A sneak peek at an update to one of my most popular shortcuts…

(Oh, On-Device Apple Intelligence, bless your heart.)

A comparison of alt text options about an image of hikers posing on a mountaintop.A dialogue box contains a comparison of alt text options about a person in a red jacket hiking in a forest, and options for canceling or completing the action.

I just installed the macOS 26 beta and yikes. I’ll reserve real judgment for when it’s actually released, but wow, the design has not made a good first impression. So many years of polish thrown out the Liquid Glass window for what feels—right now—like an unfinished and ill-considered desktop OS.

Kagi News looks awesome. And of course they have RSS feeds for everything. They’re doing the yeoman’s work for the web over at Kagi.

Kagi’s new news portal is wild. It’s like Ground News, but free. It cites multiple sources for each entry and you don’t even need a paid Kagi account, or an account at all to access it.

Kevin Wammer: ‘Polar launches Polar Loop, a subscription-free wearable’

The Loop has no screen and is designed for 24/7 wear, weighing only 29 grams. It tracks steps, workouts, heart rate, calories, sleep stages, and recovery using “Polar’s Precision Prime sensor”. It automatically detects training sessions, syncs data to the Polar Flow app, and runs for up to 8 days on a single charge.

For folks wanting the activity tracking of the Apple Watch, but without the watch part or a subscription, this looks pretty good at first glance. (Via Club MacStories 🔒)

Nick Heer: ‘Tech CEOs Take Turns Grovelling at Feast of Embarrassments’

At least nobody gave him any solid gold statues this time, as far as I know.

Heer should get a gold statue for that headline.

Every hiker’s journey is different, so although this was the second #46er finish I was part of this week, it was totally unique! Jim started his 46er challenge years ago with a friend, but when they couldn’t do it this summer, his daughter @imjessicakahler stepped up!

Getting to spend so much time with them was a blast, and on this trip we enjoyed awesome weather, tasty food, and even of the lean-to we wanted. Conditions on Skylight were just amazing, and two others were celebrating their 46er completion at the same time. Wild!

Congrats, Jim. It’s been a challenge, but you found yourself equal to it.

Catching up on some recent trips, here’s @imjessicakahler and her dad, Jim, on our overnighter to snag Mt. Marshall last month! We had a wet start, but enjoyed a dry night in the famous ADK lean-tos, and an awesome day up the Herbert Brook trail. Check back tomorrow to see Jim finish out his 46ers!

Paul Kafasis: ‘Another Shameful Part of American History’

There’s room for debate when it comes to immigration policy, but there must be no tolerance for abuse. Regardless of their immigration status, we’re talking about human beings, and placing them in concentration camps should be unacceptable to every American.

I’m ashamed to share a country, or even a species, with people capable of reveling in the misery of others. Let us all try to be better than that.

How are we back to rounding up people and putting them in inhumane conditions? This is a cycle the U.S. should never be in. 🤮

Ugh. I wish Instagram made it easier to get posts out. I’ve got a Make.com setup to crosspost them to my blog for safekeeping, but I keep hitting free-plan limits. Hard to justify paying more for the automation than for the blog itself. A fruitless wish, I know.

TIL that in the Messages app on Mac, if you hold down ⌥ and then cycle with the up/down arrow keys with the message field highlighted, it’ll autofill your previous messages in case you need to rewrite something quickly for whatever reason. 🧠

Chat message in a text bubble reads: “hahah no worries!!! Being a responsible adult is certainly hard especially when climbing is involved!” A cursor hovers near a reply bar with a smiley face icon.

Just a quick appreciation post for how impressive generated alt text has gotten. From my recent post with lots of cat pictures, using a prompt that’s basically as simple as “write alt text for this image.” I rarely need to make edits anymore.

A smartphone screen displays an “Edit Post” interface with various alt text descriptions for images. The descriptions include scenarios with cats, a turtle, and people, such as a kitten nuzzling a person’s face in a car and a fluffy gray cat climbing a carpeted cat tower. The background features a gradient of pink, purple, and orange hues.

My snuggle buddy

Andrew Webster: ‘My gaming buddy’

One of the most devastating parts of grief is how it can strike out of nowhere. There you are, doing a perfectly normal, everyday thing, and then that perfectly normal, everyday thing reminds you of something or someone who is no longer there. And when that presence you lost was intimately connected with your life, well, those moments happen frequently and unexpectedly.

For me, in losing our cat Ollie, it’s when I’m the first to wake in the morning but don’t have to get up right away. I often lay in bed reading, and it’s painful realizing I’ll never again hear the pitter-patter of his paws up the stairs before he jumps up on the bed, determined to get a forceful snuggle.

