Jarrod Blundy

Yet another Markdown title from iA Writer

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:38:24 -0400

These short posts are fun, a quick little run, A burst of my thoughts, under the sun.

Maybe I’ll try some Writing Tools, To shape my words with clever rules.

Except iA Writer has its quirks, Adding nonsense, where chaos lurks. But perhaps I’ll give it one more play, Test its charm in a brand new way.

For writing’s a journey, twists and turns, Each tool a lesson, as the poet learns.

Changing a Markdown Header Title (again)

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:20:09 -0400

Will it work? I’ll have to try updating the title next to see if it changes.

Titled Post from iA Writer

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:58:26 -0400

What will happen if I give it a title? (edited web, 01:19)

Well, it seems to work! (web)

Another test.

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:34:33 -0400

This is a new title-less post from iA Writer. Let’s see if it gets a title.

Editing from the web. 00:55

Editing from TextEdit. 00:57

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 23:37:20 -0400

Coming to you from TextEdit and Inkblot!

This is an edit from Micro.blog’s web interface. 2026-03-17 00:32

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 23:12:36 -0400

Just a little tweet for testing my lil app.

It’s on Apple TV

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 07:55:00 -0400

The madness just got madder. ‘Apple TV+’ is now just ‘Apple TV’.

I noticed something was off right away when I saw Apple’s streaming date announcement for F1: The Movie. They said the movie “will make its global streaming debut on Apple TV on Friday, December 12.”

I caught the lack of the “+” immediately, and, knowing Apple doesn’t often make those kind of copyrighting mistakes, I wondered what it meant. Were they going to license the movie out to other streaming services that can be watched on the Apple TV box or in the Apple TV app in addition to their own Apple TV+ service?

The answer is found at the bottom of the announcement (on their blog that’s still called ‘Apple TV+ Press’ at the moment):

Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity. Ahead of its global streaming debut on Apple TV, the film continues to be available for purchase on participating digital platforms, including the Apple TV app, Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home and more.

It’s an app. A streaming service. An entertainment box. A storefront. Are you getting it? These are not four separate products. Oh, wait — yes, they are — but we’re still calling them all Apple TV.

You watch Apple TV shows in the Apple TV app on the Apple TV box. But you can also get Apple TV on Fire TV. And you can get Apple TV from the Apple Store. Or Apple Store app. Or the App Store.

It’s Apple TV all the way down.

Or, I guess, simply, it’s on Apple TV.

Putting my cynical hat aside for a moment, I kind of get it. It seems clear to me that a major part of reason to drop the “Plus” branding is that celebrities with titles on the service and normal folks alike simply didn’t remember it. I’ve heard more promotions for shows and movies that could be found “on Apple” or “on Apple TV” than I ever have for “Apple TV Plus”. I’ve done it myself when recommending shows to friends — it felt kind of nerdy to say, “There’s this great show I love called Trying. It’s on Apple TV Plus.” (It totally is a great show.) I, the Apple nerd and TV+ fanatic, would shorten it down to “it’s on Apple TV.” So, yeah, I get it even if I don’t love it.

I am curious, though, about that “vibrant new identity” they mentioned. I was just thinking the other day that while other streaming services has gone through change after change to their branding and visual/auditory design, I appreciate how Apple TV+ has stayed consistent since day one. Their network ident, that black and white fade in of the logo with the spotlight shining through the “+”, along with the deep thrum sound signature — a play on the beautiful Mac startup chime — it really felt timeless. Something that could last. I liked it.

And it worked so well alongside their (also great) Apple Original Films introduction reel.

I wonder how much of that identity will stick around.

Those Very Good Tweets™

Can’t wait to watch Apple TV on Apple TV in Apple TV

Stephen Robles https://mastodon.social/@stephenrobles/115367750304208338

I too have a vibrant new identity

Zoe Knox https://snailedit.social/@zmk/115367736568675883

#AppleTV Genuinely excited to see what this means for the service in terms of growth and potential tiers, as well as the app, storefront and hardware.

Is there room for an Apple TV+ tier that includes rental access, lossy audio, and more? Is there room for an Apple TV Pro?

Sigmund Judge https://mastodon.screentimes.net/users/sigmund/statuses/115367709219211545

Unpopular reality check:

Most people in real life just call it Apple TV. They know what they mean. “The Apple one”.

Renaming the service to Apple TV is cleaner, and totally a non-issue. Only nerds obsess about naming these things. Nobody in real life will ever say the sentence “The TV app for Apple TV on Apple TV”. Only people here do.

Federico Viticci :ticciseal: https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/115368689088419592

Apple TV+
Apple TV
Apple TV GO
Apple TV Now
Apple TV Max
Max

Stephen Robles https://mastodon.social/@stephenrobles/115368561532052167

Suggested name revisions:

Apple TV (hardware) ➡️ Apple HDMI box thingy

Apple TV (app) ➡️ iTunes

Apple TV (service) ➡️ Not Netflix, the Other One

Quinn Nelson https://mas.to/@snazzyq/115368463830811614

If the new Apple TV 4K is somehow named “Apple Home Hub Max” I’ll flip a table

Stephen Robles https://mastodon.social/@stephenrobles/115368475686198665

Imagine if the hardware was called iPhone

and it contained an app called iPhone, which was also available on Android, full of lots but not all of your content

and you could buy an optional subscription with extra content

…called iPhone

Marco Arment https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/115367924205357053

I have acquired a + from an undisclosed seller and am now known as Matt+

Matt Alexander https://duck.haus/@matt/115367912341402847

Post-Apple Event Gadget Waffling

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 11:41:00 -0400

I enjoyed writing gut reactions to the product announcements live during the event, but here’s how things are shaping up for my apple.com shopping cart plans, given a little more time and consideration. Shocker, they’re fairly in line with my pre-event predictions.

