🆕📝 Crashing Clockwise #568: ‘The Canonical Answer is Dan’s TV’

Must-have third-party apps, morning apps, faltering tech, tech that's changed our minds, best vacation meal, and favorite features that were ripped from our grasp. #Blaugust2024

Getting to spend a few days climbing with these guys from Frost Valley YMCA was a joy. It was so cool to see their skills progress as climbers and their teamwork flourish as they learned to belay each other. All after getting off a week of backpacking! Rock on, dudes. 📷

Person climbing a steep rocky cliff using blue rope surrounded by sparse greenery on a cloudy day A person wearing a helmet ascends a steep rocky cliff while secured by a blue climbing rope under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds and nearby green bushes. A climber ascends a steep rock face using a rope under the shade of overhanging trees with two people on the summit above. Two people are rock climbing on a steep cliff with the aid of safety ropes on an overcast day with trees above them.

Saturday found me guiding Jim and Matt up their first High Peak. Whiteface was a formidable choice for their first, especially as we opted for the more adventurous up-and-over route via Whiteface Landing. (What a great route!) Their preparation paid off and even ascending into rain clouds couldn’t dampen our spirits! Things cleared up for a gorgeous descent. Here’s to many more father/son hikes in the ADK. 🥾 📷

Sign on tree points to various trails and displays winter trail etiquette in a dense, green forest. Three hikers trekking uphill through a forested trail wearing backpacks and using trekking poles surrounded by tall trees and greenery. Various coniferous trees stand still on a misty mountain overlooking a winding river below under an overcast sky Person wearing a hat and backpack climbing a rocky trail using a trekking pole surrounded by dense forest on a mountain slope Person in yellow hat smiling in foreground two hikers walking on rocky mountain in foggy weather with sign reading 267-Ft Above Sea Mt Surface Mtn in background Two individuals equipped with hiking gear stand on a rocky trail surrounded by dense greenery and trees in a forest area. They are holding trekking poles and wearing wide-brimmed hats. Three smiling individuals stand together outdoors one in a yellow hat and two with short hair one giving a thumbs-up surrounded by lush green trees and a gravel pathway

🚨 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.

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#151]

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.)

An open webpage displaying an article titled “The iPad Lock Screen,” with a photo of an iPad showing its lock screen with widgets. Text visible in the article references iPadOS updates and widget enhancements.

🆕📝 Mid-Blaugust 2024 Check-In

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?

song.link/i/1590368…

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! 📷

Person in a green helmet and blue jacket stands outdoors with mountains and a glowing sun amidst clouds in the background. Person climbing wearing a bright green helmet looks up from a rocky ledge surrounded by dense green forest. Person wearing a green helmet and blue attire with climbing gear smiling at the camera while standing in front of a mountainous forest landscape

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. 🐾 📷

Two hikers smiling on a wooden bridge surrounded by lush green forest, one holding a drink and giving a thumbs-up while the other holds a leashed dog. A person stands on a wooden bridge holding coffee and a leashed dog in a mountainous forested area near a flowing stream under a clear blue sky. A person with a yellow backpack and dog walk on a narrow mountain trail surrounded by green bushes with expansive forested hills and cloudy sky in the background. Three people sit and stand on a rocky ledge overlooking vast green mountains under a partly cloudy sky one person in blue shirt is taking a photo. A man with a red cap and hiking gear watches a large black dog drink from a rocky creek in a lush, mossy forest. Wooden signpost displays trail markers in a dense forest TRAIL TO Arrow Adirondack Loj 1.0. Additional signs provide directions to various destinations including Avalanche Camps Junction. Two hikers smiling and holding trekking poles near a trail register in a forest with a resting black-and-white dog. The register has signs and maps.

🆕📝 On Doing Scary Things

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. 🐻

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#150]

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!

🍿 Just watched: Deadpool & Wolverine

Poster featuring Deadpool and Wolverine mid-battle against a red background with a detailed review text. Text: “Deadpool & Wolverine, 2024 - Shawn Levy. Holy shit! That was a treat. Definitely (a phrase I just learned) popcorn fun. I’ll need to rewatch this thing to actually follow the plot line more, as I was distracted by trying to keep up with all the smack talk dialogue and fan-service indulgences. Loved how Reynolds and Jackman absolutely embody their characters, loved the annihilation of the fourth wall, and even enjoyed all the ridiculous gore (there was so much that it quickly became cartoon-like). I hope we see more Deadpool and Wolverine, but if not, this was still a treat. 👍👍”

Oh no. I’m hearing the Siren’s call for the Boox Palma. 😭

🆕📝 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: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Movie poster for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” features superheroes in costumes against a cosmic backdrop. This was more of a return to your usual superhero antics. Impossibly high stakes, struggling with the choice of sacrificing countless unknown souls for the few that you love, getting knocked down but always getting back up — you know the drill. I wasn’t expecting how Star Wars-y the quantum realm would be, but it worked I guess. Anyway, it’s hard not to like a Paul Rudd film. Thumb-up for its rating.

I’m nearly caught up with the MCU!

🍿 Just watched: Thor: Love & Thunder

A movie review graphic with a “Thor: Love & Thunder” poster backdrop displays characters in heroic poses; the text offers a mixed critique and anticipates future developments. Text: “Thor: Love & Thunder 2022 - Taika Waititi Not Marvel’s best, but fun to watch either way. After so many serious superhero movies, it’s kind of refreshing for Thor to be full of comedic relief and self-parody. What the story lacked in depth, it made up for in plot holes but, again, I’m not that mad about it. And, no spoilers, but the end seems to set Thor up for a new chapter. We’ll see! 👍”

🆕📝 Two New Home Gadgets

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

🔗 ’We don’t do God’ and massive ad spends: How British election races differ from American ones // Holly Ellyatt // cnbc.com

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.