Numeric Citizen Blog Posts Monthly Digest

Numeric Citizen Blog
Here's the latest edition of the Ephemeral Scrapbook newsletter! I hope you enjoy! Email version coming out soon! For those asking: it is entirely built using Craft Docs.
2024-12-01 ∞I'm reading good comments about the new subscription from The Verge. I'm not a fan of their website design, but I do read their articles from time to time. I'm tempted to give it a try. Yet, "serving better ads" to subscribers is not exactly a turn on. 🤷🏻♂️
2024-12-04 ∞Got one of my photos selected in the monthly theme, Decay, on Glass. I'm happy. 😊
2024-12-05 ∞Special announcement: for Craft Docs users wishing for a 2025 calendar template, here you go.
2024-12-06 ∞It's easier for me to discover (and like) a new photographer than discovering a new writer. Information absorption is faster in photography.
2024-12-07 ∞I declare my year-long goal of resisting to join Threads to be accomplished.
2024-12-07 ∞According to Tim Cook, the old Steve Jobs office at One Infinite Loop is still intact and reserved for Tim Cook so he can enter it and "connect with him"? I would die myself to have a chance to see this place.
2024-12-08 ∞For all Craft users out there looking or already using Craft Collections, I made a video about that this past weekend. It's a longer-than-usual one, but the subject is dense.
2024-12-09 ∞Those drone sightings stories in New Jersey are... troubling? How come authorities can't figure out what they are? They are big drones yet too small objects for serious analysis? Where are they coming from? Who is operating them? What are the purposes of those low altitude sighting? 🤔
2024-12-09 ∞Photo Sharing, The Web and Museums
Here is a thought about recent tweaks to RSS importer on Micro.blog. For example, now it's possible to import photos in the RSS feed published by Glass. With this, when I publish a photo on Glass, it gets posted on my blog too. The same photo on two platforms. As much as I like the POSSE principle for writing, it doesn't fit well with my desire to share photos on special places, like a photo-dedicated service. Glass is such a special place, just like Pixelfed. What would be the point of having a single photo spread out on other platforms? I see places like Glass like museums. Pieces of art hanged on the wall of a museum are unique to this place. It makes the place unique. I'm still thinking about all this.
2024-12-10 ∞I got an email from Ghost to participate in the ActivityPub beta for my blog. I'm not sure how my blog will be named in the fediverse, but I can imagine being able to get comments from people here on Micro.blog and having those comments appear at the bottom of my blog posts. Will see soon enough.
2024-12-11 ∞Image Playground is so underwhelming and pretty much useless for me. It’s barely a tech demo. All this for what?
2024-12-11 ∞Adobe Lightroom for Mac is the best Mac app of the year? In light of Apple buying Pixelmator, I find this a bit surprising.
2024-12-12 ∞Will we ever see some generative AI or AI-based features added to HEY Mail? 🧐
2024-12-12 ∞My Apple Intelligence Writing Tools Mixed Experience
My experience with Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools is mixed. One significant issue is the absence of a feature to compare the original text with the revised version. In contrast, Grammarly excels in this regard, as its suggestions are contextual. Additionally, the constant need to select text to “feed” the Writing Tools becomes tedious. Another challenge arises when using Writing Tools with markdown content or links. These get mangled in the revised version. Finally, speed is also an issue. Even for simple text to process, it can take quite some time to get a response.
For now, Grammarly remains my preferred writing assistant, and I have no intention of switching to Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools anytime soon.
I often share photos about Apple, apparently1.
{{< collection "Apple" >}}
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Testing the new photo collections on Micro.blog. I like it. ↩
My brother-in-law got a M4 Mac mini recently. The last time he used a Mac was with the Macintosh LC III, more than thirty years ago. One thing he still struggles with, then and now: the menu bar that changes when switching apps. The other thing: he doesn't get the Stage Manager. He turned that off.
2024-12-14 ∞A quick behind-the-scenes post: the same overall content, with two different apps. This is the "script" for this video. On the left, Mindnote Next, on the right, Zavala. This is sort of a cue card for use during video recording, the Mindnote version was much easier to read. Zavala's version is more for documenting purposes. Even the outline view in Mindnote feels better.
