Wishing all my friends and fellow note takers a happy holidays! A 4x6" lined index card with the title: A Christmas Zettel. It has a Luhmann-artig number identifier: 1225/Fa1a2a/1aLaLa/1a2a1a which looks suspiciously like the Fa La La portion of a famous Christmas song. The body of the note reads: Deck the halls with boughs of holly.
#Note taking #Christmas #Zettelkasten
In part because of the Eaton Fire, I've been way behind on filing my index cards. Today I blew through a massive stack of about 300 index cards!
#Social Stream #filing #index cards
Stocking stuffers anyone? Santa brought 6,000 index cards down the proverbial chimney today. Should have enough now to index all the books in the house?  A library card catalog with a red Christmas stocking hanging on it with a box full of index cards next to it.Four drawers of a library card catalog full of index cards in blue, green, buff, and ivory.Five card catalog drawers lined up and full of ivory, buff, green, blue, and salmon index cardsA library card catalog covered in stacks of Brodart index cards.
#Acquisition #Note taking #Social Stream #3 x 5" index cards #Brodart #index cards #library card catalog cards #library card catalogs #library supplies #personal library
The rear of a white car with Black and Yellow California license plates which read "HOBOGUY" I know what Japanese planner this guy uses.
#Photo #Social Stream #Hobonichi #license plates #planners
With no advance notice or apparent fanfare, Brodart, one of the major library supplies and furnishing companies in the United States, has quit manufacturing, distributing, and selling library card catalogs and library charging trays. This seems sad news for analog library enthusiasts coming just two days after Melvil Dewey's 174th birthday on December 10th.  I've got word in for specific details about end dates for manufacturing and the last sales on some of these products. Apparently the last purchase of charging trays was someone wiping out their stock of 50 remaining units in the last two weeks. This news comes a decade on the heels of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) announcing that it printed its last batch of library card catalog cards on October 1, 2015.    
#Furniture #analog office equipment #Brodart #end of an era #Library Bureau #library card catalogs #library furniture #Melvil Dewey #zettelkasten boxes
Photo from one home to another across the street at night. Of note is an 8 foot inflatable blue and white unicorn with candles from it's horn to the nape of it's neck making a menorah. The unicorn horn is the shamash candle. No, you're not dreaming, that is a blue Menorahcorn decoration on the lawn across the way. 🕎🦄🤩
#Photo #Social Stream #Hanukkah #Hanukkah decorations #holiday decorations #menorah #unicorns
Brodart has recently discontinued their salmon card index cards with pre-drilled holes #23-188-218. This has been a shift since the summer of 2025, though they're still carrying the standard salmon index cards (without predrilled holds for card catalog rods). A conversation with their customer service team seems to indicate there aren't plans for discontinuing their other cards (blue, green, ivory, white, and buff), but: caveat emptor as they no longer list their card catalog furniture or their charging trays on their website, their Dewey Decimal tabbed cards are now gone, and Demco recently quit carrying their buff/red-lined Library of Congress cards this past year. Incidentally, they're doing a 20% discount on their index cards (and related circulation supplies) for the holidays right now, so stock up if you need them.  In honor of Melvil Dewey's 174th birthday yesterday, I've just purchased 6,000 cards in an attempt to get them to continue stocking them all and to have a happier 2026.
#Social Stream #23 #3 x 5" index cards #Brodart #library card catalogs #library charging trays