While the iPhone Air certainly has the thin/light/new appeal, the more I compare, the more I’m leaning toward the Pro for a few reasons:

Camera system. I use the camera so much these days for work, and the .5x ultrawide lens is pretty important for the mountain photography I take. Having a better telephoto lens would be great, too.
Screen size. I’m not thrilled about the even bigger screen of the Air. I already struggle somewhat with one-handed usage with the regular-sized 16.
Battery life. I’m tired of worrying about it. The Air actually has better battery life than my 16, but not by much, and it’s not uncommon for me to need to charge up during the day as it is.
Orange. Need I say more? (The iPhone Air’s colors, while illustrious with their high polish finish, are lackluster to me.)
Future Fold. I’m mega tempted by the rumors of the iPhone Fold. It’s bound to be even heavier, so getting used to an incremental bump up in weight this year might prepare me for that hefty boy.

I’ll wait for reviews to come out next week to make my final decision, but that’s what I’m thinking at the moment. I could sway either way because damn that iPhone Air looks so good.

I already locked down the Apple Watch Ultra 3 with a pre-order this afternoon. Had to do some quick wrist measurements for the Titanium Milanese Loop (I’m right between a small and medium, so I went with the medium-sized band), but getting an Ultra 3 was an easy decision with how much I liked the original. I waffled a bit on doing a trade-in of my Ultra 1, but ultimately went for it. I’ll keep using an old Series 5 as a night watch/alarm clock, or maybe I can get back into the one-watch lifestyle with improved battery life and charging speed. I’m pretty excited for it to arrive on the 19th.

While the AirPods Pro 3 look really like quite an update, I’m not ready to pull the trigger on them — yet. The Pros have never fit my ears very well, and while I may give them a try at some point, I’m perfectly happy with my AirPods 4 with ANC. Touting the new Pros as the “best-fitting AirPods ever” has me curious, but consider me still skeptical that they’d stay in my ears. No AirPods purchase for me today.

Live Thoughts on Apple’s September Event

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:12:00 -0400

AirPods

Did they say foam tips for the new AirPods? Moving away from silicone tips?
In-person live translation looks amazing. But you’ll need a newer iPhone for it to work, I’m sure.
“Best-fitting AirPods ever” huh? Maybe they’re worth another shot.
Finally, you can start workouts with just your iPhone! I wonder if it’ll work with other heart-rate monitors, or just Apple’s headphones.
Looks like a great update!

Apple Watch

Here comes the tear-jerker video…
No more Jeff Williams to head off Apple Watch, and we’ll see if Jay Blahnik’s a no-show as well. Update: Was not seen.

Series 11

Yay, 5G! No snark, I was fighting the watch’s cellular connection just this morning. Hopefully this will help.
Whoa, they’re going after high blood pressure! Didn’t think we’d see anything about this for a few more years. That’s (potentially) huge.
Sleep Score is nice, I guess. I’ve used third-party apps in the past, but never found the data very actionable. I’ll try it out.
Damn, 24-hours of battery life on the Series 11. They’ve hit the full-day milestore.
Huh, Space Gray is back! Welcome back, old buddy.

SE 3

“The most powerful watch chip, S10.” ~~That doesn’t bode well for a faster watch chip coming today. But maybe it’ll come in the Ultra.~~
~~JK, the S10 is a new chip!~~
Double turns out, the S10 chip debuted last year in the Series 10 Watch. Which I guess makes sense. So now the whole lineup has caught up and has the S10, but they didn’t make a new watch chip this year. 😕
Lots of great improvements for the SE — it’s much easier to recommend now, particiularly with the always-on display. Stephen Hackett will be happy, even though it didn’t get the price drop it deserves.

Ultra 3

Let’s go!
Awesome, bigger display without a bigger case size.
Also getting 5G, unsurprisingly.
Woot woot! Sattellite connectivity not just for SOS, but the full messaging and location experience that’s on iPhone
42 hours of battery life. Yay!
The case is 3D-printed. Wild!
No mention of GPS improvements. I’m really hoping that perhaps the issue is just with my particular watch and that this new one will be better anyway.
No mention of any on-device Apple Intelligence, like for workout buddy. That’s a miss in my books, I won’t run with my iPhone. Probably needs a new chip, which it also didn’t get.
Oof, I’d forgotten the Ultra is $800. But available to order today! That’ll be happening here at HeyDingus central momentarily…

iPhone

Four new models, as expected…

iPhone 17

Probably the device I’m least interested in today.
Hmm… wit that reveal video, it doesn’t look like anything is different than the 16. It was all software features they were showing off.
Ahh, it does have a slightly bigger display. And with ProMotion — the first in a non-Pro device.
Better scratch resistance on that new screen — but they always say that. Will it actually be any better?
50% charge in 20 minutes sounds quite good.
500 billion selfies last year. Wow.
Anything they can do to improve selfies is good in my book.
Ooh, a square sensor with easy switching of framing options. That’s nice! I’ll be glad to not feel like I’m going to fumble my phone trying to get a landscape selfie.
Starts at 256GB storage! That bump would have been nice last year. I wonder if that comes with a similar bump in price…

