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Happy New Year! 🥳

Back to Reading

Back to Reading

I enjoy reading but realized that this activity had reduced in my life. So this year I made a concerted effort to read more, and it worked. I’ve found that the key to my enjoyment of reading is to read a variety. So I mix books that are short, long, fiction, non-fiction, old, new, most-often read genres and others.

On average I’m reading smaller books than before, but I’m reading a whole lot more of them, as seen in these charts.

Three line graphs depict data trends from 2009 to 2024 for the number of books, pages per book, and pages per month.

Yes, these stats are silly, but perhaps you can think of other silly stats I could be tracking and charting? Let me know!

Oh, and if you’re wondering which books, well, head on over to the books page.

Here’s to more reading in 2025 😊

A new version of Mimi Uploader is out with support for Photo Collections 🎉

A new version of Mimi Uploader is out with support for Photo Collections 🎉

As discussed in the previous post, the feature is only available to subscribers to become a Supporter using the sliding scale in the app.

The initial release of this feature provides the ability to see the list of your collections, as well as each individual collection. More features are coming soon. Hope you like it!

You can get Mimi Uploader from the App Store.

Happy New Year!

From the department of things-I-should’ve-done-years-ago: Wall rack to hold lumber in the basement shop 🎉

A basement with wooden planks stored on wall-mounted shelves. There’s also a cabinet mounted on the wall to the right of the shelves.

And here’s how it was before:

A basement wall with plywood squares stacked against it and a number of boards on the floor stretching for 3-4 feet from the wall. There’s a small cabinet mounted on the wall above.

Circular stone engraving featuring an abstract face design. Includes a quote by Chief Seattle: “If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?” and text in a native language.

A black and white photo of a dirt path winding through tall grass, leading to a line of leafless and evergreen trees under a cloudy sky.

A black and white photo of a serene landscape with tall grasses in the foreground and leafless trees in the background. The sky is overcast, creating a moody atmosphere.

A black-and-white photograph of an empty wooden bench in a natural setting, surrounded by grass. In the background, there are bare trees and a cloudy sky, suggesting a winter or late autumn scene.

A black and white photograph of a tree trunk with a rough bark texture. The trunk is surrounded by dense branches and foliage, with scattered plants and grass at its base.

A black and white landscape photograph featuring a grassy field in the foreground and a line of sparse trees and clouds in the background.

A black and white photo of a birch tree with bare branches and hanging catkins in the foreground. The background is blurred, highlighting the tree’s texture and details.

Black and white image of a tangled thicket of branches with small berries. The backdrop is a blurred field, giving a sense of depth and a natural, serene setting.

A black and white landscape featuring an open grassy field with scattered shrubs and young trees in the foreground. Dense forest covers the middle ground, while hills and a town are visible in the hazy background. Cloudy sky above.

Walk at Powell Butte Nature Park. Portland, Oregon. 24th December 2024.

In case you’re looking for a moody over-processed phone wallpaper for the holidays, here you go…

A blurred image of a Christmas tree decorated with warm yellow lights in a dimly lit room.

Merry Christmas!

A new Mimi Uploader beta is out with initial support for Photo Collections!

A new Mimi Uploader beta is out with initial support for Photo Collections!

For more details and to join the beta please follow the instructions in the previous post.

Please try it and let me know what you think 😊

(Link to the video embedded above).

Some updates on Mimi Uploader

Some updates on Mimi Uploader

I’ve had a sneaking suspicion that Mimi Uploader does not have the value it once did. That some people, myself included, love it, but for most it is a novelty. I alluded to this in a post last year.

A couple months ago I made the app free for a promotional period until the end of the year (previously it has always been $5). I was hoping to get a better idea of the interest in the community once I remove the barrier to entry. Initially there were a lot of downloads, and sessions. Now, some months later, according to analytics that Apple provides, there is almost no change in usage.

Based on this experiment, I’m making the following changes:

This way I can keep making an app I enjoy and find very useful, and anyone else really into it can also benefit from the new features. Everyone else can continue to use the app to its full initial promise as a fast batch uploader.

A black and white image of a house with a small pine tree in the foreground. The tree is decorated with spherical ornaments. The house has a visible porch with columns and railings.

Portland, Oregon. 14th December, 2024.

A modern structure with vertical slats is surrounded by tall trees in a garden. The scene is in black and white, highlighting the contrast between the structure and the natural environment. Shadows and light play across the ground and vegetation.

Afternoon walk at Leach Botanical Garden. Portland, Oregon. 1st December, 2024.