English
- Tidal: €11.64
- Apple Music: €7.25
- Spotify: €2.88
- Security
- This is important, both for the people inside and outside the car!
- … but it’s not the only factor, of course.
- Features
- Size, range, etc. — things you can do with it.
- Comfort, and sense of quality
- This isn’t about what you can do with it, but how it feels to do them. In a car, this could be sound (or lack thereof), looks, driving experience, how it feels to open and close the doors, and other small, and large, things.
- Price
- Maybe this shouldn’t be here — but when picking a car, it’s often about getting the most features, comfort, and security for the price.
- (“Quality” can also be interpreted as how fast it breaks, which could also be included in the cost of owning the vehicle.)
- Sometimes Apple will make something more private because they hope it will be a selling point. I don’t mind that at all! That’s “just as nefarious” as them making something good because it will sell.
- Other times, Apple will make something more private that just so happens to benefit Apple and harm their competitors. A good example here, is them locking down the NFC chip on iPhones. (Here’s a good post discussing this.)
- And sometimes they’ll do something that benefits them even though it’s bad for their users' privacy. For instance, they don’t mind tracking us to serve us ads, as long as they’re the ones doing it.
Second Sunrise: a World-Class Clothing Store in Stockholm
Truly High-Quality Garments
My wife and I recently had a couple of days in Stockholm.1 And as someone who loves well-made stuff (especially clothes), I searched for good stores for that. I didn’t find many, but the only one I found beforehand, was well worth it.
Other recommendations:
L'usine Bleue was a really cool little store, with only French workwear.
6/5/4 was also pretty cool.
World-Class
To put it into perspective, I went looking for stores at this level in Now York a couple of years ago — and that city only had two stores on this level: Self Edge and Blue in Green.2 Other stores I know about, are Standard & Strange, Göteborg Manufaktur, Blue Caviar (DK), Brund (DK), Redcast Heritage and Tate & Yoko. But they are really rare — so if you’re close to one, and get to try stuff in-store, you should really go for it.
What’s so special about stores like Second Sunrise?
Have We Been Evaluating Music Streaming Payments The Wrong Way?
One question that ofter comes up when discussing music streaming services, is: “How much are they paying artists per stream?" And there are many blog posts, like this one, that have tried to figure it out. It quotes some numbers, that I’ve seen several places, for Average Payout per 1000 Streams:
And this was the number that made me change from Spotify to Tidal last year — even though I don’t care about the increased audio quality, and I like Spotify’s app better. Comment sections are also often filled with things like “Spotify don’t pay artists”, etc.
But we might be thinking about it all wrong because here’s the thing: No1 streaming services actually pay per stream. Instead, all the major ones pile up the revenue, and then divide it to artists2 based on the percentage of total streams. So, even if I only listen to Blur, that doesn’t mean my payments only go to that artist.3
An interesting side effect of this is that, if every user streamed the same artists next month, but doubled their streaming amount, the payouts would be the same. But the blog posts above would have to halve the estimate for Payout per Stream.
So while it’s not totally irrelevant, I simply think payout per stream is the wrong number to look at. The more relevant number, is:
The percentage of revenue that goes to artists.
Allow me to explain:
✉️ Learn from my mistakes: Buy Larger Shoes
I love getting email etc. from readers (hint, hint), and recently, I got an email regarding an older blog post about a great pair of sneakers from Crown Northampton.
In the original blog post, I said I first bought them too small — but it took me a year to realise it. I bit the bullet, and bought another pair (of the quite expensive shoes), and I hope that’s a testament to how much I like them.
Here’s the email I got:
Hello there!
I just got these babies. I do have a question for you. I know you’ve said that it took you a year to admit they were too small. I think, I’m having the same problem. They’re a bit tight on the toe box.
I just tried to go for a walk (first wear since I received them), and I already have blisters on my ankles.
Should I re-send them to get the wider option? I just don’t feel like paying $160 to send them back and wait another 4 weeks.
My dilemma is whether I should be patient and try breaking them in a little more instead of getting the wider option. What would be your advice? I’m disappointed that a shoe this expensive is not as comfortable out of the box.
I look forward to your reply!
Best,
Luis 1
And here’s my first reply:
🌱 Coffee: Max Good, Min Effort
My Coffee Setup
My wife and I love coffee — and we drink a lot of it. So we want it to be good, while still not being too much of a hassle to make every day. And this post is me highlighting the equipment we use, and the process.
If you only want one-ish cup (and why I don’t like capsule machines)
When I say that we drink a lot of coffee, I mean that we drink coffee made of 0.75-1 litres of water/45-60 grams of beans. So it’s pretty obvious why something like a Nespresso capsule machine isn’t a viable option.
