Dave Rupert on cheap guitars:

Is the $200 Yamaha the best guitar? No, probably not. Is it a great guitar? Emphatically, yes. An impeccable piece of Japanese engineering. I’ve owned $2,000 guitars, played friends’ $4,000 guitars, and the $200 Yamaha gives them all a run for their money every time. Good entry-level acoustic guitars from Martin and Taylor exist in the $500 range and they’re great purchases you won’t regret, but it’s not until the $1500 range that you start getting the material quality bumps those guitars deserve. But once you have a $1500 guitar, you start to baby it and hide it away in the case to protect it from scratches and bumps, from air of the wrong humidity, and from snoopy kids with clumsy hands. This is not a problem with the $200 Yamaha.

I have two Yamahas, and my acoustic might have been $300 when I got it back in 1995. It’s pretty beat up and I play it all the time. More to the point, it’s always out: I’m looking at it now.

Before I go: Always buy the $200 Yamaha

Musings from a Tangled Mind:

Now, a game I truly hated? Perfection. Which, ironically, I played all the time. Striving for… Perfection. I mean, it’s in the name. It should’ve been called baby’s first anxiety attack. You know this game. You’ve got 60 seconds to jam shapes into a board, or the thing explodes in your face. What kind of sick game is that?

The sequel was Superfection, which offered a more soothing palette but was every bit as unnerving.

Games People Play

John Gruber, on a recent version of the Cortex podcast, described the Mac as a “place” that he goes. It was a charming description that most nerds can identify with: that sense of falling in and getting lost just playing around. I don’t get why to-do items wouldn’t be a great place for that, though. OmniFocus (and Things, and Todoist) are all joys to use.

Additionally, I was inspired to go back to a Shortcut I was trying to create: grab the URL and name of a Safari page and create a new note in Notes with said data. Gruber mentioned using something like this in IconFctory’s Tot. I’d given up on making this work but dove back in. After some chatGPT help, I came up with this:

Dr. Drang’s post on the Tot Shortcut was a big help.

Cortex 169: State of the Workflow

Rhonda’s garden is pumping out some excellent cherry tomatoes right now. I eat these by the handful during the off season, but there’s less (but some) need for grocery store ‘maters this time of year is South Jersey. It’s one for you, one for me when I pick them. And by you, I mean me.

I’m running Developer Beta 4 and I noticed that Tahoe has menu and context menu icons for system stuff (I imagine developers will be able to add their own). These look great and offer some additional information in the interface.

I am not into this inset or well or whatever it’s called in Finder windows. Tahoe on top, Sequoia on the bottom.

Sorry for the double colon! We’re rounding the corner into August. I like swimming in the morning theses days. I had a nice lunch with former colleagues on Friday at the excellent Kibbitz Room; my low-carb strategy was to have an omelette with pastrami. It was excellent. Rhonda and I spent the rest of Friday having spritzes in the pool and then cooking some nachos and chicken breast with white wine, artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes. Wine was had–I grabbed a growler of Astraea at Bellview on the ride home.

Here are some other things to check out in these dog days of summer.

Working Dog Winery

Rhonda and I stopped here during a layover between tickets to the Grounds for Sculpture and check in at the hotel. We were quick to select the stainless steel barrel aged Chardonnay out of curiosity; we tend to go for oaked styles. It was great and the staff member who chatted us up was a great source of information about the wine and the local culture. He clued us into the wine menu at Rat’s, where we had dinner after a spin around Grounds for Sculpture.

Fresh Clean Threads

Fresh Clean Threads started out as Fresh Clean Tees, and was a place I could get reasonably affordable plain t-shirts shipped to me. I was in the habit of just getting a few t-shirts from Old Navy or Gap, wherever Rhonda was shopping online at the time, and wearing those until they wore out. The wild variations from garment to garment, though, set me in search of something different. I have tried True Classic tees and Fresh Clean Threads, and I much prefer the latter. I just got three new ones because the last batch were starting to unravel.

