The Imperfectionist: ‘How to forget what you’ve read’

The second reason – a universal law of personal productivity – is that the more effort a technique requires, the more likely you’ll be to engage in self-defeating avoidance instead. If your system requires you to take detailed notes on everything you read… then you won’t.

This is a lesson that is easy to understand while the habit is devilishly difficult to break.

(Via Ratika Deshpande)

Not gonna lie, the back display on the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max does look pretty sweet. Marques Brownlee is right, looks like they took the iPhone 17 Pro series and just basically tried to one-up every spec they could.

Watched: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 🍿

My wife and I enjoyed disussing the benefits and detriments of having a whole book/series as source material when making a movie. But we agreed that they did a great job playing to the book fans on this one. I give it a 👍

That’s so kind of you to say, Dan! It was a joy to get out climbing with you. And yes — can’t wait to show you the ropes on ice! 🙌

I work very hard to make sure my clients have a great experience. From first contact through hugs and high fives goodbye, you’re due the best. 😁

A five-star review from Dan Zelikman praises a guide named Jarrod for his communication, organization, patience, and thorough guidance during a climbing adventure in ADK, including multi-pitch routes and rappels.

Ratika Deshpande shared some of her rules for writing today. This one resonated with me:

4. Focus on what is beautiful in this world.

There’s a lot of ugliness in the world. It’s easy and feels perversely good to share. But sharing what’s awesome, uplifting, beautiful, kind, or curious — the world needs more of those things.

Ryan Christoffel: ‘Apple explains why iPhone 17’s selfie camera changed so much’

Nash also highlights how the final product will be better than ever, not just the process of taking the photo.

For example, she mentions how keeping the iPhone in portrait orientation means subjects’ eyes will always be looking in the right place. With landscape selfies, that’s often not the case.

This is a really good point that I hadn’t considered. Landscape selfies do often have the group looking awkwardly off to the side.

Sarah Cascone: ‘Humans of New York’ Transforms Grand Central Into a Monumental Photo Show

For the first time possibly ever, there is not a single ad to be seen in Grand Central Terminal. “Humans of New York,” Brandon Stanton‘s popular social media art series of photographs of people he’s interviewed on the city’s streets, has taken over each and every one of the 150 video billboards in the grand concourse, as well as the subway ads below in Grand Central Station for “Dear New York.”

This is so very cool!

I scored 10/21 on e-mail.wtf and all I got was this lousy text to share on social media.

I love this business card design, and appreciate its simplicity every time it makes the rounds on social media. It highlights the importance of consistent branding. Email, website, and social handles — all in sync.

A hand is holding a business card that displays the email address “maggie@singingbearshop.com.” Lines above and below the address point to annotations: “me” above “maggie,” “website” above “singingbearshop,” “instagram” and “email” below the full email address.

🆕📝 It’s on Apple TV

The madness just got madder. 'Apple TV+' is now just 'Apple TV'.

Ratika Deshpande: ‘Write it right now.’

And don’t worry about hoarding ideas. Don’t save the precious idea that you think you will tackle later in a separate piece–you’ll never do it. Write it right now. You won’t one day suddenly stop having thoughts and ideas and opinions. New ones (to you) will keep cropping up. And they will be built upon the ideas you think about right now by writing about them.

If you know, you know. 😜

An exhibition placard for an artwork by Tafa Fiadzigbe from New York, NY, USA. The title of the work is “The Game,” and it is a mixed media piece. The placard includes instructions for hearing from the artist via phone and offers a text voting option for feedback. It has two numbers listed, 44051 and 44050, alongside orange thumbs-up icons, and mentions Meijer as the sponsor. The year 2011 is noted in the corner.

Love this! 🤣

I love my local vidya-games store 😅

A humorous handwritten sign taped to a glass door reads, “Whosoever pulls this handle, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of store!! (Door is heavy).” The reflection of the parking lot and sky is visible in the glass behind it.

🫣 Feeling a bit called out by Annie Mueller in her post, ‘Encourage Meaningful Friction’:

For example, having a frictionless to-do app means I end up with too many fucking tasks. Some things need to be unsaved, neglected, forgotten, ignored, left undone so better things can be done. Or so I can spend more delightful moments at ease, not doing but being.

Manu Moreale: ‘My issue with the two sides’

The problem I see with this, though, is that the internet is a weird place. A lot of people aren’t vocal. Most of them are just lurking around, absorbing content and forming ideas in their head and maybe discussing things in person with close friends and family. And amongst them, there probably are a lot of people who would be more than happy to support and join the good one of the two sides, but are probably kept at a distance because of the insanity they see unfolding.

Been noodling on this. What we see of each other online is not our whole selves.

