NeilĀ Gaiman, on ruv.is:
The process of writing, is always a process of trying to trick my brain of into thinking that what Iām doing is not important.
This is just one tidbit of a great short interview in an Icelandic TV show. Really worth a listen.
snippetsIām so late on this that itās likely evolving from a blogging trend to a LinkedIn shared post thread (ugh). Still, inspired byĀ a recent podcast episode from Hemispheric Views, hereās my list of default applications/services:
Mail Client: Superhuman
Mail Service:Ā GmailĀ and Migadu
Notes:Ā Obsidian, but also ļ£æ Notes (for anything with attachments or collaboration with Ana).
To-Do:Ā Things 3Ā and ļ£æ Reminders (for attention grabbing notifications).
Scratchpad:Ā Drafts.
iPhone Photo Shooting: ļ£æ Camera.
Calendar: Vimcal & Fantastical.
Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive
RSS:Ā Reeder
š»āāļø Contacts: ļ£æ Contacts
Browser: Arc
Chat: WhatsApp and iMessage.
Bookmarks:Ā Raindrop.io
Read It Later:Ā Readwise Reader
Journal:Ā Day One
Media Tracking: Listy
Music: Spotify
Podcasts: Castro
Password Management:Ā 1PasswordĀ 
Mastodon:Ā Ivory
š»ā
Terminal: ļ£æ TerminalYou can find a huge index of posts like this at RobbāsĀ defaults site.
Here are my software Black Friday purchases this year:
5typos.net
BLACKFRIDAY40.These I didnāt buy — mostly because I already own — but I recommend:
From opalcamera.com:
Introducing the Tadpole the Smallest Webcam Ever Built. With a Category-First Directional Microphone, a Mirrorless Sony Sensor, and the Easiest Way to Mute Your Call With a Tap Itās the Perfect Webcam to Take With You Everywhere
The Opal C1 was intriguing, but this portable version is a bit more justifiable. Since Continuity Camera holders are way less convenient on laptops, I see this a good solution.
snippetsFrom new.superhuman.com:
No need for time zone math or back-and-forth threads. You can now instantly see when your team is free, and schedule meetings right from Superhuman.
Been waiting ages for this. Many will roll-their-eyes, but I find it very useful to take threads that are going nowhere and scheduling a quick call1 to push the task forward.
I know, Iāve become my own worst enemy.ā©ļø
Every so often, my Mac screen recording permission screen System Setting decides to completely ignore whatever setting is in the UI. Steps below have helped me a couple of times
Locate the bundle ID of the affected application:
osascript -e 'id of app "App Name"'Reset privacy database for affected application:
tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.BUNDLE.IDAs always with the Terminal, be careful.
Mark Wilson, on Fast Company:
[ā¦] Derek Robson, CEO of Ideo, on the morning of October 2 as he announced widespread layoffs, office closures, and a restructuring of operations at whatās been one of the worldās most storied design firms for the last three decades, collaborating with companies ranging from Apple to Coca-Cola.
You could argue that Design Thinking has become commonplace and Ideo is the victim of its own success. However this still feels off. While getting my masterās in Boston, IDEO was one the places I dreamt of working on.
snippetsJohn Voorhees, on macstories.net:
The experience of using the new Pencil tips along with the cover is the closest thing to paper that Iāve ever tried on the iPad. Iāve spent time taking notes in a variety of apps.
My preferred screen-cover on my last two iPadās has been the Moshi iVisor, mostly because I like the fact itās removable/washable (not that Iāve ever done it), which means itās much less stressful to apply. Previously I used Paperlikeās cover, but it always ended up with some sort of bubbles — and the screen sensation wasnāt that amazing.
Very sure this will be the cover of my next iPad. Good news is that an iPad mini 6 version will be available soon.
snippetsApple, on Apple Newsroom:
14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 now starts at $1,599
14- and 16-inch models with M3 Pro and M3 Max are available in a gorgeous new space black finish
Great lineup for the MacBook Proās. The new base MBP is a great option. However, I still think you get better performance at the $1800 range with a loaded up 13/15in MacBook Air M2.
Orā¦ as my eBay watchlist currently makes evident: a loaded-up M1 Max MacBook Pro.
Either way, thereās no laptop you need to worry about in the current lineup, which is great news.
snippetsZhenyi Tan, on And a Dinosaur:
YouTube isnāt rolling out the anti-adblock to everyone. It seems to depend on things like your account, browser, and IP address. And if youāre not logged in or youāre in a private window, youāre safe. As a result, there are a bunch of people saying, āI use XYZ and I havenāt seen an anti-adblock popup yet,ā unknowingly spreading misinformation.