Fantastic Four: First Steps

We took the boys to see Fanastic Four: First Steps at our beloved Tilton Square Theater. I am not a fan of the comic so I can’t be critical in a comic-nerd way. Like Superman, First Steps skips the origin story, neatly recapping how the Fantastic Four came to be in a few quick montages; at the outset of the film, they are an established and famous, much-beloved team. The story mixes high tech into the sixties, with the F4 hover car dashing over men in fedoras. Hot-head Johnny Storm longs to be taken seriously, and his efforts to impress Ben and super-genius brother-in-law Reed Richards pay off in the end. It’s a light and quick tale, and sets up the Fantastic Four to play a part in the larger upcoming Avengers film, which will evidently feature Dr. Doom. Exciting reboots all around. The art style points squarely at the older design of the team’s logo, and it’s a feast for the eyes/

We hit our local sushi joint with the kids last night and Rhonda and I split the Valenzano Rosé we brought home from our trip last weekend. Paired nicely indeed. Drier than I remembered, but still a nice berry note.

Michael Tsai, writing about iOS 26:

It reduces the amount of information displayed on screen, and you’ll have to scroll more as a consequence. Look at the Before and After layouts: the Before layout doesn’t need solutions to increase its clarity. You’re just injecting white space everywhere. It’s also ironic that where more space and ‘breathing room’ are actually necessary, the header (“Single Table Row” in the figure) is pushed even nearer to the status bar.

I installed macOS 26 Tahoe on an M1 MacBook Pro and it looked downright horsey to me in the default resolution for this display (1512 x 982). Safari was all chrome. Bumping up to 1800 x 1189 looks much better to my eyes, if a little small.

 iOS 26 Information Density 

Rhonda and I pivoted from grilled chicken breast marinated in greek yogurt to chicken drums to baby back ribs in the span of 30 minutes or so Sunday morning. We’d settled on drums but she spied some previously frozen ribs on sale while we were prowling ShopRite, so we got those. My notion was to sous vide them, but that task,I learned, is better suited to an overnight bath at a low temp than a four-or-five-hour dip in the tank. I realized I might be able to sous vide passable ribs in the same time it would probably take me to smoke them, so smoke them I did.

I didn’t have any smoke wood, which was an oversight on my part, and I also ran out of charcoal briquettes,; careful application of the Minion Method, using lump charcoal, nicely checked off both boxes.

OmniFocus 4.7 (now in beta) offers a new feature: the Planned field. I’ve been testing this and using it liberally since updating my devices; this feature isn’t available unless you migrate your database on all of your devices to the 4.7 beta.

Planned fills in where so many of us were (mis)using defer dates. Unlike defer dates, however, a planned date doesn’t obscure a task from your project lists or perspectives. It does, however, enable some creative perspective uses.

Planned is kind of a third-level filter for me, where deferred dates often were. My general practice is to flag tasks that need attention soon, ideally in the current work week, and then use planned dates (formerly deferred dates) to give me a list of things I intend to to do today. Due dates mean that something is actually due that day, and I try not to monkey with the feature’s intention.

I’m looking forward to being able to nudge planned dates back using Omni Automation.

The Planned field will revise how I use defer dates for sure, which will be more respectful of my Forecast perspective. It’s a nice addition.

I converted this weekend, already long due to having Fridays off in the summer, to an extra-long weekend, using a vacation day for Thursday so Rhonda and I could make a quick overnight getaway to the excellent Grounds for Sculpture. The weekend was otherwise populated with a graduation party yesterday and hanging out with old friends last night. There are baby back ribs on the smoker as we speak.

Grounds for Sculpture

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Rhonda and I finally nipped away for an overnight stay near the Grounds for Sculpture. We took the boys back in 2019, and after a big lunch at Meatheadz Cheesesteaks, we were no match for the day’s heat. Rhonda and I have always meant to go back.

I always wondered about the place before we took the boys, too; I’d see signs for it on 295 on the way home from visiting my grandfather in Milford, NJ. I had developed an appreciation for sculpture working at the Berman Museum at Ursinus; they had a notable collection of Lynn Chadwick pieces displayed across campus, and even at a private school nearby. As told to me by the collection manager, the museum had a very valuable collection of his maquettes, too.

