avclub

Sunset with the S110 PowerShot

2022-12-31T15:35:35.762000Z

Took some fun long-exposure and lowlight images at sunset. Some of these remind me of my early days of digital camera fun back in 2005. All images are straight from the camera with no additional processing.

I love the colors on this one.

Might use this one as a phone wallpaper.

Macros

2023-07-12T02:43:06.620000Z

Playing around with a macro and wide angle lens adaptor.

Canon SD1000

2022-11-05T02:39:07.838000Z

After dusting off the Canon SD1000, here are a few close-ups around the house.

Evening oak

2021-12-17T04:18:49.386000Z

The touch of fog and rain makes our front oak look particularly epic.

Tell me you see it

2021-10-16T23:52:06.454000Z

Tonight at a birthday party for my father-in-law we noticed an uncanny similarity between my sister-in-law’s dog and… well… a famous house elf.

How screens change

2021-10-16T23:47:59.187000Z

I came across this screenshot in my Google Photos today and loved it. Look how much has changed, but how my use of the iPhone has basically remained the same.

I’m still regularly using six of the apps from this image. The others have all been replaced, but with another app that does what they did better.

Let’s use paper

2021-05-31T18:56:05.562000Z

I go back and forth between analog and digital mediums. I think that’s ok. For the past 6 months I’ve been using a digital Bible and my Drafts app to track progress on the Year of the Bible reading plan.

This week, I’ve decided to blend these mediums. Use Drafts to keep up with my list and read it from a paper Bible once again.

Photo walk with the kids

2021-05-02T02:12:12.620000Z

Fun family activity.

Each person takes a phone
Choose one photo filter effect in Hipstamatic
Take close ups on your walk
When you get home, each presents their images

Hipstamatic 4/21/2021

2021-04-25T01:08:38.098000Z

A collection of Hipstamatic shots from Saturday, styled with Blanko film, Hugo lens.

Hipstamatic roll, spring 2021

2021-04-25T01:08:51.445000Z

Hipstamatic, again

2021-04-10T13:36:56.985000Z

Years ago I loved the iPhone app Hipstamatic. It was an analog-ish camera app with interchangeable lenses and films. It brought the charm of physical and slightly unpredictable photography to the iPhone. On a whim I downloaded it again last week and have had a blast using it.

Here are a few gems from last week:

Is this dead?

2021-04-10T13:36:55.780000Z

I rarely pride myself on keeping plants alive. However, a few years ago I was given a few air plants. These plants require minimal maintenance and apparently live a long time. From what I was told, I need to soak this plant in water for 5 minutes a week, shake off the excess, and place it back in my window.

I've faithfully followed that procedure for over a year and the plan seems to have held this state of green.

Then we worked from home.

After many, many weeks of working remote, I find myself back in the office. I neglected to take this plant home so I assumed I would find it shriveled and dead. To my surprise, I found it like this.

It's not 100% as vibrant as when I left it, but it's pretty close. This leaves me to wonder a few things:

Is weekly watering even necessary?
Has the plant been dead the entire time and it's dead state looks greenish?
Did the moisture content in our offices keep the plant alive without my intervention?

I can't help but feel like the act of watering isn't fully necessary. From here, I plant to document the plant's appearance routinely but won't continue to water it. I'll just see what happens.

Minions!

2021-04-10T13:36:56.302000Z

This little 3D printed Minion project was a little more challenging to paint that anticipated. In the end, G and I were pretty pumped with how they turned out. G found that a set of googly eyes really finished the project.

Evening walk with a crystal ball

2020-04-28T00:21:43.926000Z

70° and sunny means we walk. And the beautiful sunlight is a perfect time to carry a crystal ball along with us. Here are a few fun practical photos.

Analog Record Log of Records

2020-04-27T00:35:54.847000Z

I love vinyl records. I’ve always kept small stacks in my room since I was a teenager. In the past years I’ve started collecting again. Despite the benefits of a good Spotify playlist, I’m drawn to records. It’s a tactile experience and encourages mindfulness.

