My life is a mess* #2 - by Aiden Redmond - aiden's substack

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My life is a mess* #2<br>a more coherent problem solving exercise

Aiden Redmond<br>May 18, 2026

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Last week I wrote about my fear of forgetting things.<br>Since my crash out, I have take a step back to think about how I could approach this in a more level headed manner.<br>As a reminder, the problem that I was trying to solve is that I need a system to remember ideas and things I need to do that I can access anywhere, at anytime.<br>Here’s a few problems with my current setup<br>Obsidian is fine.. but it becomes a graveyard of ideas if nothing happens to them, or if I forget they exist.

The Denik Orange Halftone Classic Layflat Notebook is also great, and I prefer to write my notes in there if at all possible.

If I end up just going back and forth between the two, then our original sprawl problem isn’t solved at all!

Today, I want to talk specifically about solving the first problem, and how I’ve been attacking it since last year.<br>Part 1: Collecting Things

November 2025: Pebble Index 01

One fateful day on YouTube, I came across a product that really piqued my interest

And this is a bit what my reaction upon seeing this thumbnail looked like:

First of all - I had never heard of this guy Eric, who in all honesty seems pretty chill.<br>Second… why… is the product only $75?<br>Third… am I going to be locked into some sort of BS proprietary notes application?<br>And the answers to those questions were<br>Eric is the creator of pebble, whose history is complicated, but Eric is excited about pebble and does good work

The ring dies. It’s non-rechargable . It becomes a paperweight after about 12-15 hours of use, due to it’s use of a non-rechargable hearing aid battery. I’m going to say it one more time so we are super clear. It’s non-rechargable.

Not really… Pebble does good work. Seriously.

I’m gonna circle back to number 2, since it’s fucking ridiculous. Here’s a direct quote from Pebble’s website:<br>“Here’s the best part: the battery lasts for years. You never need to charge it.”

Like… what???? They break it down even more:<br>“Roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording. On average, I use it 10-20 times per day to record 3-6 second thoughts. That's up to 2 years of usage.”

I don’t know how I feel about this marketing. It’s a little BS, but it’s little making the best out of a bad situation. I get it, but also… fuck man! $75 ($100 after pre-order window is over). Also… you put yourself in this situation??? Is it really bad if it’s your own fault??<br>Never having to recharge this thing is awesome in it’s own right.<br>Never charging = never not having it on you = never not being able to remember!<br>But also… fuck! I only get 12 hours out of this thing?? What if I like longer notes… it dies quicker. What if I fall asleep while pressing the button. It’s dead when I wake up!<br>So I gave up. Eric, if you’re reading this, this is a great start, but it has to be rechargeable for the general population to use it. And I get it dude. You’re making products for you , but that also means you kind of get an infinite supply of them.<br>It sucks, because I could really, really, really see myself liking this product.<br>December 2025: Sandbar

After rejecting Pebble, I did some research into what a chargeable alternative could look like. And through rubble, I heard of a ring called Sandbar.

It’s a similar concept to Pebble, but rechargeable, more expensive, and has an optional (optional? 🤨) monthly subscription attached to it. It’s also like… a little too Her for my taste. It’s giving end of the world.<br>Here's some of the big hitters out of the way<br>It’s $250 (oof)

It’s privacy policy… seems… okay? The product isn’t really out yet, and as we know, companies change those whenever they want and we just automatically agree by using the product!

The monthly subscription is $10/month and gets you…

“…advanced voice chat, unlimited messages, real-time web answers, and early features—and continues at $10/mo for preorder members.‍”

All in all, it seems okay. I’m a bit worried about data privacy, transparency, and getting trapped in a monthly subscription. It’s something worth revisiting in a few months when some real people have gotten their hands on it.<br>January 2025: Voice Memos

The more I thought about this problem, the more I was intrigued by the idea of voice over writing or typing.<br>Ultimately, the fastest and most efficient way to communicate ideas is speaking. In order of speed…<br>Speaking (I speak around 200 WPM)

Typing (I average around 100 WPM)

Writing (I write about 30 WPM)

Voice Memos are great. But, you don’t know what they say unless you listen to them, and they often just sit in the Voice Memos app rotting (similar to that of my sprawled notes…)<br>So I figured… If I could build some sort of Voice Memo → Note pipeline, that would be a good step in the right direction, and would be similar to that of what Pebble was trying to accomplish, without it bricking after...