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📡✨ Surface

I feel that I'm barely scratching the surface of Claude Code when I see all those videos and articles about it.

→ Links 🔗 On Glass New Branding

Well, well, well... Glass has a new branding. Beyond the blog post explaining the thinking behind this change, I think we lost something in the process. I really liked the G letter; it was more approachable. The new logo looks too "corporate". Still, I love this service very much. https://glass.photo/brand

OCR Options in macOS

When you're faced with text that you can't select in the conventional way on your Mac (meaning with the cursor), there are several options. They all work in slightly different ways, and I use the one most appropriate for the task.   Live Text RecognitionThe operating system has a feature called Live Text Recognition , an on-device computer vision feature that detects and extracts text from images and video so you can interact with it like normal text. It uses Apple’s Neural Engine to perform optical character recognition; OCR, directly on your Mac. That means you can: • Select and copy text from photos in Finder, Preview, Photos, or screenshots • Click phone numbers to call via iPhone integration • Translate detected text instantly • Look up addresses, track packages, or search highlighted words The key idea is this: pixels become selectable characters without sending your data to the cloud....

It seems to me there are no meaningful or practical politics remaining in the exhausted left versus right axis. What appears much more fertile is the opposition to the top from the bottom, which cuts across so much more than existing obsolete party political lines.

Nail hit squarely on the head. No wonder she won. “Because life has changed. Instead of working for a nice life, we're working to line the pockets of billionaires. We are being bled dry.” — Hannah Spencer, new Green MP for Gorton and Denton, Greater Manchester. See her full  acceptance speech. It rocks.

Droppy - Updates and New Features

I have tried a variety of notch apps, and I haven't been truly happy with any of them. I am not sure whether the novelty of the interface is the problem, or if it's the design of the apps I've used that bothers me. I recently installed Droppy, an app built entirely with Swift for speed and stability, and I like it more than the other notch apps I've used. I don't say this lightly, but it could be the best $7 you ever spend on software. It isn't overloaded with superfluous features, and the features it does have can be toggled on and off easily. It also seems very stable--I haven't encountered any bugs so far. Utility ReplacementsDepending on which features you enable, Droppy can replace several categories of single-purpose apps: • Clipboard Manager -- Toggled off by default, you can enable a clipboard manager that's accessible from the...

Enable opusplan mode for Claude Code

What is opusplan mode? Anthropic documentation says: “Special mode that uses opus during plan mode, then switches to sonnet for execution” Here is how to enable it: 1. Inside Claude Code session run /mode opusplan 2. In settings write: "model": "opusplan"

MacPilot Tweaks Some Hard to Get To Settings in macOS

On Sale at BundleHunt for $3.99 MacPilot, a customization and utility app from Koingo Software, normally sells for $29.95 but it is currently $3.99 on  Bundlehunt. There are similar apps like Onyx and Tinker Tool out there that are free, but for the price I thought I'd take a look. Applications Mac Pilot contains settings for several system apps. Here are just of the few things it can control. • Calendar - change event duration • Disk Utility - modify core storage • Dock - single app mode, enable window previews • Finder - enable "Quit Finder" • Help Viewer - user normal instead of floating windows • Music - enable half-star ratings • Quick Time - Remember open movies on quit • Safari - Backspace goes to previous page • Screen Capture - change file type • Spotlight - Reset index • System - Disable notification center • Terminal...

• 🐶 Tweaked wording for the Small Web section so it's clearer what this is. "Kagi Small Web is an initiative by Kagi to humanize the web" — with links to the actual Small Web site. • ... also cleared up some of the instructions.

How to Sell Online: An 8-Step Practical Playbook

Most people trying to sell online get stuck at the wrong point. They build too much before validating, price by guesswork, and treat their landing page like a portfolio. This playbook walks through the complete process from offer creation to retention - the same framework behind the Selling Online guide at yuzool.com/guides/selling-online.html. Step 1: Decide What to Sell (Without Burning Out)The starting question most people ask is "what can I make?" but the better question is what you can repeatedly deliver at high quality and keep improving every month. The goal is an offer with clear customer outcomes and low support overhead. There are four sellable formats worth picking from: a productized service (fixed-scope with clear deliverables), a digital asset (templates, checklists, mini-courses), a paid workflow tool (a niche utility that saves time), or a hybrid ladder (a low-ticket item that leads to a high-ticket service). Validate before building. Start...

