for places to go, perhaps we can have tea together if you are lucky :)

Only You Can Figure It Out

Today I brought a young visiting couple from Shanghai to see my version of the world in this tiny little city of Hong Kong.  They were not looking for comfort, they were not rushing, they were curious.  So I had the freedom to show them around not worrying too much whether they like it or not.  Imagine you had those young minds regardless of your age, you will have no shortage of teachers.

I was hauling 3 analogue cameras trying to spend all the films left in them, it was great fun, plain shooting at anything as I pleased.  At the back of my mind, there was this phone call from Mom being nervous about Dad's condition, whom called my name in bed with huge discomforts in the afternoon.  On my left shoulder, a camera bag from Korea I was testing, compact and light at relatively low price.  Bringing friends to shops I know, chatting with owners and telling stories, finding pleasures in every turn of events.  Finding tiny pleasures while I can, that's probably the single most important constant I can find in life.

Don't look down at them tiny pleasures, they always show you something beautiful.  When you taste that delicious feedback loop, you will never quit.  No matter how bad a trade show would look, I keep walking, and walking and telling myself "that's not it!" until I found something interesting or somebody worth chatting to.  Next week it is going to be a Taiwan trip, let's see whom I'll meet or what I'll find.

The secret of a balanced life?  There is no balanced life I figured, there is just constants, which ones you hold onto, it is just up to you.  Again, City Slickers quote "just one thing, you stick to it and the rest don't mean shit… that's what you have to find out."

A short time to regroup your thinking (Feb, Tokyo)

A beam of warm sunlight and fresh air from outside of an airport (Feb, Tokyo)

A burst of inspirations from objects (Feb, Tokyo)

A sense of peace at your desk (Feb, Hong Kong)

 

 

 

A glimpse of people's lives from photos (Feb, Tokyo)

That's all.  Tiny pleasures.

Shanghai, Toilet Messages, Peep Show and Moleskine

This business trip of 5 days is a little bit longer than usual, mainly because I haven't been to Shanghai for close to a year and I needed to update and catch up with the market, also scheduled to meet quite a few new suppliers and interesting people.

Before trip, I had a hair cut by my favorite "stylist" Jerry.  Because of the nice depth of the salon and floor pattern, I invited this handsome guy to pose for a Polaroid shot.  I was quite satisfied with that, done using a Polaroid 110A with Fujifilm.  Photo given to him on the spot.

In April this year, this world's first stand alone Moleskine store in XinTienDi was opened.  I finally visited it yesterday and …. I was not excited.

While I'm still here in Shanghai posting this, I visited 2 Hong Kong companies' Shanghai offices.  In the first one I found a strange laser-printed message in the men's room, which says "civilized man pee in civilized way".  I was puzzled, which way is it not civilized?  Sideway?

Then today I found out the meaning of that message, from the second company's toilet.  It says "one small step ahead, giant leap of civilization", and "forward, forward, further forward".  It was so funny I laughed peeing.  In both cases, the messages were posted by HongKongers meant to be read by our fellow compatriots from China.  And the floors were quite dry.

After lunch I visited a bike shop, the city'super Shanghai store and an Apple reseller shop.  On the way I passed by a famous tourist spot called Shanghai Old Street (上海老街).  I've never been to this place before and it is quite interesting, lots of small shops selling traditional Chinese handicraft, paintings, calligraphies, etc. Old structures half hidden by new ones imitating Qing and Ming Dynasties architecture.

Next time I should probably try to pay for and watch the Chinese peep show (西洋鏡, 拉大片) there.  Could be fun even if I don't fully understand what they are saying/singing/joking.

Well, last stop today was TianZi Fang (田子坊) which has changed quite a lot comparing to my last visit.  Again, it was a very brief visit and I haven't seen enough.

Scription Chronodex Weekly Planner 2012 - free download with the cost of a prayer

This article below is the jump start of the Chronodex movement.  You can read all the details here, but I strongly suggest you to take a peek at what's going on in these communities:

1. Chronodex Facebook Page
2. Chronodex Flickr Group
3. The Fountain Pen Network thread about Chronodex
4. Lifehacker's cover of Chronodex

Finally made up my mind to create my own diary for 2012 a week ago, here I go sharing with you all!  But first please give me a little support, my Dad recovered from prostate cancer but at the same time developed Parkinson's disease a few years ago.  In the past week he has deteriorated a lot, bed bound finally, no more speech, I'm the last person he can recognize.  It is so tough for Mom as a care taker.  All I ask for is your sincere prayers, as you download this creation, for my Dad and Mom, so that he can go peacefully proud of his sons, and she can start to explore this new world with us.  What a courageous woman she is.

