Tangible Life
In/Out 2026
Once again, inspired by Carl, I’ll aim for the following this year:
IN
- intention
- action
- listening
- writing
- reading
- simplifying
- removing
- creating
OUT
- excuses
- algorithims
- adding
- inconsistency
- imposter syndrome
2026 Uses Update
I updated my Uses page to capture changes since early 2025. The page still encompasses my current App Defaults as well.
Recap of changes:
Furniture & Accessories
- I haven’t used the Ugmonk Analog Weekly Kit almost at all. Considering removing it from use, or repurposing another way.
- Swapped out the leather deskmat for a new felt one. I liked the leather, but the smooth texture showed dust and didn’t grip items on it well. I kept it to find another use down the road.
- The Arc Pulse case on my iPhone 15 Pro has been hands down the best case I’ve ever owned. I haven’t used anything else the entire 2 years I’ve been using the phone and it’s awesome. Highly recommend if you’re looking for minimal bulk added, but protection from drops, etc.
- I’ve used the Bellroy backpack and Tech Kit on multiple trips and I can say that it has been the perfect choice for me.
Hardware
- Added a M2 Mac Mini. My son got a Wacom tablet for his artistry and I wanted to have an option for him to use as needed in the home office. Will act as an always on server for other things (Hazel, etc.).
- My Keychron K6 is still great, but I did back the Cerakey Zen75 on Kickstarter and am looking forward to having both the thock of ceramic keycaps, but also the lower profile and VIA functionality for custom programming.
- Added Elgato Wave Neo for work calls and screencast recording. The mic on the Logi MX Brio was just okay and I sounded very distant when I listened back to recordings. The Wave Neo is great.
- I upgraded to the AirPods 4 ANC. The active noise cancellation is great when needed and my AirPods 3 sometimes would not sound great on calls (not sure why).
- Purchased a Plaud Notepin from a secondhand marketplace. I’m interested in testing out using it for idea capture and logging my life in a way that doesn’t require using my phone. The parts that I still need to workout is how to take those and action the recordings in a more automated way. I have ideas, just haven’t had time to develop them into a workflow. So far, I like the device and use it often but not daily.
- I am going to sell my Jabra Evolve2 65 MS, most likely. I don’t use it, and between the mic on the MacBook Pro, Elgato Wave Neo and AirPods in a pinch, I don’t think I need it.
Software Changes
- Biggest change in 2025 was email. I now use iCloud+ hosting and the Mail app across all devices. I’d realized that it was a bonus feature of my iCloud+ subscription that I’d never considered using. HEY! for Domains was working well for me, but there was no need to pay for it and most of the functionality I can replicate with Apple Mail at this point. I’ve enjoyed using Mail and it’s a lot different than I remember many years ago.
- I added an AI category to the software list. I use Claude Pro for almost everything. It’s pretty amazing what it is capable of and Claude Code has made personal app creation something to seriously consider to have tools that work exactly the way you want them to.
- I’m struggling to stick with a journaling app. Day One and Apple Journal are both great. They have many overlapping features and both plug in great with journal suggestions. Apple Journal is now on devices other than the iPhone, but I still don’t like the privacy implication of not being able to opt-out of Legacy Contact. Apple Journal has some great integrations with Shortcuts that I think make it lower friction. I need to pick one and stick with it soon.
- Stopped using Raycast Pro in favor of the new Spotlight. Clipboard history was one of the major drivers and Spotlight is more capable than ever. I wanted to kick the tires on the native experience for awhile.
- Dropped Parcel in favor of the beta order tracker in Apple Wallet. This is another integration that became available because of moving to Apple Mail.
- I still have Setapp, but would really like to eliminate it. There are a few apps that I use regularly, but I’m evaluating if I need it anymore.
Coffee & Miscellaneous
- Added Fellow Carter Travel Mug. I’d gotten this a long time ago, but never added it to the Uses page. It’s great and I need to use it when drinking coffee on the go vs. taking my house mugs with me.
- A family friend gifted me an Aeropress Go. I never would have gotten it for myself, but the way it all packs up into itself is so enjoyable and makes it a much better travel option than the Aeropress classic.
- I will likely get rid of the Fellow Prismo attachment. I haven’t used it in years.