iPhone Air

Keeps the titanium. And glass on both sides. Didn’t see that coming.
“Iconic Plateau”
“With the power of Pro inside”. This is gonna be pricy.
The edges look a little more rounded, giving it an even thinner look.
Ahh… they’ve packed way more of the guts into that camera bar, including the silicon. Cool. Will probably keep the hottest parts away from your hand.
Tim Millet got out of the lab.
AI accelleration via the GPU. Interesting… they usually refer the AI talk to their neural cores. I wonder what they’ll do with that extra power.
N1 (for Networking) and C1X (for Cellular) chips. They sound great! I wonder if C1X will have the faster version of 5G (the C1 didn’t). Not a big deal either way.
Single camera. This may be it’s downfall for me. I’ll have to wait for reviews to know if it can hang.
Dual-capture video is going to be huge for content creators.
They’re talking about eSIM. Interesting. They’ve had it forever, so what’s new here?
Ah, it’s eSIM-only worldwide. Some countries still had physical SIM version.
“All-day battery life.” But they didn’t quote time or compare to other iPhones.
40 hours of battery life for video playback with the new MagSafe battery. Hmm. That’s not super convincing.
This is pretty tempting.

iPhone 17 Pro

Starting from scratch, huh?
Ah, they’re justifying the move away from titanium to alumium (first in a Pro phone) with a sexy industrial manufacturing video.
Biggest battery. Looks pretty thick. Hopefully lighter though?
And there’s the orange! Like the color, wish it came to the Air.
Lots of presenters in Apple Stores around the world. I like it. They have beautiful architecture.
They’re talking a lot about thermal management today. They must have gotten the feedback that their last few phones were too warm to the touch too often.
Seems like the Pro ate the Air’s extra battery with how much they keep mentioning it. 39 hours of video playback without a battery pack.
48 MP cameras across the board on the back is pretty awesome. Fusion cameras across the board too. I like that the zoom levels are .5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x. They double at every jump, which makes my brain happy.
Really pretty photos taken by professional photographers. But that’s always been the case. It’d be more fun if they put it in the hands of camera normies like me and let them try their best.
Joz says, “How cool is that?”
It’s really cool how much pro video stuff they pack into these iPhones. It’s way over my head, but I love that it puts so much power in creatives’ hands.
TechWoven cases that offer great “scratch and stain resistance”. That’s some FineWoven trauma right there. You can bet people will be putting that claim to the test.
The Apple logo placement looks good in the center of the two-tone “glass” panel on the white and orange, but looks goofily low on the blue where the contrast is less.

Pricing

iPhone Air takes the Pro’s old spot at $999, which the Pros get a $100 bump up starting at $1099. They try to spin away that bump by saying its the same price as last year’s 256GB model.
I think maybe they just discontinued the iPhone 16 and previous models altogether? Usually they show the whole lineup, but now it’s all iPhones that were introduced this year. 16e, 17, Air, and 17 Pro/Max. That’s a curious break from a longheld tradition in Tim Cook’s Apple. (But which actually started back during Steve Jobs’ time.)
Nope, the 16 and 16 Plus are still in the lineup.

Those good (snarky) tweets…

Bold move…

Marco Arment https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/115175409342435965

Always good when the keynote stream starts with me doing a spit take.

Dan Moren https://zeppelin.flights/@dmoren/115175408317206369

“Design is how it works. That’s why we made half the interface illegible”

BenRiceM https://mastodon.social/@BenRiceM/115175416928863574

why does the apple keynote keep cutting to some old white trump stan

Lex Friedman https://hachyderm.io/@lexfri/115175459892092408

Apple loves to talk about how many ears they’ve looked at

Charlie Chapman https://mastodon.social/@charliemchapman/115175445419338708

An illegible new watch face is an appropriate way to “celebrate” Liquid Glass.

John Siracusa https://mastodon.social/@siracusa/115175483339906524

If your blood pressure spikes while listening to the US president speak, let Tim know

BenRiceM https://mastodon.social/@BenRiceM/115175474245948950

Can’t wait for my Apple Watch to tell me how shitty my sleep is.

Dan Moren https://zeppelin.flights/@dmoren/115175492211308968

I’ve never seen my timeline so negative during an #AppleEvent and honestly I’m so proud. Fuck Tim Cook for ruining what used to be such an exciting day for us Apple nerds

Riley Testut :fatpikachu: https://mastodon.social/@rileytestut/115175504135094136

idk 42 hours of battery life definitely sounds bigger than the 10 hours my apple watch ultra 1 now lasts

Federico Viticci :ticciseal: https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/115175521930240912

It’s 90% faster at gaming but checking Slack is still slow.

Simon B. Støvring https://mastodon.social/@simonbs/115175545314572777

looks the iphone started working with my trainer

Lex Friedman https://hachyderm.io/@lexfri/115175569958742456

Going to start referring to my forehead as an iconic plateau

Matt Alexander https://duck.haus/@matt/115175573756492320

“All-day battery life” proceeds to present a battery pack accessory #AppleEvent

Gui Rambo https://mastodon.social/@_inside/115175616256338472

THE BUMPER IS BACK BABY

Simon B. Støvring https://mastodon.social/@simonbs/115175617327777151

What if Jony Ive voice but female

BenRiceM https://mastodon.social/@BenRiceM/115175623863967169

Joni Ive

James Thomson https://mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/115175629447524330

Only British people can talk about materials.

James Thomson https://mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/115175624970234251

ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE ORANGE

Stephen Hackett https://eworld.social/@ismh86/115175630090793389

We also drink every time they say “vapor chamber”. Cheers!

