According to this post from the iDownload blog Apple’s HomePod Mini has a Temperature and Humidity Sensor. Made by Texas Instruments and measuring 1.5 x 1.5 millimeters, the secret sensor is embedded in the bottom edge of the fabric case, near the speaker’s power cable, meaning it’s meant to measure the external environment rather than… Continue reading Apple’s HomePod Mini has a Temperature and Humidity Sensor
Pencil Sharpeners
In 1971 my parents bought a house whose previous owners had left a hand-crank pencil sharpener attached to a stud near the head of the stairs to the basement. The sharpener had a red plastic shaving container, and it was old. I think it was a Berol. Unlike the sharpeners at school, it didn’t chew… Continue reading Pencil Sharpeners
Red and Blue Bicolor Editing or Checking Pencils
Bicolor pencils with a red core on one end and a blue core on the opposite end are often called “checking pencils,” or “editing pencils” because they are often used for copyediting and proofing on hard copy. Sometimes one color would be used by the copy editor and another by the proofer or typesetter. Sometimes… Continue reading Red and Blue Bicolor Editing or Checking Pencils
Favorite Pencils
I am in the final stages of a general re-organization and purge that I started in the fall. That re-organization meant not only swapping around furniture to make a work area, given the continuing necessity of self-isolating because of COVID-19, but going through every item that I have in my current living area and trying… Continue reading Favorite Pencils
BaronFig Dateless Pocket Planner
When 2020 began I was using an A5 hardcover notebook as a bullet jourrnal, tracking appointments, tasks, reading, birthdays, due dates for publishers—a lot. In late summer, I realized it was just going to depress me to track cancelled plans, cancelled publication dates, and furloughed projects as publishers and corporations scrambled to stay afloat. I… Continue reading BaronFig Dateless Pocket Planner
I Love My Kindle Paperwhite
One of the things that has been especially useful during the year of COVID-19 isolation has been my Kindle PaperWhite ereader. I was an early convert to ebooks, and not just because I worked on ebooks at The Voyager Company. I’ve always had vision problems. Being able to set the font and size of type… Continue reading I Love My Kindle Paperwhite
Ulysses Supports Family Sharing
I’ve only recently begun to look at Ulysses again, and start using it. I got my current copy of Ulysses via SettApp, which provides access to hundreds of macOS and iOS apps via a single subscription. Ulysses is beloved by many writers, particularly for its support of Markdown, its easy syncing between iOS and macOS,… Continue reading Ulysses Supports Family Sharing
Apple HomePod Mini
I used an Amazon gift card to buy a DOSS SoundBox portable Bluetooth speaker in 2017 when I realized I would be away from home and my stereo for an indefinite time. It’s worked really well, a charge lasts me almost a week of a few hours of daily use, and it’s easy to set… Continue reading Apple HomePod Mini
Pilot S20 Drafting Pencil 0.5 mm
I’ve had the Pilot S20 Drafting Pencil on my Wish list at JetPens.com for a few year;s I like mechanical pencils, and I love a wooden body. This pencil comes in two shades of wood for the body, dark red, and dark brown, and in a .3mm and a .5mm size. I chose the… Continue reading Pilot S20 Drafting Pencil 0.5 mm
Annotating Books and Other Texts
As a child, I was horrified by people who wrote in books. In high school, I’d go through my textbooks at the start of the new school year and carefully the penciled scribbles and doodles left by previous students. Once I started college I was expected to write in books, to annotate books, to know how… Continue reading Annotating Books and Other Texts