Peers who look out for you.

Bank that cuts you a deal.

Van that transports your goods.

Suppliers that give you the good stuff.

Physicist at your back pocket.

Chef who understands your labour.

You could wait. You could whine.

Nina Parker didn’t.

She gathered regenerative farmers (like herself), chefs, volunteers and people who believed in her mission to eat better.

120 people paid and showed up.

An afternoon of conversations, panel discussion, market and beautiful food.

She found the like-minded… brought generosity and energy to places that don’t have enough of either. She gave first and she made magic.

No one told her what she should do. She took responsibility and gave away credit.

Alas, you can be Nina too. It’s free but not easy.

The life you always wanted is waiting for you on the other side.

I am waiting for you. We are, all, waiting for you.

Thank you, Nina. And all who added to the magic.

1Password makes remembering, typing and sharing passwords a delight.

Arc (free) is a different internet browser experience. Spaces, Split Windows and Command bar are a few things that I would miss if it were gone.

Bartender (US$16) organise my Mac menu bar into something useful and beautiful.

Beeper (free), brought over by the amazing folks at WordPress, combines WhatsApp, Slack, Facebook, Telegram, Instagram and LinkedIn into one app. Fast and delightful. I hope they bring back the send-later feature soon.

Fantastical is my Calendar app. It has not failed me.

Cardhop (made by Fantastical folks), gives me access to my contacts with a few buttons. I save baby names, dog names and cities of the people I love.

CleanShot (US$29) takes screenshots and videos, combined with Dropbox, makes it easy to report bugs and share design feedback.

Dropbox (US$17/m) protects my files and photos and makes it easy to share them. Pricier than iCloud or Google Drive, the security, support and delight are worth every penny.

I saved videos that inspired me with Downie (US$19). There’s something about keeping and organising that makes me remember.

DaisyDisk (US$10) finds out what’s eating up my disk space. Works on Dropbox and Google Drive too.

A new way to edit podcast interviews with text, Descript (US$12/m). It is at least 2x faster, but your milage may vary.

Fathom (free) records and transcribes Zoom and Google meetings. Free my attention from note-taking and focus on the person.

Flux (free) changes the screen colour to help with sleep.

iCloud, used in tandem with Dropbox, for extra storage. Mainly for photos and things I don’t need to access quick.

A nifty app, Maccy (US$10) keeps my “copy” history. Saves me from switching back and forth when copying text.

Magnet (US10) organise my screen, with shortcuts. Full screen, left, right, up, down.

Notion, replaced Apple Notes, Gdocs, Gsheets, Asana and Evernote. It took 2 years to move everything over, but I never looked back since. Marie Poulin has a great course.

Permute ($14.99), built by the same people as Downie, converts media files to different sizes and formats. Mostly to save precious disk space.

Perplexity, is replacing Google Search, and it has not asked me to pay yet.

Apple Photos (free), together with the iPhone and iCloud, feels like magic. With a bit of upfront work of tagging, finding photos of friends from 10 years ago, is a real treat.

Polymail ($10/m) is probably not the best email client. But it’s not painful enough yet to switch yet.

Rewind (free) records everything on my Mac screen. Peace of mind is worth the extra disk space.

Things (US$50) is my to-do list. I dump ideas, tasks, and articles and free up my mental space for more to come. Pairs with the GTD method.

As my work has become online, I have come to appreciate software. Tools that are made with attention and care.

Updated on 28th May 2025.

Could it be true that…

They are just busy?

Their loved one passed away?

They misread your intention?

Or simply that… they don’t like you?

Which interpretation serve you best?

And, hey… maybe it’s okay if they don’t like you?

Who would you be comfortable asking for a kidney when you need one?

It doesn’t mean that they would give you a kidney. But who would you be comfortable asking?

Think about it.

Now, who do you think would be comfortable asking you for a kidney?

You have friends, and you have a kidney friend.

Friendship is a choice. Don’t waste it on luck, bowling and a fair-weather friend.

It’s easy to think that trying hard, doing more, and people would like you.

The question, often forgotten is, “Do you need everyone to like you?”

Wanting to please everyone is a sure way to run out of gas for your work, and for the people that matters.

But what if, you can source approval from within, or from the people you truly respect?

Even the bible has one-star reviews. Who do we think we are?

Shady people are smart. But smart people might not be shady.

Too often, there are looters in the system. Monopolising the market, increasing prices, ceasing innovation, in the end, the customer suffers.

Smart people might look shady working the system.

Crossing roads on green, taking the handicap seats.

But if there are no cars, or no one using the handicap seat, are they shady?

Between understanding the spirit of the rules and blindly following the rules, lies the difference between being smart and being shady.

What’s the point of a contract?

A stack of paper, with dense blocks of text, can be a great way to intimidate or cover your backside.

But, more often than not, a contract is an agreement for disagreement. A way to move forward in disagreements that sustains the interest of both parties.

When a disagreement occurs, and it always would, can you split the difference between a betrayal and a misunderstanding?

Why did you come together to do this thing? What are you trying to achieve? And what is the best outcome for each party?

Perhaps that is the spirit of the contract, before all the technical jargon.

Honest conversation, hash it out at the beginning, and put it in writing.

It’s entirely possible that things would turn out fine. It’s also possible to lose a lot of money, or worse, a dear dear friend.

Perhaps if you don’t have the time, maybe it’s not worth getting bed with that special someone.

Here’s the prequel.

Thank you Roger and Guy.