1Password

1Passwordが値上げされる。App Storeで確認したら現在の利用料は2500円だった。理由は忘れたけど安価な時期に利用を開始したからだと思う。しばらく時間をおいて再度確認したら次の更新の料金は8000円になっていた。サブスクリプション契約は今年の10月までだが、次の更新時に値上がりするためにあらかじめ価格を変更したんだろう。 長年使っていたが3倍以上の値上げとなると代替品を探さないといけない。Apple標準のパスワード管理アプリもあるけど。それだとChromeと悪い。以前の1Passwordの価格に近いもので日本語対応をしているのがベストだけど何がいいかわからない。 パスワード管理ソフトについて調べ出したら昨晩は遅い時間までかかってしまった。 ふと我にかえって、「何も今すぐ結論を出す必要ない。10月までには何かいいのが見つかるさ。今は目ぼしいものがなくても、今回の値上げで離れていくユーザーを獲得するために今は日本語に対応していない製品も対応してくるかもしれないし」と考え直して寝ることにした。何も急ぐ必要はないんだ。

So I went and tried Terry Godier’s new RSS reader Current. The only thing I liked about it was it’s lack of an unread count, otherwise I found it waaaay to complicated and over-engineered. If you’re looking for a beautifully designed, calm RSS reader with no unread count, look no further than Sublime Feed. “The RSS feed reader designed for mindful consumption, a serene interface, and distraction-free reading that puts the focus back on what you love to read.” It does exactly what is says on the tin and doesn’t require a seemingly endlessly scrolling explainer. I’m also interested to see what Manton comes up with… 🤔

The Weekly Review 08-26

The Weekly Scribble  “If you focus on the hurt, you will continue to suffer. If you focus on the lesson, you will continue to grow.” My Apple Store experience  Finally! I got my iPhone 15 back after many months without. The unpleasant part was the £289.00 charge on collection. The screen needed replacing after I had smashed it. In my last weekly review, I mentioned I had an unfortunate accident with my phone. Well, now I have the phone back and it feels like getting a new phone altogether. I knew the iPhone 11 wasn’t the fastest phone but I did not realise the significance until I started comparing the two phones side by side. I booked an appointment online to attend the closest Apple Store in Manchester. Oddly, the ics invite had the address but when I hit the Apple Maps link, it sent me to a complete different...

Trace Helps You Make Informed Disk Management Decisions

Unless you’re seeing severely degraded performance during large writes, or macOS is actively warning you that you’re out of space, you can usually let the system manage storage. It does a solid job. If you do need to step in and make selective deletions, a newer app from Switzerland—Trace—offers genuinely informed assistance. When it was introduced on Reddit, some commenters dismissed it as yet another vibe-coded “optimizer.” That assumption doesn’t hold up. Trace has thorough documentation and a deep feature set. It’s not a one-click wrecking ball, a “system optimizer,” or a fake RAM cleaner. It’s a disk analysis tool built for people who want to understand what’s actually taking up space—usually user-created files—and make deliberate decisions. Every removal option is clearly classified as Safe, Questionable, or Not Safe. That framing alone separates it from most consumer cleanup tools. One of the most practical features is its quarantine system. Instead...

Whatever practice one may be engaged in, I would place one requirement above all others — above habit, endurance, persistence, ritual, technique, and study — and that is honesty.

Disk Maintenance Mythology

When it comes to disk management, old myths die hard. Many of us remember when hard drives were tiny and expensive. My first PC had a 140 MB drive. I was furious that the WordPerfect executable alone was 12 MB. One app. Twelve megabytes. That felt criminal. Those early experiences left a mark. Even today, people worry about “memory” when they really mean disk space. Years ago, I jokingly told a user she should stop using large fonts because they were filling up her drive. She believed me. That’s the level of mythology we’re still dealing with. The reality: macOS 26 manages disk space remarkably well. Most users don’t need to think about disk usage until they’re around 90% full or seeing real warning signs. Yes, bugs happen. Eventually you’ll encounter a runaway process that eats tens of gigabytes and refuses to let go. But that’s the exception, not the...

"You cannot fact-check your way out of status competition"

In daily life, social mistakes often cost more than intellectual ones, so it can feel like it's more important to belong than to be correct. In this article, Dan Williams joins many others in framing the anti-intellectual tendencies of today's populist movements as a matter of social dynamics like this. We've known for a long time that the simplest story wins. It's as true in politics as it is in marketing. Unfortunately, reality is nuanced and often inconvenient. Being wrong or, even worse, not knowing is experienced not as an opportunity, but as failure. Moreover, it's scary. Consider that this tendency exists in a world where fewer and fewer people hold more and more power over everyone else, and it's not hard to understand the rise of conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, cults, and similar systems. All these fringe positions offer an escape valve for the pent-up fear, frustration, and exhaustion...

