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In this month’s Staple Day Newsletter I asked the following question.
“Folks use Field Notes for all kinds of reasons but almost everyone uses them, at least occasionally, to jot down reminders to themself and I’m betting that we all use language and abbreviations that only we understand. What’s something you’ve written in a Field Notes Memo Book that makes perfect sense to you but would be completely mysterious, and maybe even poetic, to someone else reading it?”
We got hundreds and hundreds of responses and we chose a dozen to share. These folks will receive a long sold-out “Ambition” Edition 3-Pack from 2014. Thanks to everyone for taking part. Previous Staples Day newsletters have been archived in Dispatches here. Make sure you’re on The List to receive Staple Day, and future contests, direct to your inbox.
Here are the winners...
The cinnamon & apple is almost obscene.
A note about a delicious cocktail at The Carlile Room in Seattle during cocktail week. (Christina V)
Defiance 12, Black 16, Gore 22, Vanderwhacker 23
The distances from Pharaoh Mountain in the Adirondacks to neighboring Peaks, for a summit view illustration. (Thatcher H)
Something About 2 Sides of a Ship
I try to write what I remember from a dream and a lot of the time it ends up being a completely random sentence. (John D)
30"d -> LH JOISTS
This note is a rule of thumb that says that if you need a 30-inch depth or larger for a roof joist for duct clearance or any other reason, specify a longspan LH-series joist instead of a standard K-series joist. I am a structural engineer and this note came from a work meeting where one of the senior engineers mentioned more design considerations other than the load on the roof. (Nahum Y)
Canary in the coal mine. Gut first. Trust the bird.
Sounds crazy, but I was just reminding myself that my wife has great instincts and if she’s got a gut reaction to something, then we should pay some attention to that. (Jason B)
Eyes darkened with mascara and wariness.
I go to a coffee shop a few times per week to practice sketching people from life (and sometimes imagination) Occasionally, when I don’t think the drawings capture “it,” I’ll try a poetic phrase to help. (Jeremy M)
Is it Sticky?
This is a line in one of my Field Notes notebooks, referring to a software feature. A sticky feature would still be in effect the next time one opens the app, as opposed to resetting to some default. (Fran P)
Run Over by a Goldfinch.
I am a student at Berkeley and I have a meeting every Thursday afternoon that I forget about as regularly as it occurs. En route to that meeting on a week I remembered, I thought I had caught a glimpse of a lesser goldfinch. They are common in California, mind you, and swarm my family's bird feeder back home in Los Angeles, yet for whatever reason I cannot remember the last time I saw one on campus. I was so distracted that I was nearly hit by a bus as I crossed the avian-occupied street! Now, all I need is to write ”run over by a goldfinch“in whatever Field Notes I have on hand and I need not worry about forgetting that week’s meeting! (Joshua S)
BAD Mathias
It makes it sound like my son was very naughty that day, when in fact I just reminded myself to buy him a toothbrush, which in French is called “brosse a dents.” (Michéle V)
Northern Cardinal VPBO Summer Tanager AO
One of the main shorthand uses of my Field Notes is for birding. I often go alone and try to capture pictures as I go. I've also been introducing my daughter to both photography and birding. In my notebook, I record the the location, weather, time, season, birds, and general observations. My code shorthand after each bird is:
V = visually seen it
A = have only heard it
P = I have a picture of that bird
O = Was with my daughter
B = I have a picture of its butt. Seriously, I’m working on a picture book of bird butts... (Aaron J)
EZ Pass for Rabbit
The automated toll sensing apparatus for a few of the north eastern states, is called an EZ Pass. I had to remember to put one in the VW Rabbit I own. It made me giggle the few time I went past that page. (Dani F)
Here Lies Dick
A trip to the Free Library of Philadelphia’s rare books department introduced me to some fascinating items from Charles Dickens that I wanted to remember, including his writing desk and a portrait, but most striking was a tombstone with this inscription. It was actually for a pet canary. (Eric F)