But hereās the thing: YouTube isnāt just targeting adblockers. Use Privacy Badger? Youāll get flagged. Use Malwarebytes? Youāll get flagged. Set your Edge browserās tracking protection to āstrictā? Yep,Ā youāll get flagged. So a lot of people think their extensions are safe to use, but actually theyāre not.
I mostly used the authorās Vinegar Safari plugin until GoogleFi gave me a year of YouTube Premium with our plan change. However, not sure if Iāll be renewing next year — I need more friction to control by YT rabbit holes.
Keeping an eye on this.
snippetskepano, on obsidian.md:
Today weāre excited to share that Importer now works with Apple Notes, and is compatible with its many content types ā including internal links added in iOS 17. See our guide:Ā How to convert your Apple Notes toĀ Obsidian.
I currently have a workable mental model for what goes into Apple Notes and Obsidian in my workflow. However, Iām planning to use this plugin to create a standalone vault as a backup for Apple Notes.
snippetsApple, on Apple Newsroom:
The new Apple Pencil is the most affordable model, making it ideal for everyday productivity and creativity. With USB-C charging and pairing, the new Apple Pencil is great for iPad (10th generation) users and also works with all iPad models that have a USB-C port, including iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad mini.
Basically itās the Apple Apple Pencil (2nd generation) without pressure sensitivity, double-tap for switching tools and wireless charging. Ok, Iāll bite, having bought a few of alternative pencils without these features, itās a good compromise for a lower price.
The new Apple Pencil will be available for purchase separately for $79 (U.S), with availability beginning in early November.
Wait, what?! Go home Apple, youāre drunk. The Apple Pencil 2nd Gen is usually found on Amazon for $89 , and generic pens with similar features cost half the new Apple Pencil.
Less difficult to recommend than the Apple Pencil (1st generation), but still hard to do with a straight face.
snippetsMatthias Pfefferle, on WordPress.com News:
ActivityPub is a WordPress plugin that facilitates seamless integration between your blog and a host of federated platforms, including Mastodon, Pleroma, Friendica, and more. This plugin empowers your readers to follow your blog posts on these platforms.Ā
In addition, replies to your posts from these platforms are automatically turned into comments on your WordPress blog, creating a more interactive and dynamic conversation around your content. Synchronicity for the win!
This is really cool. Specially the second part: the ability to channel replyās as comments is something that would have been a killer Twitter feature back in the day.
Iām glad this is out. Specially with rumors that Tumblr ActivityPub integration is shelved. Not sure Iād use it in Wordpress, but will have it enabled in an instant on blot.im.
snippetsMeta on WhatsApp.com:
Starting today, some users can start testing the following in chats with friends and family:
- AI stickers:Ā You can now create a custom sticker that represents a thought or idea thatās just right for your chat.
- AI chats:Ā With Metaās AIs, you can ask any question to find out more about topics or try and settle a debate in your group chat, including getting the perspective from dozens of characters Meta has created that respond in interesting ways.
- Photorealistic Image Generation:Ā By typing the prompt /imagine, AIs allow you to generate images to represent an idea, place, or person.
Iām amazed of what Meta managed to make generally available these features in such a short time. I havenāt figured AI stickers, but the AI chats and image generation are impressive ā¦ and āfreeā.
snippetsAndrew Cunningham, on Ars Technica:
Yesterday, the OCLP team announced version 1.0.0 of the software, the first to formally support the recently released macOS 14 Sonoma. Although Sonoma officially supports Macs released mostly in 2018 or later, the OCLP project will allow Sonoma to install on Macs that go back to models released in 2007 and 2008, enabling them to keep up with at least some of the new features and security patches baked into the latest release.
Planning to try it with my 2016 MacBook which Ana uses. And thinking about using it on the 2015 MacBook Pro I use as a home sever.
snippetsJohn Maletis, on Google:
More than 10 years ago, we created Chromebooks to bring you easy-to-use computers that offer reliable performance and unmatched security. Today, weāre introducing a new category of Chromebooks that takes the promise even further: Chromebook Plus.
I was once really into Chromebooks, but is just seems like a way to try to differentiate crappy laptops with less crappy laptops.
snippetsTeam Vivaldi, on Vivaldi Browser:
Vivaldi on iOS has our distinctive look and feel with a set of built-in tools that includes Desktop-style tabs, Speed Dials, Panels, Notes, a Reading List, and a Tracker and Ad Blocker. And, of course, with the Sync functionality, we give you a secure way to take Vivaldi — and your browsing dataā with you.
