2022
- FreshRSS - This is really where anything I would like to subscribe to comes in and I will triage it from here (or using Reeder on iOS). It is the current firehose of information that I have cobbled even newsletters to come in through various other means. In fact, synced up Feedland feeds in there which has been interesting (more on that later). When using just the Web version, I was able to create a quick button next to the feed item that I can send it directly to Wallabag (see below) without having to click multiple items to get it to share to it behind the scenes. I wish I could do more of these little changes as it might help my overall simplification.
- Wallabag - Really just a self-hosted read-it-later service that I like the idea of and probably won’t remove it yet but it lacks some of the other features that I would really like in a read-it-later service or place to archive information. My biggest issue after being pointed to Matter is that the voice-to-text on this is garbage right now. If that could be improved I might try to send more stuff in this direction as it does have a really good link with my FreshRSS instance. Their iOS app isn’t great either but I can overlook some of that if other things would work better and be more fluid.
- Shaarli - Originally this was just a place to save links as a reference for later. I used it for a little while to share links I found out to Micro.blog but the one frustration was that I couldn’t easily add a blurb or anything about it. There is a notes field but that doesn’t translate over to get sucked into my Micro.blog. However, on the plus side, I can quickly add things to this app via the Web or iOS so I want to still use it but it has but one purpose.
- Kill the Newsletter! - This is what I use to get newsletters into FreshRSS. I know some other apps have this built-in that I even use (i.e., Matter) but since ideally, I want everything to come into FreshRSS this was the best workaround I have found. I only have a handful that I use this for today as my preference would be to have an RSS feed from the site I subscribed to as most newsletters do today. However, this is a nice workaround for those that don’t have that option. With that said some of the newsletters that come through don’t look super pretty but to me it is nice to get it out of my Inbox.
- Matter - This is a little bit newer in my arsenal of information consumption apps. I actually really like it as it does read articles really well and also offers the highlighting of text and stuff to pull out later. I think the only grip I have is that at this point it is clunky in the grand scheme of my process. I get it my process should change. In order for me to get information in here it seems like too many clicks from where my information comes in (e.g., FreshRSS). Matter does now support RSS but I don’t really want a firehose of information coming into this app as it doesn’t appear to be designed to triage information.
- Feedland - Maybe this doesn’t exactly fit in this write-up but it is something I have been using over the past two weeks since I noticed Andrew Canion posted about it. I will be honest I am not 100% sure how to use it as I probably still need to tinker with it a little more but I do like that I have a bunch of news/posts I am following that I probably would have spent the time to find. That might be one of the benefits I am seeing since one of the feeds I have in there is the most popular feed or articles of all Feedland users. Probably more to come on this at another time if I keep using it and figure it out more.
Oh this is going to be big 🤯
Look here it is a Weblog…
I am not 100% sure how this is going to change my whole process but I can see it having a big impact very soon.
Braved the cold (15°F with a feels like 0°F) and enjoyed running over the snow and on ice today. Actually, broke out the yak tracks but might not have been 100% needed and might not have helped I put them on backwards 🤦♂️
🎶 Might be a snowstorm outside but the school choir concert will continue
Snowy walk back to the house this afternoon. I see I am going to have to shovel my path again before heading back. I am not sure why but I really like days like this and makes me want to go for a run or do something outside. Can’t explain it but I have that feeling right now.
I feel like I have to have done something wrong as my Feedland.org feed keeps pulling articles from months ago even though I every now and then clear them all out. I am thinking it is how FreshRSS is handling the OPML feed but that is just my guess since I don’t know anything 😁
Lucky that I found some time today to get out for a run so it was short. It worked out as my ankle was a little sore for some reason or another. I still can’t believe how low the water is in the lakes/ponds around my house.
Writing reviews for people that you have only known and worked with for 2 months is a lot more challenging than I had thought it was going to be. Doesn’t help that I have to assess their performance for the last 11 months not just the 2 months 🫣
Well even though the night of the tire issue turned out well, today I got the news from the repair people I needed 4 new tires… 💸 Why can’t there be huge cyber Monday discounts on Tires at the local tire place 🤦♂️
It didn’t take me this whole time as I might have ducked out for a quick run but the boards are up. Next up I need some cold weather… Sorry other Minnesota people 🧊 😬
Such nice weather today that I had to take a break from rink building to go for a run.
It was so nice I wore shorts even though snow was on the ground 😁
Well.. It is now or never (for this season), if I am putting up the rink today and tomorrow are the days to set the boards up. Let’s go!
Well Fix a Flat saved the day as the night might have ended up a lot worse as we had 2.5 hrs of driving to go. At that point our arrival time was 12:30am and with using this and stopping a couple of times to check out us at 1am. So not bad considering. 🛞😴
🏈 Time for some in person live Football
Keeping the tradition alive with an early morning Thanksgiving day run. This year we are back in my hometown and I enjoy the memories that come back running these streets and seeing how things have changed. 🏃🏻♂️🦃
😒 Work up this morning to my Smart Thermostat telling me for the last 2 hrs our house heater has not turned on. Looks like this day is going to get a little derailed.
Passing some time while my girls were at dance. Too bad it was dark out but I made the best of it doing a little running.
As an owner of a OneWheel, I understand it is not the easiest to use and is slightly dangerous as you need to know your own limits. However, this CPSC warning bothers me as I feel there are so many other things just as or more dangerous that maybe they should worry about.
Rethinking My Information Flow
Sometimes I spend more time tinkering with things to try to get to the ideal solution than using the ones I currently have. Last night I was digging into the “optimal” way to consume information (e.g., blog posts, articles, news) and also how to retain the interesting parts of any of that or save the link for another point in time. I feel like there is not a 100% solution I have seen and maybe that is where my expectations are to high or maybe what I am looking for is not what everyone else needs. I don’t mind using multiple tools to get the job done but sometimes trying to get the information from one to the next is more friction than it is worth and that is what I am trying to change. However, this is my current cobbled together parts that I am using (I might even be missing something):
The final gripe is random but it fits in the realm of RSS feeds and mostly how I consume information. For those of you that only send excerpts in your RSS please stop! Just let the whole post be in the RSS feed so everyone can have a great reading experience and not have to go to to your site to read the rest. I have been using FiveFilters Full-Text RSS. I was using their self-hosted one for a few years now but I think it needs updating and I need to purchase a copy. I am not opposed but not sure I really need it and might just unsubscribe from those that go down the excerpt route vs allowing the RSS feed the full text 😉.
Note this was written in Craft and in a spider web of connected processes arrived at my Micro.blog site. Hopefully!
Squirrel 1 - Eric 0
Last week Wednesday my parents dropped off this new bird feeder called a suet feeder. It took a couple of days for the birds to show up and start getting interested in it and then yesterday for some reason this squirrel was all over the suet feeder. I thought it was most amusing as I figured he can’t really get too much of the food out as there is a wire cage around the whole thing. I was working inside in the morning so I from time to time would open the deck door and scare him away.
Such a silly squirrel trying to get the food.. Good luck!
This went on all day and into the afternoon as I was then working from the shed I grabbed my old Canon G7X to take a photo from a distance and you can see him sitting on the feeder here 🤷♂️.
Keep it up squirrel but stop wasting your time.
Later in the afternoon, I went inside to see the kids after school and as I walked up the deck and looked to my right I saw this sight below 😱😖. Oh come on, he actually opened the cage up and took the whole block of food that was in there.
Ok you win this round squirrel, hope you enjoy the big meal.
Looks like I am going to have to rethink this feeder before I add more food to it as they obviously outsmarted me this time 😔.