Saturday morning, it dawned on me "this copy of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour that I’m sharing with the kids has a story." I have a couple of records that belonged to my mom, their grandmother. Listening to it connects us with the past. I don’t want to lose those stories.

As digital as I tend to live, it felt right to hand log the stories of the records. I’m using a nice Rhodia notebook and a Japanese Pilot fountain pen. Here’s how I’ve decided to chronicle the details of the collection.

Identify each record

Place a number sticker on the inside of each leaflet. I buy records to play, not to preserve. Still, I don’t want to mar them permanently. I used a label maker to make a list of numbers and put one on the inside lip of each jacket cover.

I don’t tag them in an order. The number is a simple way to trace the record (when in hand) back to notes I’ve written about it.

Capture details

Write some lines about each album that may be interesting in the future. I try to imagine my grandkids in 50 years asking "hmm, I wonder my grandpa got this one? Was it significant?" A few details I include:

Did I buy it new?
Where was it acquired?
When did I get it?
Was there a story connected to getting it (on a trip, in a particular season, given to me by someone, found on a memorable vacation)?

If I don’t know exact details, that’s ok. I estimate and mark a "?" next to any fuzzy dates.

Tips

Sometimes I find a batch of records and buy a them together. Connect the dots by linking one listing to another related listing. For instance, record [7] and [15] come from the same batch. When I document [15], I reference back to [7] with a note instead of writing the details out again.

Leave two lines below each entry for future notes. I’m not sure what will go there but I’ve made space for some future logs. I might start to rate the records or log new significant events. Perhaps I’ll give the record away and want to note where it went. I left space for that and any possible future thoughts.

And that’s about it. I started this chronicling project during the 2020 "shelter in place" season and it seems fitting.

Snow Orbs

2020-02-09T02:58:17.271000Z

For Christmas, Meg gave me a cool crystal to use in photography. I couldn’t pass up the chance to play with it in the snow today.

Search later, stay in the moment

2019-07-06T17:36:50.606000Z

I’m trying to pull out my phone less, especially if I am out with people. What do I do when I think of something to look up (or a musical artist I’d like to check out later)? To short-circuit 📱❗️⚡️ the "phone. now." response, I’m trying something new.

The process:

capture a bit of text with Drafts on my watch
process Drafts inbox later
use these quick searches to look up the info directly in Drafts

Check out the "search Spotify" action. One click on the action and it takes my Drafts note and moves it right to Spotify.

Same thing works for these web searches (I have one for Google and DuckDuckGo).

Super easy, and it keeps me present in the moment. These actions auto-archive the Draft and tag themselves with a reminder of what I ran on them ">Spotify" or ">google" to keep a record of my search.

Actions

Spotify

https://actions.getdrafts.com/a/1Gk

Google search

https://actions.getdrafts.com/a/1CG

Modular watchfaces

2019-06-29T03:30:12.970000Z

I love my Apple Watch and personal productivity. I like options and love to optimize my system. Endless tweaking. I’ve settled on these three screens to manage my daily habits. Color help distinguish which screen is which.

Night

Blue is for night. Sleep tracking is bottom center, weather (in case I wake up wondering "hmm, how cold is it outside right now?"), heart rate, *alarm, and Drafts. Drafts is ever present. It’s my universal capture point for any and all ideas. Sometimes ideas him me in the middle of the night.

*I charge my watch before bed and use the watch to track sleep and as an alarm clock. No audible alarm means (1) it’s not as assaulting in the morning and (2) Meg can sleep in without me disturbing her. It’s like I’m a ninja 😶.

Morning (gym)

After I get up, make coffee, and read my Bible, head to the gym. I switch to this face as I head out the door.

Orange = active! I listen to Spotify, start workouts from the bottom left icon, and use the "clicker" app to count the number of sets if I’m lifting. Drafts in the bottom right.