Really great mobile version — especially on the iPad. They took a long time, but it shows. Iāve said it before, but if Arc wasnāt available, Vivaldi would likely be my work browser.
snippetsKristen Webb Wright, on Day One | Your Journal for Life:
Create a Shared Journal with Day One Premium, coming soon for iOS and the Web. Android support coming next.
Iām a daily Day One user1, so Iām excited about having a shared journal with my wife Ana.
I have a kids journal in which I save occurrences. Totally see us using it more because of this.
Current streak is 1944 days of daily journaling.ā©ļø
Vladimir Prelovac, on blog.kagi.com:
Today, the tides are changing. With new search sources proving more cost-efficient, the improved efficiency of our infrastructure, and the broader market embracing Kagi, we can again offer an unlimited experience to a broader group of users. Weāre excited that this change will let many more people enjoy a fun, ad-free, and user-centric web search.
Been very impressed with Kagi. Not sure if $10 a month yet, but subscribed to the smaller $5 one for now.
Also see a future where the Kagi Kids search offering justifies the family plan.
snippetsAndrea Gottardo,Ā Alessandro Mingione,Ā Sam LinvilleĀ andĀ Parker Higgins, on Tailscale:
Today weāre expanding the list of devices that can run Tailscale, bringing secure remote networking to the Apple TV. The newly released tvOS 17 offers support for VPNs, and weāre proud to say Tailscale is among the first to use this new feature. You can now add your Apple TV directly to your tailnet, unlocking three powerful new use cases that weāre excited to share.
This is really cool. I need to get my house (devices) in order, and using Tailscale to set up a personal/private VPN is top of the list. The news has multiple angles: I can set up an Apple TV in the US, to connect to my old MacBook Pro server at home to use Costa Rica streaming apps (Stars+). But also, you can do it the other way around, only having to leave an Apple TV at my parentās place1 to use as an exit node.
Never mind that my Dad has more Raspberry Pis than I do, even one driving him 3D printer. But you get the example. ā©ļø
I always tell my non-geek that Apple events are my sporting events. To stretch the analogy further, iPhone events are — Super Bowl, but my team isnāt playing. I love watching it, but I donāt paint my face — like when the Mac plays. /end of bad analogy.
This year Iām likely to get one of the iPhones announced. Both Ana and I are still on the iPhone 12 mini1 — which we love, but itās starting to show its age on the battery side. If the iPhone 15 mini still existed, it would be an absolute purchase for me. But that dream is dead.
I think weāll probably upgrade to the regular iPhone 15, mostly because I cannot deal with the weight of the Pro versions. Even with the expected lighter titanium, the regular iPhone 6.1 weight is my limit.2
Iām also keeping an eye on the Apple Watch. I lost my large Series 7 a month ago in a lake, and been using my previous small Series 4. I really miss the size and speed of the Series 7 I got last year. Still unsure if Iām going to be getting the Series 9 or, just like I did last year, the year ago version at some of the Black Friday events.
Iām all-in with the USB-C change. Itās going to be comfortable to just carry that one cable.
Still hoping for some surprises, but it does seem like an S sort of year.
The One from Nippon team, on One from Nippon:
This is the story of Japanās canned coffee. One finds at least one vending machine in almost every street in Japan. In every vending machine one row is dedicated to just one product: canned coffee.
As if I needed another reason to want to visit Japan — now I need to add vending machine coffee to my eventual trip there.
snippetsA young friend passed away last week. He was the sort of person that I call friend, even if we really didnāt share that much time. His intensity and great heart made everyone feel welcomed — regardless if you were a free spirit artist like him, or a square like me.
The outpouring of love has been huge. I fear he didnāt imagine his effect on so many peopleā¦ actually, I fear more that he actually did.
Jason Fried, on ONCE:
Introducing ONCE, a new line of software products from 37signals. Pay one time, own forever. We write the code, you get to see it. We give you the software, you get to host it. Simple and straightforward, not enterprisey and bloated. For one fixed price. Once. Weāll be launching the first product late 2023, with more coming in 2024.
Very interesting. 37signals apps are extremely opinionated, but Iāve also thought theyād be a good straightjacket to force better processes. Sadly, other than for personal use, Iāve never been able to use it for work.
Will keep an eye out for this one.
snippetsTucsonSentinel.com, on TucsonSentinel.com:
Molly Holzschlag, whose pioneering work in online design standards led to her being dubbed āthe fairy godmother of the web,ā has died at age 60.