Simon B. Støvring https://mastodon.social/@simonbs/115175637229111297

I’d be pretty thin too if you ignore the bulky bits that stick out of me

Robb Knight https://social.lol/@robb/115175642541963628

“Fuck it, we’re doing seven layers”.

James Thomson https://mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/115175647014053450

Nothing says Pro like “We offer ProRes RAW video support, but you cannot adjust the gain level on an external mic.”

Dan Moren https://zeppelin.flights/@dmoren/115175681258390515

Is there really no black Pro phone?

Somebody check on @gruber

Marco Arment https://mastodon.social/@marcoarment/115175681469281561

PROrange™

Andy Carolan :prami: https://social.lol/@andycarolan/115175806984328011

Rapid-Fire Pre-iPhone Event Thoughts

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:02:00 -0400

Can I publish this in the 4 minutes before the keynote starts??¹

iPhone

I went way too low on device storage space last year, so I’m definitely buying a new phone this year
I’m using my camera for work more than ever, so I’m probably going to go with an iPhone Pro, but I’m not psyched about a bigger screen or heavier device. Hopefully, they’ve gone back to aluminum, as rumored.
We’ll see what it actually looks like, but the iPhone Pro’s rumored camera bar that retains the tripod of camera lenses on one side looks goofy to me. I expect it’s retaining that design so it can continue to do Spatial Videos.
I’ll be tempted by the iPhone Air, I’m sure, but battery life and camera performance are huge deals for me. And I’m more interested in a thin folding phone — next year?
Come on, Orange!!

Apple Watch

Please be a new Ultra 3! My Ultra 1’s battery life is not so good, and I’m also hoping for improvements in GPS sensitivity and cellular connection.
A better chip would be great too — the Ultra 1 is a little sluggish these days.
Could we see more happening with Double Tap? The more I can operate my watch without using the other hand would be great.

AirPods

AirPods Pro 3 are due, but they’re not for me. I can’t do the soft tips. Still really happy with my AirPods 4 with ANC.

Alright, here comes Tim Cook “on stage”. Let’s go.

It turns out no, I couldn’t. Published at 1:02pm.↩︎

On Tim Cook, Cowardice, and Leadership

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 08:54:00 -0400

In these, the minutes before the September 2025 Apple Event, in which I — and many others — will fawn over the company’s latest gadgets, I felt I had to get this one out.

Nick Heer wrote decisively and emphatically about how the transformation outlined in Apple in China that Tim Cook oversaw, led him straight toward kissing the ring in the White House. You should absolutely read the whole thing, but here’s an observation that I’ve been contemplating for a while now:

Cook has previously advocated for expressing social values as a corporate principle. In 2017, he said, perhaps paraphrasing his heroes Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, “if you see something going on that’s not right, the most powerful form of consent is to say nothing”. But how does Cook stand firmly for those values while depending on an authoritarian country for Apple’s hardware, and trying to appease a wanna-be dictator for the good standing of his business? In short, he does not.

Heer’s article followed shortly after this post in which John Gruber took a slightly longer and broader view of Cook’s actions in the Trump 2.0 administration, and gives him more benefit of the doubt regarding when he chooses to play ball with Trump:

Did Cook’s Oval Office display of fealty and his grotesque golden gift make you feel something? Did it engender an emotional response? Grossed out, perhaps? A little sick? Angry? Offended? Me too. But did you feel good — reassured? proud? — when Cook skipped that Middle East Trump tour in May? You know, the one that ranged from Trump singing the praises of the murderous Mohammed bin Salman (“I like you too much”) to accepting as a gift (that he claims will wind up in the possession of his post-presidential “library”) a 747 luxury jet from Qatar.

If you choose to believe that Tim Cook is weak, unethical, greedy, or even — despite his long-professed heroes — secretly a MAGA supporter, there’s likely nothing I can say to disabuse you of the notion. You can’t prove a negative. But I would argue that that line of cynicism is the easy way out. That you’re taking comfort in directing your ire at Cook, and the notion that if Cook had more backbone he’d refuse to play this game. It’s comforting to believe it’s him and his ilk, greedy selfish billionaires, not us as a collective whole.

If you didn’t read Gruber’s piece when it was published in August, I highly encourage you to do so now. It’s compelling and quite different from his usual writing, taking a timeline-of-events — dare I say investigative? — approach to understanding Cook’s actions. I’ll admit that I had completely forgotten that Cook had snubbed the Middle East trip, and that I was completely ignorant about the overall implications of that trip regarding the Saudi regime.

And yet, after reflecting on these two pieces for a while, I still come away disappointed and sickened by Cook’s compliance and reverence toward Trump’s agenda. Yes, as Gruber points out, the lion’s share of our collective ire should be pointed at Trump, his administration, and his voters. But we also look to those in leadership roles to, well, lead the way. To use their voice and actions, their stature and influence, and, yes, sometimes their money to usher us toward a better future. For if they throw their values to the wind when the going gets tough, what does that mean for the rest of us who lack the protections that their prominence affords them?

We’re taught not to judge people by what they say, but by what they do. I won’t go so far as to guess at what Cook feels in his heart toward this administration — only he knows — but his words and actions of late paint a cowardly story.

I can commend Cook for having the conviction not to participate in the Middle East trip. But I can also be supremely disappointed in his lack of leadership — sitting, as he does, in the seat as the most powerful man in one of the biggest and most successful American companies — in standing and speaking against the rot in the foundational Democracy of the country he claims to love.

And those pictures of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy — true leaders who used their voices and actions to advocate for the very civil rights that Trump now openly threatens — that he has on his desk? Well, I’d have lain them down in shame.

