With over 50% of Twitter’s workforce gone from the company, I — like many others — worried that it could literally fall apart without key engineers keeping the service going. I’m less worried about that outcome now, but am more concerned about the potential for more hate speech returning to the platform as Elon Musk reinstates previously banned accounts. So, I’d like to be ready to depart from Twitter if it comes to that.
I’d known at one point that you could save an archive of all your tweets, but I had forgotten until Matt Birchler tweeted about an awesome tool which takes that archive file and makes it more useful and accessible:
The Twitter Archive Parser, developed by Tim Hutton, uses Python, which I had to install on my Mac (I used this site). But after that, the step-by-step instructions made running the script simple. If you install Python 3, know that you’ll need to adapt the Terminal command to python3 parser.py for it to run. Then, follow the rest of the prompts in Terminal.
Now I’ve got all 11 years’ worth of my tweets downloaded locally as text files and high-res images for if Twitter does come crashing down or I want to leave it behind. If you want the same portability of your tweets, Tim’s GitHub project page is a great place to get started.
A weekly list of things I found interesting, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.
1️⃣ The Ted Lasso team has really gone the extra mile by putting up billboards in the hometowns of the U.S. Men’s National Team with motivational messages for each player. This put a huge smile on my face. [Link - @TedLasso // twitter.com]
3️⃣ Micheal Steeber is at it again with Facades, another Apple Retail-focused app. This time, it’s a database of all the stores worldwide with their location, opening date, and more. And tags for which stores have which certain designs and features, like Apple Pickup. I don’t know how Michael learns so fast. He’s literally taught himself 3D rendering and now Swift/SwiftUI coding all this year. I’m so impressed. (Oh, and it’s free! But you should totally throw something into the tip jar.). [Link - @MichaelSteeber // twitter.com]
5️⃣ And because I can’t stop linking to Twitter things this week, here’s this resurrected Fail Whale comic that got a chuckle out of me. [Link - The Oatmeal Comic // theoatmeal.com]
6️⃣ The Beths’ newest album, Expert in a Dying Field has been on heavy rotation for me lately. Easy listening with deep messages. Bonus points for the creative album title. [Link — The Beths // album.link]
And yet this page seems to get no love. I see articles about escaping the YouTube algorithm or sneaky ways to find the RSS feeds for channels. I get the urge to follow along in your RSS app, and I would love if YouTube made it easier to find those feeds, but I think more people should use the subscriptions page since I so often feel like the complaints I see about YouTube are basically completely solved if people would just bookmark YouTube’s subscriptions page rather than the home page.
Matt makes a good case for using YouTube’s subscriptions page so as not to miss any videos from your favorite creators. But I’m one of those weirdos who wants fewer apps to check every day, so, yes, I also subscribe via RSS. As Matt mentioned, it can be a huge hassle to find a channel’s RSS feed, and I used to use a shortcut to make it less painful. But these days, my RSS app of choice, Reeder, does all the heavy lifting. A while back, it gained the ability to grab the RSS feed for any channel just by pasting in the URL to its channel or any of its videos.
As a bonus, since all my videos show up alongside articles, I can use my favorite shortcut to send the video URL to the right place for watching later. This ‘Save for Later’ shortcut accepts any URL and routes it based on the domain. I’ve got youtube.com and vimeo.com links going to Play, music.apple.com links going to MusicBox, and everything else is saved to Pocket.
That experimentation could work well on a blog though. I could run down this path or that path and let people know what’s great and what sucks.
Letting people know what’s great and what sucks is the basis for so many of my favorite blogs. Sure, they all have a topic that they gravitate towards, but none are carved from stone that way. And it’s the direction I’ve wanted to take HeyDingus in with its reboot. More well-rounded in what’s on my mind, and less strictly tech-focused.
Josh is a gifted writer, and you should read the rest of his piece.
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.