Worked with Molly for a while in Opera. She was fun and irreverent. The Open Web was not a buzzword with her, it was the way to live.
snippetsControl Panel for Twitter: browser extension which brings some sanity to the x.com clusterfudge. Canāt use Twitter without it.
JuxtaCode: good looking beta Git merge tool forĀ macOS.
Trypa: trigger shortcuts based onĀ environmental, hardware and system factors on macOS.
Dissolv for macOS : Hide inactive apps after an specified period. Replaces defunct Spirited Away app.
Applite: UI for HomebrewĀ package manager. Good way to manage all those pesky apps that insist on having an AutoUpdate checking in login, or use .pkg installers.
S3 Files for iPhone, iPad & Mac: s3 bucketsĀ in the FilesĀ app, Finder, ShortcutsĀ app & shareĀ sheet. Keeping around for rainy day.
Chantlings : musical app that let you explore tone and harmony. Letās say itās for the kids.
āFuoco : change focus of Portrait Mode photos in iOS.
Thomas Kole, on tenochtitlan.thomaskole.nl:
The year is 1518. Mexico-Tenochtitlan, once an unassuming settlement in the middle of Lake Texcoco, now a bustling metropolis. It is the capital of an empire ruling over, and receiving tribute from, more than 5 million people. Tenochtitlan is home to 200.000 farmers, artisans, merchants, soldiers, priests and aristocrats. At this time, it is one of the largest cities in the world.
Today, we call this city Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico City.
Not much is left of the old Aztec - orĀ MexicaĀ - capital Tenochtitlan. What did this city, raised from the lake bed by hand, look like? Using historical and archeological sources, and the expertise of many, I have tried to faithfully bring this iconic city to life.
This is amazing. I love Mexico city, and also have enjoyed some historical novels on the Aztecs. This project blows my mind for technical, historical and coolness reasons.
snippetsWeāre truly honoured to be able to announce that we have taken over development of Toolbox Pro, Logger for Shortcuts, and Nautomate.
All three apps were originally developed by indie developer Alex Hay before he tragically passed away back in March after a battle with cancer.
Happy news amid everything.
snippetsCarlo Zottmann, on ActionsDotWork.:
Well-rounded macOS Shortcuts support for Brave Browser, Chromium, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi. And for Safari.
[ā¦]
Creating, accessing, manipulating and closing tabs and windows. Getting page information, like title, URL, current selection, the up-to-date DOM document, all of the text. Filling out and submitting forms. Running arbitrary Javascript in tabs. etc.
While Arc is not in the launch list of supported browsers, Carlo had it on his radar for post-release. Would love to replace some bookmarklets with more elegant Shortcuts.
snippetsJon von Tetzchner, on Vivaldi Browser:
Over the years, some of you have reported that the opening of new windows was not fast enough. But not anymore!
Our new version on desktop — Vivaldi 6.2 — is now faster, especially when you open a new window. By rendering browser windows through React portals, weāve unlocked new possibilities, reduced memory usage, and significantly
If Arc Browser ever goes away, Vivaldi will likely be my default work browser. Just took 6.2 for a spin, and windows do load significantly faster. Kudos to the team.
snippetsOn openai.com:
Weāre launching ChatGPT Enterprise, which offers enterprise-grade security and privacy, unlimited higher-speed GPT-4 access, longer context windows for processing longer inputs, advanced data analysis capabilities, customization options, and much more.
This is very cool. As an IT person, Iām still not sure how to justify this. Is ChatGPT just an advanced Grammarly? But the enterprise story checks out really well:
You own and control your business data in ChatGPT Enterprise. We do not train on your business data or conversations, and our models donāt learn from your usage. ChatGPT Enterprise is also SOC 2 compliant and all conversations are encrypted in transit and at rest.
Unlike many enterprise plans, it even makes sense compared with the regular prosumer plan:
ChatGPT Enterprise removes all usage caps, and performs up to two times faster. We include 32k context in Enterprise, allowing users to process four times longer inputs or files.
Will this bringing this up internally at work for sure.
snippetsChristopher Butler, on chrbutler.com:
My wife and I work here, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. Our children play and create in here just as often. Itās where we maintain several workspaces, store supplies, house a portion of our library, and keep a guest bed. To make things even more complicated, I also exercise in here nearly every day. All in this 10ā x 12ā space with two windows. Since we began working from home, I estimate that weāve spent around 8,000 hours in here.
