Why do executives (or regular people, for that matter) continue to post their communications to X? I literally cannot open the links. It’s 2024, loading a webpage should not be this difficult. Post to your own domain! (From this article, btw.)

Federico Viticci: ‘iPad Pro for Everything: How I Rethought My Entire Workflow Around the New 11" iPad Pro’

If you told me years ago that a future story about my iPad Pro usage would wrap up with a section about a pillow and HDR, I would have guessed I’d lost my mind in the intervening years. And here we are.

As he teased this story for months, I couldn’t understand what took so long for Ticci to write up how he does video and audio podcasts from the iPad. Turns out this piece is so much more. Fascinating read.

Chris Murphy descibes the precipice upon which US democracy stands:

[W]hen you start to put a couple of the regime’s political opponents in jail, there are literally just thousands of people who say, You know what, forget it. It’s just not worth it. I think this is important, to oppose Donald Trump, but I got a family at home. I just don’t want to put my name in the mix. And all of a sudden, the bodies that are available for the political opposition are cut in half. […] So even if it’s just Liz Cheney—and it may not be just Liz Cheney—the chilling effect that it has on speech could be fatal.

🔗 Apple Released the Original AirPods Eight Years Ago Today (Hartley Charlton / macrumors.com)

At the time, wireless headphones were already on the market but had not yet reached true mass popularity. AirPods helped redefine the category through their convenience and seamless integration with Apple devices.

AirPods handily best all other accessories, and hold their own on my list of best Apple products of all time.

This internal Shortcuts action appears to have flown the coup! cc: @matthewcassinelli@mastodon.social

Tablet screen displaying a file management app. Left panel shows customizable text commands, like “Ask for Text” and “Copy Text to Clipboard”. Right panel has file actions, “Get File” with ‘Internal’ label circled in red.

I super hope this fixes my issue with missing time chunks in my Micro.blog feed! It’s very close to being my favorite timeline reader. If that bug really is fixed, my final request will be for an option to sort newest posts to bottom. Why don’t all timelines offer this? We read from top to bottom!

App interface displaying “Reeder” with a yellow lightning bolt icon. Buttons: “Open” and “Send Feedback.” Details: Developer, Category (News), Expires (90 Days). Text includes new shortcuts and fixes for not getting all items of a feed.

🆕📝 7 Things This Week [#162]

3D-printable Mac mini designs, gift-wrapping tips for odd-shaped items, a hilarious video, a reminder about disability and design, stunning Earth photography, Doom running on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, and a case that boosts AirTag battery life.

TIL The Verge is newly available via Apple News+. Maybe I won’t need their subscription after all. 🤷‍♂️

🔗 ‘Bloomberg: Apple scraps plans to offer iPhone hardware subscription service’ (Chance Miller / 9to5mac.com):

Apple also offers the iPhone Upgrade Program, which is backed by Citizens Bank and splits iPhone purchases into installments across two years, with the option to upgrade after one year. You can also finance iPhone purchases with Apple Card Monthly Installments.

But these programs require you to connect the phone to a major carrier at checkout. No smaller (cheaper) carriers allowed, which is a big ol' bummer.

🔗 Iconic Flint Center undergoes demolition five years after closing (Stephanie Lam / mercurynews.com)

An iconic performing arts theater where Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh computer in 1984 is being reduced to rubble, five years after the college district that owns the space closed it down due to high renovation costs.

‘Twas also the stage upon which the Apple Watch debuted. I feel just a little sad about this little bit of history going away.

New gear day!! 😍 Book a trip and you could be the first to swing them into ice! Thanks @petzl_official

Boxes of Petzl products are neatly arranged inside an open cardboard box on a patterned rug. Visible items include packaging labeled “ACTIK CORE 600” and various gear boxes. Boxes of Petzl climbing equipment are stacked on a wooden floor, surrounded by various related gear, including an ice axe. The scene is set in a room with shoes visible in the background. Text: Petzl, DART, VASAK, Lynx, 600 kg, 13 screws.

Alright, I’ll share my Raycast stats too. I’m definitely not taking full advantage of it.

Dashboard displays usage statistics for Raycast, highlighting most active day as Monday, top app “1Password,” 525 days since installation, 1726 openings, and “Syntax Sage” personality card.

Well… our wood stove is “unsafe”, and our roof, which we were told had been recently replaced when we bought the house last year, is “terrible” per the chimney sweep. Oh, and the pest guy won’t return my texts about the squirrels in my roof. 2025 is shaping up to be a pricey year for home repairs.