7 Things This Week [#180]

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 18:39:00 -0400

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.

1️⃣ Jamie Thingelstad got a Messages-like style going on his website for chat-like blog posts and I love it. thingelstad.com

2️⃣ You don’t have to know anything about the Cortex Podcast to enjoy this hilarious animated short of their homescreen walkthrough. youtube.com

3️⃣ Passkeys are about to get even better with less lock-in when iOS 26 ships. They’re introducing a new way for credential managers to securely transfer the data for passkeys back and forth without the opportunity for man-in-the-middle attacks. Good stuff. hachyderm.io

4️⃣ Apple is milking Severance for all it’s worth and I love it. They’ve got Natalie in for a Fitness+ workout with Coach Kym P. and this promo video is spot on. instagram.com

5️⃣ Greg Morris has found enjoyment, success, and speed in running slow. gregmorris.co.uk

6️⃣ Manuel Moreale speaks emphatically about why blogs continue to matter in his marking of the 100th issue of his People & Blogs series. manuelmoreale.com

7️⃣ Seeing this tire roll down a sand dune for minutes is one of my favorite things I’ve watched in a while. It’s weirdly beautiful. youtube.com

🔗 Take a Chance

Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know. And remember that you can get more links to internet nuggets that I’m finding every day by following me [@jarrod](https://micro.blog/jarrod) on the social web.

7 Things This Week [#179]

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 14:29:00 -0400

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet. Sometimes themed, often not.

1️⃣ Remember that wild painting in the final episode of Severance season 2? Well, now it’s an amazing real-life (and massive mural) in L.A.). [🔗 9to5mac.com]

2️⃣ This neat project by Avi Bagla keeps track of when every word in the dictionary has been used in a Bluesky post. [🔗 avibagla.com]

3️⃣ Robert Birming responded to my post about not posting with his thoughts on different motivations for blogging. [🔗 birming.com]

4️⃣ Herman’s got some really good, human tips for dealing with email. [🔗 herman.bearblog.dev]

5️⃣ McSweeney’s does it again, nailing these AI-assisted wedding vows with satire that I fear will become only too true. [🔗 mcsweeneys.net]

6️⃣ A throwback to a throwback. A couple of years ago, Parker Ortolani made a concept of modern apple.com showing off pre-iPhone products. Honestly, still looks great. I’m curious if their website will soon get a Liquid Glass makeover. [🔗 x.com]

7️⃣ Pratik gets it when it comes to taxes. [🔗 writing.desipundit.com]

🔗 Take a Chance

I just don’t feel like blogging today

Sat, 09 Aug 2025 19:38:00 -0400

So I’m simply not going to do it, and you can’t make me. 😜

This is post #9/31 for Blaugust 2025.

One Small Improvement

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 16:20:00 -0400

So I just typed into ChatGPT, “I need an easy prompt for a Blaugust post.” Here’s what I got: What’s one small habit or tool that’s made your life noticeably better in the past year? Alright, I’ll take it and turn it.

Year of Small Improvements

When contemplating a Yearly Theme for 2025, I decided to follow CGP Grey’s lead from 2024 and go with the Year of Small Improvements. The idea being that instead of letting small annoyances stack up and continuously bother me, I’d make an effort to deploy small fixes and reap the stacked up benefits instead. At first, I kept a list of these small improvements, but I kind of fell of that habit. But I’ll share one of my favorites that I truly appreciate every day.

The problem: Our silverware holder slid all over the drawer.

Every time we’d open the silverware/utensils drawer, it would slide around the drawer. For someone who likes things to be in the right place, and also to not push the cooking utensils around so that they block the drawer opening correctly, this was pretty annoying.

Attempted fixes:

One Command strip holding it in place
Two Command strips holding it in place
A screw installed behind the drawer to block it from scooting back

The final fix:

A screw in the back and on the side to block it from moving out of place

It took quite a few attempts, but we got there in the end. And every time I open the drawer now, the drawer stays firmly in place and I’m a little happier. 😮‍💨

This is post #8/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Your Time, Our Time, All Time

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 18:29:00 -0400

The extreme preciousness of time is the point of this video by the To Scale: channel, but I hope you’ll spend 10 minutes of yours to watch it and marvel at the vast scale of the history of the universe, and our fleeting portion of it.

Amazing vision, effort, production, and payoff on this project.

This is post #7/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Burning the Candle

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 19:24:00 -0400

Here I am, again, blogging past 11pm to try to keep up with my Blaugust goal. Although I am typically a night owl, this week I’ve been both night owl and early bird and it’s catching up with me.

Tomorrow, I have to wake up at 4:30am (in just five and half hours — yikes!) to be at a local trailhead ready to start hiking at 6am. It’ll be a long day of hiking and climbing up the Trap Dike — a very distinctive slot and slab that rises from the lake a the bottom of the Mt. Colden to its summit — with I think about 12 miles round-trip with several thousand feet of elevation gain, guiding clients on a rope system up through the steep and exposed terrain.

This is after a long day of personal climbing today, in which I was out from 10:30am until 9pm climbing at various crags in the area, culminating in a challenging route that I put up for ADK Climb Club.

Which was after a big day of guiding climbing yesterday from 8:30am till 4pm, and then a 5+ mile trail run up a mountain after work for ADK Run Club.

Which was after a big day on Monday of guiding climbing in the morning, and then doing personal climbing until after dark.

Which was after a day of canoeing with my wife in which we checked out a route that spits us out into the lake near our house.

And then on Friday I’ll have a big day of guiding a long hike (13 miles) up Gothics mountain with some clients that I took rock climbing on Monday.