Grounds for sculpture is especially enjoyable because much of the art is displayed outdoors (there are indoor galleries as well). The scope of the art ranges from small pieces on pedestals to life-size installations of humans lazing at a picnic. There are many installations that are massive as well. It’s a very cool place to wander around irrespective of your fluency in sculpture.

Bellview Winery’s Gruner Veltliner

We hit some wineries this weekend, but one special treat was a bottle of our local Bellview Winery’s Gruner Veltliner, which I picked up to take over a friend’s house. Rhonda and I polished it off in short order. It’s an Austrian grape known for producing a crisp, dry white.

Watermelon Salad Hack (Serious Eats)

Speaking of the party last night, I wanted to bring a watermelon salad along, to only because watermelon is delicious, but because I saw this trick on Serious Eats and wanted to experiment with the technique. You macerate the melon with a small amount of granulated sugar for a half hour before tossing your salad together. The fruit did shed a fair amount of liquid during its stay in the colander. Everyone seemed to like the salad. Sadly, I took no pics.

Rhonda and I took the boys to Grounds for Sculpture back in July of 2019, nearly six years ago to the day. It was a scorcher, and everyone was eager to find air conditioning. The two of us always swore we’d go back one day, which we finally did. We wanted to experience the sculpture, and have a bite at the bespoke-looking Rats restaurant.

I used Tripsy to plan our overnight getaway; Tripsy nicely organized our room (Courtyard by Marriot in Hamilton), the Grounds’ tickets, which I ordered online, and our OpenTable for the Rez at Rats.

Working Dog Winery

One of my central dilemmas over being the de facto trip planner is making small decisions that can impinge on the entire trip. We couldn’t check in until 3 pm and we both liked the idea of dropping our bag off at the hotel before going to the museum (requiring more driving than necessary, but allowing us to keep our luggage out of a broiling trunk). I moved our tickets for the museum back to 4 pm., tinking we’d need time to check in at 3 pm at the hotel and then drive over to the museum. But we were early to the hotel, and had some time to burn. I did the only natural thing that occurred to me in the moment: look for a local winery. It was easily 4 pm when we pulled ourselves out of Working Dog Winery, having split a bottle of Chardonnay and chatted with each other and the staff. There were two other chardonnays and additional whites were wanted to try, so it’s on our short list of places to visit again.

Grounds for Sculpture

We nearly flaked on our 4 pm admission tickets, having burned up so much time chatting and sipping wine at Working Dog. The gent at the gate let us know that, because there was an event happening, we were free to tour the grounds even though it was nearly 5 pm, the time at which the Grounds closes to the public. Which is exactly what we proceeded to do. We were both a fine mood from the bottle we’d split, and eager to have some dinner, so we split our walk between before and after dinner sessions. In the waning light of dusk, the hard sun gives way to a gentler glow about the property and sculptures. We had a great walk after dinner, an experience I’d recommend to anyone. The grounds would be beautiful just after dawn or as the sunlight wanes. Rhonda took some of my favorite pics.

Rats

One particular fixation for us from our visit in 2019 was Rats: this French-inspired bistro is cleanly integrated into the Grounds themselves, and welcomes the thirsty visitor with a bar aside the Grounds’ koi pond, patio seating, and a flowing collection of dining rooms indoors. I booked a seat outside for us, but we moved the adventure inside because of the heat.

I was concerned about the cocktail list: there was nothing classic that suggested to me that the bartender would be able to make an appropriately proportioned gin martini. I asked for two of the same, 6:1 ratio., up with olives.

What followed was a comedy of mixology, with the waiter returning to confirm what I had asked for. One suggestion he made, after conferring with the bartender, was that asking for a drink “up” meant asking for a drink without vermouth. I responded that that would have been a request for a dry martini, but OK. I explained again what I was asking for, and we were in fact treated to a couple of nice cocktails, evidently stirred and not shaken. Dinner was excellent, although we had some bread pacing issues that were rectified by eating with glutinous intensity. We split some mussels, and then Rhonda had steak frites (made with a hanger steak no less), and I had the pork chop, which joins a growing list of restaurants that are using sous vide to push out some flawless chops.

