Experience, Language, and Mac Users
Insights from a Letter Inspiration from Cassavetes, AI and Writing, Moving Between Mac Users, App Discounts, Discovering Two Awesome Browser Extensions, Screen Annotation and More
Hey guys, here's a few of the things that have stood out from my past two weeks:
On Life
I am subscribed to a newsletter/blog that shares letters and this past week I read one that had been in my reading list for some months already. Wow. This one is a dying mother's message to her daughters as she faced terminal cancer. Wow, so powerful. While I read many letters there, few have resonated with me as deeply as this one. It made me pause and really think. It's moving and touching, filled with a mother's advice and thoughts for her daughters as she knows her time with them is limited. Even more than that, it's full of wisdom. I don't want to spoil it for you, but if you're in the mood for something that'll make you think about life, give it a read.
Some of my favorite highlights.
There is incredible value in pain and suffering, if you allow yourself to experience it, to cry, to feel sorrow and grief, to hurt. Walk through the fire and you will emerge on the other end, whole and stronger. I promise. You will ultimately find truth and beauty and wisdom and peace. You will understand that nothing lasts forever, not pain, or joy. You will understand that joy cannot exist without sadness. Relief cannot exist without pain. Compassion cannot exist without cruelty. Courage cannot exist without fear. Hope cannot exist without despair. Wisdom cannot exist without suffering. Gratitude cannot exist without deprivation. Paradoxes abound in this life. Living is an exercise in navigating within them.
I have always believed, always, even when I was a precocious little girl crying alone in my bed, that our purpose in this life is to experience everything we possibly can, to understand as much of the human condition as we can squeeze into one lifetime, however long or short that may be. We are here to feel the complex range of emotions that come with being human. And from those experiences, our souls expand and grow and learn and change, and we understand a little more about what it really means to be human. I call it the evolution of the soul.
The worth of a person’s life lies not in the number of years lived; rather it rests on how well that person has absorbed the lessons of that life, how well that person has come to understand and distill the multiple, messy aspects of the human experience.
On Cinema
This past week I watched this short video which is a compilation of interviews with Cassavetes.I've always found inspiring how Cassavetes used to talk about cinema. He has always seemed to me like one of those rebel artists that didn't quite fit into the "system". The struggle between following a passion and worrying about audience reception is something that (I believe) all creative people face at some point. But Cassavetes was one of those figures that dared to take a different path - one where the real value wasn't in commercial success but in finding a personal truth in what was being made. I really like how talks about cinema being nothing related to entertainment for him, but rather being a "substitute for living." Reminds me of Tarkovsky.
Some direct quotes:
"Money has nothing to do with the film. I think it really, in the end, kills you from being creative and from inventing."
"What happens to artists is that it's not that somebody is standing in their way; it's that they're their own selves that are standing in their way."
"The whole idea for me, for the people that we work with, is to find some kind of personal truth— some kind of revelation."
On Writing with AI
I watched this short YT video from about a year ago. It's fascinating to see how AI, ChatGPT, and other LLMs have evolved so much in such a short time. The debate about AI's impact on creativity, however, is still ongoing. I've always seen this as a tool, not as a replacement of human creativity. This video is particularly interesting though because it discusses writing and language's importance to humans. It's a short watch, and I recommend it if you're interested in this topic.
A favorite highlight:
Language is how human beings understand themselves and the world, but writing is how we understand uniquely. Not to write is to live according to the language of others, or worse, to live through edits tweaks, and embellishments to language generated by an overconfident AI chatbot.
On Goal Setting
I phrase I read this week and has been in my mind for a few days:
Most of the value of goal-setting is not the goal itself, but the direction they give you to start moving.
On Moving Between Users
About a week ago, I was close to completing my latest Skillshare class on Audio Design. I had all the editing done in Final Cut Pro and was about to do some color correction before exporting, but then I realized my system was giving me too much trouble. I had already noticed some minor issues before - every time I would start Final Cut Pro for example, recent projects was always empty. This time it was crashing repeatedly. I tried closing other apps, restarting, etc., but I could never figure it out. I ended up creating another username just to test, and I discovered that in the new username, everything was working as it was supposed to.
I thought I would make a new admin user identical to my current one and just move everything over. But you have no idea the trouble that caused. Since I have so many applications applications installed with Homebrew, and some others that are more like hacks for improving my productivity but requiring complicated setup in my config files - everything became problematic. All of this involves user configuration files, so when I signed out, signed into another user, and renamed my original account, I pretty much locked myself out. I could log in, but not without seen error screens everywhere.