Lochby Field Folio A6 sits closed on a brown wooden table with it's Lochby kraft identification tag sitting on top of it. The exterior of the folio features brown waxed canvas. I recently asked the kind folks at Lochby "if the Folio A6 will comfortably fit 25-50 standard 4 x 6" index cards which are slightly larger than an A6 notebook? If not, is it something you might consider for some of us 'Hipster PDA' tribe members in the future?"   Erring on the side of caution their customer service replied, "Unfortunately, since the Field Folio A6 zips up, there's no way to fit this many index cards in it without the potential for damaging them when zipping it up. But I'll take note of your suggestion and pass it on to our product development team so we can consider it as well as gauge interest." Because I often use A6 sized notebooks, I couldn't resist adding to my Lochby collection, so I went ahead and ordered it anyway. Lochby Field Folio A6 surrounded by several pens and pencils. Inside the right pocket of the folio is a yellow covered Hobonichi A6 notebook It arrived in the post yesterday. Today I'm happy to report that it actually will accommodate 4 x 6" index cards reasonably well.  I can comfortably fit about 30 cards into the right side pocket and still have room to tuck a Hobonichi A6 notebook into the folio and still zip it shut handily.  Lochby Field Folio A6 with a bunch of 4 x 6" index cards tucked into the right side interior pocket .The interior of the folio features yellow highlight material as well as two yellow ribbon bookmarks. The left side has pocket space for several pens and pencils. Sitting crosswise across the top of the folio is a burgundy Mitsubishi 9850 HB pencil Because I usually have a few pre-glued decks of index card "notebooks" sitting around, I tried one of these and can happily report that the back cover/board fits into the right pocket easily (just as you'd tuck the back cover of a notebook into it) and works well with the Lochby A6 folio! (The center elastic bands are slightly smaller and fairly tight, and could work with these glued decks too, but will tend to cut the glue at the ends, so one should take care here or carefully only glue the center 5 inches of the deck for this use case.) I suspect that if one had a plastic wallet-photo type holder, it might work well in this, particularly if you're carrying around some of your daily use cards in addition to blank cards for future use.  Lochby Field Folio A6 with a deck of gridded 4 x 6" index cards on the right hand side.
#Acquisition #Note taking #Social Stream #4 x 6" index cards #A6 notebook cases #everyday carry #Hobonichi #index cards #Lochby #office supplies #stationery #typewriters #Zettelkasten #zettelkasten accessories #zettelkasten stationery
Dr. Michael Miller, a retired researcher at RAND, has been teaching upper level undergraduate/graduate level math courses for fun at UCLA Extension for over 50 years. This winter, he'll be introducing hypercomplex numbers to those interested in abstract math: Fundamentals Of Hypercomplex Numbers. His courses are thorough and rigorous, but geared toward lifelong learners and beginners in abstract mathematics to allow people better entry points into higher level mathematics. His classes are interesting and relatively informal, and most students who take one usually stay on for future courses. The vast majority of students in the class (from 16-90+ years old) take his classes for fun and regular exposure to mathematical thought, though there is an option to take it for a grade if you like. There are generally no prerequisites for his classes, and he makes an effort to meet the students at their current level of sophistication. Some background in calculus and linear algebra will be useful going into this particular topic. If you're in the Los Angeles area (there are regular commuters joining from as far out as Irvine, Ventura County and even Riverside) and interested in joining a group of dedicated hobbyist and professional mathematicians, engineers, physicists, and others from all walks of life (I've seen actors, directors, doctors, artists, poets, retirees, and even house-husbands in his classes), his class starts on January 6th at UCLA on Tuesday nights from 7-10PM. If you're unsure of what you're getting into, I recommend visiting on the first class to consider joining us for the Winter quarter. Sadly, this is an in-person course. There isn't an option to take this remotely or via streaming, and he doesn't typically record his lectures. I hope to see all the Southern California math fans next month!

