Today for #Junited2024 I am plugging the blog of Matt Langford, one of the superstars of Micro.blog, the designer of TinyTheme and one of a hand full of bloggers I contribute to financially each month. This post is his /carry slash page, with some good tips on gear. @matt@mattlangford.com on the Fediverse.

From my 100 Strangers Project - Arty had a concession at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh. He told me he was in the Central Highlands of Vietnam with the 4th Infantry division in 1970-71.

An older man with a Vietnam Veterans ball cap, sunglasses, a cigarette and long hair

If anyone would like to contribute a post about their favorite food memories (grandma’s, mom’s, that $500 meal you had in Paris, basic training mess hall or whatever) I’m collecting links to them and will put up a page as soon as I get a few. Here’s mine

I want to encourage anyone who hasn’t done so to add your blog to Feedle, a search engine for blogs. It’s great resource if you are looking for blogs are podcasts that cover the same stuff you do. On the Fediverse at @feedle@mastodon.social

YouTube Creator, Dann Berg who specializes in primarily Obsidian and productivity apps, also has a monthly newsletter that is worth subscribing to.

What are your favorite food memories? Your grandmother’s cooking, dishes from childhood, your spouse’s specialty? Here are mine.

Today for #Junited2024 I’m plugging the blog Beardy Guy Musings by @Denny. You never know what you’re going to get there. It might be tech (like today) or it might be a challenge to be a better citizen. Whatever it is, it will be genuine, honest and from the heart because that’s the way he rolls.

Today on App Addict - Upscayl - a Free and Open-Source Image Enlarger and Enhancer - takes low resolution images from old phones and digital cameras and sharpens them while enlarging up to 4x.

From my 100 Strangers project - I met Tim down at the bus station when I was down there one day taking pictures of travelers. He was super friendly but didn’t give up a lot of biographical detail other than his love of art.

A crouching tattooed man with a ball cap, a backpack and a black dog

Lots of things that were wildly unpopular and sneered at in the past are now part of ordinary life:

Today for #Junited2024 I am plugging the blog of Johnny Noble AKA Johnny Decimal, @johnnydecimal@hachyderm.io, truly one of the nicest people on the Internet and someone who walks the walk when it comes to his values as demonstrated by the way he prices his signature program.

I’m extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. - How the sad case of a missing cat saved me from getting fired last week.

Remember When They Called It Netiquette? - Once upon a time, we all had to figure out what constitutes manners in our online communities but over the past 30 years we’ve mostly built a culture where folks know how to act, mostly…

From my 100 Strangers project - Veronica - She had a table selling jewelry at a street fair. I noticed her because of the pink hair. I took my first shot from a distance but when she noticed me (laughing) I walked up and asked her to pose. She laughed through the whole thing except of this shot.

A black and white photo of a woman wearing a light-colored wig

Today on AppAddict - Spaces for macOS an app for opening everything you need for different task scenarios - writing, coding, editing photos. It sets up your display with a custom layout and opens/closes everything with a single click.

Me and my 3-year-old grandson.
Tracy - Why am I sticky?
Lou - Because you’re eating ice cream
Tracy - Why am I eating ice cream?
Lou - Because I got it for you
Tracy - Why did you get it for me?
Lou - Because you like it
Tracy - Why do I like it?
Lou - Because it’s good
Tracy - No, it’s VERY good

12 Helpful iOS and macOS Shortcuts for #Obsidian

The icon for Apple’s Shortcuts app

To avoid awkward copying and pasting and the sometimes long wait before Obsidian is ready to accept text on mobile, iOS and Mac shortcuts are available to create new notes or add content to existing ones. Actions for Obsidian, the collective name for two apps, one for iOS and the other for macOS allows you to automate certain actions in creating notes. It is required for some of these shortcuts to work.

  1. Add new location - when run from an iOS device prompts you for a file name and then adds both the physical address if available and the GPS coordinates from where you are when you create the note (Requires AFO) Download
  2. Create Markdown note - creates a text file with a .md extension in a folder you choose on your phone, presumably your default new file location Download
  3. Add Bullet to Daily Note - in iOS, adds a bulleted item to the end of your current daily note (Requires AFO) Download
  4. Save email as Obsidian task - in macOS, creates a task formatted bullet (with checkbox) at the end of your current daily note that is hyperlinked back to Mail.app Download
  5. Get Available Commands - Required by AFO to index commands used by other shortcuts Download
  6. Create Note - on iOS, creates a new blank note in user defined location ready for text entry. (Requires AFO) Download
  7. Quick Task Entry - Creates a task at a user defined placeholder in a daily note. Runs on iOS or macOS (Requires AFO) Download
  8. Sync Contacts with Notes - on a Mac, creates or syncs notes associated with a folder of in the Contacts app with Obsidian. Syns email and phone number only. (Requires AFO) Download
  9. Capture Web to Obsidian - on iOS, shares the content of a web page from any iOS browser to Obsidian in Markdown format with links and images Download
  10. Obsidian Web Clipper - iOS shortcut to copy selected text from a Safari webpage and the link to the web page to a new note in a specified location in an Obsidian vault Download
  11. Add Weather to Daily Note Adds today’s weather at your current location at a user-defined placeholder in your daily note. Works on iOS and macOS. Requires AFO Download
  12. Add Calendar Events to Daily Note - Adds up to 20 calendar events for the current date from your calendars at a user-defined placeholder in your daily note . Works on iOS and macOS. Requires AFO Download

Looks like today’s trend is people writing up and sharing their blogging journeys, here’s mine. Send yours to @birming@mastodon.world.

The poets were right. There is something especially poignant about an athlete dying young. Some of the best sports writing of the past decade - Steve Prefontaine’s Last Run