📡✨ Nope.app

Three apps recently introduced or updated that don't click with me: Current (RSS reader a la Tapestry), Acme Weather (a pale clone of Dark Sky), and NetNewsWire 7 (a regression from the pre-Liquid Glass era).

Lingon Pro Now on Sale, Fluent's Last Day at $4.99

I'm a big fan of BundleHunt, the quarterly software sale website. Lingon Pro, app app I've covered several times went on sale today for $4.00. It is also the last day to get Fluent at the sale price of $4.99. Fluent Fluent, by presents a smart panel you interact with directly. That panel can stay persistent or disappear depending on your preference. The experience feels less like firing off commands and more like working alongside an assistant. Fluent is context-aware, supports back-and-forth conversation, and allows chaining actions together into something closer to a workflow than a single command. Fluent also includes RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). In plain terms, that means the model doesn’t rely only on its training data — it can reference files you provide to generate responses. You can organize these files into areas like projects, emails, or a catch-all bucket for your writing style. In practice, that means...

Desktop Workflow Apps

There are a number of apps that can help you incorporate your Desktop into your workflow in useful ways. You can adapt your desktop to be an information dashboard, a centralized launcher for applications, shortcuts, folder access, and bookmarks, and a space for multiple project-based setups with access to relevant folders, files, and applications. Here’s how it works. Accessing the DesktopAlmost everything I do can be triggered with a hotkey. I use so many hotkeys that I have trouble remembering them all, so I use ExtraBar to keep a handy menu of them that I can access from anywhere if I can't bring a particular combo to mind immediately. Supercharge is a multi-purpose tool from uber-developer, Sindre Sorhus. It has dozens of tweaks, shortcuts, and utilities. One of these hides all open applications, revealing your desktop. Another toggles the visibility of your desktop widgets, allowing you to hide or show...

I remember getting caught in New York during the 1993  Storm of the Century.  The heating in the apartment I was staying in conked out and I sat at the window, wrapped in blankets, watching New Yorkers go about their business… on skis!

“We go on—not upward, not forward, but just on…” — Anon

What's New at Yuzool Studio — February 2026 Roundup

A lot has shipped at Yuzool Studio over the past two weeks. Here's a quick summary of everything that's new across the suite as of February 23, 2026. The Studio now has 33 tools across 5 modules: Build and Launch, Publish and Monetize, Client Ops, Focus and Personal, and Library and Discovery. No account is required, and everything is built on a local-first foundation. February 21 - Pricing Direction The Studio has moved to one-time pricing. The goal is to keep adding value to the core suite while keeping pricing fair. Two new market guides are also live: Creator Economy Trends 2026 and State of the Creator Economy, covering monetization examples, offer ladders, and execution playbooks. February 19 - Unified Dashboard Home The Studio dashboard is now the default home page at yuzool.com. All modules (build, publish, ops, focus, and library) are now accessible from a single unified view. Legacy...

📡✨ Pondering

Started pondering about using Claude Code to build a custom Micro.blog theme based on my branding and design taste. Seems a good use case of Claude Code. 🤔💭😛

• ❤️ Tweaked the footer icons for small web to link to the Kagi Small Web site instead of the GitHub repo. • 💅 Also, icons you upload yourself are not linked to Small Web — only when you choose them from the Small Web gallery.

Out in the wilderness today…

Maybe I should create a book list?

I was thinking the other day - maybe I should create a list of books I have read with links to notes I have made on them? A review of the books wouldn't be necessary because reviews can be subjective.  I once had the notes in an expensive note-taking software. The problem I have is the feeling of being stuck with an app (and subscription) I am not getting the most out of. Surely, a publicly accessible page is better suited for my needs. Also, anyone else can read the notes. Share is caring, after all. 

Apple TV shows so far

Loot and Severance are my favourite series on Apple TV. The Morning Show is up there, too. However, the latest season has lost its shine. Ted Lasso is truly amazing. The Studio surprised me - I didn't know if I liked it at first but then I became obsessed with it. Murder Bot is truly a diamond in the rough. I would definitely recommend watching it. I loved the first season of Plur1bus and I am curious to where it is going to go. I have a dedicated list of what I am have watched, watching and want to watch on Apple TV here - Apple TV Watch List.

a few reps

I have the desire to write. Always have, now more than ever, but my writing muscle is so unused that I’m not even sure how to start. So I guess I’ll just write what comes to mind.  I need to file our 2025 taxes, but wanted to get a few words down first. Thought I’d update my Now page but can’t even think about what to put there. Such a weird thing, the challenge.  Snow is forecasted for tomorrow. Praying we don’t get it. I legit injured my right bicep/shoulder after shoveling us out of the last storm. Not sure if I’d be much use this time around. Has highlighted just how very weak I have become physically. Once I’m through this self-therapy and recovery I’m going to need to figure out a plan for strengthening. At this point I can’t even pass football with Mozzie, and that just can’t...

