made a video… oddly youtu.be/Vn3KXGy3p…
The Valsalva manoeuvre is far less exotic than the Picard manoeuvre, but likely more applicable to situations which most people encounter.
LumaFusion and the Power of the Cross-Platform App
LumaFusion is a video editing application, and in my experience, it’s pretty good. But what really blows me away is that it’s an example of a truly platform-agnostic app—at least within the Apple ecosystem.
I purchased it on my iPad (a 13 inch M2 iPad Air) for around £30. My main use case is editing short animation clips and using a proper video editor to manage transitions and link them together. While I’m very familiar with Kdenlive, I wanted something I could use on my iPad.
For my needs, LumaFusion is ideal. But what really impressed me wasn’t just the application itself—it was how seamlessly it adapts across different Apple devices.
It was originally designed as an iPad app, and it takes full advantage of the hardware. But it also works flawlessly on macOS, with full support for keyboard shortcuts, mouse interaction, and fullscreen mode.
I was also surprised to find that I could install it on my iPhone. While I doubt I’ll ever use it much on such a small screen, it’s nice to have the option.
This kind of cross-device compatibility feels unique to the Apple ecosystem. While I would never have switched to Apple just for these little perks, I have to admit—it’s really nice to have apps that don’t feel compromised on any platform. I doubt we’ll ever see a Windows application that installs on a phone as seamlessly as this.
It all feels like magic.
The Creative Gym (Learning art with no natural aptitude)
Humans make things. Whether this creative urge is unique to us or a common trait among all species that reach our level of social and technological development remains a mystery. It is also worth noting that the creative urge does not exist in all members of our species. Many people are perfectly content watching Netflix and eating cereal out of a box. Strangely, there has never been societal pressure to be creative. There is pressure to get a job and pay bills, get an education, and shower from time to time. But failing to find motivation to create does not cause any social issues at all.
Most of my friends create things. I know artists, coders, tinkerers, and writers. Most people in my life are working on a “project” or some other general creative task. I enjoy getting updates on their creations, even when I don’t entirely follow what they’re working on. There is something absolutely wonderful about listening to someone talk about what they are making. There’s an intimate passion that oozes from them when they speak of their “work.”
I have never thought of myself as creative—which is strange, considering my major pastime is writing fiction. I have published books, novellas, blogs, and even videos, and I have been doing so for years. I love storytelling. Writing has been the best way for me to do it.
People need to stop saying ‘game changer’ its got to the point of meaningless
The rise of ai tools is going to seriously effect profit’s for services like grammar and language tool soon. As of yet though, there is no good language tool alternative for my phone. It’s going to be interesting to see how it unfolds, because, LLMs are far more effective spell checkers than anything else I have used. I just wish we didn’t have all the other baggage that went with them.
Is my future offline?
As I’m sure many of you have noticed, I have recently been on something of a cleanse. Ejecting things from my life which I feel are no longer relevant. Trying my best to live intentionally and considering what adds value to my life, and what are things which I use as crouches for someone I used to be. Towards the end of this year, I am hoping to be in a financial position where I can buy a camper van and have little weekend excursions with my dog. I one day hope to retire into a mobile home of some kind and visit Europe, assuming there is a way to have my dog come with me, that is.
This pipe-dream about a small space, mobile future has been leaking into the decisions I make day to day. While I am a fair way away from having to think about the practical things, I have something of a clear thought pattern. I have likely mentioned it here before:
NewsExplorer seems pretty good so far. RSS win. I guess.
Today have learned that my RSS reader (Reeder+) doesn’t have an export. Oddly this made me want to leave, so i installed NewsExplorer. Seems pretty good so far.
Digital Minimalism?
I have spent some time reading the Cal newport book ‘Digital Minimalism.’ I’m not that far in, but I picked it up because I was feeling a ‘thing,’ the book, so far, has made me double feel that ‘thing.’ I need to write a full post about the ‘thing.’
The ‘thing,’ if anyone is wondering, is the realisation that I am unhappy with the amount of time I spend attached to the internet, and to my screens. I don’t even think I spend that much time on here compared to most people. I read a while back that the average screen time per day is about 6 hours. Which seems mad to me. My average is about 2 hours, and that feels excessive!
My laptop probably gets more, but that’s when I’m writing. I enjoy writing and don’t really think of it as screen time, despite it literally being that. I think of it as keyboard time.
the paradoxical thing is that I have been reading the digital minimalism book on a Kindle, which is a screen. - I suppose wen I tlak about ‘screen,’ I actually mean ‘internet’