He always seemed to know right when I was about to get up, and that was when he’d make his move. Needless to say, his will bent my own more often than not. ❤️‍🩹

The Sparks family really packed in a full day at King Philip Spring Wall for their first time climbing outdoors together! We climbed on three different walls, practiced a bunch of new techniques, did a primer on top rope anchors, and got in a gorgeous rappel!

The whole family had a blast, and it was another gorgeous early autumn day with the crag all to ourselves. #Sendtember is just around the corner!

A person wearing a helmet stands smiling in a forest near a rock wall while others, also in helmets, prepare climbing gear nearby. Text reads King Philip Spring Wall. A climber wearing a blue helmet ascends a rock face, holding a rope, surrounded by leafy green trees and clear blue sky. Person wearing a red helmet stands on a rocky cliff holding a rope smiling in a forested area with pine trees under a clear blue sky. Two climbers scale a vertical rock face using ropes in an outdoor setting surrounded by trees. Climber ascends rock face secured by a rope while a person in a red helmet observes from below in a wooded outdoor setting. Two climbers ascend a large rocky cliff using ropes under a partly cloudy sky with tree branches framing the scene. Climber scaling a steep rock face with ropes in a forest. Sunlight filters through green foliage, casting shadows on the rock surface. Climber wearing a red helmet scales a rock face secured by ropes surrounded by lush green forest trees under sunlight. A climber ascends a rocky cliff adorned with sparse vegetation against a backdrop of dense, colorful forested hills under a partly cloudy sky. A child with a blue helmet descends a rocky cliff while rappelling using a rope surrounded by dense green forest. A person wearing a helmet is rappelling down a rock face holding ropes amidst a lush forest backdrop with various green trees. A person wearing a red helmet rappels down a steep rock face surrounded by dense green forest under bright sunlight. Climbers in helmets stand at the base of a rock face in a forest setting surrounded by trees and fallen leaves holding climbing ropes. Four people wearing helmets and climbing gear are sitting and standing on a large rock surrounded by trees and hills under a partly cloudy sky with a coiled rope beside them.

Matt Birchler: ‘+ My text-based social media thoughts mid-2025’

There was a joke a few years ago about how Avatar was the highest grossing movie of all time, but no one talks about it and it doesn’t have any major cultural impact. I think that’s being a bit unfair to Avatar, but I think that general idea applies to Threads as well. Apparently tons of people are using it, tens of millions more people every month, but it doesn’t seem to have any “juice”.

I was bullish on Threads, and now actively avoid it. I only think about it when it annoys me by sneaking posts into my Instagram feed.

Just wanna shout out @keenan@social.lol and @cygnoir@social.lol for their great discussion in a recent episode of their new Friendship Material podcast regarding their feelings and decision-making around not having kids. ‘Twas a vulnerable, thoughtful, and validating conversation. Loving the show!

Paul Kafasis: ‘We Used to Be Very Friendly’

Sure enough, each and every person mentioned in the article rightly assigns the blame for this drop [in foreign tourism] to Trump. I guess the headline uses “some” only because they didn’t have a chance to speak to everyone.

Local word on the street here in upstate New York is a roughly 30% drop in tourism — primarily from our Canadian neighbors. I had a Canadian hiking client tell me point blank that I was “lucky to make the cut” as she had canceled a trip to Disneyland in response to Trump’s bullying her country.

Coaching Aurelia the past number of months and try her out on different crags has been so fun, and today Aurelia got on the classic North Country Club Crack (5.6)! The conditions were perfect and Jewels & Gems crag empty. 🤯 It was awesome to see her put together lots of different techniques we’ve practiced. And, as usual, she put her own spin on the route. 😉

Grandma and Grandpa were there to cheer her on, and be part of the belay team. These experiences spent together are the best!

A climber ascends a steep rock face using a crack for grip in a forested area. Text North Country Club Crack 5.6 Jewels & Gems A person climbs a steep rocky surface using a safety rope surrounded by green leaves and branches with a clear blue sky in the background. Three people wearing helmets stand among tall trees holding climbing ropes on a forested trail Back up belay family dream team! is written in bold white text at the bottom Two people wearing climbing gear stand on a forested path beside a large rock wall with ropes attached. One person is preparing to climb while the other guides or instructs.

My other tech task today: downgrading my iPad mini from the iPadOS 26 beta back to iPadOS 18. For one, it simply wouldn’t update past the second public beta — it was stuck verifying the update no matter what I tried. Second, and more importantly, I really miss Slide Over and Split View on the Mini.