Which will be followed by three days of canoe camping with my wife over the weekend.

Which will be followed by an afternoon of guiding rock climbing.

Which will be followed by — hopefully! — a rest day. 😮‍💨

To be clear, this is in no way a complaint. I love doing all these activities. I feel so fortunate to live and work in a place with such access to my favorite outdoor activities, and a great community of friends (and clients) to share it all with.

It’s just that I feel, sometimes, lately, a bit worn thin. I know I need to take more time to recover so that I can perform at my best. But. There’s so much that I want to do, and any day of good weather feels like a gift that I shouldn’t squander.

These lyrics from Hamilton’s “Non-Stop” come to mind:

How do you write like you’re running out of time?
Write day and night like you’re running out of time?

Every day you fight like you’re running out of time
Like you’re running out of time
Are you running out of time?

This is post #6/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Oasis Is No Longer So

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 19:59:00 -0400

12 minutes and counting to write and publish this thing to meet my arbitrary goal of writing a post every day, on the day, for Blaugust. Let’s do this.

My wonderful wife approached me in a tizzy yesterday. She had that look in her eye that told me she had a technology rant built up and me — the tech guy — was going to hear about it.

Sure enough, she needed to inform me that she was not happy with the lineup of Kindles that Amazon sells today. She’s been a longtime user of the original Kindle Oasis. In fact, when she smashed the screen of her first one, she bought a used version of the same model to replace it instead of purchasing a new (bigger, aluminum, 2nd-gen) one. She would have been well-reasoned to do so; her Kindle is her most-used device and it’s not even close.

What does she love about that original Oasis? All the same things I did. Namely, its ultra-portable size and weight, its flip cover with extra battery built in, its physical page-turn buttons, and its waterproofing.

All those features are missing from today’s Kindle lineup. The Oasis is no more. The plain Kindle and the Paperwhite don’t have physical page-turn buttons, and are therefore non-starters. There are two Colorsoft versions — an adult and kid model — which also don’t have the buttons, and are feature inferior screens. The Scribe is too big and bulky for her read everywhere lifestyle.

She looked alternatives like the Kobo and Boox devices. The Kobo would be a pain to manage with her massive Kindle library and Kindle Unlimited subscription. The Boox Page almost ticks all the boxes for physical buttons and Kindle app…but it doesn’t have waterproofing and she’s a beachside and in-pool reader.

“When did Amazon stop caring about power readers when it came to making Kindles?” she demanded of me.

I didn’t have an answer.

In the meantime, she’s bought another used Kindle Oasis on eBay in hopes that it’ll last long enough for either Amazon to get their Kindle house back in order, or for Boox to add waterproofing to their eReaders.

My money’s on the latter happening first.

This is post #5/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Oasis Is No Longer So

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 19:59:00 -0400

12 minutes and counting to write and publish this thing to meet my arbitrary goal of writing a post every day, on the day, for Blaugust. Let's do this.

My wonderful wife approached me in a tizzy yesterday. She had that look in her eye that told me she had a technology rant built up and me — the tech guy — was going to hear about it.

“When did Amazon stop caring about power readers when it came to making Kindles?” she demanded of me.

I didn’t have an answer.

My money’s on the latter happening first.

This is post #5/31 for Blaugust 2025.

7 Things This Week [#178]

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 19:52:00 -0400

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays (or sometimes Mondays). Sometimes themed, often not.

1️⃣ Getting the Pebble trademark back from Google is a spot of feel-good news regarding a tech giant that I just never expected. [🔗 theverge.com]

2️⃣ A follow up from a few weeks ago, Becca Farsace rode an eBike over 400 miles on nothing but solar power. Cool project, and I expect it’s an early preview of tech that will emerge in the next few years. She had to rig a bunch of stuff together custom, but I imagine that solar kits will become available over time for cyclists. [▶️ youtube.com]

3️⃣ Another video. This one I can’t quite describe, but it captured my attention from beginning to end. [▶️ youtube.com]

4️⃣ 24-year-old Adam Aaronson drank every one of the 102 IBA cocktails (not in one go!) and blogged about it. It’s a fun retrospective. [🔗 aaronson.org]

5️⃣ Numeric Citizen is cataloging with screenshots and screencasts the many places where Apple’s Liquid Glass design falls down. It’s a great resource to link to in your Feedback reports, and will make a good archive to see how the design progresses through the rest of the beta and beyond. [🔗 crafted.numericcitizen.me]

6️⃣ Nick Heer shares his distaste for the design goal of getting the UI out of the way for your content. [🔗 pxlnv.com]

7️⃣ For you camping/climbing gearheads, this (long) interview with the renowned alpinist Colin Haley is a must-watch. He goes deep on how he thinks about what gear to carry, and how he modified nearly all of it to meet his precise needs. [▶️ youtube.com]

🔗 Take a Chance

This is post #4/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Keep Calm and Carry a Towel

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 16:45:00 -0400

Sorry for the clickbait title, but I haven’t read the book. The phrase just occurred to me as I was driving back from a short canoe paddle with my wife today. I saw my quick-dry towel hanging on the passenger seat and I realized how much carrying a towel in my car has really paid off this summer.

I’ve slowly been turning into someone who just carries a bunch of extra stuff in the car at all times. It’s frustrating when you get somewhere and need something — like a towel — and even though you have dozens of them at home, you don’t have one right now. So I stuck a little microfiber, quick-dry towel that packs down super small into its flexible zippered case into one of the seat-back pockets. And since I have a towel, I might as well throw a pair of swimsuit/running shorts in the pocket as well. Now, I can go for a swim at the drop of a hat! Which, in this decidedly hot summer, has proved entirely worthwhile.

