I’m contemplating a career change - or at least a new job. Is there anybody out there that might be interested in having a conversation?
Today I learned that Siri can identify buffalo grass with its machine learning.
Uncle Buck, 1989 - ★★
It’s pretty bad, but it still an iconic 80s movie.
It was wonderful to have a conversation with @heyscottyj today. Another cool friendship in the making.
I’m trialling Raycast (again 🙄) as a possible replacement for Launchbar.
Harry Froling has nothing on Nick Tan!
My App Toolkit 2023
At the beginning of 2023, an update to my 2020 post about my App Toolkit.
It is still overflowing with tools, although I think it’s in better shape than at my last review.
| Purpose | iOS Primary | iOS Secondary | macOS Primary | macOS Secondary | Best Cross Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blogging | Gluon | Micro.blog | MarsEdit | Micro.blog | Drafts |
| Report Writing | Word | Ulysses | Word | Word | |
| Meeting Notes | Agenda | iThoughts | Agenda | iThoughts | Agenda |
| Daily Notes | Agenda | Logseq | Agenda | Logseq | Agenda |
| Tasks | OmniFocus | Reminders | OmniFocus | Reminders | OmniFocus |
| Brainstorming | iThoughts | MindNode | iThoughts | Bike | iThoughts |
Does anybody know what has become of @smokey - no activity for a couple of years on any of his sites.
My favourite tree.
I’m going through a tough time. Day One has been a blessing to capture thoughts, feelings and emotions. The subscription is worth every cent.
Finished reading: A Guide for Grown-ups by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 📚
Microsoft Authenticator will no longer work on Apple Watch. I use this feature every single day. 😖
Strange World, 2022 - ★★½
A story of climate change wrapped up in some impressive animation and characters that I didn’t warm to.
Die Hard, 1988 - ★★★★½
Now I have a 64-bit computer. Ho Ho Ho.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, 1992 - ★★½
1992 really seems a different era, back when you could board a plane because you assumed your parents were on it. Slapstick cruelty is still fun, though.
Books of 2022
I’ve not done so great on book reading this year. The list looks a little thin!
Oiling the Deck
There are some household jobs that I procrastinate over. Oiling the deck is a new one I can add to the list. Our deck was installed a couple of years ago as part of a backyard renovation. I knew at the time this would be a necessary maintenance job that I would despise. I dutifully entered it into OmniFocus as a task for the future.
That OmniFocus task has been deferred for about 9 months. I did the prepartory work of buying the expensive Cutek Extreme CD50 oil and the fancy Deck Boss applicator. The task of actually oiling the deck, though? That sat for a long time. Most of the time because of my own laziness. Sometimes because of the weather. I contemplated outsourcing the job but knew deep down within myself I wouldn’t trust anybody else to care enough to do it right.
Finally, the time came and I went for it. The first step was to clean the deck a couple of days before the oiling. That went well. I used Cutek Quickclean.
A few days after the clean, it was time to oil. The weather was hot - over 32ºC. I had to do the work in two shifts: one in the morning and one in the evening. The morning shift came to an end when I almost vomited from exertion in the heat. I’m too white, too old, and too unfit for manual labour in the burning sun.
This is how I looked after the first shift — just a touch pink:
I completed the second shift, and the job, with a minimal amount of oil left in the can. Maybe there’s enough to do a second coat on areas that look to need a little more. There is definitely not enough remaining to do a complete second coat. I think I’m okay with that.
Now I have to schedule the next maintenance coat into OmniFocus…
You Always Own Your Blog
My Blog, My Home - Geoff Graham:
That’s why I love my website. It’s apolitical. It can’t be bought by a billionaire (maybe). It doesn’t care when I last logged in. It doesn’t push me to gain an audience and could care less if I have a one or not. And the feed is spot-free of algorithms and sponsored content.
But it’s always ready for me to say something if I need to. It’s all signal and no noise, and gives me the peace of mind to write without abandon.
I pulled up my old (now lost) blog, twosittingducks.com, on the internet archive the other day. There were posts there from 2004. While I don’t think of myself as a blogger, I’ve run a blog site for a long time now.
Like Geoff, I love that my blog is always here for me.
Swearing in of Hannah Beazley MLA as Parliamentary Secretary
Earlier I posted how happy I was that my wife, Hannah Beazley MLA had been made Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and the Digital Economy; Medical Research; Volunteering, within the WA State Government.
On 14 December, 2022, Hannah was officially sworn in by the Governor. It was fantastic to share the experience with her, and also with her Dad, former Governor of WA, Hon. Kim Beazley AC. It coincided with his 74th birthday, so it was a great birthday gift from his daughter!
Stephen Hackett on "Really Specific Stories"
My friend and Hemispheric Views co-host Martin Feld continues to bring incredible guests to his interview show, Really Specific Stories. This week he welcomes Stephen Hackett, founder of Relay.fm.
This time on Really Specific Stories, I’m joined by @ismh, who delves into the history of Relay FM and explains his shift to podcasting and running a business—all the while balancing the needs of advertisers, co-hosts, members and of course, family.
…
Really Specific Stories: Stephen Hackett – 512 Pixels:
I recently sat down with Martin Feld to talk about the history of Connected and Relay FM, as well as my story as an indie content person on the web.