I’ve been doing a lot more writing than reading lately, which certainly isn’t a bad thing, but it does leave me feeling a bit… lacking? I love reading my favorite writers, and I’ve just left them behind.

🔗 This Philips door lock turns your palm into a key - The Verge // Emma Roth

Philips created a new smart lock that doesn’t require a key or a code — all you need is your hand. The company showed off its new $359.99 Wi-Fi Palm Recognition Smart Deadbolt during CES 2024, which comes with a built-in palm scanner that unlocks your door when it detects your unique palm print.

Interesting…but not a super helpful feature for places like here where we wear gloves outdoors for like 5 months of the year.

🔗 Basecamp Resubmits Its Calendar App, Includes Dates in Apple History to Get Past App Review – 512 Pixels // Stephen Hackett

It’s a real bummer to feel like I’ve been ripped off by a much bigger company, seeing them pitch something I’ve worked hard on as a free feature in their app. There’s some irony there.

Yeah, Basecamp certainly could have done this without making it look like you’re getting such a deal compared to Stephen’s physical calendar. Unfortunate framing, I’d say. (His 2024 retail calendar is great once again, btw.)

🔗 Apple Vision Pro available in the U.S. on February 2

Apple today announced Apple Vision Pro will be available beginning Friday, February 2, at all U.S. Apple Store locations and the U.S. Apple Store online. Vision Pro is a revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment. […] Pre-orders for Apple Vision Pro begin Friday, January 19, at 5 a.m. PST.

Well, my first few predictions were off by a whole month. But I’m not too upset since it means (hopefully) getting my hands on a Vison Pro that much earlier!

I’m unsurprised and a little tickled that, right on schedule the at the end of the first week of a new year, my post about how to save your Apple Watch stand goal streak has regained the top spot in my site analytics leaderboard.

Alright, that’s probably enough computering for one night. Gotta go catch some Z’s. Goodnight world!

Entry #25 to the Library is a doozy. Introducing my ‘Micro.blog Multimedia Uploader’ shortcut:

This shortcut helps you to upload any file(s) to your Micro.blog account and then copy the resulting URL(s) in the format of your choosing — including Markdown for images, HTML for videos and audio, or a plain URL for other files.

It includes niceties like allowing you to choose to upload images as either JPEGs or PNGs […], recursive encoding of videos […], and an optional function to use another shortcut to auto-generate image description[s].

Get it here from the HeyDingus Shortcuts Library.

A pretty normal number of windows for a Shortcuts coding night.

Multiple overlapping windows open on a computer desktop, indicating multitasking or workflow organization, set against a scenic backdrop of a hilly landscape during sunset.

I just released my first new shortcut of 2024, and it’s one I’ve been dreaming of building for months. Here’s version 1.0 of the ‘Generate Alt Text with OpenAI Vision’ shortcut:

This shortcut helps you to generate a quality image description to use as alt text for images you upload to the internet. […]

You can pass an image file or URL as input to this shortcut, and it will send it through OpenAI’s Vision API along with a specific prompt to generate a unique description for the image, including any text found in it.

Get it here from the HeyDingus Shortcuts Library.

📺 Finished rewatching: Trying (seasons 1-3) created by Andy Wilton

Two people sit on swings, smiling at each other, surrounded by greenery and houses. There’s text reviewing the show “Trying Seasons 1-3 — Created by Andy Walton”, rating it “Great” for humor and emotional impact.
Text: Contender for my favorite show of all time. It’s hard to imagine a show more heartwarming than this, and it doesn’t skimp on the cheeky British humor, nor the meaningful and relatable stakes.
Every season has at least one episode that makes me happy cry from beginning to end as my heart overflows.