I love colophon posts, but this one is not only cool, but also admirable in what it manages to pull off. The website design is also minimally amazing.
snippetsKepano, on twitter.com:
Great news for plain text interoperability: @github has added support for callouts to the GitHub-flavored Markdown using the same syntax @obsdmd
Daniel Adams, on Github:
Alerts are an extension of Markdown used to emphasize critical information. On GitHub, they are displayed with distinctive colors and icons to indicate the importance of the content.
W00t. I see myself using callouts even more now in my notes.
snippetsThomas Pike, on his blog:
A bug in the code combined with an ill-advised database configuration caused 198 user accounts to be merged to a single remote account. An entire weekend was spent finding the cause and fixing the damage caused.
Great rundown of a ruined weekend because of a service incident. Appreciate the sections where the Mastodon team helped — even when it became clear it wasnāt a Mastodon bug.
snippetsHaki Benita, on his blog:
How outliers can trick the optimizer into the wrong plan
This blog post is nothing about what I expected it to be:
In this article I describe how using a BRIN index in presumably āideal circumstancesā can result in degraded performance and suggest a recent new feature of PostgreSQL as a remedy.
Blank stare.
However, the subtitle sent me down a thought rabbit hole about outliner events making you optimize for the wrong thing. Something I hope to write about in the future.
snippetsSome emails generate an increased pulse rate. Not out of excitement — but out of a primal urge to shout out like an enraged monkey.
As I breathe-in for the third time, I realize the request itself is not the source of my anger. The lack of context usually is. Emailing me something which reads like a SQL query, will generally lead to an answer that is business-speak for syntax error.
Am I too precious to be to told what to do without explanation? Well, yes. But, thatās not it. For better or worse, I try to keep my ego outside most of my work interactions. Many years have taught me that — given my personality — it always comes back to haunt me.
The main problem is that āasksā without context will lead to multiple interactions if the query doesnāt have an exact match:
Iām sure you can replace the above generics with something that makes sense in your world. Again, the problem arises when the answer requires some sort additional detail (which is almost always the case):
I have last weekās version of file X.
I donāt have the invoice Y yet.
The FY23 number for Z depends on howā¦
I have 15Ā min, why do you require my availability?
Just by adding some minimal context to the request, not only can you better find the answer, but you can generate one if an exact match doesnāt exist. A few sentences can make a lot of difference. My blood pressure will thank you.
Stop worrying about memorizing scripts or tedious retakes. With AI Eye Contact, maintain perfect on-screen presence while nailing your script every time.
This feature was in Facetime in one of the iOS 13 betas, but later removed. While weird, I think itās very cool. As we head more into the Vision Pro era, this sort of trickery will become more common.
Iām itching to start a podcast and use Descript. But it still doesnāt seem to have a Spanish as a content language support.
snippetsKevin David Mitnick, 59, died peacefully on Sunday, July 16, 2023, after valiantly battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year.
Ghost in the Wires audiobook is one my favorites. But even before that, his name evoked a cool and dangerous side to being a geek.
He broke the law and was sent to jail for real. This gave some reality to the computer and internet stuff I was passionate about. Even though social engineering was his biggest trick, at the time I thought he was a master hacker.
Also, he just seemed like a cool guy. Effing cancer. He will be missed.
snippetsBen Brooks, on brooksreview.net:
I sent my 11 year old GR1 for repairs last week and GORUCK offered to replace it:Whatās important here is that those GR1s (despite what GORUCK might say in marketing) are a different size than all currently available GR1s. But not by a lot. They are slightly smaller than the current 26L GR1s, and most consider them to be 25L in capacity. Iād say they are somewhere between 24-25L.
Battle parenthood scarred GR1 OG
We have received your gear from your Scars Repair request and have inspected it fully. Besides the reason it came in, there are other issues of normal wear and/or age. We would like to send you a new ruck!
However, I was a bit confused when they asked me to pick a size, since I didnāt remember they had two. Ben Brooks article helped me understand the difference. Iām leaning towards the 21L though.
Update 2023-07-25: Well, that was easy. I didnāt read the fine print, where for $25 in shipping, I could get back my original GR1. A fews later, I have both my old faithful and new 21L GR1.
snippetsAdam Mosseri, on Threads:
Weāre committed to building support for ActivityPub, the protocol behind Mastodon, into this app. We werenāt able to finish it for launch given a number of complications that come along with a decentralized network, but itās coming.
I checked out Threads, but itās clearly not for me. However, glad it exist. If in fact it will provide a way to follow people from my Mastodon/Ivory setup, Iām a happy camper.
snippets