It’s weird how much people’s kids look like them. A bit narcissistic, don’t you think? I mean, c’mon, have a little imagination.

Victoria Song: ‘Meta rolls out live AI, live translations, and Shazam to its smart glasses’

Live AI allows you to naturally converse with Meta’s AI assistant while it continuously views your surroundings. For example, if you’re perusing the produce section at a grocery store, you’ll theoretically be able to ask Meta’s AI to suggest some recipes based on the ingredients you’re looking at. […]

Meanwhile, live translation allows the glasses to translate speech in real-time between English and Spanish, French, or Italian.

Roughly 30-minute battery life with Live. Not great, but’ll be fun to try!

🔗 Apple TV+ renews hit, world-building drama “Silo” for seasons three and four

Great news! I liked season one, and I love season two! Can’t wait to see more unfold.

Kushaiah Felisilda: ‘A Calendar Shift Experiment’

I’ve always set my calendar to start on Sunday, simply because it’s the default setting on most calendars, both paper ones and digital. Now, I’m experimenting with setting Monday as the start of my week for the next two weeks. I’m curious to see if this change will affect my perspective on the week’s structure.

An animated image of a person in a metallic helmet and armor, The Mandalorian, in a dimly lit corridor with walls of rough stone and scattered lights, captioned “This is the way."

🎙️ Having heard you say how much you wanted to be a parent someday, I couldn’t be more excited for you, @imyke@myke.social (and Adina). I’ve loved hearing all the baby talk. It really has been quite the year! 🥹 Good luck! 🤞 overcast.fm/+AADAvLi-…

Kicked some ice tonight with @ben_k_

Climber wearing red jacket and crampons ascends icy wall at night with orange rope for safety in a dark outdoor environment.

🎙️ One of the best explainers for the three types of fun I’ve heard to date. And I like what he says at the end; it’s in type 3 that you really grow. dirtbagdiaries.com

Got out for a little ski scouting for future projects. It was a bit rockier than I expected. Sorry skins! 😬 Gorgeous day though.

Snow-covered field with sparse vegetation illuminated by sunlight through tall evergreen trees under a cloudy sky in a serene winter forest setting. A large modern house stands atop a snow-covered rocky hill surrounded by trees against a blue sky, with large windows and intricate architectural details visible. A snow-covered path winds through a forest of bare trees on a cloudy winter day with sparse vegetation peeking through the snow and footsteps leading down the trail. A person wearing sunglasses and a headband stands smiling in a snowy forest with overcast skies Ray-Ban sunglasses and an orange backpack strap are visible. Bare trees stand motionless, surrounded by a snow-covered rocky landscape with a sheer cliff in the background. Icicles hang from the top, contrasting with the clear blue sky. Snow-covered field stretching towards mountains under a cloudy sky with patches of light shining through highlighting a serene and cold winter landscape.

🍿 Watched: Wicked: Part I (2024)

Poster depicts two characters, a flying witch and a princess with a wand, against a fantasy landscape. Text includes: “Wicked: Part I, 2024 - Jon M. Chu.” Review: Impressive performances. It’s fun to watch these characters played on the big screen by such capable actors. Really solid musical numbers. Yet, I continue to be somewhat perplexed by the story. I was nervous on behalf of Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, for her to sing “Defying Gravity”. It’s such a demanding and well-known song. I needn’t have worried; she absolutely nails it. Rating: 👍

📺 Finished watching: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 6)

Poster of a vampire comedy show with glowing characters above a spooky house, surrounded by lightning. Review: A fun show that kinda went off the rails a couple of seasons ago, but was funny enough to keep watching. The series finale felt a bit rushed but landed all right. It’s a show that knew what it wanted to be from the beginning and didn’t try to be much else. Definitely watch seasons 1-4! My wife made an interesting observation that in most shows you want to see the characters develop over time. But in a vampire show, six seasons is a blink of an eye as they’re immortal. Rating: 👍

🆕📝 ‘Dictate a Note’ is my new favorite shortcut (and that’s saying something)

I'm dictating ideas and tasks left and right, with gloves on, while hiking, without looking. Nothing escapes me! 🎙️

🚨 New shortcut! Don’t be like me and be too slow to make your Very Good Joke. Use ‘Whispering to Date’ Meme Maker to be the fastest draw in all the land.

Get it from the HeyDingus Shortcuts Library.

A meme of Leonardo DiCaprio in a yellow shirt sitting on a couch, pointing with focus, while holding a canned drink and a cigarette. Curtains in dim lighting create an intimate atmosphere.