Day

This is the primary face I use all day. Things is my go-to productivity app. I use the stopwatch countless times a day for various reasons. (Ok, it’s my coffee timer ☕️ ⏲). Drafts again. And I use Streaks to keep track of daily habits.

That’s it! I use a few other "pretty" watch faces on the weekend and just for fun, but these three (and their colors) work pretty well for pure productivity and functionality.

Reason Compact 2.0

2019-05-28T02:26:23.274000Z

I upgraded Reason Compact iOS to version 2.0 and was pleasantly surprised to see two new instruments in the mini rack. I’m ready for some virtual wires, but until then, we can still have some fun with this.

The little songs below are the result of noodling around for a few minutes with the free updates (+ the upgraded Europa. For full control of the new bass and drum synths, I’ll have to pay the $9.99 for each instrument).

It has that Propellerheads clean sound quality and the ability to export to full Reason. Start on the phone, continue editing in a DAW.

My favorite feature is having the (almost) full version of Europa in my phone to make new synth patches on the go. Building a patch can be tedious and doing that with my phone feels like a better use of time than something less productive. It’s worth the IAP for this one module.

Pro

Sounds great
Easy export to Reason 10
Easy to program
A lot of power in the synths with the unlocked version
Ability to create new patches to use in Reason desktop

Con

Each synth is $9.99 to unlock
Probably worth it, but there are more full-features options available for much less (ie Korg Gadget)
Sequencer is very limited

Computerless Music

2019-05-18T20:57:51.809000Z

I’m a big fan of electronic music gadgets. Starting with computer software, tried some hardware, the "all digital" and back to the iPad. Now I’ve come full circle and am looking for ways to create more away from the screen. I’m getting there.

Today’s workflow is a Teenage Engineering KO! PO-33 into a Korg Monotron into a PO-32 into Tascam recorder. I recorded this live and directly into the Tascam. So much fun.

The samples on the PO-33 are from my record collection (I believe these are from a finger style guitar album). All 11 minutes of this is improved and live-captured. No computer used (except to upload the file to Soundcloud).

🤔 It doesn’t have to be good, it’s just the fun of creating. 😎

Enjoy the track here;

https://soundcloud.com/ken-wilson-154122817/2019_05_18-po33-monotron-po32

Neutral Phone

2019-04-16T22:24:56.076000Z

I’m trying something new this week, minimizing visual excitement on my phone’s screen. Apps are primarily accessed by search, reducing mindless scrolling and use. Mindful is deciding which app to use, searching, and using it rather than being enticed as I scroll through.

Most apps don’t allow you to change their icon, so I created Shortcuts that open the corresponding app and let me create a more consistent icon.

The crucial apps that reinforce positive habits are most easily accessible.

The power of streaks

2019-06-29T03:30:13.373000Z

I’ve been on a one-goal journey this year. For about 8 years, I’ve struggled to lose weight. I can come up with a ton of excuses and explanations ("I completed my 25 other yearly goals," "I have a slow metabolism," "but I workout like crazy").

This year, I’m taking no excuses. This is the only goal. It affects my spiritual life, my work, my family, my energy level, my self-regard (looking at you, EQ 😉).

I’ll talk more about the specifics of my milestones in the future. For now, here’s Streaks, an app for iOS I use to create and measure daily habits.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/streaks/id963034692?mt=8

I set up a series of daily habits that healthy people do. Then I let it pester me to do them. My first main habits:

Weight myself daily
Measure my breakfast (for portion control)
Drink a large glass of water
Avoid refined sugar ever day

So far, so good! As the year moves on I will tweak and adjust the plan to keep the gains (or losses, as it were) moving.

To do tags

2019-02-23T23:04:07.419000Z

Confession, I’m way into my to-do list. If you’re around me I’ll probably mention it (especially in a work context). Why? I’ve historically been a procrastinator. Keeping a zealous-like focus on my productivity keeps me from running off the rails.

