After consulting with the doctors this morning regarding our impending little one (who’s now four days late), my wife has decided to undergo a C-section tomorrow to bring our baby girl into this world. This time tomorrow, we should be holding her in our arms.
Last night I was reminded of an app idea I conceptualized five or six years ago. It’s extremely simple, but remains unique, as I’m yet to find an app that does anything like it in either Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store.
Unfortunately I don’t have the bandwidth (or capital) to invest in it right now, but I’ve always wanted to develop my own app. So, maybe sometime in the not-so-distant future I can learn a little development and bring it to life.
Teaser: It’s a productivity app of sorts that brings a bit of the digital world to the art of analogue writing/journaling.
Our baby girl is officially two days past her due date.
My wife and I were certain she’d make an early arrival, but it seems she’s already working on teaching us a lesson in patience before she even leaves the womb.
Here’s to waiting.
The (Nerve-Racking) Beginnings of Purchasing a Home
My wife and I are currently in the process of getting financials sorted for the purchase of our first home.
Our lease isn’t up until May 2020, but considering how difficult the pre-approval and mortgage underwriting process can be for a self-employed freelancer (as well as this being our first home), we figured we should start the process sooner than later.
In reality, we’ve been planning for this — financially and otherwise — for nearly three years, but the entire operation is easily one of the most nerve-wracking things we’ve ever done. It doesn’t matter how well-sorted you think your finances are or how well-prepared you are, nerves always find a way to seep through.
A creative Saturday with Endeavour as we (impatiently) wait for the arrival of his sister.
Chirp for Twitter 2.0
Chirp for Twitter is easily my favorite WatchOS app for Twitter. Its 2.0 update, which went live today, dramatically improves performance and functionality across the board. It’s free to download with a one-time pay-what-you-want IAP for adding even more functionality.
Australian developer Will Bishop is just 17 years old and has also created the best WatchOS Reddit experience, Nano for Reddit. Here’s a great feature on Bishop with Broadsheet. Go check out his fantastic work.
I held off for a while after my Anne Pro 2 had a little run-in with a cup of coffee, but a few weeks back I snagged a Keychron K2 with Gateron Browns and so far I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It has all of the key features I wanted in a mechancial keyboard (Bluetooth, USB-C, long battery life, and built-in macOS function/multimedia keys) and looks great. Eventually I’ll switch the keycaps, but I haven’t found the right set yet.
Even in macOS Catalina, the graphic used for the wireless keyboard connection notification is the original Apple Wireless Keyboard, not the Magic Keyboard. It’s a small detail, but it catches my eye — and catches me off-guard — everytime I connect my Keychron K2.
A Lesser-Known Perk of Remote Work
Jennifer Aldrich in a Medium post titled “Remote work is more than a job perk—for people with chronic illness, it’s life changing":
Remote work allows people who are chronically ill to have full time jobs & excel in them. Some people don’t understand how empowering that is.
This is something I consistently think about, not only in the broader sense and for others, but also as it pertains to my own life and career.
I didn’t start writing (with compensation) until after I was in remission following my ABVD treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma, but I constantly imagine what I could do to continue to support my family were another illness to strike. Thankfully, my remote work would likely afford me the opportunity to continue to provide, albeit likely at a much slower pace, but I know not everyone is that fortunate.
Remote work isn’t the perfect solution for every situation. But as Aldrich notes, it can provide not only compensation for those who might not be able to work in an office environment, but also a sense of community, purpose, and empowerment, which — I can attest all too vividly — are incredibly important when you can otherwise feel distanced from the world.
Sent out an annual feedback survey of sorts to the DPReview contributors whose work I edit on a (near) daily basis. Never be too proud to get feedback on your performance, especially if you’re a leader in any capacity. Performance reviews work both ways.
The Gift of Nothingness
A friendly reminder from Patrick Rhone:
As we prepare to enter these too busy times, don’t forget to give yourself the gift of spending some time doing absolutely nothing this season.
As a father of an 18 month old with another due in a week, this is something I tried to take to heart over the Thanksgiving weekend and something I’ll continue to do throughout the holiday season. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this many days in a row where I wasn’t writing my own articles or editing someone else’s.