But other reasons I don’t like it, is that the coffee tastes much, much worse than alternatives, it can get expensive, and how much waste it creates. (For some info on environmental impact, check this video and this video.) In my book, capsules are Min Good, Min Effort.
I think capsule machines can be a viable option if you personally don’t drink coffee, but you want to have something to serve guests now and then (and you have room in your kitchen). But if you only want about one or two great cups of coffee for yourself, I’d either go for the quite quick AeroPress, or a more ritualistic pour-over, like a V60.
We sometimes make a pour-over — but most of the time, we use a (pretty) regular coffee-maker. 1 But they’re not all created equal.
What you need to make great coffee
0) Good water
I almost forgot this because in Norway, we are very lucky to have great water on tap. But depending on where you live, this might be an issue.
1) Coffee (duh)
🌱 My Watch Collection (Of Only Sub $100 Watches)
And my wife’s way nicer collection
Even though I like tech, and Apple gear, I don’t have smart watch. And the main reason I that I like (mostly mechanical) watches too much. But even though my dream watch is an old Explorer with faded Tritium, I only own very cheap, oddball watches. And I’ve greatly enjoyed finding bargains that still looks good and works well - several of them from Russia/USSR.1
Casio A500WGA-9DF
Every watch collection, no matter the budget, needs a digital Casio. And to me, this (and its silver sister) is, by far, the coolest.
Raketa Copernicus (35 mm)
This hand-wound beauty has some really unique hands, and a pleasing dial. And it comes in several (more or less original) dial and colour variations. As will become apparent, I really like smaller watches like this!
Please Don't Kill The "Today View"
The boys over at the Connected podcast have discussed the Today View (specifically on iPhone) the last few episodes. And late to the party, here’s my short take.
The Today View is the screen of widgets you get to when you scroll left on your Lock Screen or first Home Screen. And they were speculating that it might get removed in time, as it doesn’t get much love from Apple. They didn’t say that they wanted it to go away — but it was also clear that they wouldn’t really mind.
I would.
Because I think it serves a very specific purpose, and fits very well with my use of Home Screens.
Because I’m a One Home Screen Kinda Guy, which I change with Focus Modes. This also makes me a heavy user of the App Library and Spotlight for launching apps and shortcuts. But to me, the Today View is a perfect spot for something I have no other place for: Widgets I always want quick access to, but that I still don’t use so often that it gets a spot on my one Home Screen.
Similar Apps to Bear and Things 3
I saw a simple question on Reddit today, and it sparked an answer.
Any other apps similar to Bear and Things 3?
Looking for similar apps to these two that perfectly balances minimalism, functionality, and UI/aesthetics.
I interpreted this as not being about the specific functionalities, and the types of apps (note-taker and task-manager), but the way those apps feel. Because, if you haven’t used them, you really should. They are truly special pieces of software. I will write more about some of these apps later, but …
Here’s my answer:
Oooh, I like this question!
I’m the kind of person who really values how a piece of software feels (in addition to looks and works.). But I 100% get that I might seem like an idiot for using pricier, and maybe less powerful, software, just because I think it’s nice, heh.
I really like both Bear and Things, but I’ve gone for a workflow where I mostly use plaintext/.md files, which I then access from different apps. The files are located in the folder for NotePlan, which I use it because it has good task and calendar support, so it fills the function of both Bear and Things. And compared to Obsidian and Logseq, it’s closer to Bear in terms of nice-ness — though not quite at that level.
Here are som apps I’d say are on that level, though:
These are apps that (mostly) adhere to principles of Fast Software, the Best Software, and are filled with details you might not appreciate at first glance.
My shoes broke, so I did something radical
… but it shouldn’t be!
Sometimes, the best units of clothing are those you’ve had for a while. It’s been worn in, and seems to have moulded to your body. However, that makes it even sadder when it gets a hole or something — and I assume many of you have kept using an item way longer than you should. It’s just so damn comfortable, so you don’t care that your nipple is poking out of your sweatshirt, The People Eater style.
Recently, I had this happen to a pair of shoes — and that’s when I did something that shouldn’t be as radical as it is.
Two (Ultra-Cheap) DI Boxes From China
One good, one terrible
Recently, I bought a couple of very cheap guitar pedals from China (through AliExpress). I’m working on making some pedalboards for some young family members, and I want to see how cheap I can get it without it being terrible.
My cousin plays the bass (like myself), so I would like to incorporate a DI box in his setup — so I ordered two different ones.
