Jarrod Blundy
🚨 New shortcut alert!
If you’re like me, you sometimes struggle to fit your witty and very cool social media post within the character limit. It can be a fun game to trim it down, but sometimes it’s a hassle. For those tough times, here’s Rewrite Shorter, powered by ChatGPT and Shortcuts.
Reworked podcasts, hot takes, blogging joy, and an old (yet still relevant) climbing video. #Blaugust2024
A buddy asked me about replacing his 2015 15” Intel MacBook Pro with a 14” M3 Pro. I said the massive upgrades in screen quality, processor speed and battery life would make it well worth it. He texted later saying the laptop makes him happy every time he opens it. I’ve rarely felt so validated. 💪
Ah yes, August 2024, the perfect time to sit down and read @viticci@macstories.net’s iOS & iPadOS 17 review. Gotta get caught up on all those brand-new features! 😋 (Wonderfully written, as always.)
Today is August 17th, so we're over halfway through Blaugust 2024 and I thought I would just let you know how it's going. Bonus, it counts for my blog post for today. #Blaugust2024
So this is on everyone’s ‘Perfect Songs’ playlist, right?
Any other contenders I should audition?
🆕📝 License Plate Game: Long-Distance Family Edition
Reviving a childhood classic with a twist.
Successful rescue mission to recover some gear I left at Cloudspin Cliff when bailing in an unexpected thunderstorm! 📷
Matthew and I had a grand time hiking up Phelps Mountain yesterday. It was his (and Gideon’s) first high peak! Great conversation the whole way, and a fantastic view at the summit — better than we expected considering the wildfire haze. Gideon definitely earned his nap afterward. 🐾 📷
Much like I think it's important to do hard things, I also think it's important to make yourself do scary things from time to time.
🆕📝 Crashing Clockwise #567: ‘That’s Not How Capitalism Works’
Mini-er Mac minis, Apple vs. Patreon, notifications habits, Rivian adding Apple Music instead of CarPlay, go-to travel snacks, and origin story tech interactions.
🆕📝 An Incomplete Recounting of My Day
A day in the life of a climbing guide who lives in a pretty neat area. Not that I'm biased or anything.
🆕📝 Uninvited Guest (Or, The Black Bear Snack Bar)
A(n admittedly cute) reminder that, yes, I do live right on the edge of wilderness. 🐻
Wow, have I really done 150 of these things? I probably should have done something special, but it's your regular interweb roundup this week! Thanks for reading!
Watched: Station Eleven 📺
At first, I found this series kind of hard to get into. I’m all about the post-apocalyptic series, and I liked the angle this has following the Traveling Symphony. But it didn’t click with me right away. In fact, it wasn’t until the finale that I was sure if I even liked the show. But I found myself yelling at the TV, desperately wanting resolution to some of the arcs. And my heart ached in some of the outcomes. I realized how much I’d grown invested in the story its characters. I’ll be thinking about this one a lot in the years to come, I think. 👍
🆕📝 Google’s New Home Gadget Refresh Gets a Thumbs Up From Me
I don't own any Google Home products and they're a real pain to set up at my parents' house, but I'll admit they've done a few things really well this time with the Streamer Box, Nest Thermostat, and Gemini Intelligence. #Blaugust2024
🍿 Just watched: Thor: Love & Thunder
At my core, I'm a gadget lover. Here are the latest ones I'm geeked about having in our home. #Blaugust2024
🆕📝 Crashing Clockwise #566: ‘That’s My Shredder Sound’
A gadget you should get, air travel tech, Apple's new Distraction Control impressions, anticipation for controlling more apps with Siri, space or sea, and permission prompt problems. #Blaugust2024
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You will never hear a British politician — at least not a mainstream one — mentioning God in a political speech or campaign. Ever.
These are really notable differences. Maybe it’s just “the grass is always greener” situation, but this sure does sound like a saner way to do elections.
I gotta say, I’m excited for Apple’s Writing Tools when Apple Intelligence rolls out later this year. I’ll probably rely on the Proofread option more than anything. I use Grammarly now, but it’s so distracting and I don’t enjoy it.
But at the moment, my only AI-capable device is my Mac…
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Between May and August, more AI Pins were returned than purchased, according to internal sales data obtained by The Verge. By June, only around 8,000 units hadn’t been returned, a source with direct knowledge of sales and return data told me. As of today, the number of units still in customer hands had fallen closer to 7,000, a source with direct knowledge said.
