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20/365

A nice, warm, toasted bagel is just the thing on a frigid MLK Jr. day.

Apps for Trakt

The extensible tracking service, Trakt, for keeping up with your TV and movie watching habits has been around a while. You can use Trakt in a browser, but It has an API that allows app developers to incorporate the Trakt database into their products. Recently, Trakt got a significant new feature with the introduction of scrobbling, the automatic addition of shows watched to your personal database from five of the largest streaming services: • Netflix • Max • Hulu • Amazon Prime • AppleTV+ It also added scrobbling from several popular media centers and players, like Plex, Kodi and VLC...

Today, I'm grateful for my Apple Watch, which motivates me to move more. Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to time-blocking my one key highlight and two important tasks.

🥶 Single digit temps today and rolling brown outs are making this Monday interesting...

value the little things

via @thegoodquote

Week in Review (January 19th, 2025)

👽 Personal • I have a phone interview scheduled for Monday. It's definitely not the most ideal job, but it's a job.  • Alright, put this under the "Wow, I had no idea" category, but the horror film I Spit on Your Grave has a very memorable poster. I guess, a couple of years ago, Demi Moore wrote an autobiography and admitted that was her behind. 🤯 • James introduced me to the concept of hauntology this week. It's been absolutely mind-blowing (and depressing) to research. I have to take in segments because I could get so lost in it....

19/365

A few months ago I switched to a safety razor from disposable ones. I was tired of spending a lot of money on something I threw away. The initial investment was about $60 for the handle and a razor blade sample pack (with 60 blades). I haven’t even used half the blades yet, so the long tween investment is definitely worth it. It’s taken me a bit to adjust to the new hardware, but I’m pretty comfortable with using it now. 

🕖 Now — And the Weekend Is Mostly Gone

• Wow, that was fast. Where is my weekend??? 😩 • I'm quite happy with my creative work this weekend. I completed and published the latest edition of my newsletter and mostly completed my new personal and French blog. Official launch soon🚀, but not here, see next👇🏻.  • A quick explanation about the chosen hosting service for my new blog: I wanted to be able to use a native Mac client for writing and posting, something that is not possible with Scribbles.page (yet? -- Vincent? I know you are watching this! 👨🏻‍💻). Micro.one is my hosting service of choice. Again. ...

Using Obsidian and Drafts Together

When using a Mac for writing, I'm all in on the notes app Obsidian, a plain text/Markdown editor. With it, I use various plugins to create a personalized workspace that provides me with all the tools I want. I use • The editing toolbar • Better word count • Reading lever indicator • Language Tool, a freemium grammar checker • Paste URL into selection On iOS, however, I prefer to write using Drafts, also a plain text tool, but one designed as a temporary holding spot until the text is moved to its final home. Drafts has an online directory...

Kyoko Coffee

A fun visit to the "cutest coffee shop in Austin" -- Kyoko Coffee is a vintage van converted into a stellar, artisanal coffee shop in North Austin. They feature all kinds of killer coffee drinks where all ingredients are made by the proprietor, including the amazing Ube syrup and miso paste used in various concoctions. Well worth a stop! Leica M10-P + Zeiss 35mm Biogon ƒ/2

📝 My Stoic Journal Week 3: Take an Outside View—Self-Sympathy Over Self-Empathy

This week's exercise from a handbook for new Stoics focuses on comforting ourselves by achieving equanimity through a shift in perspective regarding our own troubles. At the core of this practice is the distinction between sympathy and empathy. The Stoics put forward the idea that we should lean more towards cultivating sympathy rather than empathy. Empathy, sharing another person's feelings at an emotional level, often leads to overwhelming responses. Empathy is stronger towards known or visible people but weakens with anonymity. In contrast, sympathy, rooted in reason, acknowledges others’ struggles without getting lost in similar emotions. Sympathy involves caring for...

Watched: An Officer And A Gentleman

It’s interesting watching older movies through the lens of today’s social norms. I never watched “An Officer And A Gentleman” growing up; I was 10 when it was released. It was an interesting story and lots of good acting. But the “romance” part of the movie was a stretch (by today’s standards). The wife and I rated it 6 out of 10.

SnapMotion - High Quality Image Captures from Video, Made Easy

Trying to capture high-quality images from a video can be a frustrating and time-consuming ordeal, requiring the use of multiple apps , the limitations of your screenshot utility, inexact dimensions and extra post-production work. Or you could just use SnapMotion from developer Needed Apps.. SnapMotion can load and play any video format compatible with Apple's QuickTime Player: MPEG-4, HEVC and MPEG-2, MPEG-4, HEVC, H.264, H.263, H.261, Apple Pro Res, DV, Motion JPEG. It can easily handle 4K and 8K videos without bogging down. To use the app, you can load a video from one of three sources: • A file...

18/365

The wife and I walked to Hypergoat Coffee Roasters where I enjoyed a croissant, a cappuccino, and some time working in my notebook and reading.

"Unfortunately, while you may be able to buy power, it’s impossible to buy a good personality." #musk #zuckerberg #cringe #bros 🍜 I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down – I just didn’t expect them to be such losers / Rebecca Shaw / The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/16/i-knew-one-day-id-have-to-watch-powerful-men-burn-the-world-down-i-just-didnt-expect-them-to-be-such-losers

17/365

Basilica Saint Mary seen from Wolfe St.

Quick Tips for App Installation Using Hazel

In this post, I show you how to automate the installation of Mac apps in the two post popular formats ZIP and DMG, so that all you have to do is download a file from a developer's website and with no further action from you, the app will end up in your Applications folder just like if you'd downloaded it from the App Store. Typically, when you download a Mac app from a developer's website, it will come in one of three formats 1. ZIP Archive 2. DMG Disk Image 3. PKG - Package Installer (requires manual installation) You can...