Thanks to my Dad's dedication to Chinese painting and art, I had my implicit training early in life and became a visual person yet unafraid to look deep into the subject matters.  For years, I bought diaries but none of them satisfied my visual and creative needs.

Since the beginning of the diary making business, every single diary is made by representing time in fixed grids.  To challenge this rigid representation, after exploring in deep thoughts the essence of my own perfect diary, I present to you my Chronodex idea.

Come to think of it, the paper which makes up a diary originated from trees, when the sheets of paper are bound together in the middle, it is almost like foliages stemming from a tree's trunk.  Each page is like a branch, each opened page is a week, each day is like a beautiful flower grew from that page, consist of petals of your day's time slices.

You may argue that this format is still slicing time into blocks and far from the fractal nature, but soon as you start using it, you will find that time is no longer rigid, instead you will find fluidity through free notations.

The more important time slices can be drawn larger, activities can be dots or pies (petals if you will) depending on duration or importance, space on a page is no longer limited to grids.  Basically you can roam freely and be amazed how beautiful your week can be.

What's more is that your mind gradually deviate from the rigid format a typical diary imposes on you, creactivity soon flourishes.  Imagine the effect happening in weeks!  And I'm not kidding.

Scription Chronodex Weekly Planner 2012 (Jan - Jun) Download

(just remember to pray for my Dad and Mom, sincerely)

It is done with the Midori Traveler's Notebook size in mind, even if you don't own a Traveler's Notebook, you can still use it without the leather cover.

(UPDATE on 1st March 2012: Did I tell you Computer Active from UK reported Chronodex a while ago?)

(UPDATE on 10th Jan 2012: Coronado made an easier version for people using ARC/Circa notebooks and have double side printing capable printers, thanks Coronado!)

(UPDATE on 9th Jan 2012: Just released 2 blank Chronodex cores on a blank A4 paper, so that you customize it to anything you want!)

(UPDATE on 8th Jan 2012: Just released a Chronodex Daily GTD in GhostWriter Notes iPad app "paper" format) 

(UPDATE on 7th Jan 2012: Just released a Chronodex version with GTD integrated.  It is A5 sized per page, printed double page on an A4 paper.  Loving it, best printed on cream paper IMHO, check out the download link below)

(UPDATE on 5th Jan 2012: Paul David Krishnan from Malaysia made a version free of dates, portrait mode, dotted grid.  Thanks for sharing)

(UPDATE on 31st Dec 2011: Thanks to Lifehacker's report of Chronodex, more people are enjoying this creation!  I'm so happy the hard work paid off touching thousands.  As of today, 14,400 people downloaded Chronodex!  I got a lot of your prayers and believe it or not, my Dad does feel a lot better despite the rapid decline.  I'm not religious but I always believe in the power of minds, collective consciousness, Gaia and perhaps in your own religious language it is God's mercy.  Mom had a body check and she seems fine despite being tired, I hope I can take the courageous her to travel in 2012.  Thank you everybody!  From the bottom of my heart)

(UPDATE on 15th Dec 2011: Coronado from Fountain Pen Network made an amazing modification of Chronodex into a portrait mode, half letter size, dotted grid, check the download link below)

(UPDATE on 28th Nov 2011: All PDF files should now be perfect for download and print)

(UPDATE on 23rd Nov 2011: Thanks to fellow Scription reader "nat" who told me that her downloaded PDF has no dates on it, I figured some of you may experience the same, simply because I carelessly didn't include/outline a font called "Eurostile" in the PDF.  I am in Shanghai for work until Friday and will be rectifying it whenever time allows.  Hopefully I will be able to replace the files in the coming Sunday.  In the mean time, no harm to try downloading it to see if it works on your computer.)

