So, hey, I’m kind of a newbie when it comes to behind-the-scenes internet stuff. Apparently, when you move your domain from one host to another (like from Squarespace to Blot), you should also make sure to change the DNS records that are associated with any email addresses using that domain.
🤦♂️
I didn’t do that. So if you’ve tried to send me an email addressed to either jarrod@heydingus.net or contact@heydingus.net in the past 3 weeks and 6 days, I didn’t get it. So sorry about that!
But I’ve solved the issue, and am receiving messages at those addresses once again. I just had to delete the domain from iCloud Custom Domains1, re-add it, and then update the DNS records on Hover. Easy peasy, but something I overlooked in the big move.
If you’d like to resend, I’ll be sure to read and respond (unless you’re spam 😝).
iCloud Custom Domains for Mail has been awesome and rock-solid for me, besides this one issue which was totally on me. I highly recommend it if you use iCloud for email, but want to receive emails from multiple domains without paying extra to the domain registrar.↩︎
Today would have been my Grandpa’s 87th birthday. Or Papa, as we called him. But he passed away a little over a month ago now. Below is the journal entry I wrote back in late January when I learned that he’d been given a “time remaining” estimate with the units in months.
I’ve thought a lot about putting this out on the internet, or just keeping it for myself. But Papa was a gregarious man, and I think his memory deserves company. So here goes.
Tonight I found out that my Grandpa has around six months to live. He’s been struggling with heart issues and back issues for years and years at this point. He’s had ups and downs, but this particular heart issue has kind of come out of the blue for me. I thought after his heart surgery a few years ago that the problem was mostly taken care of. And he’s had another recent operation that was getting his back pain more under control.
So to find out that, despite all that, he’s likely to be gone before the end of 2022 is a shock.
I’ve known my grandparents — both sets — are getting up in age, and I’ve come to terms that they could die any year now. But there’s something about knowing that it’s probably going to be this year that we lose one of them that hurts bad.
I only found out from my parents a few hours ago, so I still need time to accept the news. My dad (Papa’s son) — well, both my mom and dad — seemed strong on the phone. Stronger and more positive than I would have expected. But they’ve had more time with the knowledge, and practice telling the news to my sisters. I’m sure my dad was a wreck yesterday.
I was pretty upset myself after I got off the phone. My wife and dog cuddled me while I cried.
Thinking back to my favorite times with Papa, tobogganing immediately comes to mind. Maybe because I was out in Lake Placid today, and saw the toboggan run in action, but also because he always had so much fun pulling us around on the tractor. And we had so much fun holding on for dear life, and trying to pelt him with snowballs from behind.
I’ll remember Papa as a strong man. One who provided for his family. Who started a small business that continues to provide for my family today. Who took care of a big plot of land full of woods and trails, and who was formative in teaching me that we have a responsibility to take care of nature. I’ll remember him as a kind man — I literally can’t recall a time that he was truly angry. And as a positive guy — he’s remained optimistic throughout his many years of pain and waning mobility.
But most of all I’ll think of him as the generous, loving, hard-working, goofy, joke-loving grandpa that any kid would be lucky to have.
My Nena and Papa, surrounded by my Dad (left) and Aunt and Uncle (right), in the cabin that he built and cherished. ⌘
Papa loved his garage workshop. Here, he’s cutting wood for birdhouses as part of my Eagle Scout project. ⌘
Today, as I look at the title ‘Papa’, it still fills my heart with sadness knowing that he’s gone. I know it won’t always feel that way, and soon enough I’ll be able to look back at these memories with all the joy and laughter that he brought into the world. But right now it still hurts.
My media life has taken an odd turn lately. You see, I’m behind by about three weeks on the podcasts I listen to. And by a full month of articles that I’ve saved. So, while I skim headlines every day and try to keep up with what’s going on, anything in-depth is getting to me on a multiple-week delay.
I don’t really have much valuable insight here, but it has made me realize that so much stuff I consume is so inconsequential to my day-to-day life. And yet, I can’t bring myself to delete large swaths of my backlog. Because I do enjoy consuming (ugh…that word) it, and would weirdly feel like I was letting both the creators and myself down by “giving up” on it. That’s probably not healthy, now that I think about it.
A weekly list of things I found interesting, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.
Since Twitter feels like it’s in an uncontrollable death spiral, I thought I’d get out some “thank yous” to folks who made it a joy to visit. Here are 7 Twitterers I’d like to thank:
1️⃣@EmilyRussellADK for sharing what’s going on in my new hometown, and for her fantastic photos of adventuring with her dog.
2️⃣@BasicAppleGuy for unapologetically sharing what he loves, and being an old-school tech optimist when so much of the tech industry feels the opposite these days.
3️⃣@mattcassinelli for putting in the work to build a community around a project he’s so passionate for (Shortcuts). And for patiently and enthusiastically guiding countless people along the path to automation.
4️⃣@kylesethgray for the motivation to get out on early runs and rides, and to close my rings.
5️⃣@nathanwpyle for the reminders to think outside the box and look at the world from new perspectives.
6️⃣@loudmouthjulia for having perhaps the best @handle on all of Twitter, and for her on-point sarcasm and tech insights, of course. (Honorable mention to @mjh_txt for the second-best @handle.)
7️⃣@ThePunnyWorld is one of my most recent follows I owe them for all their puns that give me a good chuckle nearly every time I visit Twitter.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the human body, and how it can be pushed to do truly incredible things. I’ve been tackling more new physical challenges than ever this year. I’ve been running more often, for longer, and over more elevation. I’m hoping to complete a half-marathon by the end of the year — a goal I’ve had for many years. With the endless nearby trailheads, I’ve hiked way more this year, culminating in the biggest, baddest mountain terrain I’ve taken on (Mt. Rainier). My rock climbing is back in action, and while I’m not yet climbing at my peak ability, my mental game is stronger after jumping head-first into trad leading. And a newest outdoor obsession has latched on these past few months: riding my bike.
