Om Mallik:
“Blogging is an individual and, I would say, selfish act — you do it because it is what you want to do for you.” Pure blogging is “blogging” because you have something to say. To me, that ability is what makes you a pure blogger. Any other explanation of blogging “is just the traditional idea of media,” meant for an audience and reach.
I risk spoiling next Sunday’s Serial with this post, but I’m so jazzed about it that I couldn’t help but post. I made a cup of coffee using this moka pot and some of the beans my dad roasts, and it was exquisite.
My mistake in previous efforts was keeping the lid closed and going full whack on the range. That’s not how you do it: you brew using medium to medium-high heat (I went between a six and a seven on our electric range) and leave the top lid flipped open. You should pull it off just before the brew starts to sputter.
Here’s this week’s list of things to check out:
CardHop: One of the challenges of not using Google’s suite through your web browser is the lack of access to the email directory. At my previous job and current job, I often have to jump into Google Contacts to find an email address of a person that I didn’t have in my address book already (or hadn’t communicated with using my email application of choice, which is MailMate… although the limitations apply to Outlook and Apple’s Contacts app and pretty much everything else I’ve used). MailMate does allow you to scour emails you’ve already received and sent as autocomplete options, which is often good enough for me (but far short of ideal). I happened to open Cardhop earlier today and noticed that you can add directories to your accounts, which allows you to search your organization’s contact database. Cardhop is included with a Fantastical subscription, which I’ve long had and plan to continue to keep, because it’s a great product.
Below we have Toro and Chu-toro, two tuna belly cuts. Aaron and I enjoyed them immensely. And after that, we have the prime rib from our local Maplewood. Rhonda and I had nice big Martinis and I knew the only choice was a steak. I skipped the potatoes.
An oldie but goodie from John Gruber that I just discovered while looking for ways to soft-wrap text in BBEdit:
tell application "BBEdit"
tell window 1
if not (soft wrap text) then
set soft wrap text to true
set soft wrap mode to page guide
set show page guide to true
else if (soft wrap mode is page guide) then
set soft wrap mode to window width
set show page guide to false
else
set soft wrap text to false
end if
end tell
end tell
I use BBEdit all the time for editing text. LaunchBar fires the script for me.
I tried a 30-minute beginner ride. I really liked the hardware and the software. Two yellow sliders give you constant feedback about pace and resistance. I liked it a lot.
I saw this video on YouTube last night and it was definitely a mind:blown moment. One of OmniFocus’s most powerful (pro) features are perspectives, which allow you to narrow your (ahem) focus to tasks you are able or willing to complete. I have created a dozen or so of my own perspectives in OmniFocus, including several in my attempt to organize my tasks in the Eisenhower Matrix, a “weekends” perspective, and some others to separate work from home open loops.
The idea, however, of using the Focus feature on iOS/macOS/iPadOS to accomplish a similar thing blew my mind. I immediately updated my Work and Home Focus settings on my iPhone to include the Work and Home folders exclusively when the Focus is applied, and it works just as described. I could certainly use a bit more granular there, but that may come in time. Also: that’s what perspectives are for.
This was a great opportunity for me to explore the Focus feature in the Apple Ecosystem once again. I had restricted contacts in the same Focus settings depending upon the Focus mode, but it’s cool to see how many app notifications you can turn off, app by app, with this feature.
New in iOS18 (and iPadOS and macOS) are collapsible sections in Notes. This is a nice feature to have in what has always been a bit staid in the note taking department. Notes is really great for taking handwritten notes.
I was wondering when this feature bowed, and I came across these cool guides that Apple publishes. They generally just note new features from device to device, which was helpful for my purposes, but I can see checking them out in the future, too.
I remember when TextEdit had an outlining feature.
This is a surprise.
This is what’s left of the wooden grill scraper I bought years and years ago. It was flat at the business end when I purchased it. These things came out of nowhere after some reports about the dangers of metal grill brushes. I remember telling a relative about it and he joked that instead of metal filings, you get splinters. I have never encountered anyone injured from a grill brush (and boy have I used them), but no one has gotten splinters from this tool, either. I will certainly be replacing it with another wooden one.
I guess it’s middle age talking, but I got to thinking about what I’d do if I didn’t work for a living (or work as much). And I thought pretty quickly that most of what I’d do would be more of what I do now, when I have time: write for Uncorrected, play guitar and sing, take lots of pictures, and exercise. I do have a notion that one day I’d like to take golf lessons and play at the public courses around here, too, but that’s probably only aspirational.
And partly inspired by a bottle of rosé but in an authentic, clear-headed sense, Rhonda and I were talking about what life would be like for us without certain encumbrances, and we agreed that it would look pretty much like it does for us now. I let that ring in my skull for a bit; she can be perceptive and wise at just the right times, and this was one of those moments. It put me in mind of Nietzsche’s Eternal Return or Recurrence: would you will this moment to happen again? That is his invocation for our existence.
I wrote back in June of 2020 about my increasing rate of photo-taking, mostly due to having a smart phone.1 I thought it would be fun to go back and update my photo-taking activity after a couple of device upgrades.
| Phone | Photos | Videos |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 3G | 927 | 0 |
| iPhone 4 | 1780 | 268 |
| iPhone 5 | 2048 | 135 |
| iPhone 6 Plus | 1974 | 27 |
| iPhone 7 | 1802 | 57 |
| iPhone X | 2122 | 47 |
| 11 Pro Max | 1435 | 38 |
| 12 Pro Max | 2707 | 115 |
| 14 Pro | 7187 | 818 |
I wrote back then that I take about a thousand pictures a year. That was generally true; at the time I wrote the original post, I was on track to take around 3,000 pictures a year, as I only had the iPhone 11 for one year before opting to upgrade to the 12. I took around 2700 with the 12… but over 7k with the 14 Pro. I took a lot more video with the 14 as well, by a significant margin.
I don’t expect the 16 Pro to bear the same load.
1I have no question that the evolution of the cameras in modern smartphones, and in my case, the iPhone, is directly related to the trend in my photo taking.
Here’s this week’s list of things to check out:
Mums: Nothing says fall quite like the harvest of fresh vegetables, pumpkins everywhere, and of course, mums. Rhonda always stocks up on them at a local farm and makes a pretty display on our side porch. I would live like a bachelor were it not for her touch.
Martha Stewart’s Pickled Cabbage recipe: Related to number two, cabbage is always available, for a cheap price, in the fall. We have a small stand down the road that employs the honor system and treats the locals in the know to dirt-cheap lettuce, cabbage, beets, peppers, sweet potatoes, and other seasonal veggies. I’ve long wanted to try quick-pickling a head of Napa cabbage. We sometimes have quick-pickled asian-style cucumbers with dinner, and I love it. I also love sauerkraut and asian pickled vegetables when they’re featured in a dish. As such, I have been pickling different cabbages, most recently (as in today) a head of regular old cabbage. I’ve tried a few recipes, but Martha’s seems to be sticking. My first batch featured way too much dried red pepper flakes, entirely an accident, but it was delicious and spicy.
I installed Default Folder X last night on a Mac, realizing that the simplified save dialog was suppressed when this utility is running; I don’t like, and never have liked, the simplified version.
Fortunately, a fix is only two Terminal commands away:
defaults write -g NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool TRUE
It’s an old tip, but a good one.
The Default Save As… sheet
The Expanded Save As… dialog