• Hong Kong Holiday version
• Japanese Holiday version
• Free of Holidays version
• Dated, free of Holidays version, modification by Coronado from Fountain Pen Network, portrait mode, dotted grid: PDF
• Dated, free of Holidays version, same modification by Coronado, particularly made for ARC/Circa notebook users, print double sided on Letter size paper, cut the pages in half and bind to your ARC/Circa notebook: PDF
• Undated version, modification by Paul David Krishnan from Malaysia, portrait mode, dotted grid, 4 Chronodex cores on A4 sized paper to be printed and folded in half: PDF
• Blank Chronodex Daily GTD, two A5 pages on one A4 paper: PDF, JPG
• Blank Chronodex Daily GTD in "GhostWriter Notes" iPad app's "paper" format, works for Noteshelf too: JPG
• Blank Chronodex core, two cores on blank A4 paper for any of your customization: PDF, JPG

To grow your own diary, after downloading the PDF version of your choice, print it out double sided (duplex) in landscape mode on A4 papers.  Be sure to print it out 100% without scale, left/right binding (try the first few pages on your printer and settings and you'll see what I mean).  Check the sequence after the print out.

Next, cut away the left and right portion of the A4 paper according to the cut line.

Now here's the interesting part of the binding.  Use a chisel to punch holes on both ends of the spine and stitch the pages up.  You can staple them together just the same.  This method will get you a bound notebook but ready for a cool bookmark which I will mention in a moment.

To create a bookmark, simple take a piece of hard paper, cut it the way I showed above. Slide it between the papers of the current week, the slide 90 degree up following the spine to have the tab exposed on top of the diary (I hope I'm describing it right).  There you go!  a bookmark with a tab extruding from the top of your diary.

This cool bookmark invention based on the way you bind your diary is so useful and flexible, you will find it amazing when you reach the 12th week of the year!  Tell me about that in a few months.

The last part of my Chronodex journey was to make a cool diary cover.  Thanks for my family's tolerance, I had a little free time in broad daylight having fun doing it, 2 cups of coffee, listening to audiobook through my iPhone/Jambox combo.

Small features are infused into the diary, I hope you will enjoy the little tibits, do explore the "Boarding pass to success" idea.  If you are interested, I will be sharing the July - December version, which is still in stage zero.  Fellow Scription reader Boris from Russia already had a taste of the Chronodex, so go ahead and try yours.  Your feedback and comment is what keeps me going, please do pray.

Boarding Pass to Success

I've been working on a weekly diary for 2012, soon to be released for free download in Midori Traveler's Notebook format.  At the back of the diary, I put this Boarding Pass To Success to help you focus your entire effort to a single mission, which is to be achieved in 6 months.  After the period you will need to score your result into "succeeded", "delayed" or "failed".

Scription's Perfect System 2011-2012

I didn't realize until 3 days ago when I put these 3 things together (which contain a whole lot more of other things inside each), that this bunch of tools are actually EVERYTHING I need wherever I go, and it is quite compact IMHO.  Powerful isn't it?  In a moment I'm gonna share with you the details but first, let's contemplate on the pattern behind, which is beyond objects and tools, but of planting seeds which someday all coagulate and become something more.

Today I have a dream job most of you envy and I myself enjoy tremendously, but this dream job is just one of the things I surrounded myself with.  My core has always been planting seeds, finding tools, connecting unrelated stuffs and sit back to look at all of these actions once in a while.  Sitting back is most important of all, it is one of the happiest moments when you can most certainly find and reap innovations and insights.

Back to objects and tools.  This so called "Perfect System" which I assume is valid at least until the end of 2012, is a result of me continuously simplifying my daily needs, finding tools that fit and beautifying them along the road.  Somehow it all made sense when I put them together.

Traveler's Notebook

(customized Traveler's Notebook refill cover)

It is not a perfect notebook but you have a choice to carry only what you need and I customized it to fulfill my needs for: travel, GTD, scheduling, mind mapping and drawing.  It is basically holding all my plans and thoughts.

(all travel essentials can be put inside my Traveler's Notebook)

(card pockets to hold credit card and name cards, etc)

(zip pocket to hold tickets, receipts, anything even coins)

(a journal page I made during my stay in Phuket)

(journaling pages)

Travel: card pockets to hold business cards, hotel access cards, mileage cards, medical card.  Zip pocket to hold receipts, post cards, stickers, paper clips.  Elastic band to hold my flight itinerary, boarding pass and passport.