My bike was the inspiration for this jumble of words. Whenever I hop on it, I’m amazed at how it transforms muscle contractions into an efficient mode of transportation. I love the smoothness of the ride, and how changing gears has become second nature. I’m admittedly proud of how I have to put in effort to get movement back out. Contrasted with driving a car, my Subaru now feels somehow more barbaric, less refined. I feel more connected with the world around me when I ride my bike. Able to appreciate the flow of the land and the feel of the weather. It’s my new favorite way of getting around — it’s more interesting and engaging than driving, while being faster and more fun than walking.
I’ve even started riding my bike the 9ish miles to work. I love that I can get a workout in while commuting, and without having to get up too much earlier. And it’s a commitment. If I ride to work, that means I’m also riding home. It’s good practice to plan ahead and prep my gear, but I also enjoy the anticipation when looking forward to my commute.
All this is to say: I love my new bike and my active life this year. And I appreciate more than ever what my body can do.
Apple TV+ today unveiled a chilling sneak peek into the epic conclusion of its acclaimed psychological thriller “Servant,” which is set to return for its fourth and final season on Friday, January 13, 2023.
Good! Hopefully this will wrap up the story with a neat little bow. I don’t know if I could do another season of mysteries piling up with no answers. It’s notable that Servant in particular is ending, since it was one of Apple’s inaugural shows for its streaming service.
A weekly list of things I found interesting, posted on Sundays.* Sometimes themed, often not.
1️⃣ The Libby app is a true joy, and I’m always glad to see people, like Victoria Song here, discover that they can read just about any book legally, for free.[Link - Victoria Song // theverge.com]
2️⃣ BasicAppleGuy voices my own frustrations with Apple’s new ad initiative:
And when I constantly have to dismiss and scroll past ads to get to the content I want, you know what I do? I stop using it. And I stop using it because I no longer feel like I’m in a valued relationship with the company. Instead, I feel like a means to an end, a set of eyeballs that can be squeezed for an extra nickel of ad revenue each month.
3️⃣ Would you believe that the Oregon Trail was being first travelled at the same time that the first faxes were sent? Me neither. And there’s many more mind-blowing facts here. [Link - Jason Kottke // kottke.org]
5️⃣ From Apple’s reorganization announcement that also marked Scott Forstall’s impending departure from Apple:
Bob Mansfield will lead a new group, Technologies, which combines all of Apple’s wireless teams across the company in one organization, fostering innovation in this area at an even higher level. This organization will also include the semiconductor teams, who have ambitious plans for the future.
6️⃣ I’ll plug Apple News Today as a news source that I’ve found really valuable over the past few years. Short, to the point, fair, and with great interviews. It’s been especially on-point with recent election coverage. 7-10 minutes every weekday morning. [Link - Apple News Today // pods.link]
*I was extra busy this weekend climbing down at the Red River Gorge, and couldn’t get the issue out. And then was extra busy catching up with life after getting back. So here are an extra 7 Things (which are some of the routes I lead climbed in the Red) This Week:
A weekly list of things I found interesting, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.
1️⃣ You may have heard about Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, giving away the company to help fight climate change. This NYT article does a great job explaining the deft way the deal went down to both protect Patagonia’s future, but also ensure that any profits it makes go directly into conservation efforts — all without tax benefit to the Chouinard family. [Link - David Gelles // nytimes.com]
2️⃣ Some guys I knew back in college have a band called Paddlebots and they released their second album called Working Backwards. It’s smooth, jazzy, a little trance-y, and a fun listen. [Link - Paddlebots // album.link]
4️⃣ I swear this video of a wild gymnastics routine is far scarier than most rock climbing videos. [Link - @fasc1nate // twitter.com]
5️⃣ The folks behind iA Writer (my favorite text editor) are putting effort into creating a presentation-maker that takes text files and turns them into beautiful slides and includes a built-in teleprompter feature. I think it’s a cool idea, and if I needed to make a presentation, I’d give it a shot. [Link - iA Inc. // youtube.com]
6️⃣ Just today, I learned that Mountain Project (the popular online catalog of rock climbing routes all over the world) has a Partner Finder feature to help hook you up with a climbing partner in your area. You can specify a climbing style and difficulty skill level to complement your own, and they’ll try to find someone to match. It seems very helpful for people climbing in a new area and seems reputable coming from Mountain Project, which is a ubiquitous tool among climbers. [Link - Partner Finder // mountainproject.com]
7️⃣ Another awesome tool that I used this week is Mountain-Forecast.com, which, as you can imagine, gets you detailed forecasts for mountain peaks around the world. Since alpine weather can be so drastically different than the lowland towns around the peaks, I’ve started checking it before any trip. The wind forecasts alone are worth their weight in gold. [Link - mountain-forecast.com]
I just discovered wall.blot.im, which appears to be a web app for writing out blog posts for Blot via the web. All it takes is a browser and a connection to your Dropbox account. After logging in to Dropbox, the page lets you type out a new post, export it, or publish it directly.
It’s hard to imagine a time these days where I would need to write on a device that wasn’t mine, but it could happen. It’s a good tool to have on the belt. The real question, though, is how I’d remember my Dropbox password without a personal device. And if I have the personal device to look up my password…I may as well write in one of my preferred apps? Like I said, probably not a critical find, but I’m glad to know it exist, nonetheless.
UPDATE: It’s not ideal, since any YAML front matter gets published as literal text, but still useful in a pinch, I suppose. And the post gets synced back to the Dropbox account, ready to be edited in any of the usual ways. For example, this very update was edited within the Dropbox app itself on my iPhone.