Watched: The Grand Tour

I finally got around to watching the last series of The Grand Tour. I know there are issues with Jeremy Clarkson and he's a bit of a twat, but the series is really fun regardless.

Should I grow up?

It was my birthday this week.  I fell into 55 and wondered if I should grow up soon.  I decided that was over rated and I will continue being me.  It's bad enough having to adult, without having the added responsibility of being a serious grown-up. What did occur to me is that I had lots of lovely birthday messages -- but not one phone call.  Even my mother decided to WhatsApp me. The art of social speaking is dying 😆

Facescreen - Useful Add-on for Screencasting and Presentations

I often have to create screen recordings on my job to distribute to the people I support for tutorials. Occasionally I do screen sharing through Microsoft Teams when conducting training. Facescreen, a utility from developer Ram Patra, provides a useful complement to these use cases. It adds a feed from my webcam with a small configurable view of my face to personalize the video. In addition to the image, Facescreen also lets me add text, such as my email or a website related to the subject of the tutorial or training. It's a nice professional touch. Facescreen, like other apps...

🕖 Now — Weekend Incoming

• Just started a Raycast Focus session to write this little /now blog post. This new feature from Raycast seems effective at blocking distractions. • It's Friday, the weekend is coming, I'm not sure what I'm going to do from a creative hobby perspective beyond finishing my ephemeral scrapbook newsletter edition.  • I should spend some time on Pixelfed, provided the instance can keep up, to post some new photos. • Oh, I see, I must write my first personal blog post for my newly created French blog on Micro.one. I have many reasons for owning a little corner of...

16/365

This Scooby-Doo style mansion is the Vowell-Smith house. It’s the largest house in the historic district. The original owner was a lawyer that represented Robert E Lee after the civil war.

Disk Drill Revisited - Recovering 87K Files from a Drive That Finder Could Not Read

I first wrote about Disk Drill several months ago. The review is below. I recently had a chance to put the paid version of the data recovery tools to work in a real-world situation. I was presented with a 2TB NTFS formatted drive that would mount on my Mac, but displayed the message "Drive not available" and showed no files structure in the Finder. The drive belonged to a relative who lost access to her cloud account when switching jobs and ended up with only one copy of her files from a 20-year career - on a bad drive. Disk...

🙃 I had a ram stick give me trouble on my unraid server last night. Figured while i was at it I'd update the out of date bios. Thanks to Lenovo, this pretty much requires windows. Guess who has two thumbs, got in a hurry, and accidentally nuked my cache drive instead of the correct drive (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Reviews are supposed to be biased

If you see a link to a product or service on this blog, it’s not an affiliate link. I earn no kickbacks and accept no compensation from brands in exchange for coverage here. What I’m sharing is an honest, unvarnished personal impression of what it’s like to live with the thing. But it is not unbiased. I’m not after objectivity in reviews, and I don’t think you should be either. Reviews are mostly useful in aggregate. If a variety of folks experience something in a particular way, chances are higher that you will too. Individually, they’re all biased—but that’s their...

Fudge Roll

3 cups of sugar  3 squares of chocolate  1.5 cups milk  3 tablespoons of butter  1 teaspoon of vanilla  .5 cups of nuts    1. Boil gently, stirring frequently, sugar, butter and milk. 2. When soft balls forms when portion is tested in a cup of cold water, remove the candy from the stove and do not stir for 30 minutes. 3. Add vanilla and beat until thick and creamy. 4. Takes in hands and knead well, shape into two inch roll and sprinkle with nuts.

Using Google Photos on iOS Makes Leaving Meta Easier

If you've had enough of corporate owned social media, specifically Facebook and Instagram, and are investigating how to preserve your photographic memories, the quickest and easiest way, if you have space available, is to transfer them to Google Photos. You can do it from your iPhone. 1. Click the plus button at the top of the screen 2. Then click "Import from other places" 3. Select Facebook and when you authenticate, you will be offered the opportunity to import from your Instagram account(s) as well. Other Reasons to use Google Photos for iOS1. Cross-platform support - if you use both...

15/365

“Got any treats?”

Had to give the GoToSocial sloth a bourbon

He looked thirsty.

Had to get my GoToSocial Dracula themed

https://brbn.omg.lol/@lucas Just can't go wrong with this theming. h/t: https://draculatheme.com/

Conversations with my mother

I decided I'd jot down some of the conversations I have with my mother.  They are often hysterical or bizarre. She's 80 year's old, and completely with it mentally and physically, but she has a different outlook on many things! Here's my first documented chat, for entertainment! Background:  Mum moved to a new house last year.  I persuaded her not to have a land-line, just a mobile.  Earlier today: • Ring ring, ring ring (my mobile; mum calling) • Mum: Hi, it's me.  My mobile doesn't seem to be working.  I can't make any outgoing calls. I've had it plugged...

My default apps as I start 2025

I thought I'd share my default apps as I start 2025. Mostly as an aide-mémoire for me to see how I change during the year, but you may be interested too. I like reading other people's list. It sometimes prompts me to look at alternatives and even change my own app suite. 💻 Desktop OS: Windows 11 for work & Linux (KDE Neon) personally 📱 Mobile: Android 💬 Chat: Whatsapp, Telegram 🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Fastmail 📨 Mail Client: Webmail of Fastmail 📝 Notes: Joplin 📷 Camera: Android phone 📆 Calendar: Fastmail and OneCalendar 📁 Cloud File Storage: Koofr 📖 RSS: Sublime...

"«Love Hotel!» is a collection of photographs of the facades of Japanese Love Hotels, taken in 2023 during a road trip between Tokyo and Shikoku Island." #japan #photography #loveHotel #travel 🍜 Love Hotel http://francoisprost.com/portfolio-item/love-hotel/