I’ve been an avid user of Things to manage my tasks for several years. A few weeks ago I read an article on utilizing tags to process and give my to-do list more purpose and structure. I can always use more structure, so I gave it a go. Several weeks in, this really works.

The idea

When you process your inbox, ask yourself a few questions.

"Do I need to be focused to work on this thing?" tag: 🧠Focus!
"Is it something I can knock out quick?" tag:⚡️Quick!
"Do I need to be at my desk to do this, or is this something to do when I’m out and about?" tag: 💻Laptop or tag:🏠Home

Then think when and where you’ll do each thing. Tag the item with as many of these descriptions as possible. Later, filter the entire to do list through these tags and, voilà, a list of things to do that fits every moment.

Example

Before I head out to run errands I will look at any items that need to be done that are tagged with "out." I don’t have to sift through 40 or 50 things, because the tag highlight what needs to be done. tag:🚗Out

Combine tag together and the system is more powerful. "Do I have 10 minutes to do a few things while sitting in my laptop?" I will search by quick and laptop to find anything that fits this combination. tag: ⚡️Quick! +💻Laptop

If you find you do a great job catching all the to-dos but end up overwhelmed, this may help.

Password managers and why they matter

2019-02-02T19:17:45.206000Z

Using a password manager application offers several benefits. It can seem a little daunting, but the initial effort is worth it. Trust me on this one 😀

Security

People frequently say "oh, I know I shouldn’t use the same password everywhere... don’t judge me." I get it, we have so many passwords to maintain a digital life. This is all the more reason to use technology to reduce complexity. A password manager, used properly, creates security while simplifying the process.

Convienence

I literally have two passwords to remember. I use one to unlock my password manager and one to unlock my computer. The password manager handles the rest. As a bonus, the PWM (password manager) carries them offline on my Apple Watch so I can go phone-less and still have every critical bit of info at hand. I hate forgetting a password and doing the "reset my password email" dance. A little time up front saves a ton later.

Accountability

My wife and I share all of our passswords with each other. Rarely do we need them, but when we do, it’s great having them in one place. Out of town and your spouse needs to access the utility or Netflix account? It’s all right there, shared for both of you.

Bonus tip: if you have two accounts for the same service, label with your name to keep things clear. Example, in our account we have several Google logins. They look like this:

Google (Ken)

Google (Meg)

Google (....

Where to start?

There are many options out there. Currently, LastPass appears to be the best free option. Install it as a browser extension and put it on your mobile device. On an iPhone? Don’t miss the the ability to set your auto fill to look at it, rather than the built-in manager.

OP-Z

2018-12-15T01:02:52.980000Z

We all need hobbies. Mine's music. I especially appreciate non-traditional and quirky instruments. Years ago, it lead me to a creative company called Teenage Engineering. They make some really fun stuff.

I've been following the development of their new synth, the OP-Z, for several years, seeing it finally release a few weeks ago. As soon as they announced it I sold off several pieces of dust-collecting gear to await its releases. Mine arrived over Thanksgiving weekend.

Half instrument, half remote control, it's a minimalist exercise in power, limits, and creativity. I feel like I'm either composing or engineering with it, especially when combining varying sequencer lengths and step components (these are triggers that alter MIDI notes at different time intervals). Follow the link to nerd out with me.

Polyrhythm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyrhythm

I connected it to a DAW today after playing with it for a few weeks. I exported, in total, 27 full compositions (didn't realize it was that many) in the small spaces of time here and there. 10 minutes at lunch, 8 minutes before bed, and at least twice on the treadmill at the gym (don't judge, I'm just maximizing my productivity).

Here are a few of the 27 blips and bloops that manifested in the first few weeks.