Course Description

A survey of those systems of numbers that can be constructed by adding “imaginary units” to the real numbers. The simplest and most familiar example is the two-dimensional system of complex numbers. Much less familiar, but equally fascinating, are the systems of quaternions and Cayley numbers, of dimensions four and eight, respectively. These “algebras” still enable meaningful notions of addition, multiplication, and division, but only at a price: the loss of commutativity and (in the case of Cayley numbers) associativity. Things get even more bizarre when sedenions (dimension 16) and trigintaduonions (dimension 32) are brought into play. The latter part of the course is devoted to the theorems of Hurwitz and Frobenius on the existence of suitably behaved division algebras over the real numbers.
The course should appeal to those seeking a better understanding of the arithmetical underpinnings of our number system.
Prerequisites: advanced calculus and linear algebra
January 6 - March 17
Tuesday 7:00PM - 10:00PM PT
REG# 407060
Fee: $450.00
Recommended textbook: TBD Register here: https://www.uclaextension.edu/sciences-math/math-statistics/course/fundamentals-hypercomplex-numbers-math-900 If you've never joined the class before (Dr. Miller has been teaching these for 53 years and some of us have been with him for nearly that long; I'm starting into my 20th year personally), I've written up some tips and hints.
#Mathematics #abstract algebra #Cayley numbers #hypercomplex numbers #Michael Miller #sedenions #trigintaduonions #UCLA Extension
I now have definitive written proof of a numeric indexing system (delineated in a popular textbook for secretaries, and published by a company which did significant business in Germany) from the mid-1920s with increasingly more detail into the 1940s and a fifth edition published in 1950. It's exactly like, but notably predates, Niklas Luhmann's alphanumeric system which he started in 1952. I'll write up some of the details shortly with specific references, but thought I'd tease it here a bit first. Angle down on a small, light brown wooden card index. The box has several manilla 1/5 cut 3x5" card dividers inside along with some white index cards. Outside of the box on the table in front of it are a typewritten index card and a black metal Rotring 800 0.5mm mechanical pencil. Off to one side is a white ceramic bowl full of lemons.
#Note taking #Social Stream #indexing systems #Niklas Luhmann #Niklas Luhmann's zettelkasten #numbering systems #Zettelkasten
While digging about in indexing and filing systems, I ran across this chart created by the Oxford Filing Supply Company for a special Filing Supplies section of the May 1934 issue of Office Appliances magazine (Volume 59, Issue 5). It delineates the broad characteristics of most of the major commercially available filing systems of the era. Twenty Four Correspondence Filing Systems Of course, by itself, it may not make much sense, so for those interested in older indexing and filing systems, take a peek at Remington Rand's textbook Progressive Indexing and Filing (1950) which provides lots of images, examples, and full descriptions by many of the bigger manufacturers. Perhaps these, which are all fairly similar, may help someone in designing their indexing system for a zettelkasten or commonplace book practices. The rest of the articles in the magazine also have some fascinating history.
#Note taking #card index as database #filing systems #indexing systems
In preparing for some of my end-of-the-year review from my card index, I thought it would be interesting to choose the "Best Note of the Year". Then it thought it might be worth choosing a "Best Insight", "Most Surprising Note", and a "Best Folgezettel" as well.  And if you're going to give out an award, it should involve a trophy of some sort, right?!? So naturally I went out and picked up a "4 x 6 inch index card" made out of India Black Granite that I plan on engraving with the Note of the Year. At 3/8ths of an inch thick, it is by a large stretch the thickest index card I have in my zettelkasten. A thick black granite 4x6" slab nestled into a card index drawer with hundreds of other index cards As it may be an interesting end-of-year review practice, I thought I would open up the "competition" to others who'd like to participate. Are there other categories one should enter cards for consideration?  What is your "Best Note of the Year"? A black granite "index card" sits on a desk in front of a two drawer Shaw-Walker card index.  
#Note taking #year in review #zettel of the year
The first section is on the rules of alphabetization and indexing to standardize the space of ordering cards for both people's names and company names. The second section covers some history on basic filing techniques and then goes into alphabetic, geographic, numeric, and subject indexing methods. The final sections cover the L.B Automatic (Library Bureau), the triple check method, and various other special filing methods as well as maintaining and transferring files for long term storage. Illustrations of these various methods help to visualize how they worked in practice. This text isn't as interesting or as comprehensive as the works of J. Kaiser from earlier in the century. Read on 2025-11-16.
