Politics
Today is a Good Day
Nearly 4 years ago, Donald Trump promised that “American carnage” was going to end “today” in his inaugural address. Sitting here at the end of his term, the best way I can describe his what has transpired under his leadership is indeed, American carnage.
I won't go through the list because you already
Game
The Epic Games Store is a Way Better Experience than Steam
First off, let me say that I don't use any social features of Steam or Epic, so this is coming from a single-player focused view. If those features appeal to you, then carry on enjoying Steam, this article is not going to convince you of anything.
To start, let's look
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Your Regular Reminder that Pokemon Go Has Been Huge All Along
Morning Brew
It’s all Meowth money showers right now over at Niantic, the company behind the 2016 breakout augmented reality app, Pokémon Go. Turns out it wasn’t the summer fad we all thought it was.
So far this year, players have spent about $1 billion in the app, according to Sensor Tower, a
video
How I keep track of my most important work (The Three Things)
I follow GTD pretty religiously, but one of its side effects for me is that I find it easy to
Links
Lying with Statistics
How claims of voter fraud were supercharged by bad science | MIT Technology Review
Unsurprisingly, conservatives ran with this new support for their old narrative and have continued to do so. The study’s fans include President Trump, who used it to justify the creation of his short-lived and failed commission on voter fraud, and
Politics
Attacking the Core of America
I was going to link to a specific quote in this article, Donald Trump is Attacking the Very Core of America, but there was simply too much and I couldn’t pick just one bit, just go read it.
This also gives me a reason to share something I’ve seen in my area, and
Links
I Feel Hollow Without Creativity
Newsletters vs Blogging - Tablet Habit
I feel that I no longer want to make money with my writing and instead want this to be a creative outlet for me. I don’t want this to be a job, I want this to be a hobby. I am a creative person and I need a creative
Links
Notion’s Onboarding Experience
Notion's Onboarding Experience: A Case of Simplicity and Delightfulness
Their Personal Onboarding experience is that simple. They use simple language, simple illustrations, and simple design to guide you through the most important stage of any online service. It’s a make-or-break point and Notion’s got it right.
Notion definitely does
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IFTTT Ain’t Quite It Anymore
Goodbye IFTTT | Ben Congdon
Similarly, in the past couple years IFTTT's UI has leaned heavily into the “applet” metaphor, with these big goofy toggle switches to enable/disable automations. The site also transitioned towards a focus on community- (or, more often corporate-) created automations, at the expense of the experience for creating your
covid-19
1,700 Google Engineers, and One of the Early BS Claims
Verily’s COVID Testing Program Halted in San Francisco and Oakland | Kaiser Health News
Problems emerged almost immediately, she said. People were suspicious of the requirement that they sign up with a Gmail account, and the request for personal information, such as health status and risk factors. “You don’t necessarily want to share that
Game
First Impressions of the Sony Dualsense Controller (without a PS5)
I was able to get my hands on one of the new PS5 controllers, the Dualsense controller, and I’ve
The Mandalorian Treads in Nostalgia, but with Taste
My two major complaints with The Rise of Skywalker were:
1. The plot tried to undo/ignore the progression and
Apple
In 2020, Widgets are Way More Important on iOS
A few weeks ago, the email service, Hey, released an update to their iOS app that added widgets. The widgets are great, and I use two of them because they’re so perfectly suited to how Hey works.
The Android app does not support widgets.
Despite Basecamp keeping their iOS and Android apps in lock
Links
Covid Hasn’t Killed Commerce
Resetting online commerce — Benedict Evans
There are half a dozen huge industries where all of the cards are being thrown up in the air, and no-one really knows where they’re going to land. The Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 are catalysing and accelerating all sorts of changes - we’re getting five years
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Majora’s Mask is Particularly Relevant in 2020
Majora's Mask Is Still The Best Zelda Game Ever Made — Especially In 2020
Majora’s Mask defined some of the best and most human parts of every Zelda game that has come to pass since its launch this time 20 years ago. It’s funny to think that now, its most innovative and
Links
How Journalists Use youtube-dl
Music industry forces widely used journalist tool offline
In fact, youtube-dl is a powerful general purpose media tool that allows users to make local copies of media from a very broad range of sites. That versatility has secured it a place in the toolkits of many reporters, newsroom developers, and archivists. For now, the
Links
Speaking of Environmentally Conscious, Sustainable, Repairable Phones
Fairphone 3 Plus review: sustainability comes with compromises - The Verge
If you are someone who wants a more ethical and sustainable alternative to a budget £200 device, then the Fairphone 3 Plus delivers. It’ll serve your needs in the same way as a budget smartphone will in 2020 but at a price premium that
Politics
The Right Needs to Change
The GOP's monstrous math problem - Axios
Republicans, win or lose next week, face a big — and growing — math problem. […] They're relying almost exclusively on a shrinking demographic (white men), living in shrinking areas (small, rural towns), creating a reliance on people with shrinking incomes (white workers without college degrees) to survive.
