MacStories' Comprehensive Guide to 250+ of Apple Music’s New Mood and Activity Playlists is a great resource for a rather opaque feature. I’m amused by the specificity of a “checking email” playlist, though I do spend too much time doing exactly this activity

Day 30: Red 📷

A puppy with a red collar looking into the camera

Switching to iCloud+ Custom Email Domain 📧

I’ve switched my personal email over to Apple’s custom email domain with iCloud Mail. A roughly ranked list of reasons for the switch is:

  1. One less account to worry about. Not that it was a big deal, but now I don’t need to know the various setup details for my personal email. Once I’ve logged into my iCloud account, my email is ready.
  2. I appreciate Apple’s commitment to privacy and trust that they’ll apply this commitment to my email account.
  3. I’m already paying for iCloud+ and, so, might as well use this feature and save some money by not paying for separate email hosting.
  4. I’m actively using Reminders and Notes in iCloud.com and the Mail interface there is decent, certainly better than the rudimentary one offered by my previous email host.

Setup was straightforward with clear instructions. Having said that, the only issue I had was that initiating the setup process simply didn’t work for a few weeks. I tried a couple of times a week and each time I just got a generic error. Then, for no apparent reason, one day it worked. I suspect this was just an issue with rolling out a new service.

I should point out that my email needs are very basic for this personal account. I don’t need many automated rules, tagging, or filtering. So, iCloud Mail is fine. I wouldn’t switch over my work account (even if corporate IT would allow it). I get something like 100x the email at work and need more sophisticated tools.

Besides the initial trouble with initiating the setup, everything has been working well for the past week. I’m well aware of Apple’s well-earned reputation for challenges with internet services and will be staying vigilant for at least the next few weeks. One of the great benefits of having my own domain name is the ease with which I can switch mail hosts.

Railway City’s Jumbo is a good, though bitter, IPA 🍺

Day 29: Cycle 📷

This new song from Jack White will wake you up 🎸🥁

Remarkable, scientists have measured time dilation in a cloud of atoms and found that the time experienced by the atoms at the top of the cloud is 0.00000000000000001% shorter than the time experienced by those at the bottom. Such precision!

Day 28: Underneath 📷

The first two episodes of Invasion on AppleTV+ are intriguing

Day 27: Chaos of a toddler. This is how I found him one morning 📷

Day 26: Bliss for me is the family relaxing on a dock, reading books, during summer vacations 📷

Day 25: Gravity 📷

Day 24: So many connections. I have to admit that I’m surprised it actually works 📷

Although I’m generally aligned with longtermism, this essay in Aeon points out important (if slightly hyperbolic) tradeoffs that have to be considered. As with so many things, we need to find ways to fix today’s problems while also keeping an eye on the future

Great weather for apple picking 🍎

Day 23: Lots of meaning to discern when playing Codenames 📷

Murderbot is one of my favourite characters from the past couple of years. So, this origin story from Martha Wells was fun to read

Day 22: Having a rest with friends 📷

Day 21: An impressive space at the foot of a mountain 📷

Day 20: I’m looking forward to resuming winter sports 📷