When writing, I start in Craft and then export to Ulysses for final review and online posting. It works great, but I’m not always satisfied with Ulysses, which sometimes feels overwhelming. Enter iA Writer, an app that I remember using in its early days and that I liked for its simplicity. This blog post from Greg Morris reminds me of the perpetual questioning of my decision to settle on Ulysses.
This morning, I decided to download a trial of iA Writer. The first thing I checked was which publishing platforms it supports. To my surprise, it supports all the ones I depend on: Ghost, Micro.blog, and, to a lesser extent, Medium.
This blog post was written on my 15-inch M2 MacBook Air using iA Writer trial edition. Sadly, iA Writer couldn’t post as draft, so I had to manually copy and paste the content into a blank post on Micro.blog.
My Ulysses subscription ends on March 25th, 2025, but this publishing bug is a deal-breaker for now. Back to Ulysses.
So I finally got the iPad Magic Keyboard for my M4 iPad Pro. At first, I didn’t want to spend that amount of money on a freakin keyboard… but I’m a weak man and I did. While I love the added function keys row, the overall improvement, I’m not sure this keyboard is that magical.
2024-12-15 ∞I’m still exploring ways to monetize my experience with Craft. After creating The Craft Bible, now it’s Craft Support Call. I don’t expect much from this, but I’m curious to see how it goes if I ever get one request.
2024-12-15 ∞I don't know why I'm paying for Ivory, I'm not often on Mastodon, much more often here and on Bluesky.
2024-12-15 ∞Tonight, I watched the iPhone 4 leak documentary. I don't want to spoil anything but there was an unexpected and unknown twist to this story. It's a great documentary. It made me think twice about this era which I kind of miss, actually.
2024-12-15 ∞Craft & Gumroad - A Match in Heaven?
I'be been trying to build a small business around Craft using Gumroad in the last 18 months. So far, it's a hit or miss. I'm currently having paying 20 subscribers for The Craft Bible1. I sold quite a few Craft templates, too. I have many more ideas for 2025 to continue to grow this offering. Yet, it won't replace my day job.
I like Gumroad as a selling platform but also for writing articles and sharing them with my customers. This is not something that I planned on doing when I started, but I must admit that it's fun to build a small community around an app like Craft, away from the public scrutiny of Reddit and Slack. Today, I shared a long op-ed article on my feelings about Craft. It's a long piece that I took quite some time to write. I'm quite happy with the results. I can't wait for user reactions and feedback.
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I'm currently running a promotion until the end of December where new subscribers to The Craft Bible get a one-week trial. To my surprise, It is not attracting more subscriptions. I must be doing something wrong. ↩
I'm getting tired of hearing people invoke their ADHD syndrome for everything... I mean, come on... either it's diagnosed and you take the pills or it's an excuse...
Update #1: Sorry to look offensive to some of my readers. I should have been more precautious when sharing such a thought. I was referring to some people, a minority, who invoke symptoms of ADHD without the condition so they can be more easily excused of certain things. Those people exist and their attitude is causing prejudice to people who actually have some degree of ADHD.
2024-12-17 ∞Look what we've got here. Can you tell what is happening here? 👀
At one point, for Apple, it might become more economical and less damaging to leave the EU market behind. Is it indeed getting personal?
2024-12-18 ∞At the office today, the last time for 2024. It’s an iPad Pro-type-of-day. Currently using an external display with Stage Manager on and Apple Magic Keyboard. It feels a little bit cramped but it’s ok. After two minutes, I can already see display bugs when using an app on the external display. I’m looking at you, Micro.blog.
2024-12-19 ∞Just bought Soulver 3 for iPad as a big fan of this app for the Mac. I cannot live without it on my iPad today while at work. Not cheap but so well done. I wish I couldd export a sheet into Excel with all the values and formulas transposed for me.
2024-12-19 ∞Microsoft Teams for iPad is probably the buggiest app of all when used with an external display. So many weird UI behaviors. It might Apple’s fault, too.