- I haven’t used my Aarke Carbonator III as much lately, but not to the point that I will elminate it. Most days I only drink coffee and water. Last year, most of that water was still vs. sparkling, and I can say that’s mostly out of convenience.
That’s more change than I expected, but none of them were changes to add unecessary complexity. Several cut costs out of the mix, which is always good.
Year of Living Without 2026
While I abandoned monthly updates on my 2025 items, here’s the recap:
- No soda: Success. Haven’t had soda since 12/24/24.
- 16:8 fasting: Mixed; inconsistently practiced this in 2025.
- No phone in bed: Failed miserably. Read at night for a couple of months, then stopped completely and fell into YouTube videos before bed. Then read a ton during a week in Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving. Then came home and fell back into less reading and more garbage.
I did add one, randomly to test my grit. I didn’t eat any Halloween candy. Christmas candy was fine. Other candy we had was allowed, but nothing that flooded into the house based on the Halloween holiday.
So… in a soon-to-be-posted In/Out 2026 post, you’ll see themes that try to adjust and focus where I’ve failed. To that end, I once again realize that monthly formats are good for my brain and keep me more accountable to myself. I’ll start in February, and here are my planned experiments for the first 3 months of “without” in 2026, plus a bonus one that I’ll attempt starting today for the rest of the year. Some of the without themes are focused on doing something, without missing a day.
- 2026: No more mindless1 YouTube.
- February: No desserts/sweets + 16:8 fasting daily.
- March: Stretching/yoga daily + no hot showers.
- April: Daily journaling.
I’ll continue to strive for near-daily reading. I’ll continue to push out unintentional habits with intentional ones. The above are just ones that I’ll track more diligently and discuss how they’re rewiring my brain in ways it’s been on auto-pilot a bit during 2025.
This basically means nothing being fed by the homepage algorithim, at all. I subscribe to a few channels that I find interesting/valuable. I’ll still consume those, but never on my phone (only on iPad, computer or television screen). I’ll create an additional barrier on my phone (I’ve already had the YouTube app uninstalled for several years). I won’t block it completely because YouTube is great for watching how-to videos while under a car, etc. I repair too many things to not allow myself the ability to learn from others vs. wander blindly towards a solution. Mindless can be categorized as watching someone build cabins in the woods, police chases or traffic stops, interviews, etc. Interviews that I may find interesting and become aware of without an algorithim can be easily loaded to Castro and I can listen while driving vs. watching when I should be reading a book.↩︎
Web, Social Networks, Social Web
Manu posted this great take on a podcast episode that I also recently listened to (and was also underwhelmed by):
Ironically, this overlaps with another shoutout to Manu that I was planning to post. He’s launched his Dealgorithmed newsletter, and it’s one to subscribe to for sure. It aligns with my hopes outlined in the Intentional Web Manifesto.
For the sake of thought, I’ll offer my comments on his last paragraph and closing. While I agree that the internet ≠ social media, it’s a take on why we’re better without “social media” at all.
Imagine a social platform that’s not controlled by a single billionaire. A platform that’s not powered by a closed-source algorithm.
Like websites on the internet.
Usernames are unique, the underlying protocol powering it is flexible and very robust.
Like domain names directing to those websites.
Your profile page is infinitely customizable, and no two profiles need to look the same.
Yep.
It supports DMs and chats.
Email and comments, check.
A platform where you can post videos, photos, audio, 3D content, you name it, and where you can follow other people’s pages and be sure that no algorithm will hide that content from you.
RSS, check.
A platform that’s not censored or moderated by arbitrary rules set by a Silicon Valley billionaire.
Preach.
How good does that sound to you? Because to me, a platform like that looks like a dream, if only we could figure out a way to build it.
It sounds great. Long live the intentional web.
AirPods Case Upgrade
A year ago, I was pondering that putting my AirPods case inside another case was fairly redundant. The AirPods charging case is already great at protecting the AirPods while they charge. I wasn’t keeping the charging case in a case to protect it or otherwise keep it pristine. At this point, AirPods are a utility product that stay in my pocket more often than keys or my wallet. The reason I was double casing was so that they wouldn’t constantly slide out of my pocket, off a table or otherwise skate across a surface like an ice dancer. Dropping an AirPods charging case is like watching a slow motion video of a building being leveled. Upon impact with the ground, the case flies open and the individual AirPods are launched violently in multiple directions. I wanted to avoid this anxiety and keep myself from losing the entire package when sitting at an angle where the naked case would constantly slip out of my pocket.