Great success! I finally got Time Machine backups going over the network to a new external drive on my old Mac mini. I tried so hard to get it to work with the same drive that the Mac mini itself uses for Time Machine, but no dice. Now they each have their own drive and my MacBook Air’s data is safe!

We had to say goodbye to Ollivander, the world’s snuggliest, purriest, and bestest two-scoop cat there ever was. 💔 The end came too soon and too sudden, but Ollie let us know it was time. We gave each other 10 wonderful years together.

My favorite memory of Ollie will forever be the daily face rubs he gave and collected, coupled with his endless purrs. He purred from the minute we chose him from PetSmart right up to his final moments. I’ve never known a cat like him.

A fluffy gray cat rests on a carpet leaning against a wall with its head tilted downward in a dimly lit room creating a calm and cozy atmosphere. A kitten nuzzles against a person’s face inside a car with a cardboard carrier nearby. PetSmart signage is visible through the window in the background. Two people in animal costumes smile while posing with a grey cat indoors. The person on the left is in a grey cat outfit, and the person on the right is in a leopard outfit. Person smiling while a fluffy gray cat sits attentively on the person’s shoulder in a room with beige walls. A small turtle sits on a dark table peering at a fluffy gray cat in a well-lit room corner. A large gray cat is perched on a person’s arm who is wearing a blue puffy jacket in a cozy living room with framed art and a clock on the wall. Gray cat curiously sniffs at the camera in a close-up shot while lying on a carpet with a shoe visible in the background. A fluffy gray cat climbs a carpeted cat tower next to a glass window showing snow outside. Shelves with books and a framed photo are in the room. A fluffy gray cat relaxes on a colorful patterned blanket in a bedroom with an open closet and a storage unit in the background. A fluffy gray cat lies on grassy ground wearing a blue leash beside a playful golden retriever puppy also leashed both in a residential yard with trees in the background. A large dog and a fluffy cat rest together on a bed while a hand gently pets them in a cozy wood-paneled room with a picture of a wolf on the wall. A fluffy gray cat lies resting on a dark fabric surface its eyes partially closed relaxed with a gentle hand nearby indoors in a cozy setting.

John Gruber: ‘Apple TV+ Subscription Price Increasing From $10 to $13 Per Month, but the Annual Price Remains Unchanged at $99’

Apple TV+ has been reported to have higher than average churn. So I think today’s price hike, affecting only the monthly price, is about dealing with that. If you want to subscription hop, Apple TV+ is going to cost a bit more. If you want to stay subscribed to Apple TV+, you really ought to subscribe annually (or subscribe to Apple One and get Music, Arcade, and additional iCloud storage bundled together).

The unchanged bundle price perplexed me, but this is a good take.

Nick Heer: ‘Jay Blahnik Accused of Creating a Toxic Workplace Culture at Apple’

The behaviours described in this article are deeply unprofessional, at best. It is difficult to square the testimony of a sizeable portion of Blahnik’s team with an internal investigation finding no wrongdoing, but that is what Apple’s spokesperson expects us to believe.

If true, this is super shitty of Blahnik. I noted his absence in the WWDC keynote. I wonder if he’ll make an appearance in September…

Y’all have asked so we’re answering the call! OMG is now offering group hikes tailored for folks working toward their #46ers. The fall is a gorgeous time to be in the High Peaks, so we’re excited to offer at least one group hike every week in September and October.

We’re soft-launching with Street/Nye on 9/3 and then Colden on 9/10 and 9/11. That’s right, two opportunities to hike Colden — one for hikers who prefer a slow to moderate pace, and one for the speed demons. You choose, and then there’s no surprise on the pace! (Is this a good idea? Bad idea? Let us know in the comments!)

Stay tuned to the Group Events page on our website for the rest of the schedule coming out next week.

@newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk @saranaclake @adirondack46ers_ #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

People stand on a mountain trail overlooking green forests and distant peaks beneath a partly cloudy sky. Text reads Sept 3 Group High Peak Hike Street & Nye. Text displaying Group High Peak Hike Colden with Sept 10 & 11 is superimposed over a rugged mountain landscape under a clear sky.

It’s a truly special day when someone finishes their 46er journey. Maigann certainly put in the effort with a final push of 45+ miles over three days to complete Allen (go get it now, conditions are ideal!), Sawteeth, and Lower & Upper Wolfjaw.

Every journey is unique, and Maigann’s was full of wonder, positivity, and love for the trail. Congrats to her on amazing accomplishment!

@newyorkoutdoorguides @lakeplacidadk @saranaclake @adirondack46ers_ #Adirondacks #PerfectDayADK #HireAGuide

13 minutes from order placed to shipment and tracking information received. Must be some sort of record! 📦