2024-12-19 ∞I've been playing with iA Presenter 1.4 again this morning. I like what I'm seeing with the share presentation online feature (example here). Now, I have to wonder: what is my use case for this? I always come down to this question when trying new features, new apps or new services.
2024-12-21 ∞Always fun to learn something about Micro.blog while recording the "What's Up With Micro.blog" video. 🤭 Stay tuned for those who might be interested.
2024-12-21 ∞This is the last edition of the year of What's Up with Micro.blog. I hope that you find it useful. cc @manton
2024-12-21 ∞Last work day of the year. It should be an easy one, mostly spent on writing a client proposal.
2024-12-23 ∞On iPhone 16 Pro Camera Control
I’ve played a bit with my wife’s iPhone 16 Pro Camera Control. I think it is cool but not practical. It is the best case of feature or functions overloading on a single control. I think it’s hard to compete against discrete on-screen camera controls because these are much quicker to invoke and the error rate is low. I don’t see the Camera Control to live for a long time as I can’t see a single way of improving it and fixing this usability issue.
2024-12-23 ∞In recent days I’ve been thinking and imagining what could be a useful and powerful WebClipper for Craft. I’ve built a shared document for that purpose. Have a look.
2024-12-23 ∞New Bluesky subscribers rush seems to be easing because I'm stuck at 153 followers for the last week!
2024-12-23 ∞A strange image of Steve walking in an open space area (probably in One Infinite Loop). The visual mood of this image triggers other possibilities.. like Steve walking in heaven… I think I’m either exhausted or too sensitive.
2024-12-23 ∞It’s the time of the year where I feel the best action is “mark all as read”… 🫤
2024-12-23 ∞I am not the biggest fan of meta blog posts, also called blogging about blogging. I do think they’re sometimes useful but they’re also quite uninspiring for me to read. And that’s why I try to stay away from the topic for the most part.
I find this statement surprising coming from the author behind the popular "People & Blog" series. Maybe I'm missing something here.
2024-12-24 ∞In my family, relatives are purchasing Macs in bulk: three Mac mini computers and one MacBook Pro. I’m quite perplexed about the reasons behind this sudden surge in Mac purchases. 🤯
2024-12-24 ∞On Header Images and Creative Liberty
Manuel Moreale link posting on the subject of header images on blog posts:
"I’ll go one step further Nelson, I have a growing hatred towards pointless images in blog posts in general, I don’t even care if they’re AI-generated or not. If they’re there as part of the content then by all means use them but if you’re just adding a stock image from unsplash to make the page “feel” more interesting then you’re just part of the broader problem that’s plaguing the web."
Header images do add to the page load times, yes I do use AI-generated images from time to time, like in this post where I wanted to make a point, and I use many of my personal photos... like in this edition of the Ephemeral Scrapbook newsletter. Yes, I prefer header images on that specific blog because it is part of its visual theme. So then what? That's MY corner of the web. I do what I find cool and creative and whatever.
I'm guessing he's reading none of my blogs because of this, among other reasons?
2024-12-26 ∞I still have three more articles to publish before the end of the year: one about Medium, the final edition of the Ephemeral Scrapbook, and a review of my creative year.
2024-12-26 ∞Fun fact: I often play "Did You Know?" with my wife to let her know about special features on her Apple Watch, iPad or other tech devices. She doesn't like to remember things and the fact that many things are hidden by default in the Apple ecosystem.
2024-12-28 ∞Finished watching this video about a Macintosh IIfx computer full restore to working condition. This brings so many memories and contains some really cool tech stuff like this SCSI card emulator. Wow! I would love to see this in action in person.
2024-12-28 ∞I love this panel that Ghost presents after hitting "Publish and share". That was the last edition for 2024.
Any Final Cut Pro users here? What advice would you give to someone who knows about Screenflow for recording his YouTube videos but is looking for something more powerful… mostly doing screen recording with my face as a médaillon…
2024-12-30 ∞I have twice as many followers on Bluesky than on Mastodon. Don’t know how many followers on Micro.blog… because… Micro.blog. 🙃
2024-12-31 ∞Hello 2025! 🎉 Happy new year folks! So this is it, that was my very first post of 2025.
2025-01-01 ∞