Status Update: August 2024

The tab sweep has come up a little short, but I still have a few at the end. Why? Vacations, that sort of mid-summer malaise, the Olympics, current events that just don’t seem to fit what I’m looking to write about here. Disruptions, really. Anyway, roughly four months in on this corner of the web.

The Status Report

I’ve been taking some notes based on the work of folks like Jason Kottke’s media diets, Deane Barker, and David Sparks’s Lab Reports. There’s something very refreshing about laying out a review or retrospective of what one’s done recently, or where one’s focus is. Some recent updates:

Reworking how I read.

I’ve been experimenting with Readwise Reader for two things:

• Collecting articles. I‘ve dusted off an ancient Instapaper account to export its cache and see if a new venue is more inspirational. So far, it’s been a mixed bag.
• Browsing RSS feeds. After an iCloud-related snafu with NetNewsWire, I imported my OPML file to both it and Feedly. Ultimately I’ve continued to use NetNewsWire, but in the process I’ve culled the locations it’s installed.

I haven’t gone all the way to buying the infamous Boox Palma (yet?) — if you’re unfamiliar, I’m pretty sure Craig Mod’s post on Threads was the shot heard ’round the world — but I did try installing the app on my Surface Duo. I’m not sure if it’s unoptimized or just using a framework that taxes the device, but it’s one of few apps that makes the Duo show its age.

Contextual computing (of a sort).

My time has been interestingly spent between a number of different devices: A couple of iPads — the Pro mainly for productivity, the mini largely for consumption; a Mac for “work work”; my phone; and that Surface Duo as a sort of triage work machine / quick check in device.

This has been pretty brilliant for the work I’m currently doing, since the Duo-based check ins are quick (and close with a satisfying snap). On the consumption side, while I wish my mini had a nicer display it’s still much better than some thrashed Fire device even for YouTube.

This generally feels like it’s working, but (as I describe below) I think there’s room for improvement.

What I’ve Been Into Lately.

• Finally watched GBH News’s “The Big Dig” on YouTube, a nine-part series on Boston’s infamous highway tunnel project, which came out last year. It’s also available as a podcast — you could listen, but they do a great job layering in timely archival clips towards the middle of the series.
• Stumbled across the channel Wheels of NYC, which while absurd to consider from a practical perspective, still features very cool cars and the people who care for them.
• Adam Lisagor was on the Changelog podcast talking about storytelling, tech, and his super interesting projects on visionOS and Useful.
• Been listening to MacStories’s new podcasts, Comfort Zone and NPC. So far I’m not sure if they’ll make the regular rotation, but I’m curious to see how they evolve.
• Laura Kampf, a maker (think: Adam Savage, Simone Giertz), recently posted to explain her plan to move on from her epic house project to sculpture and furniture in Los Angeles.
• Speaking of YouTubers and epic projects, I’d recently gotten back into following Levi & Leah during their insane cross-continent Prius adventure, after which they committed to a trailer restoration. They intend to close the channel by the end of the year, though Levi also runs Future Proof.

Forward-Looking Statements

I’m not quite ready to commit to slash pages like Deane’s approach, but here are some things I’m working towards this month:

• Thinking about the concept of completion, and in particular as a completionist. What are the parameters, the different possible dones, how to set things aside, all that good stuff.
• Culling my feeds across media. I’ve unofficially thought of this as a year of less, but my subscription counts (podcasts, YouTube, RSS, email newsletters, and more) tell an obviously different story.
• Relatedly, reconsidering social media. A good chat with a friend put the doubt in my head about how often and how accessible some of these apps need to be, and I’d like to be serious about thinking that through.
• Getting some game time in. I linked to Panic’s “Thank Goodness You’re Here!” when the trailer came out and got it on launch day, but it now sits among the several games I‘ve never actually played since purchase.
• The old self-hosted debate. I’m certainly not going to be starting a WordPress instance any time soon but their embrace of the Fediverse has made me reconsider Micro.blog. The question: Do I really want these posts to be federated?
• Device management. I described a somewhat hectic number of devices for doing various tasks and while I like it, I don’t think I’ve got much discipline in terms of where something gets done or how reliant I am on my phone. I’m looking to evolve my setup — and I hope without thinking I’d need an additional device.

Tab Sweep, End of July Edition

Some other food for thought:

• Matt Birchler on Marco Arment on the Overcast rewrite. Really interesting to hear Marco struggling with what sounds like the first time that he’s ever really needed to deal with technical debt.
• Sara Dietschy’s video, “How to Simplify Your Digital Life,” is an interesting dive into her own mindset behind the complexity of her old workflow and how she’s put her life in a position to need less from a productivity standpoint.
• The New York Times had an issue of their newsletter about Olympians as memes that was a little fun and thoughtful. They also have a roundup from the current games: “This article will be updated with more Olympians as later memes arise.”