In the end, I was able to figure out everything after some trial and error. I made a quick note so that if I ever have to go through this again, I can do it faster, as this is almost like moving from one computer to another. Sharing with you in case you ever need to ever switch users to fix system problems.
Move non-Dropbox files to the Shared folder (in Users folder), including Desktop files, Documents, and app Preferences - especially for apps without export settings options (Clop, Bartender, Cleanshot). Include app presets, FCPX project folders, motion titles, and Plex Server files (both preferences and application support). Export settings from apps that allow it, and take screenshots of dock or settings for manual setup later.
Make a new admin user with a random name.
Log out of main account and log into the random name account.
Once inside random name account, rename the old account, which will break most of its functionality. Rename home folder manually (will ask for password) and then rename in Users & Groups in settings (hold CTRL when selecting users to see advanced options).
Once renamed, make a new admin user with the exact same original name, which should now be available.
Log out of random name and log into the account with the original name. Move files to their proper locations. Most apps will likely ask for licenses again. Setup Dropbox and re-download everything (don't risk trying to connect a Dropbox folder with the cloud files).
Important: All apps will probably have permissions set to the previous user (now renamed). Have AI create a shell script to batch change this to your current user.
For Yabai, while disabling SIP isn't necessary if previously done, you need to run a command to allow running arm64 binaries. System restart is required for script injection to work.
Node installation may need attention (you may need to reinstall homebrew, watch out for any errors).
On Extensions
Having to set up a lot of things on my system gave me the chance to do some general clean-up of unused apps. I also tried to simplify my browser extensions because they were getting a little bit out of control. I have been using Safari a little bit more because Arc was too demanding on my system resources, so I'm looking for extensions that I can use in both apps. I found two very cool that replaced a lot of others:
Tampermonkey. I was looking or a way to have this extension in Safari, and AI helped me write a code that runs the same as the original—if not better—for Tampermonkey. I haven't explored all of what Tampermonkey can do but seems super powerful. I am also loving a new Tabbed YouTube experience thanks to this extension.
Stop the Madness. This is actually a simple extension with lots of options, that aims to improve the whole web experience by removing pop-ups, protection mouse and keyboard behavior, etc. You should check the examples on the website. I've just been using this a week but it really makes a big difference.
On Apps
With Black Friday approaching, there are many great applications and discounts available. Here are two useful links:
While you might get overwhelmed by the number of options in there, I'd like to highlight Recut, an app I personally use for every YouTube video I make. As an affiliate, I can offer you an extra $10 off their already significant Black Friday discount (you'll be saving $60 in their lifetime option!). Recut removes silence from videos and exports an XML file that can be imported into Final Cut Pro or other apps for further editing. It's cross-platform, working on both Mac and Windows.
If you do any kind of video work, I highly recommend this app. It even works for audio only. The discount runs until December 2nd. If you use MY LINK I'd be so grateful because it also supports me.
A few more discounted apps...
CleanShot X is another excellent application. At the time of writing this, they haven't posted the discount yet, but they announced that they will, so watch out for that.
About a week and a half ago, I purchased Bananotate. I may have mentioned it before in my newsletter before - it's for annotating on your screen. I hadn't given it enough time for testing, but when I started using it, I figured out it was incredibly powerful. It currently has a 61% discount (ending at the end of December). Check this video where the developer is using it. If you see the potential in it - like I did - you'll realize how amazing it is. I highly recommend it, especially if you do any kind of instruction/teaching/tutorials. EDIT: I just found out v2 was just released and there’s five hidden free licenses in the app for the entire week.
Finally, I just discovered TabTab, a windows/tab manager which also has a Black Friday discount. I am about to give this for a ride for a few days, we’ll see how it goes. Seems super handy.
On Cinema
A Different Man (2024). A different movie, for sure. Kind of like something made by Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry. Synopsis: Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
Chained for Life (2019). I was so surprised by the film that I just mentioned that I found another one with the same director and actor. It's just as good. Synopsis: A beautiful actress struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur's English-language debut.
The Count of Monte-Cristo (2024). I was not expecting another film with this same story, especially after I watched the last one, which I thought was not bad. But this one - wow, it was really, really good, really well made. I really enjoyed it. It's one of those films that truly captured the essence of the novel. Synopsis: Edmond Dantes becomes the target of a sinister plot and is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in the island prison of Château d’If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte-Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him.
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