Matt Langford

The Return of the Apple Watch

In the last weekly roundup, I mentioned that I was considering getting an AppleWatch again, primarily for health reasons. I ended up finding a used one from a mutual friend and took the plunge. Here are some quick thoughts:

Notifications

On first setup, I turned off all notifications with the intention of turning them on individually instead of the other way around. Currently, the only notifications I receive on my watch are Messages and Health/Fitness related. Nothing else. No summaries or priorities. I’m even considering limiting Messages notifications to VIPs.

Apps

The only apps I’ve installed for it are Sleep++ and Pedometer++ (same developer). I’d used them before and had no complaints. There are a couple of existing apps that I have enabled on the watch (Todoist and Carrot). I don’t listen to podcasts or music through the watch, so there’s nothing like that.

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Some people know me well.

New Gear for Sale on my site, including a Hamilton Automatic watch and a GoRuck Rucker backpack. Price drops on the audio interface and pouch as well.

I’m going to be adding a few things to my Gear For Sale later: Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 42mm (Captain America’s Watch) and GoRuck Rucker 20L Black/Orange. If you want an early jump on those, let me know.

Baseball

I’ve always been a big baseball fan, and fortunately I married one too. We’ve passed that love of the game on to our kids. My son had his first 2 double game in coach pitch and was ecstatic. And he’s particular about calling them real doubles or due-to-errors (which is common in coach pitch). He hit both of them right down the third base line.

Health Related

My family (not my wife or kids) has had some recent health related setbacks in the last year. To this point, everything has been beat and we’re fully expectant that the current stuff will have the same result. But all of that has made me consider going back to an AppleWatch for the health features. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, and I may not, but the thought is in the back of my head.

Desk Setup

I’ve returned to a multi-monitor setup at...

My dad, who just found out he needs triple bypass open heart surgery, called me to offer condolences and prayers for my man cold. If there’s any doubt about how serious the man cold really is, that should settle it.

For a long time, I did the whole widget-heavy semi-minimal iOS Home Screen thing. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, but I just went back to a grid of apps and somehow it feels simpler. Fewer taps to do the things I want to do in most cases.

You don’t know crawfish unless you’ve had it in a very specific region of Louisiana. That does not include New Orleans.

I’m starting a weekly series where I simply discuss current projects, ideas, and whatever else randomly has my attention.

Local AI/LLM/Whisper

I’ve been toying with local AI stuff. I’m currently using MacWhisper to transcribe long videos and, using that transcription, perform certain actions:

• Cleanup grammar, spelling, filler words
• Create long summary
• Create short summary
• Create social media content
• Pull out main points
• Create a discussion guide

I’ve also been playing with Draw Things. I attempted to install Stable Diffusion directly on my Mac, but I could never get it to fully work. Using different models with Draw Things has been a fun way to experiment.

Shows and Books

My wife and I are wrapping up the Endeavour series (it’s excellent). We’re also big fans of Amazing Race and are well into the most recent season. For the next few months, Braves games are almost daily entertainment (or torture).

I’ve been reading The Saxon Chronicles (aka The Last...

There’s no shortage of Mac apps promising to change your life. Most of them don’t.

But a few have stuck with me — simple utilities that quietly improve my day without getting in the way. These aren’t big, flashy apps. They’re practical. Useful. And worth it.

1. Moom

Moom lets you move and resize windows with ease. Drag to the edges, use keyboard shortcuts, or snap windows exactly how you like. It’s fast, customizable, and one of the first things I install on any new Mac. It also solves one of my biggest annoyances: switching between a single-display setup and a multi-monitor desk. Moom remembers where you want things, so you’re not constantly rearranging windows.

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2. CleanShot X

The best screenshot and screen recording tool for Mac. Period. CleanShot X adds markup tools, scrolling capture, screen recording with webcam overlay, and a beautiful built-in cloud service if you want it....

If you use non-Apple branded monitors with your Mac, I highly suggest the free utility MonitorControl. It simply allows you to use the native keyboard buttons to control sound and brightness for external displays (even if you have more than 2).

I couldn’t resist.

What apps do you have in your Mac menu bar? Here are mine: PopClip, TailScale, CleanShot X, SwitchGlass, Color Picker, Boring Old Menu Bar, Google Drive, ChatGPT, and Hidden Bar.

Is anyone running an LLM or text-to-image model locally on a Mac? If so, let me know the details of your setup.

Let me know your favorite obscure Mac apps/utilities. Some suggestions from me: Front and Center, Bike Outliner, Framous, PopClip, Acorn/Retrobatch, and StopTheMadness Pro.