Jim Willis

Can’t find a message that I JUST FRICKIN’ SENT a few days ago! Let’s try Googling:

Well, I’m not the only one!

The inability to use the Messages app on the Mac to search message history is really a nuisance. That, and I’m noticing Spotlight search in general seems to really be crappy lately. I wrote this a while back which seemed to kickstart Spotlight back to life:

sudo mdutil -a -i off
sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
sudo mdutil -a -i on

But it doesn’t work under Mojave. Bummer.

We use Amazon’s Subscribe and Save for monthly deliveries of household stuff like garbage bags, cleaners, etc. This month though I did some Googling while reviewing our deliveries and found that Grove Collaborative was cheaper on a few products. Just placed an order, we’ll see.

They are a B Corp which makes me feel a little better about supporting them (though, natch, shopping locally/independently would be even better if I had the time). From their about page:

We offer products that are gentler on the earth, prioritize post-consumer materials for packaging, and carbon offset every shipment that goes out our door.

Will try to revisit this next month with an update.

Incredible to think that I’ve been using Things for 10 years now. Amazing application and I can not imagine living without it. That said, I’ve only half-heartedly been maintaining/cleaning/pruning my lists in there and it is totally out of control and probably still contains “Someday/Maybe” items from 10 years ago.

Listening to Tim Ferris interview Getting Things Done author, David Allen the other day got me thinking about being a bit more disciplined about my Things lists.

I haven’t actually made any progress. Yet. But I did find a terrific writeup by Johnny Chadda on how he uses Things for GTD. Really excellent writeup with super-useful screenshots. When I do actually make progress on using Things for GTD is will be because of his how to guide.

I’ve got a lot of folks who know that I like VW campers and they’ll send me links from facebook from time to time about VW’s forthcoming electic vans and these are almost always prototypes and may or may not see the light of day but this new announcement from Volkswagen where they’re working with another German company to retrofit Beetles with electric engines represents some real hope that someday I might be able to plug in my Vanagon.

Some folks get into ASMR (Autonomous sensory meridian response) to chill out. Cool if that’s your thing but I’ve found the most relaxing thing on the internet: watching John Twist from University Motors work on MGs. This 15 minute video on jacking up an MGB will teach you more than you ever thought there was to know about jacking up a car.

Part of the problem with Strava’s ubiquity on the workout/app front is that once you start using it you don’t often look around to see what else might be available. That said, I’ve never loved the way strava worked on my Apple Watch so did a little digging and found this amazing gem of an application called WorkOutDoors.

So good. Such a better alternative to Strava.

Especially if you run. Even more so if you adhere to the MAF running method (low heart rate, high cadence).

I’ve been using WorkOutDoors consistently for a few weeks now and it is a joy. It required a bit of tweaking/settings modifications that might be a bit complex for a non-tech savvy person but once I got the settings dialed in, it does exactly what I want it to do, reliably and WAY better than Strava.

The app allows you to configure multiple watch screens for each activity (Running, Cycling, etc.). And you can do those configurations from your phone, so no futzing around with the tiny watch interface.

I only use it for running and created a single screen that shows me:
– cadence
– heart rate
– distance
– pace
– time.

So much density of readable data on that screen!!!! Amazing.

I also set up a couple of alarms so that if my cadence falls below 170 or my heart rate exceed 145 I get some haptic feedback on my wrist. I love it. This app is great. If you run, totally worth trying it out.

Oh, and after you get done with your run you can also very easily press a button and upload the activity to strava. So you’re not cut off from the social part of strava, either.

If you’re into gear lists, I finally got around to detailing the gear I used for my Erie Canal bikepacking trip earlier this summer over at AllTogetherOutThere.

First off, here’s this from an interesting read over at The Week:

In brief, payment card companies are piggybacking on public systems and guarantees to gouge the American public, especially with credit cards. They act as middlemen, skimming fees off transactions and using their size to bully businesses into accepting their terms — who then raise prices on all consumers. The associated profits, both for Visa and company and the issuing banks, are effectively a tax on everything Americans pay for.

Also, two other credit card facts I learned this weekend:

• KMart doesn’t accept American Express
• Audible (despite being owned by Amazon), doesn’t accept the Amazon Store Card.

#dogpark