📺 Finished watching: Letterkenny (2016-2023) created by Jared Keeso

Two men stand arms crossed in front of a red wall with “LETTERKENNY” written on it. Text: “Letterkenny 2016-2023 — Jared Keeso & Jacob Tierney A wonderfully fast-paced, quick-witted, and surprisingly charming production. Great show that was well-executed and satisfyingly ended. Over and out.” Buttons below read “Poor,” “Okay,” and “Good,” with “Great” selected.

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#126]

Humans are just so creative and make the coolest tools and things. Oh, and the launch of the 52 Albums Project. 🎵 Enjoy!

I don’t use it, but I continue to think the omg.lol is one of the coolest, most value-laden services on the web. Its ever-growing services (blog, Mastodon instance, photo sharing, pastebin, and much more) cost only $20/year and are created by a single (super nice) guy.

I can’t help but notice good typography. 📷

An add-your-own-text sign that says “jingle bells, gizmo smells, Marley’s up the tree”.

I think that might’ve been nubble’s best performance yet. They bring together the best crowd with the best energy. Perfect end to one of the best days in a while. (And I loved the Avett Brothers cover — can’t wait to hear more!) 📷

A band is performing in a brick-walled bar with guitars on the wall; an audience member watches from the foreground. A man is carefully pulling a wooden block from a large, stacked Jenga tower in a casual indoor setting while a child, eating, watches in the background.

🎙️ Thanks @coreint for the reminder that big goals can start small — even ones that you used to be pretty good at so now it feels silly to start over. I did 5 push-ups this morning and will do at least 5 before I go downstairs each morning. 💪

overcast.fm/+KxFHh5a4…

❄️ Big outdoor day with friends! Woke at the buttcrack of dawn to ski alllll the way up the mountain with Dan & Sarah (who hardly broke a sweat at my slow pace) and then back down on fresh runs. Then climbing adventures with Dan & Dakota on bullet-hard ice. Cherry on top was the hot tub dip after. 📷

Two skiers are taking a selfie on a snowy slope with snow-covered trees in the background. The forefront skier is partly visible, holding the camera. A person in the foreground takes a selfie while another skier stands in the snowy background, both on a misty mountain slope. A lone skier descends a snowy slope amidst trees, with visibility limited by a hazy, blue-tinted atmosphere, implying overcast or snowy weather conditions. A climber ascends a frozen waterfall, secured by ropes, while two others watch. They are equipped with climbing gear in a snowy, icy environment.

🆕📝 24 Apple Predictions for 2024

The cards have been laid and challenge made. Who will be swayed?

The absolute values don’t ultimately matter, but it is very cool to see the trend over time coincide with the effort put in.

Bar graph showing a few large spikes, but generally larger values over time from June 2023 to now.

Man, I thought Drafts made it easy to blast off posts at the speed of thought. But I have to admit that MarsEdit’s micropost window is unrivaled on the Mac.

Hotkeys for launching and posting, and now it even has image support (with alt text!). This is dangerous.

MarsEdit micropost window containing the text of this very post.

I had a set plan for my Internet Playtime tonight, so — naturally — I’m working on something else instead.

I haven’t seen this beauty since at least October! 😮‍💨

Cartoon kayak heading toward a mountain on the horizon with the tagline, “You’ve achieved Inbox zero!”

I flipped my desk setup to put my iPad on the right side. Everything was going great until I realized that my macOS Dock is also on the right. Now I’m dragging through the Dock to get to the iPad and I don’t think I can abide. Even though I like my phone charger and drink coaster on the left better.

Heads up for Kagi users:

Huge yikes.

Kagi is now partnering with Brave to power its search results — and they seem to be dismissing their users’ concerns regarding this partnership with a company that’s notorious for being led by a proud anti gay rights supporter.

Just as I’ve consistently advised against using Brave’s products, I now advise against using Kagi as long as it contributes to a homophobic business.

There can be no neutral politics when it comes to people’s rights and lives.

mspsocial.net/@vkc/11170453152

🆕📝 Please, Own Your RSS Links

You’ve bought your own domain name, so you might as well get the most out of it and make things easy for your audience at the same time.