GTD: I carry two refills inside Traveler's Notebook.  One is used for GTD, drawing and mind mapping.  Instead of carrying extra deck of GTD index cards like before, I use my Leather GTD Tabs to clip on specific pages for various purposes (Next Actions, Projects, Waiting For, Someday).  In addition, I created some custom inserts to facilitate my mind mapping needs.  It is a PDF in A4 size which you can download, print double sided, cut into the right size, fold in half and insert into a refill notebook very easily.  Here's the file!  Try it out and let me know your feedback.  On blank page of the refill, I enjoy drawing things randomly or sketching my next leather project ideas.

Scheduling: The second refill I use for scheduling.  I've decided that no commercially available diaries fulfill my needs and most of them too rigid.  So I created a way I temporarily called Chronodex, which you may already had a glimpse in some of my previous photos.  I'm still adding and modifying things but here's a version you can download and try: CHRONODEX VERSION 6.  It is a PDF in A4 size, you can process it the same way I mentioned above and use it as a free weekly diary.  The main advantage of it for me is that I can use the space freely but still referring to the correct time slice/pie, it is visually more pleasing and less rigid to me.  Again, I'm happy to hear your comments, good and bad.

(priority based mindmapping, more important things appear earlier in the clock face)

(my GTD leather tabs)

(mindmapping ideas, book darts seen)

(meeting notes in the form of mindmapping)

(hang tag + masking tape + clips, helpful to locate pages quick)

(my typical week schedule using Chronodex concept in weekly format I made for Traveler's Notebook)

(detail view of a typical day in my free weekly planner)

(fun to use rubber stamps to start my week)

Well, I also stitched a leather loop onto the back cover of the Traveler's Notebook to carry an extra pen the way I like it.  Other customization is just aesthetic, like the bookmark charm and the camera charm.

Twelve South BookBook and iPhone

This BookBook leather case for iPhone is super popular and we are always out of stock.  I found it perfect to be my wallet and communicator all-in-one.

Wallet: I use Twelve South's BookBook to hold my credit cards, staff access card, transport card and occasionally paper money.

Communicator: I customized the BookBook to allow better experience photo shooting with iPhone.  For work, using iPhone for photos is good enough most of the time.  Besides, my iPhone is, like many people, for: Instagram to have fun with photos and image loving communities, email, music player, phone calls, Facebook, whatsapp, audiobooks (I now "read" books mostly in audiobook format, at least I won't fall asleep), meditation (I use binaural beats to achieve mind states), alarm, address book, teamviewer (to connect remotely to my work or home computer), tethering, calculator, etc.  Thanks to Charles Kao and Steve Jobs, never been so powerful connecting to the world.

Pen Holder on Neck Strap

It seems trivial nowadays to many people but it is so useful for me.

Pens: I carry 3 pens close to me (I want to carry one more, a mechanical pencil either by Rotring or Kaweco, but that's just too much to carry sometimes).  A Pilot Capless Matt Black: it is efficient like a roller ball, just click and write, but produces elegant strokes as a fountain pen even at fine nib, I use it mostly for scheduling and mind mapping.  A Kaweco Sports ball point pen: I hate ball pens but sometimes you need to use them on laminated name cards or coated papers, very good price and small to carry.  A Graf Von Faber Castell Classics Platinum fountain pen: thanks to a dear friend who bought me this, I now use it for important signature (not much actually), its medium nib allows me to generate beautiful calligraphy and heavier strokes for sketches, I love the classic shape a lot and …err it is also something I can brag about :)

Leather Pen Holder on Neck Strap: I made this pen holder modeling after one made by 4GATS, a talented Japanese leather-craft company made of 4 staffs.  If you like the look of this, all credit goes to 4GATS, I made it because I couldn't get one myself and I love to DIMyself.  Having pens readily accessible but with style is satisfying, how?  I get more than 30 people staring at my chest every single day, anyway I hate putting pen and especially more than one of them on my shirt pocket.  One additional function I like to have this on my neck is that I can clip my visitor's pass onto it whenever I go to trade shows, no more ugly event straps hanging on my neck!

The leather pen holder is usually hanged from my neck or in my shirt pocket, BookBook in my pant pocket, while I carry by hand the Traveler's Notebook.  Well, the "Perfect System" may sound like a clumsy organizer to you, but it is my constant (remember Faraday's "constant" in LOST?) and I invite you to think more about the constant concept if you will.

Finally, if I had the luxury to carry one more thing I would carry an analog camera: Voigtlander R4A 35mm f1.4 or Canon F1N 50mm f1.2 or Polaroid 110A converted to use Fujifilm peel apart.