[Track 1]

(https://soundcloud.com/ken-wilson-154122817/08_2018-12-14_opz_beattape)

[Track 2]

(https://soundcloud.com/ken-wilson-154122817/09_2018-12-14_opz_beattape)

[Track 3]

(https://soundcloud.com/ken-wilson-154122817/07_2018-12-14_opz_beattape)

Apple Watch through the day

2018-11-12T16:09:43.622000Z

Knowing myself, it’s no surprise I really loved wearing an Apple Watch. I prefer a balance of consistency and options (in just about everything). I haven’t settled on a single watch face, so I have a progression that I use throughout the day. Here’s how it works from me:

Night

I use this face as I sleep. My alarm is in the center. Occasionally I’ll use breathe or heart rate at night. The mini weather update is handy for an evening wake up weather check, and Drafts is always present to capture an idea that hits my brain in the middle of the night. Also, blue tells me it’s night.

Gym

After I wake up and head to the gym, I switch to this watch face. Activity is front and center, and I can use the upper left button to start my workout. The upper right button is an app called Clicker which makes it really easy to track every set I do. I tend to lose count, so this keeps me on track.

Office

This is the watch face I typically use in the office. More information, calender up front (I live by the calendar), and a combo of Things for my to do list and Drafts for capture. I’m a fan of the Pomodoro, so I use the Focus app in the bottom center to set 25 minute work intervals and keep myself on track.

All Around

This is my preferred watch face for most occasions. Fairly minimal, pretty classy, and always keep Drafts and Things available for capturing information. The date links to my calendar, making it available but minimizing clutter.

Simple

This is the last face I use in my lineup. Occasionally I will switch do it when I need to be able to glance at the time but don’t want to be overwhelmed with too much info.

Home screen comparison (2013 to 2018)

2018-11-02T17:52:07.453000Z

Found this screenshot of my home screen from 2013 and I thought it would be fun to compare it to my screen from today to see what’s changed over 5 years.

Though my 2018 screen has folders (something I was very opposed to in 2013), many of the apps and ideas are consistent.

I still keep 2 email apps (easy switch between work and personal). I still keep some sort of habit message on my home screen. I still keep the setting icon easily visible as I’m always tinkering.

A New Workflow

2018-06-16T15:05:47.696000Z

I’ve been rooted in the same basic information workflow for quite some time. While I like a refined, tried-and-true system, I get itchy for something new.

My mainstay has been Evernote + Paper by 53 (iPad) for general note taking. I find that I love taking written notes on iPad, but Paper isn’t a great storage app. I need to push the images to another storage location to make them more accessible. So I usually move them to Evernote. But this is tedious, and I sometimes forget.

Enter these guys. I’m going to try a combination of Drafts 5 and Notability for iOS.

Drafts syncs between iOS apps and holds bits of text for a short while. It has pretty extensive export options on how it sends the text when it’s time to move it out of the “draft" stage and onto delivery. Here’s how I’ll use it:

Preparing long emails
Preparing Staff hub posts
blog post
scripts for public speaking
Prepping lessons for home group

I deal with a lot of text that I refine for a few days, deliver, and never look at again. I think this app will nestle perfectly for these in-between projects.

Notability will serve as my main capture of information. I keep running notebooks for consistent meetings, work projects, etc., but because I hand write these notes, Evernote isn’t a great long-term solution for reopening notes. Notability also offers:

Text and drawn images
a consistent experience on iPhone and iPad (something Paper by 53 lacks)
The ability to import multiple images into a single document (unlike Paper)
a robust notebook system to organize recurring meetings
Sync between iOS and Mac OS
Plenty of backup options (Dropbox, Drive, etc)

May 2018 home screen shakeup

2018-05-20T11:28:35.054000Z

I had some time today and decided to rearrange my homescreen again to maximize its effectiveness.

Here’s where I landed:

I used MakeOvr.com/m/ to create something that puts the right functions in the best spaces. It’s fun and reminds me what happens in each section. I want to playfully encourage and discourage good and less-productive habits.

I snapped a screenshot of the app layout and used Procreate on my iPad to sketch the words.

I’m also considering trying out the greyscale format.

May 2018 home screen

2018-05-16T01:55:23.922000Z

The May 2018 home screen contains a few new apps and a lot of classic oldies that just keep getting the jump done.

