Got a nice hike/run in to clear my head and scout out a new (to me) trail. Super fun route up and over the Pitchoff Ridge and then up Cascade Pass. 🥾 📷
Uh, so I played a few rounds of Cut The Rope on — checks notes — YouTube, of all places, today. Anybody else seeing mini games pop up there yet?
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Now, Samsung has stepped in with an ad of its own, showing a musician walking through the aftermath of Apple’s hydraulic press and picking up a partially destroyed guitar. Then, sitting on an easel, is a Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra with musical notes, and the musician strums along.
I’ll freely admit that Apple’s ad lacked class. But so does piling onto someone when they’ve already apologized.
By the way, for folks using my Generate Alt Text with OpenAI Vision shortcut, you can update it to use the new gpt-4o model super easily by just changing the name of the model in this action:
It’s supposed to be faster and cheaper than the regular GPT-4 model, which is always nice! 🤖
It seems like every presenter thought they would be the one to announce that Gemini is going to 2 million tokens. It’s not as effective after the 4th time… #GoogleIO 🧵
It’s totally not the point, but it’s still exciting to see one of my blog posts on Federico Viticci’s Starred list in his (excellent) not-an-iPad-Pro-review. 👀
‘Next iPad Mini Still Not Expected Before Late 2024 at the Earliest’
I can’t be the only one struggling to parse this MacRumors headline, right? 🙃
Too true.
Which brings me to today. My world is not as exciting as it once was. The technology that I love is now in a very different spot. It no longer sits idle until called upon like any other tool, it muscles its way into every corner of our lives. There is a lot to be excited about, but also a lot to be wary of.
🆕📝 Starting up PenPals with Justin Wong
One conversation ends, and the next begins. Justin and I got started with some introductions and discussed the pros of living in Florida or elsewhere with more distinct seasons, career changes, and eating habits.
🆕📝 Wrapping up being PenPals with Ratika
Ratika was my eighth PenPal so far, and she got me to stretch my writing style trying to keep up with her beautiful prose.
Funnily enough, the Apple Event has me reconsidering a new iPad at all. Maybe my 2020 iPad Pro gets passed to my wife, and I swap out for a MacBook Air/macOS instead (plus iPad mini). Two sticking points: (1) No cellular option (still!) on Mac, and (2) the MacBook Air config I’d want is $1900. 😳
I might be able to sneak in watching the ‘Let Loose’ #AppleEvent while working on my work’s newsletter. 🤫 This’ll be my hot takes thread. 🧵
🆕📝 10 Last-Minute Predictions for Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ Event
It's finally time for new iPads! Here's what I think we'll see.
I was busy at a climbing instructor course this weekend, so I’m a day late, but here’s your weekly dose of random stuff from the web!
I spent more time wearing my Vision Pro in a dream last night than I have in the last couple of weeks in real life. 😓
Gotta hand it to them, this is a really rad ad. Happy May the Fourth!
I’ve been kind of obsessed with this video. These kids have incredible voices, and it looks like they’re having the time of their lives performing. 👍👍
📷 #mbApr Day +2 (32)
Ollivander is the quintessential unputdownable critter.
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The Meta Smart Glasses are doing a really good job of extending your smartphone’s capabilities with new inputs and outputs, and I hope we see more devices like that. But until the hardware, software, and AI all get better and more differentiated, I just don’t think we’re getting better than smartphones. The AI gadget revolution might not stand a chance. The Rabbit R1 sure doesn’t.
Oof.
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Sometimes, we look at people who seem to be advancing rapidly and wonder about their secret. What we often don’t see is the “shelter” around them—whether that’s privilege, support, or resources—that might be helping them but also potentially weakening them in ways not immediately visible. They’re missing out on the “winds” of challenge that help strengthen and prepare us for the real world.
Yup.
🔗 How “AI” is helping my writing process // Om Malik // om.co
With the right prompts, I can get the interview to a place where I can start editing it manually. The entire process, which would have taken a few days in the past, now takes between two to three hours. To me, that is what this new augmented intelligence is all about helping me get the work done faster and more efficiently.
I’m not too fond of sleepless nights. I will let others lose sleep over AGI — while I can get to sleep longer, by finishing my writing sooner.
📷 #mbApr Day +1
Kinda like a massive structural bubble.
📷 #mbApr Day 30
When I think of my hometown it’s this image of the local theater along our red brick Main Street that comes to mind. (Image credit: Billy Strings)
📷 #mbApr Day 29
Can’t wait to drift back down this river. Soon enough!
Finished reading: Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual by Bob Gaines 📚
Pretty much all review concepts, but a great brush-up for my Single Pitch Instructor course this weekend. 🧗