This Rowin DI (€20),
and this Dolamo DI (£16).
And the difference was huge!
🌱 What Makes Telegram Great
Chat apps: Part 2
People, myself included, will endlessly discuss the features and details of their favourite apps for email, calendar, task management and note-taking. But “no one” talks about chat apps — even though many people probably use this type of app even more. I recently wrote about this here, and that I think it’s a bummer that chat apps mostly rely on one of two things: Military-grade security, and lazy lock-in.
I, of course, get why it is like this: Network effects, and switching costs, are of course much higher with chat apps than other apps. A less reported on part of the EU’s Digital Market’s Act (DMA) is actually trying to do something about this, with the demand for chat interoperability! Matrix is also working on this.
However, as someone who’s used plenty of chat apps, one really stands out, in terms of quality and features — and that’s Telegram. I also regularly use iMessage and Messenger (in addition to a bit of Signal and WhatsApp) — and those feel like such a let-down by comparison. This post is me giving concrete examples of why. 1
This is not an endorsement of Telegram, nor the people behind it, though.
(By the way, click here to skip the preamble.)
Things I've Enjoyed Recently #2
Here are some of the things I enjoyed this week. (I hope this can be a recurring thing!)
I’m in the fortunate position of having watched very few films. So now I’m trying to go back and view a bunch of stuff I haven’t watched, but really should watch. My wife has seen way fewer films than even me, though — and she will join me for some of it!
This week I’ve really liked Django Unchained, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (the best Indiana Jones movie in my opinion), Kong: Skull Island (the best I’ve seen in the Monsterverse) and Good Will Hunting.
I also can’t recommend Caravan of Garbage on YouTube enough. Top-tier Australian movie banter! Like I mentioned in my Mad Max post, I like to watch the Caravan of Garbage episode after I’ve watched a movie (any movie).
How It Feels to Get an AI Email From a Friend, is a beautifully written post, and a great read. By Neven Mrgan who works for the excellent Panic.
I also really liked the post Consumption-to-Creation Ratio by Manuel Moreale! Made me want to keep up. 💪🏻 (But in a good and chill way.)
When Was the Last Time You Heard Someone Discuss the "Quality" of a Chat App?
Chat apps: Part 1
What constitutes a “good” car? (Yes, “car” — I’ll get to chat apps, I promise!) If I were to answer for myself, I’d split it up into three factors (with one added as a bonus):
Luckily, the car market is pretty competitive — so there are plenty of options. And you don’t have to buy the same brand as your friends and family! But I want to compare it a bit to chat apps, and both the market and discussions surrounding them. Because even though most of us use chat apps numerous times every day, I’d argue both the market and discussions are lacking.
To me, it seems like most apps only have one of two value propositions —
even though I’d say all the factors from above applies to chat apps as well: Security (and, the connected, but separate, Privacy), Features, Comfort and sense of Quality, and Price. (The way we pay for chat apps is often with “personal data” and “viewing adds”.)
The first proposition is good ol' “Lock-in”
🌱 Some Scripts for Native Tagging of Markdown Files
One thing I like about Markdown is the way the files are just plain-text files, that can be opened and read in different programs and contexts. As much as I can, I try not to lock down my content, or workflows, into specific apps. But I still want to use nice apps! So sometimes I have to jump through a few hoops to make things interoperate. I’ll go into more detail on my workflows later — but I thought I’d share some scripts I use in one piece of the puzzle.
First, here’s what they do:
What I want is to be able to tag things in the different programs I use, and then automatically apply native Finder/Files tags to the files themselves. If I want to make three tags called “Bass guitar”, “Music” and “Effect pedals”, I would write #Bass guitar# #Music #Effect pedals#. (Notice how the multi-word ones also end with a #.)
The scripts come in three different flavours:
Does Apple "Care" About Our Privacy?
This post was originally a Mac Power Users thread.
One of the questions that started a discussion, was (paraphrased) whether Apple “cares about the privacy of its users”.
I think these are some important nuances to Apple’s decisions surrounding privacy:
And the billions they accept from Google, to make their search the default in Safari, is another example of the latter.
If Apple really cared about our privacy, they would, of course, choose a default that doesn’t track us — like DuckDuckGo. And it feels a bit hollow when they’re like “Yeah, we care about your privacy — but not like not-accept-$20-billion-for-free-care, you know!"
So, while I do think “privacy” is an argument for choosing Apple products, I think they’ve proven that they don’t care about our privacy. Whether that matters, is a different question! ☺️
(This discussion also spurred me to write about my search engine of choice, Kagi.)