Some other things that I just always carry in my car now:

An Apple Watch charger (you’d be surprised how much it can charge up in a 20-minute car ride)
A beefy battery that doubles as a car jumper
A sleeping mask for nights spent sleeping in back of my Subaru
A rain tarp (more for professional purposes since I kept forgetting to pack it on rainy days and it’s a figurative life-saver for clients when rock climbing on dreary days, can can be a literal life-saver on hiking trips in the backcountry)
Canoe straps and other lengths of tie-down rope
An ultralight headlamp (another item that often gets forgotten, and I’ve lent it to plenty of friends)
A small pillow and puffy blanket (the pillow gets used most often on flights, but it’s nice for long car rides too; the blanket is equally perfect for laying out on the ground for a picnic or napping in the car)
A portable hangboard (it doesn’t get a lot of use, but can be strung up to keep working on finger strength no matter where I am)
Extra sunglasses
A multitool

This is post #3/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Some Sounds From My Backyard

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0400

I went outside with my MacBook today to answer some emails and work on upcoming trip logistics for my guiding service. My wife is sitting next to me, reading her book. She commented about how our backyard is full of such good sounds. So, here’s a non-exhaustive list of everything I can hear right now.

The soft chirp of a bird high up in a nearby tree.
The tap tap tap of a tiny bird as it tests the bark of a tree for tasty insect treats.
The whine of a distant boat cruising the lake — or is it a leaf blower?
The rub and scrape of paws on wood and my dog gets more comfortable in his position in the sun.
The whoosh of a healthy breeze through the tops of the trees, although I can hardly feel it.
The creeeeeeeak of those same trees and the bend to the wind’s will.
Occasionally, the angry chatter of the local squirrel population chastises us and our dog for being in their space.
And, briefly, the “And Iiiiiii will allllwaaays looooooove youuuuuuuuu” croning of Whitney Houston as someone far away blasted it for all to hear.

This is post #2/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Oh Shit, It’s Blaugust

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0400

Image: aggronaut.com ⌘

Well, that really snuck up on me. Here I was, power-puttering ™ around on the computer: today is the first of August. Not only does that mark the beginning of the end of summer, but it also marks the first day of the month-long blogging challenge/community event/all-around-fun-times that is Blaugust. From the ‘Blaugust 2025 is Coming’ post by Nerd Girl, who is de-facto hosting this year:

Blaugust is a month-long event that takes place each August which focuses on blogging primarily and has started to include other forms of serialized content over the last several years. The goal is to stoke the fires of creativity and allow bloggers and other content creators to mingle in a shared community while pushing each other to post more regularly. Above all the goal of Blaugust has always been to prove to folks that they can in fact sit down every day and create something fresh and then share it with the world. Posting regularly builds a community and in this era of AI-slop content, our voices are needed even more than we ever have been at any point in the past. Our hope is to create a nurturing environment where Veteran bloggers can help those just getting started and the cross-pollination of ideas can create something truly spectacular. Your blog gives you a permanent foothold on the Internet that you own and have complete control of, and that is a really good feeling in the midst of shifting trends.

I managed to post 31 times during August last year, and it really stretched those muscles. Summer has traditionally been when I take an unintentional break from blogging and being very online, which was again the case this year. I just get so busy doing outside stuff that my computer time goes way down. But I dipped my toe back into the blogging waters the other day and had a great time. I figured Blaugust would be a good thing to take a crack at again.

By the way, if you, like me, think it’ll be nigh impossible to write and publish a post on every literal day in August, don’t worry — you can double up:

Blaugust at its heart has always been about celebrating the creation of content on a regular schedule. The original challenge was to post 31 times during the month of August which is 31 days long. This can be posting every day or doubling up on some days to make the schedule a bit easier.

As you can probably tell, I didn’t put ~~much~~ any thought into what this piece would be. I just realized it was August 1st, opened iA Writer, and started typing. I guess that’s really all it takes. But, off the top of my head, here a few things that perhaps I’ll write about this month:

My recent trip to climb Gannett Peak, Wyoming’s tallest mountain
My thoughts on Liquid Glass, Apple’s new design language/material that will soon debut in their ’26 series of Operating System updates
How iPadOS 26’s new windowing system is great in theory, but has really hampered my usage of my iPad mini (my only iPad now) with the removal of Slide Over
Finally completing the Adirondack 46ers challenge, and perhaps some sort of ranking of each of the mountains
A roundup of some handy little gadgets I’ve picked up over the past few months
Trip reports from my various outdoor pursuits
How the Camera Control button on my iPhone 16 has drastically improved my work as a mountain guide — but has also ballooned the storage space I use on my phone and has me needing up upgrade pronto

There’s seven ideas at least. Enough to get me through the first week. And if I run out of ideas, the Blaugust community has a calendar of weekly prompts to rekindle the flame — though I tend not to go by those weekly themes.

Anyway, I encourage you — yes, you! — dear reader, to join in the fun of Blaugust. There are many free blogging sites out there if you need one, but my personal recommendation is to try Micro.blog. You can get a site (that will remain on the internet even if you stop paying) for just $1 with their Micro.one plan. It’s a great service at a great deal.

See you again tomorrow, and happy Blaugust!

This is post #1/31 for Blaugust 2025.