Then it hit me, a Ranger Band was the perfect and most minimal solution. I don’t recall where I heard about them, but Ranger Bands are thick, textured and sturdier-than-the-norm rubber bands. They’re great for putting around things like small tactical flashlights that you may need to hold between your teeth so that the metal doesn’t risk chipping them. A Ranger Band around the width of the case not only provides the texture and grip inside the pocket to prevent them slipping out, but has the added benefit of blocking that annoyingly bright light from piercing my eyes when I pop the case open at night. The band adds no bulk or weight to the conveniently small AirPods charging case. It doesn’t sacrafice the benefits of Apple’s design efforts. I’d even argue that it doesn’t look half bad. There’s something Storm Trooper-esque about the aesthetic.
Ranger band on AirPods 4 case (open).
Ranger band on AirPods 4 case (closed).
There’s something to be said for a perfect and simple solution to an a frequent and annoying problem. It’s the little things in life that are worth writing about sometimes.
Utility Marketing
We have an HP Tango printer. When it was time for a new printer, I remembered Jeff over at Ugmonk recommending the HP Tango and it fit our family’s needs. I enjoy the HP Instant Ink program since it takes the stress out of being inkless late at night when the school project is due the next day. I’ve enjoyed the printer and the companion HP Smart app for several years. Until now…
HP has done what I’m noticing is a trend in “home” device app experiences. They’ve removed the printer specific app and replaced it with an app called only “HP” that is more of an HP shopping experience than it is a printer companion and utlity. Sure, all the features that were in the HP Smart app are there… somewhere. You have to tap on UI elements that make no sense to get to them, and you have to scroll endlessly for things that used to all be presented on one main screen in tiles. Your eyeballs get assaulted with ads for other HP products and everything about this new “unified” HP app experience sucks.
I’ve read that I’m not the only customer feeling this way and I genuinely hope that the HP Smart app returns to the App Store as an alternative option for those that don’t enjoy being kicked in the nuts when needing to use their printer’s app.
Pouring One Out for Pocket
Great write up from Jarrod that details his read-later journey. Most of us geeks have one that started with Instapaper and then forked off in many different directions.
But when I got a Kobo a few years ago, I settled on Pocket since you can read your saved items on the e-reader.
I also use a Kobo device for reading books. I thought I’d leverage the Pocket integration, but decided against it. It has allowed me to focus my mind on longer reading experiences merely by device context swapping.
Summer Experiments
Entering the summer months has brought about unique states of mind across the indieweb blog community. I began running my own experiment after seeing posts from Manu that linked to posts from Kevin and Luke. We all have unique motivations for these experiments, which makes the theme more fascinating to see from different perspectives. Most of these experiments fall squarely into the familiar territory of doing without. What makes these a departure, from my view, is that they weren’t planned far in advance or part of a larger year-long effort.
Work and life have been busy, so I didn’t post about my first experiment until now. It’s no secret to readers of this site that I enjoy brewing and drinking coffee. I’ve written about my ritualistic romance with the process. Sometime in April, I started to question whether my coffee-making and consumption patterns were aligned with the joy I get from them. I wasn’t losing sleep—I always enjoy making and drinking coffee—but it started to feel like I was making excuses to do it several times a day. I began to wonder if it was becoming the wrong kind of escape. Rather than a refreshing breath, walk, or moment of contemplation, I’d sometimes turn on the kettle out of muscle memory, without any thoughtfulness. I was going through the motions because the idea of my ritual was an escape.
That recognition led to my current experiment. Minus three exception days, since sometime in May I’ve had only one cup of coffee each morning. By reducing to one cup, I’ve appreciated it more. I’ve reconnected with why I love making coffee. It has returned to a more intentional ritual. The few days I’ve had more than one cup weren’t absentminded—they were intentional too, and for that reason, I don’t consider them a violation. It wasn’t about reducing caffeine or breaking an unhealthy habit. I just wanted to renew the purpose of the ritual.