A few highlights:

YNAB – Personal budget tool, right at my fingertips for logging every purchase
LumaFusion – it’s like FCPX on an iPhone. Don’t let the price intimidate you, it’s worth every penny if you want a powerful, mobile (and Universal) video editor. The feature list is long. Highlights include backup of projects through any cloud service, titles, multiple tracks, and all buttery-smooth. The kids and I made this video with it dedicated to Debbie, the chicken in Netflix’s remake of Lost in Space (set to scenes from a recent trip to Hobby Lobby). https://youtu.be/lpdorNZg_lU
Hoopla – 8 downloads per month for free from your local library. What’s not to love? I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Simon Sinek’s Start With Why. Classic.
Forest – Gamified pomodoro for better productivity. You know...

And I’d be remiss if I did not mention http://www.makeovr.io/m/ which is responsible for the un-iPhone-like grid layout.

Home screen status – Fall 2017

2017-09-16T21:41:06.282000Z

This is the status of the home screen, just days before the release of iOS 11.

Most apps are unchanged. I've landed on a solid toolkit to get things done and maximize productivity. I still like leaving that bottom row empty. Unsure why, but it seems to have a positive effect on me so I'll keep it up.

Newer additions to my screen and an explaination as to why they are there:

Verses – scripture memory app. It has a few bugs, but despite them it's a useful app for memorizing scripture.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/verses-bible-memory/id939461663?mt=8

iMovie – The iPhone is my primary camera and, while I do prefer editing family movies with FCPX, I don't have a ton of spare time. iMovie on the iPhone allows me to chip away at vacation videos in my spare minutes.

GroupMe – defacto group messaging for home group and a few church groups.

Snapguide – I keep the bottom right spot of my home screen open for an app I'm currently trying out. Snapguide is a great tutorial site for quick "picture and text and video clips" lessons. I'm evaluating its usefulness for training applications.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapguide-how-tos-recipes-fashion-crafts-iphone-tips/id421477397?mt=8

Seasons -

2017-09-16T19:44:16.495000Z

One of the heaviest acoustic songs ever, and one of my absolute favorite is Chris Cornell's "Seasons." I first heard it on the soundtrack to Singles, an early 90s movie set in grunge-era Seattle, WA.

If you'd like to attempt it yourself, you'll need to tune your guitar into a pretty unusual tuning.

http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/173123/chris-cornell-seasons-guitar-tuning-help

Here's the song to get you started.

https://itun.es/us/zjoGl?i=192995985

Don't teach boring!

2017-03-22T02:30:36.571000Z

I highly recommend that you insert some sort of activity or interaction every ten minutes to keep your classes more interesting. Struggling for ideas on what to insert? Try asking people the following:

What is one thing you learned from the last segment?
How will you apply it to your job?
What is one thing that isn't clear?
Have someone in the class summarize the last segment.

It's not hard, it just takes some intentionality.

Empty homescreen

2017-03-15T12:21:37.921000Z

I'm trying something with the old home screen. There are enough things vying for my attention so I introduced some calm and mindfulness into my iPhone.

2016 Staff Leadership Conference

2016-12-08T13:17:24.766000Z

An image is worth 1,000 words isn't just a cute saying, but is backed by some sound brain science. In this spirit, I move my conference note-taking to a "sketch note" format. It helps me injest a lot of concepts quickly and retain them more effectively.

https://medium.com/@NewSpringAcademy/the-importance-of-using-images-in-teaching-cd3d870e2243?source=linkShare-d19bb43bfbb4-1481202993

Here are my notes from 2016's NewSpring Staff Leadership conference.

Quick amazing iPhone wallpaper

2016-08-19T11:28:39.460000Z

I make it a habit to use my iPhone to remind me of the good times by way of my wallpaper and lock screen images. My current two choices are some of my favorites.