“Relationships, like plants, need fresh water to grow.”

— Oak Jones in Family Ties, The Dirtbag Diaries

I’m learning about too many bad things on the internet. Three strikes and you’re out. I should take a break.

The image shows a series of comments by a user named “jarrod” with a cartoon avatar. The first comment is directed at “@kev,” saying “I don’t like that one bit,” posted at 5:00 pm. The second comment is directed at “@joesteel,” saying “Oh no,” at 4:57 pm. The third comment is directed at “@alexheath,” saying “Yikes,” also at 4:57 pm.

Yours truly, back in December 2023: ‘I Made a Bookmarklet That Runs a Shortcut on a URL’

Holy smokes, I can’t believe I never thought about doing this before. Probably because I never thought I would know how to write a bookmarklet. To be fair, I still don’t, but ChatGPT does!

🤣 I totally bought a janky app on the App Store recently to run a specific shortcut on the active webpage, and I wasted a ton of time trying to get it to work right. It never did. I just rediscovered this post that I wrote, and it works perfectly. Brains are funny.

Something in my house just made a powering down noise, and I’ve no idea what it was. I fear I never will.

Yay!! Launched podcast by @charliemchapman@mastodon.social is coming back!

So… some personal news

(watch till the end)

Yup, it’s time that Apple no longer be the sole gatekeeper for apps on iOS. Consider me in the pro sideloading camp.

A screenshot of three news articles from Daring Fireball. The first article, reported by Pablo Manríquez for Migrant In…, is titled “Apple’s Justification for Removing DelCER From the App Store” and is time-stamped at 1:47 PM. The second article, reported by Joseph Cox for 404 Media, is titled “Apple Banned an App That Simply Archived Videos of ICE Abuses” and is time-stamped at 1:33 PM. The date below reads “Friday, October 3, 2025.” The third article, indicated with a star and reported by Ashley Oliver for Fox Business, is titled “Complying With ‘Demand’ From Trump Administration, Apple Removes ICEBlock From App Store” and is time-stamped at 5:01 PM.

Okay, this trailer for Pluribus on Apple TV+ has peaked my interest. Looks like a real ride. Oh, and you can call this number for some unconventional marketing for the show: 202-808-3981 🤪

Finished reading: The Sharp End of Life by Dierdre Wolownick 📚

Y’all know Alex Honnold of Free Solo fame. His mom’s book recounts her life — difficult marriage, self-doubt, and her incredible tenacity through it all. In pursing her own outdoor adventures later in life, she found clarity and purpose.

This is exactly how I’ve been thinking about the new iPhone 17 Pro design, that it shares so much in common with the Apple silicon-era MacBook Pro — right down to their rounded edges. And yes, the iPhone Air as the dazzling jewel made room for the Pro phones to go hard on functionality over flashiness.

Rounded out a superb Rocktober weekend of climbing by leading Cure Cottage (5.8) at Baker Mtn with my wife (got her climbing too, but no pics unfortunately!), and then an evening ascent of Chapel Pond Slab with Brian, lit by the full moon! Checked out the Lil Sebastian finish, ‘twas awesome!

Climber ascends a large rock slab using an orange rope in a forested area with vibrant autumn foliage Chapel Pond Slab is written at the top left. A climber ascends a large gray rock face wearing a red shirt and helmet during autumn with orange and green trees in the background. A rope trails downward from the climber. Climbing gear secured with carabiners and colorful ropes anchored into a rocky surface. The gear is set up for rock climbing on a textured stone face with distant foliage visible. Climber ascends steep rock face using ropes in a mountainous area. The person wears a helmet and harness surrounded by rugged rocks and trees under a clear sky. Sun rising over a forested mountain bathed in autumn colors with a clear sky and silhouetted branches in the foreground. A bright full moon shines through a clouded sky illuminating the silhouette of a hilly landscape with dark foliage. A person wearing a helmet with a red light smiles against a dark mountain landscape under a bright full moon. Rocky cliffs stand still under scattered stars in a mountainous landscape surrounded by dense forests and a reflective lake below in the calm nighttime setting. A person wearing a helmet sits on a rocky ledge illuminating the ground with a flashlight at night, overlooking a forested valley and distant mountains under a starry sky. A nighttime landscape with a bright moon shining in a clear sky over a mountainous area. Silhouettes of evergreen trees are visible against the horizon, and soft clouds are illuminated by the moonlight. A woman is walking through a forested area with fall leaves on the ground. She is smiling broadly, carrying a backpack with a coiled rope and a helmet attached. She is also holding a cup in one hand. The sunlight filters through the trees, and a red heart emoji is placed near her head, adding a playful touch.