The gentleman we chatted with at Working Dog said that Rats had a nice wine list, so I opted for a bottle of Hugel reisling. The winery is in Alsace, and I went through an Alsacia Reisling phase back when I was first getting into wine, having read that James Joyce favored the varietal. It was great. We got dessert too and then toured the grounds for a bit.

Vallenzano Winery

Our ride up and back took up north and south along good old Route 206. This is a long and straight road up through the Pinelands and connects the blueberry capital of the world, Hammonton, NJ, with Trenton, the capital of New Jersey. I found a couple of wineries along the route home to try if we were feeling like it, which we were. As was the case with our check in, we were early getting out of the hotel, and our enthusiasm for trying one or more of the dry rosés at Stokelan Estates was foiled by our early arrival. Regrettably they weren’t open yet, so we alighted for nearby Valenzano Winery. We were gifted with a bottle from this place once and it was a sweet wine, but the menu revealed some dry selections.

We tried their rosé, which the server explained was made with Merlot grapes. It was a fruiter version than the Outer Coastal Plains versions we’ve been enjoying, but a solid departure where the others overlap in profile. It was a bit more berry up front, with a bright, fruity nose. Nice and dry on the palate though. Their Vidal Blanc was also very good; described as the Pinot Grigio of the East Coast by Valenzano, it’s a light, dry, drinkable wine, with some citrus and minerality.

Baglianis

We can’t be close to Hammonton and not stop at Bagliani’s for a salami. Which we did. I had to device a circuitous route in, as there’s a big festival going on now that blocks up the middle of town. But we made out just fine.

One of the benefits of living near the Jersey Shore (and Delaware Bay and its tributaries) is easy access to blue claw crabs. I have been steaming them the same way for maybe 20 years: in a cup of white wine, a can of beer (12 oz if you’re counting), and some chopped garlic softened up in some olive oil. The crabs get a dusting of old bay before they steam. I drop a big nub of butter in when they’re done and spoon the remaining liquid over the crabs and some pasta.

We’re late to the crab party this year for some reason, but patience is its own reward.

It’s hard to believe we’ve burnt through almost half of July already. Rhonda and I have a quick getaway planned for later in the week–more then, with pics. I’ve been shopping online for a new four-thirds digital camera but I’m not sure I’m ready to take that plunge. Maybe in a Sunday Serial in the future.

Coppola Chardonnay

Rhonda and I nipped out to the Maplewood for a quiet dinner on Friday. I switched out the Kendall Jackson Chard we usually get for the Coppola, out of curiosity. It’s a less luscious, brighter take on the varietal. Affordable and good.

Superman

I’m cheating since I wrote about Superman earlier in the weekend, but it was a really good flick. I came up on Superman starting with the Super Friends TV show, which wasn’t good, and then the Christopher Reeve films, of which I have fond memories (the first two only) but Reeve’s Boy Scout portrayal cemented, in me, my preference more conflicted, vulnerable characters like Batman, Daredevil, and Punisher. Superman has always been a monolith where others are more human: fractious, duplicitous, obsessed, yes, but alternately selfless and committed. James Gunn’s Superman is no Ubermensch; we enjoy a Superman just as conflicted and unsure of himself as we humans are.

Superman is an ideal. He represents the best we can aspire to be. He’s not the hero you relate to, à la Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s ongoing struggle to pay his rent and buy Aunt May her damn medicine. He’s the hero who inspires you, who shows you the way.

James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ movie is corny. Which is why it gets Superman right

The sun gives Superman superhuman powers; I get a pool and spritzes. Being Supes was fun for a couple of hours, but I’ll take the pool.

Home

I got stuck a couple of miles from home due to a flash flood. It was maddening to be in walking distance of home and not be able to get there. When I finally pulled into the driveway and a broad grin spread over my face, I reflected that that might be how Aaron will feel when he first comes back from college in the midst of his first semester. Coming home is a simple pleasure that I experience every day, but is something you realize you take for granted when circumstances impinge upon custom.

We all want a soft place to fall.