Upgraded Introduces an iPad Pro Upgrade Program That Beats Apple’s Own Prices

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 19:17:00 -0400

Fans of Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program — the one where you pay monthly for an iPhone and have the opportunity to upgrade to a new model after a given number of payments — rejoice! You can now get a similar deal for an iPad Pro. And when I say “deal”, I really mean it. More on that in a bit.

You might remember the folks at Upgraded have offered a MacBook Upgrade Program for a while now. I used it to purchase this very M4 MacBook Air that I’m typing to you on, and have been super happy with the experience. Their website is crazy-easy to use, setting up the loan very quick, and AppleCare+ is included.

People who like to be on the cutting edge have been asking for Apple to offer this kind of program for products other than the iPhone for years. Upgraded beat them to it for the Mac. And now they have expanded their lineup to include the iPad Pro, lapping Apple in their own game! Here’s how it works, according to their emailed announcement:

Right now, it’s just the iPad Pro models — but the experience works just like our MacBook program. Seamless, flexible, and future-ready. […]

Buying an iPad Pro with us is just like buying a MacBook:

Pay monthly over 36 months.

Plans start at $31.89/month for the 11-inch, or $40.78/month for the 13-inch.

After 24 payments, you can upgrade to a new model or finish the last 12 payments to pay it off.

If you upgrade, we’ll send a prepaid return box. Just transfer your data, send the old iPad back, and we’ll refurbish it for its next life.

I mentioned that the program is great for folks who want the latest and greatest, but I think it’s equally appealing to anyone who wants or needs to pay off their gadgets over time. If you’re happy with your iPad after two years, just hang onto it, pay it off, and it’s yours to keep!

Neat! But you said they’re lower than Apple’s own pricing?

Yep! Crazy, right? But here is is in black and white:

iPad Pro, 11-inch, Wi-Fi, 256GB, Space Black

Upgraded: $999 for the iPad + $149 one-time payment for AppleCare+ = $1148
Apple: $999 for the iPad + $99.99/year for AppleCare+ (3 years for $299.97) = $1298.97

As you can see, Upgraded has Apple beat by about $150.

Upgraded’s checkout on the left, Apple’s on the right. ⌘

Whoa! How is that possible?

How? I’m not sure. But I think it’s because they lined all of this up before Apple’s recent reshuffle of AppleCare+.

I heard that Apple’s monthly and annual pricing went up as they eliminated any AppleCare without Theft & Loss Protection. And I think you used to be able to buy AppleCare for iPads with a one-time payment for a set period (two years?). But that’s no longer an option. It’s now monthly, yearly, or bust.

Even if Upgraded’s AppleCare coverage is only for two years — when you can swap to a new model — instead of three, they’ve still got Apple beat by $50.

The Debt Ceiling

Now, for my MacBook Air purchased through Upgraded, I make monthly payments with 0% interest. That interest rate depends on how Affirm, which manages the loan, judges your credit, so I can’t guarantee that you’ll get that same rate. It may not be as worthwhile if you’re paying a higher interest rate. I don’t link raising my personal debt ceiling, so I probably wouldn’t have sprung for the deal if I was paying extra in interest. But it is absolutely possible to not pay any extra, and in fact pay less than what Apple charges, and have the opportunity to easily upgrade to a newer model in a couple of years.

What will they think up next?

I expect Upgraded will have their hands full for a while expanding to include Mac desktops and other iPad models. But I think they’ve started with the right products.

But what do I want them to offer next?

First of all, the iPhone. I’m not on one of the major cellular carriers, which means I can’t get a phone through Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program. So, personally, I’d be geeked if Upgraded could offer iPhones on their upgrade program. I kind of doubt it since they’re not a carrier, but maybe!

Next on my list would be the Apple Watch. It’s the only other bit of tech that I feel compelled to upgrade every few years, if just for the battery life improvements and additional sensors they keep packing into newer models. My original Apple Watch Ultra is showing its age, and I’m excited to upgrade it this year. If I could do so at a flat, monthly rate and know that I could easily swap it out for a new one again in a few years if I wanted to, I’d definitely jump on board. Fingers crossed.

Disclosure

I don’t have any sort of affiliation with Upgraded, but they did offer me a one-time discount on my MacBook Air purchase earlier this year. It was unprompted, and basically done as a thank you for all the customers I had sent their way after I first wrote about them last year. I probably would have purchased my MacBook through Upgraded even without the discount just so I could pay it off over time. And now that I’ve actually tried their service, I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

7 Things This Week [#177]

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 17:24:00 -0400

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.

1️⃣ Got a move streak mix up on your Apple Watch where the gadget thinks you missed a day, but you haven’t? There is a fix! (Related: my stand goal cheater shortcut.) [🔗 sixcolors.com]

2️⃣ New CGP Grey video! I know feel so much smarter about zip codes, and also sad that we don’t use Ireland’s system. [▶️ youtube.com]

3️⃣ Stephen Robles wrote about his journey as a creator, which culminated recently in being invited to WWDC. It’s quite touching. [🔗 beard.fm]

4️⃣ There are so many cool new things and improvements in visionOS 26! This newsletter/blog is the best aggregation of all things Vision Pro (though it’s a little disappointing that almost all the sources are from X). [🔗 lastweekinavp.substack.com]

5️⃣ TIL that there are things such as Nest Rafts to provide a place for loons to nest. [🔗 adirondackexplorer.org]

6️⃣ Rafa retrofit an Opal webcam’s guts into an old Apple iSight camera body and it looks awesome!! Ship it! [🦣 mastodon.design]

7️⃣ Matt Birchler did a little digging into ChatGPT’s alleged gender bias and came away with some optimism. [🔗 birchtree.me]

🔗 Take a Chance