#Note taking #Read #Social Stream #card index as database #card index for business #filing practices #Laura H. Cadwallader #S. Ada Rice
Watching people online chat, ask questions, and generally get excited about their planners for 2026, I thought I would spend a few minutes to set up my Memindex-inspired planner version using 4 x 6" index cards and tabbed dividers. It's amazing how useful a $2.50 block of 500 index cards can be for planning out your coming year. A Steelcase file index drawer open showing a four inch chunk of cards separated by tabbed cards featuring the names of the 12 months of the year and one divider in the back labeled 2026. On the front card is a calendar for the month of December 2025. In the blurry foreground is a label for the drawer of cards that reads "Memindex". Interestingly, I've recently come across versions of this same sort of tickler file recommended in mid-20th century textbooks for filing and indexing in business contexts: Portion of a book page featuring an image of a card catalog tray full of index cards. In the front is a tab for November followed by 1/5 cut tabs numbered 1-31 followed by tabs for the months December - October. Cadwallader, Laura Hanes, and Sarah Ada Rice. 1932. Principles of Indexing and Filing. Baltimore; Chicago: H.M. Rowe Company. page 134: https://archive.org/details/principlesofinde0000laur/page/134/mode/2up   Portion of a book page featuring an image of a card catalog tray full of index cards. In the front is a tab for November followed by 1/5 cut tabs numbered 1-31 followed by tabs for the months December - October. At the top is the heading "A Tickler for Follow-up File" with numbered details pointing at portions of the card index. Kahn, Gilbert, Theo Yerian, and Jeffrey R. Stewart, Jr. 1962. Progressive Filing and Records Management. 1st ed. New York: Gregg Publishing Division, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. page 190: https://archive.org/details/progressivefilin0000gilb/page/190/mode/2up  The careful observer will notice that both of the photos in texts by different authors nearly 30 years apart are the same! I would suspect that they're from a manufacturer's catalog (Remington Rand) earlier in the century. It's even more interesting that one can still quickly create such a set up with commercially available analog office supplies now.
#Note taking #analog office #card index as diary #card index as productivity system #getting things done #hipster PDA #indexing practices #Memindex #planners #stationery #tickler files
Yellow library index card with red lines and typed book details for Principles of Indexing and Filing.
#Acquisition #Note taking #Social Stream
Acquired via thrift on 2026-02-06. This machine continues my typewriter collection theme for 2026: hunting for great machines with less common typefaces. Gothic was an older word meaning san-serif. The "double" portion means that it's two sets of capital letter forms. (Sorry James...) A brown crinkle painted 1954 Royal HH typewriter with green keys sits on an oak library card catalog file. [caption id="attachment_55834655" align="aligncenter" width="660"]Capital white gothic letters typed onto a platen read: "CHRIS WAS HERE" The white correction tape message typed (assuredly not by me!!) onto the platen was a sure sign this thrifted typewriter was destined for my collection.[/caption] View through the hood of a Royal HH typewriter onto the entirety of the segment featuring all the slugs on of a san-serif Royal Pica Double Gothic typefaceTypesample on a yellow 3x5" index card for a 1954 Royal HHS standard typewriter with a Royal Pica Double Gothic typeface.
#Acquisition #Social Stream #Typewriters #pica double gothic typeface #Royal HH #Royal typewriters #typewriter collection
gRegor Morrill gregorlove.com

I ordered a dirty chai and I complimented the barista on his handwriting as he wrote out this “Chai.” As he drew the “X”, he explained he used to write “Chai XXX” since, ya know, dirty chai. Then he figured, “Why not Chai XCX?”. Much appreciated handwriting and wordplay.
#coffee #music
Marty McGuire martymcgui.re

🗓️ Bizzo! & Friends

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#improv #show
Aaron Parecki aaronparecki.com
If you’re struggling to get AI agents past enterprise security reviews, join me tomorrow for a session on how Cross App Access (XAA) brings managed authorization to MCP!

I'll be joined by Sohail Pathan to show off our Cross App Access playground and give a live demo of how the protocol works!

Tomorrow - February 18, 2026 (8 AM PT)

👉 https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/14899/661521?utm_source=apk_social&utm_medium=brighttalk&utm_campaign=661521
#okta #oktadev #xaa #mcp #oauth #enterprisesecurity
fluffy beesbuzz.biz

This site now Cloudflare-free

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#cloudflare #Internet #admin tax