I’m seeing a lot less internet chatter about “productivity” and a lot more about information structures.1 I think this represents a natural followup to the task management craze of previous years. The market responded to GTD with a huge variety of apps and systems and most of us have settled into something that works well enough. Where I’ve found the most friction is in the information management that often drives task management, and I’m not alone.

I remember iOS 11 like it was just 4 decades ago. There was somuch excitement for the new drag and drop features on the iPad that I can feel my adrenaline increase as I write this missive. “Finally”, the iPad was getting real. I took my enthusiasm and invested it in every “Shelf” app on the AppStore. It was fun. It was unproductive. It didn’t stick. I still use Gladys and occasionally Copied, but I use them mostly as a shared clipboard history between my Apple devices.

I have a couple of little projects that have me thinking a lot about blogging. One of those projects is to groom and optimize my RSS feed reading. Crazy, right? I don’t like reading most mainstream news and I definitely don’t like Apple News. RSS is a good way to see new information that is generally relevant to what I want to think about. As I groomed my RSS list, I’ve been thinking about the value of each site and the type of content they post.

Speaking of RSS, I’ve been very happy with the latest NetNewsWire betas. iCloud syncing in NetNewsWire is fast and stupid-easy. The iOS apps are very nice for reading and the Mac app is stable and uses very little power. It’s just nice to have a rock-solid RSS reader that focuses on what I like about RSS: Easy reading and fast syncing.

Apparently Google rediscovered RSS. I look forward to their second failure with it. It does make me wonder what advertising scheme they are planning to shoehorn into their version of RSS that wasn’t possible 8 years ago.

Have you heard enough about the new M1 Macs? Of course you haven’t, that’s why you’re here. I’ve been using the new MacBook Air with M1 ARM processor for a few weeks. It has been mostly great. The battery life is unbelievable and it’s a very powerful computer. There are a few problems with my transition from Intel to M1 but they are minor. What Works 99% of everything I’ve needed to run on the M1 works.

There are some delightful sites out there on the internet. Here’s a few that I’m enjoying. I only had one criteria for this list: the sites must support RSS. Remember RSS? It’s like Twitter without the buttholes. Waxy.org is a weird and wonderful collection of things from Andy Baio. Waxy.org turned me on to the new version of StumbleUpon and I can’t stop clicking. I love their rules for submitting new links and the results are proof that there’s still really neat and weird things happening on the internet.

I read a lot of technical papers and books. None are as fun as the comic-esque explainers from Wizardzines. Now, Julia Evans has put everything online, including incomplete comics and single topics such as Sort & Uniq Wizardzines are wonderful little tutorials that don’t just make good references (or posters) but are more succinct than most technical books. I suggest going all in for a hundred bucks. That gets you all of the completed comics like Bite Size Bash, which is just a lovely overview of a good chunk of Bash.

After the decade long year we just had, I want to appreciate how good the escapism TV has been for me. There has been some dynamite TV and YouTube. Some of these predated the pandemic but are wonderful for a rewatch. Netflix Altered Carbon (scifi) The Witcher (fantasy) Shadow and Bone (fantasy) Middleditch and Schwartz (humor) Hulu Fargo Season 1 (suspense) How To WIth John Wilson (humor documentary) HBO Watchmen Series (drama)

Hi there. Here’s a small list of nice things that I like, both real and imaginary. Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh (📕) This is a terrifically weird book that sits between a graphic novel and a quirky memoir. It’s a delight. The Brain ‘Rotates’ Memories (🔗) I love the idea that our brains polarize information processing. I’m not sure why I love it, but it’s nice to be surprised.