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What Did I Do This Week?

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If you’ve ever asked yourself: “I wonder what Chris found interesting on the web this past week?”, I’ve got the answer for you!

I’ve relaunched my weekly newsletter and you can sign up below or at chris-enns.ongoodbits.com to get a weekly email each Friday afternoon of the interesting blog posts, articles, tutorials, YouTube videos, and podcast episodes I came across in the previous week.

I’m using a service called Goodbits that makes it super easy to build email newsletters. Eventually I’ll likely roll it into a Patreon supporters only type email but for now I want to make sure it’s something that’s easy enough to do and maintain. So if you sign up now, you can likely-maybe-possibly 1 stay subscribed if I flip it over to Patreon patrons only.

But you’re going to support me on Patreon right away anyways, right?

Subscribe Here





  1. as long as it’s technically possible and not a ton of extra work↩

Weekly(ish): Watching Your Star Wars Photos in the Cloud

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This is a repost of what really smart people have read already by signing up for Weekly(ish). You can sign up to get Weekly(ish) in your inbox right here.

Wednesday, April 8th, 2015
 

1. Watch This

I love me some Apple stuff as much as the next Apple nerd. But I’m really not sure about the watch. Reviews are trickling out and it seems mixed. Is this the next iPhone or the next Newton?

2. My Company Sucks

Technically I am my boss. But how would I tell myself if I’m not doing a great job if I asked myself for an evaluation of my abilities? Chris Coyier gives a great response to a reader’s question in “I Don’t Like Our Company’s Process. How do I Tell My Boss?”

3. Messenger In a Website

If Facebook.com is too much Facebook for you, you might be interested in the news that Facebook Launched Messenger for Web Browsers.

I’m curious how much Zuckerberg paid for Messenger.com.

4. Optimize Now

More and more of the internet is being viewed on mobile. There’s a good chance you’re reading this on your iPhone, Android tablet or Blackberry…  thing? 

Speeding Up WordPress with Image Optimization contains a bunch of tips for minimizing, optimizing and smush’izing your WordPress blog.

5. Spacebars and Semicolons

Apple released an update for Yosemite, 10.10.3, with a brand new Photos app that Apple hopes will crop iPhoto from your memory. I’ve been testing it on the beta version of OS X for a month and I think it’s an improvement – particularly with iCloud Photo support. 

There’s also an iOS update for your iPhone or iPad – iOS 8.3 – that has emoji updates, wireless CarPlay and space bar UI fixes. My thumbs are too fat and frequently mash the space bar when I meant to hit a letter C. Your mileage may vary.

One final iPhone tip from David Sparks: If you have any contacts with extensions in their phone number, David’s got a magical way to make your iPhone behave using a simple semicolon.

6. Laugh It Up Fuzzball

Star Wars is finally making it’s way to iTunes. To digital. At $24.99CDN each, it’s not cheap to pick up the entire set. Are you going to dress up as Luke to line up in front of your computer to buy it?

7. Laugh If You’re Furious

Mallory Ortberg ends this edition of the newsletter with Reasons Why She’s Furious With Everyone Today.

And now I’m going to go eat my apple.

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The Listserve

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The Listserve is a mailing list where, once you’ve signed up, you’ll get a daily (Monday to Friday) email from someone else on the list. The writer of the email is chosen at random from the, at present, over 21,000 people signed up to The Listserve.

My Thoughts

A mini review of The Listserve, if you will.

In the couple of months since I signed up, I’d say that over 3/4 of the emails have been somewhere between good to great. And I don’t feel any obligation to read every single email that comes along – if I fall behind I just delete the previous ones and start with the next day’s email.

Sample Email

Here’s a quote from today’s Listserve email by Vitor Bosshard from Zürich, Switzerland:

The thing is, my heart is broken. Literally. I have a genetic disease that deforms the heart over time, causing it to pump less efficiently, so every physical activity is more demanding. Every time I overexert myself I risk permanent damage to my heart, making the condition worse. I’ve known this for a while now, but I had been ignoring it and pushing myself to the limit nonetheless, just because I couldn’t deal with the idea of reverting to my old unfit self. I’m slowly learning to accept my limitations, however, no matter how unfair they feel, and am trying to find a middle way that keeps me fit and protects my heart at the same time.

I want you guys to take a minute today to appreciate the wonder of this incredibly complex and fragile machinery we inhabit, which keeps ticking along day in and day out, without us even noticing until something goes wrong. Maybe take another minute and ask yourselves if you are putting enough effort into maintaining it, considering you’ll be stuck inside for the next 20, 50, 80 years. And if you have a suggestion for an awesome, low-intensity sport that’s engaging and fun, I would absolutely love to hear it!

Sign up at thelistserve.com.

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