• 🔐 You can now transfer your session to another device, without having to enter your email & password. Just head on Login & Security, and you'll see the "Devices" section with a one time code to use. Don't share this of course. You can also scan a QR code on your phone and it will do it for you. • 🐛 Fixed a bug when some images didn't load because we didn't recognise the format.

→ Links 🔗 Are Talking To Me?

“Last week I read about custom vibe-coded RSS readers: quick and scrappy tools, non-polished, built to solve a particular need of their owner. Today I read about Current, which has thoughtful design, interesting concepts, and attention to detail.” I wonder if he is referring to one of my recent posts about RSS Flow... 👀 https://jeroensangers.com/2026/02/18/the-artisan-and-the-tinkerer.html

Will I ever set up self-hosting?

Still on my SOMEDAY list within Apple Reminders is ‘Learn how to self-host’. I think the original idea was to keep my data self-hosted, so I wasn’t relying on others, especially Big Tech, but I never got round to it.  I read a few articles and a handful of videos, which put me off the process. I’m not interested in self-hosting email. 

Most Discord users do not seem willing to verify their age. This is why Matrix is gaining momentum.

Small Apps That Remove Friction

I'm currently covering apps on sale at BundleHunt. A lot of these are new to me, and the steep discounts make it a good time to fill gaps in your Applications folder without paying full retail. I've never understood why, given its resources, Apple still leaves obvious friction points in macOS. Take battery levels. Most of us are running Bluetooth keyboards, mice, trackpads, and of course battery-powered laptops. Yet macOS still makes you dig around System Settings to see what's about to die. That feels like a solved problem. Or window management in Mission Control. I use it dozens of times a day to move windows between Spaces and displays. It's powerful--but incomplete. There's no way to close a window directly from that view. That omission is hard to justify when third-party developers solved it years ago. Then there's local music management. With subscription fatigue and algorithmic sludge everywhere, more...

Update - Tools page

I've updated my list of digital tools I use on a daily basis. It should come as no surprise that most of them are made by Apple. Apart from NordPass, all other third-party tools were one-off payments. I wanted to curate a list of tools that did not incur repeated costs. View the tools page here or click on the tools tab at the top of my blog.

Everything we can know about consciousness is contained within the experience of consciousness itself.

Itsyhome

“Your entire smart home in the macOS menu bar. Cameras, lights, thermostats, locks, and more - just one click away.” Itsyhome, the Home Assistant app I knew I wanted but didn't know existed 🥰. itsyhome.app

In terms of one’s immediate phenomenological experience in this moment, there is no difference between the memory of an actual experience you once had and an imagined one. It comes as no surprise that the region of the brain responsible for imagination (the hippocampus) is also responsible for memory.

Developer Spotlight - Ryan Hanson

Most Mac power users recognize Ryan Hanson's apps, even if they don't know his name. Hanson's portfolio of Mac interface enhancements has earned him a reputation as the editor in chief of the UI improvement cohort. His apps are a staple of how I use my Mac. His most recognizable work is Rectangle/Rectangle Pro, regarded by many as the pinnacle in Mac window management. Rectangle Pro / Rectangle Rectangle Pro is the full-featured window manager powerhouse, and Rectangle is the free open-source version that many Mac users still recommend as a must-install tool for arranging windows quickly. Basic overview: free/OSS window snapping & keyboard control for macOS. Pro adds workspace saving, multi-window actions, custom shortcuts, and cursor-movement positioning. What I like: • Powerful keyboard shortcuts for tiling and resizing windows -- faster than Mission Control. • Pro adds workspace macros and custom behaviors many pro users love. • A reliable,...

What stories and narratives of self will you be holding onto as you’re dying? Which begs the rather more urgent question, what stories are you holding onto right now?

“When you try to cover the living with explanations, there is death to the living, and that is what most of us desire – we want to be put to sleep by words, by ideas, by thought.” — Krishnamurti

• 🐛 Fixed an issue when you used single line breaks using the new editor, where the lines actually didn't break on your blog.