For the lock screen, I snapped a quick photo of my beautiful Meg as we were out on a walk in Clemson. Applying the magic of Prisma takes a normal photo and turns it into some magical artistry. I thought I was past "cool iPhone filter apps" but this one is something special. Especially for iPhone wallpaper. Here is the result:

It blocks out just enough detail to work well behind other images and icons, but stays recognizable.

My second favorite technique is to take texture images of a monumental moment and use them as a background to my icons and home screen. It doesn't distract from the elements on top ad sill evokes the same emotions from the moment I was last there.

This image is one I shot underneath Spaceship Earth at Epcot, which is still my kids' favorite ride.

Sometimes I will use Pixelmator to take the colors down a little bit to keep the icons in the forefront.

Last wallpaper tip: I create an iCloud shared folder of all of my wallpapers and post them there so I can easily retrieve them even if I reformat my phone. All photos go to Google Photo now, but I keep those pulled out separately since they will be needed again on the phone.

Home screen update – Summer 2016

2016-08-04T20:43:54.542000Z

It's been awhile, so here is the STATUS of my homescreen as of August 2016.

Row 1 contains Photos first. I use the camera shortcut, but the app is so useful to extend my short term memory that I keep it as app one.

I am an Apple music fan, so it gets the number two spot.

Spots number three and four go to Spark and Google's inbox. I use the spark for my work email and inbox for my personal Gmail. This helps keep my focus in the right place at the right times.

Spot number six contains day one. It is my daily journal and the place that I capture any information that I am learning. Quiet time notes, journals, sermons, notes on books or any article I'm learning from, all learning content goes here.

Maps is in spot number seven. I've tried Google, but Apple Maps is sufficient for most of what I do.

Spot number eight is for scan bought. This is a great app for digitizing paper. I use it to capture receipts, and two generally eradicate all pieces of paper in my life.

Evernote is my catchall for any other text information. If it is not paper to go to scan bot, or it is not learning content which goes today one, it lands in Evernote.

Workflow is the Swiss Army knife of apps. I can't recommend this one enough. With it, you can create small automations they do a ton of different things. My current favorite ones are an automated texting that will send a series of prewritten text to certain people, and a workflow that captures the current song playing from Apple Music and save it to a 2016 playlist. Very handy.

Tydiig is a creative, well-designed App best reserved for engineers and design nerds. If you were looking for a fantastic calculator I cannot recommend this one enough. I only wish it would allow you to save the worksheets to bring them up later. Still, it is fantastic.

12. Dark sky is my go to weather app

13. iMaschine 2 is part of my daily routine to create something new every single day. I keep it on my home screen to remind me to make one new sound, beat, or snippet of the song every single day. It's a regular discipline that I do and having this on the home screen helps me to keep that up

14. Paper by 53 is my favorite "make a quick sketch" app. I primarily use it to snap a quick photo and make some sketches on top of it.

15. I have a Pebble Watch, so the pebble app system I'm screen to manage all the watch functions

16. I check the app store so regularly that I keep it on the home screen

17. Safari

18. I have been using Medium now for a few months to write articles for the NewSpring Academy. It is a great platform, so I keep it front and center when I'm doing this sort of work

19. Clear is my short-term to-do list app. If I am making a quick run to the grocery store, or a quick list of five or six stores I want to do on a day off, I put them here rather than cluttering up my main to do system

Dock

20. Pokemon Go. I mean, c'mon.

21. Things is my primary to do and productivity system. I can't recommend it enough, even with it's relatively high price point. I do about 50% of my work inside this one app. I use the notes field in the to do's to compose emails, posts to the staff hub, and even speaking notes. It contains everything and is the single most valuable app on my phone

22. Messages

23. Fantastical 2 still my favorite calendar to this day. I continue to try other ones, but it seems to fit the right niche of clear design, great feel, plus it has a 3-D touch feature that lets you add an appointment directly from the home screen.

And that's my rundown of apps for summer 2016

St. Augustine

2016-08-04T20:44:02.440000Z

Here are a few gorgeous photos from around our trip to St. Augustine, FL.