Clicks & Dust

Thoughts On Recommendation Algorithms, AI Prompting Tip, Fixing a Stubborn Mouse, and Screen Recording Apps

Hey guys, a few things that stood out from my previous week:

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On Online Culture

Last week I read an article about recommendation algorithms and their impact on how we discover and consume content. I've been thinking about this because—like many of us—I've found myself at this interesting crossroads between algorithmic suggestions and trying to find something that genuinely fits what I want or like, even when it's different than my usual choices. In my experience, recommendation systems aren't inherently good or bad – they're tools that have actually helped me discover some amazing artists, films, and YouTube channels I might never have found otherwise.

The insightful thing about this article, in my opinion, is how it talks about the value of taste. It emphasizes that more than trying to follow recommendations, the important thing is that "depeer knowledge." Understanding why or how something aligns with our preferences. Super interesting.

A few quotes:

"Taste, with its suggestion of deeper knowledge, perhaps, of why or how something is good, transforms the act of recommending into something specialized, with an aura of irreplaceability."

"In a world of scarcity, we treasure tools. In a world of abundance, we treasure taste."

"One problem with recommendations as the grist for the digital content mill is that there are only so many things to recommend. Repetition, or scalability, is the enemy of taste, because in time it reveals a latent sameness in what we all like to like."

"Mundane things are easy fodder for recommendations; what is truly closest to your heart might warrant a bit of withholding, however antithetical it seems to the pressures of being online."

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On Prompting

I read this article aimed mainly at developers or programming enthusiasts that use AI. To be honest, I don't think I'm the target audience, and it was a bit hard to get through the whole piece. However, I still wanted to share this with you because I found something very useful in the opening section. How to "hone in on an idea" with the help of AI.

One of my use-cases with AI is to use it for structuring video scripts for online classes and YouTube content. While I don't rely on it much for writing, I sometimes have it generate organized content from random ideas that I then rewrite. Basically, my writing process with AI is all about mixing and remixing. After reading this article, I have started asking AI to ask me questions that would help develop my content—before getting to the actual writing. It's a brainstorming process I hadn't considered before, and it's proven really useful. Just wanted to pass this along.

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On Mouse Clicks

My trusty Logitech Master 3S mouse started acting up this past week. It would register my clicks inconsistently, sometimes skipping them. After searching online, I was surprised to discover that this is a common issue, it seems like the switches easily degrade from overuse. Dust can also contribute to the problem.

After trying to figure out if the problem was my USB dongle, the computer, or who knows what else, I just blew out some dust and now it seems to be working properly. I was fortunate that this wasn't a switch issue, or I'd probably ended up giving up on it. My guess is that somehow, during my travel back home from China, some dust got caught in there.

While researching, I found this website that offers a way to test your mouse clicks. It helped me both diagnose my problem and verify the fix worked properly.

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On Screen Recordings

For a while now I've been using Screen Studio for all my teaching and tutorial recordings. I love its smooth animations, it's great for having a quick and good quality result, but I've been frustrated with the slow development pace and half-baked features. There's a lot in there that hasn't worked properly for ages, and there's many promised features that I doubt are arriving anytime soon. I plan to make some more content about how I use the app in the future (plus a few useful hacks), but to be honest it's a difficult one to recommend.

This past week, I discovered Canvid, which seems to be the best alternative to Screen Studio I've seen to-date. I haven't tested this, but the pricing, the examples I've seen, and the features actually seem pretty awesome! I have the legacy pricing of Screen Studio so I don't see myself switching right now, but this may be of interest to some of you.

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On Desktop Icons

I find having a quick way to hide desktop icons very useful either for screenshots or screen recordings. I've been using CleanShot X for this, and while I love the app, the icon-hiding feature has always given me some trouble when switching workspaces. Apparently it conflicts with Yabai, my windows management app. This past week, I found a better solution - with AI's help, I wrote THIS SIMPLE SCRIPT that does the same job without any conflicts. Well, the only downside is that it doesn't hide external hard drives, but still, I find it works much better than my previous solution. You can run it using Keyboard Maestro, BetterTouchTool, or any similar automation app.

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On Cinema

• Nickel Boys (2024). A tragic yet very poetic kind of film. It has one of the most beautiful cinematography I've seen in a long time. Lots of visual metaphors and a very personal kind of storytelling. Synopsis: Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.

• Heart Eyes (2025). A pretty decent horror/comedy/slasher kind of film. Far from being a masterpiece, but a good, entertaining, film for an evening watch. Synopsis: When the "Heart Eyes Killer" strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine's Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now, they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives.

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If you liked this you may also enjoy some content I have up on my YT Channel! I don’t hang around social media a lot, but when I do I’m on IG or Twitter. You can also check out some of my online classes, listen to my music, or in case you haven’t already, subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Thank you for reading!