I don’t have a predefined plan for how long I’ll run this experiment. I’ll deviate when it feels right. I’ve toyed with the idea of trying tea in the afternoon, mainly because I’ve read about its mental benefits. It hasn’t gone beyond a fleeting thought, but if I do experiment with tea, you’ll hear about it here. Since my coffee reduction experiment wasn’t as structured as the ones I linked above, I’m not sure when I’ll start the next one. I like Manu’s current one—putting space between him and his phone. I may try a variation, since I’ve weakly returned to using my phone before bed instead of reading. While I don’t use social media, scrolling the YouTube homepage and feeling compelled to watch semi-interesting videos without intention feels shallow.
Take Two
This post is my entry for June’s IndieWeb Carnival, hosted by Nick Simson.
Another great and reflective theme for the IndieWeb Carnival. While I don’t subscribe to regrets, there are several things I might try differently if I could go back in time.
I’ve been fortunate to have a great career path and work with great people, but it was never the career I envisioned. That’s because I don’t think I had a clear vision rooted in something I was passionate about. It wasn’t until I matured in both career and life that I realized a career as a designer (more specifically, an architect) would have been fulfilling. I’ve cared about all types of design my entire life, but never connected how deeply architecture resonates with me. One “take two” would absolutely be to focus my formal education on design and pursue a career as an architect.
Also, as I’ve written about before, this blog is a bit of a “take two” for my online writing. Consolidating my writing just this one blog (vs. three separate ones) has been a great feeling. Sometimes a second take isn’t due to a mistake made during the first take. Sometimes the second take is about gaining new perspective by trying something again or doing it differently.
This post would become longer than I have time to write if I listed out all the “takes” on life that have evolved into second, third or fiftieth iterations to the current perspective I embrace today. One of the beautiful things about being human is you have the opportunity to grow and evolve in any multitude of ways, so long as your outlook is that not all change is bad and you reserve yourself the right to always “take two” your thinking on any stance at any time.
Renewal
This post is my entry for April’s IndieWeb Carnival being hosted by Jamie Thingelstad.
In typical fashion, I’ve waited until the very end of the month to participate in the IndieWeb Carnival. I missed the last two months and have a partially formed post for February’s topic that I’ll eventually get out the door. Somewhat ironically, the reason I haven’t posted much lately has to do with renewal, and the reason I’m posting now is another form of renewal.
Over the past few months, I’ve navigated a new step in my career. While I’m still at the same company, in the same data analytics space, it’s a new role building a new team—yet still tied to my previous team and department. It’s unique and exciting and has brought various emotions and thoughts on how to succeed by leveraging the past as a catalyst for the future. Renewal shows up not only in my new role but in how a fresh start can sharpen focus and energize the next leg of the journey. If you’re feeling stuck, sometimes renewal can clear the path—more so than changing course or reverting to something that once worked (though those can be right moves depending on the context).
As I’ve taken this step, I find my thinking renewed. I’m updating perspectives from a new vantage point. Unsurprisingly, this renewal extends beyond work into other areas of life and topics that spark my urge to write. While I’ve never lacked ideas, this renewed mindset feels like a creative catalyst. As always, time is the most limited resource—but it’s less about making more and more about focusing on what matters most.
One Line at a Time
I’d read this post by Derek Sivers back in 2022 and thought it was a great suggestion on how to write. When I’d attempted to utilize it in whatever Markdown writing app I was using at the time, it didn’t work. The parser didn’t support the new line method and I’d get a line break after each sentence, which wasn’t what I wanted. I’ve since moved to iA Writer and it does support writing this way. It struck me that I should give it a go again and here we are.
Each sentence of this post I’ve written and then hit the return key before starting the next sentence. Many apps, iA Writer included, let you put focus on the sentence you are currently typing and the rest of the paragraph fades away to a light gray. In many ways, it accomplishes the same thing that Derek is suggesting, but you can use both and nothing breaks. I don’t know if I’ll continue writing this way, but it’s a cool experiment and I want to see if my sentences benefit from the approach.
HeyDingus Now Runs on iCloud
I recently made the same swap on Blot and it was seamless. It is great to have the site’s folders hosted via the iCloud integration because I can keep those folders downloaded on my devices; something you can’t do with the Dropbox integration in Files.
Thanks to David and the Blot team for not giving up on this one.