🌱 My Search Engine Is Perhaps My Favourite Tech Service
There’s a lot of talk about Google Search these days — and how AI is affecting the search quality. Parts of the algorithm even leaked recently, showing that they’ve actively lied to the public. And the general discussions surrounding whether Google is getting worse, has been going on for way longer. But I’ve sidestepped this whole thing…
A while ago, in my quest to use less stuff from the largest tech companies (and due to privacy concerns), I used DuckDuckGo for over a year. But while I liked the design, I found myself having to type !g, and go to Google, to find what I was looking for.
Then I tried Neeva (RIP). And I liked that I didn’t have to scroll past ads, but the Norwegian results were terrible.
However, for the last two years, I’ve used Kagi Search — and ever since, it’s been one of my absolute favourite tech products. And yesterday they published a blog post called What is next for Kagi?, which I liked, and that spurred this post.
I like being the customer
An Introduction to Mad Max
I recently saw a film poster to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - so I thought I’d might watch Mad Max: Fury Road again. I think I remembered it being pretty good - but after rewatching it, I thought: “Uhm, I think this is the best film I’ve ever seen??"
So I’ve spent some time the last two weeks getting into the Mad Max Franchise. I’ve always known about it, but never really had a relationship to it. But now I’m a fan!
I’m not going into why Fury Road is so amazing here. Instead I’m going to give some pointers on how to get into the series.
Worth your time
There are many famous franchises out there - but most of them take a little lifetime to get into. There’s so much Star Wars/Trek, Game of Thrones or Marvel stuff out there. But Mad Max is much more manageable, and the high notes are so great, that it’s absolutely worth your time.
You can absolutely just watch Fury Road, without doing anything else before it. If you’re going that route, you can read this little footnote for a tiny bit of background. 👉🏻 1
I watched Fury Road blind, and then went back to the three old ones - but it could also be fun to simply watch them in chronological order!
Mini reviews of the first three
Things I Enjoyed Recently #1
Here are some of the things I enjoyed this week. (I hope this can be a recurring thing!)
This moving Reddit thread
Married men: What, if anything, are you unable or unwilling to share fully openly and honestly about yourself with your spouse?
Some threads are funny, others sad. In general it’s all wholesome, though, with a bunch of dudes being supportive and open with their emotions. Two things men could do more of. 1
The new Dua Lipa Album
Just a rock solid pop album. Good stuff!
The first Razorlight album
This is such a solid indie pop album, that I had totally forgotten.
This 2 hour long video game video
“The 100 Games That Taught Me Game Design” by Game Maker’s Toolkit is both enlightening and entertaining!
Mad Max
I think I might want to see Furiosa in the cinema - so I rewatched Mad Max: Fury Road. And I think I’ll go as far as saying it’s my favourite movie. I mean, how can you make a better action movie!? I’m not a movie buff, though - so if you have movie tips you think I’ll like if I love this, please come with them!
I’ve also watched, and liked, the first two in the series. The hype for the second one is very warranted! Its influence on everything post-apocalyptic can’t be overstated - and I was very impressed over what they managed to do with the available budget and technology.
Micro.blog's Amazing New Reply Feature
Both Micro.blog, and the Fediverse at large, sometimes feel like they’re just a few puzzle pieces away from being really great. And recently, Micro.blog added one of those pieces!
Because, you could already follow my blog, via the username @havn@micro.blog, on things like Mastodon. And if you saw one of my posts on your timeline, you could comment on it directly. However, it was a bit difficult to comment on it from the website here. But look at this beautiful piece as the bottom of my posts now:
And when you click through one of the links, you get sent back to the post and can add your comment.
🌱 Why I Use Fastmail
A couple of months ago, I “recruited” a friend to use the e-mail service Fastmail. And today, in a group chat, I “bragged” about me getting paid a sweet 50 cent (like it’s my birthday) for this! 1 🙌🏻
One of my friends, obviously very impressed by my business acumen, asked “Well, what’s your pitch for Fastmail?” — and this post is my answer to him! And if I’m lucky, I’ll get a whole dollar next month. 🙏🏻
Lovely Attention to Detail
I love unnecessary details. I know that, for many people, this has about zero value. But even if it doesn’t serve a function (and there is an argument for the example in the video below having a function), small things like this simply brings joy. For instance, my mom’s car is nicer than mine - and one of the small things, is that the thump you get when you close the door, is so much nicer! And software can give this feeling as well.
Two quick tips for apps (that I’ll write more about later) that has excellent feel: Bike and Paper
I mean, just look at the way the text moves in Bike! 😍