In a pleasant surprise, my cellular carrier just boosted by monthly 4GB to 20GB at no cost. I’m not accustomed to this kind of good customer service from a carrier

Finished reading: All Souls Lost by Dan Moren is fun. Has the same lightly humorous tone as the Bayern Agenda series with a supernatural, rather than sci-fi, plot 📚

Hmm, I beg to differ Apple Music

A screenshot from Apple Music. A search for “happy indie” yields Nine Inch Nails

I’m not ready ❄️

Weather alert calling for snow

Finished reading: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin is a great follow up to A Wizard of Earthsea that adds depth to the world of Earthsea📚

🦎 We have a new houseguest

Close up of a crested gecko

🏃‍♂️ Frosty out there on today’s trail run

Bridge over a river reflected on the still water

🎵 Who Can See Forever Soundtrack (Live) - Iron & Wine is a good one

Who Can See Forever Soundtrack (Live) - Iron & Wine poster

🏃‍♂️ Another Thursday, so another hill repeat run. Note to self, next time don’t start the repeats at the bottom of a big hill. The cool down run back up the hill wasn’t fun.

Elevation profile for the run. A big downhill, 12 small up and downs, and one big uphill

Finished reading: I really enjoyed Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Great characters and good story. Although I’m not steeped in gamer culture, you don’t need to be to follow along📚

Although it seems frivolous, my favourite new feature of WatchOS 10 is the Snoopy watch face. I have it set as my weeknight and weekend face, and enjoy its whimsy. A nice break from my serious work watch face, full of calendar events and reminders.

🏃‍♂️ Felt winter coming on today’s run with temperatures hovering around freezing

Trail through a forest with most leaves fallen from the trees

🎵 Dirt - Alice in Chains

Best opening of any grunge album

Dirt - Alice in Chains poster

🔗 David Enoch argues that much of the public discourse on the Israel-Hamas conflict is depressingly simplistic

Perhaps moral philosophers can contribute to public discourse even now—for instance, in thinking about how decisions should be made given the tremendous uncertainty involved, or to insist on the relevance of some neglected considerations. Or perhaps we should confess that we, too, are embarrassed, that we cannot be confident just what to say. Depending on your expectations, this may be disappointing. But unlike many of the other interventions in today’s public discourse, such a response would at least be honest. And probably less harmful as well.

🏃‍♂️ Hill repeats at a steady, moderate pace for today’s run. I tried to focus on my downhill form: staying loose and keeping ground contact time short

Chart of elevation on the run showing six uphills

🎵 Find A Way Home by MxPx is a fun punk rock album

Find A Way Home - MxPx poster

Finished reading: American Moonshot by Douglas Brinkley. I’ve read several books about the Apollo missions, all of them focused on the science and engineering. This book is a fascinating look at the politics and JFK’s indispensable leadership. 🚀📚

Non-default apps

As a follow up to my list of default apps, I have a few non-default apps that weren’t on the original list from Hemispheric Views.

Duel of the Defaults: My List

Episode 097 of the Hemispheric Views podcast held a fun Duel of the Defaults! competition.

Here’s my list. I’ve really shifted to defaults over the past year. I’m conflicted about this: I really like a good indie app, yet find my needs don’t justify the complexity of using non-defaults.

📺 The Night Manager (2016) - ★★★☆☆

A good show. I binge-watched it over the weekend while recovering from a nasty cold. Hiddleston and Laurie are both great

The Night Manager poster