Pipelines & Subtraction
Clop 3 and my new Alfred workflow, editing through Via Negativa, the rebuilt Readwise app, a big Reel update, and my search for a better way to wake my Mac remotely
Hey guys, I missed last week’s newsletter and I have been a little overwhelmed with work, so bear with me. I still wanted to get this one out because I finally published something I have been meaning to revisit for a while, plus (as usual) there were a few discoveries and updates from my previous week worth sharing.
On Clop
For the past week and a half, I was working on a video that just went out on Clop, one of the Mac utilities I use most often. Clop is my favorite file compression tool. It works with images, videos, audio files, or PDFs, and it makes everything smaller without visible loss in quality. This is super helpful when a website refuses an upload, an email attachment is too large, or you simply do not want screenshots and screen recordings taking over your storage.
I reviewed this app a couple of years ago, but Clop now has several new features that made want to share about it again. By the way, the app can do A LOT beyond basic compression. It can resize, crop, convert formats, rename files, remove metadata, supports watch folders, can automatically optimize clipboard content, and it allows you to automate several chained actions together. The version 3 updates made this much more interesting through pipelines, which are saved sequences of steps. I can tell Clop to take a file, crop it to a specific aspect ratio, convert it, make it smaller, and prepare it for sharing. Once that pipeline exists, I can reuse the whole sequence whenever I need it.
A couple of months ago I also updated my unofficial Clop workflow for Alfred (btw, a new update just went out!). This puts most of Clop’s tools into a keyboard-driven menu. It can work with files selected in Finder, copied paths, URLs, folders, and media sitting in the clipboard. The menu adapts to whatever you give it, so an image shows image actions, an audio file shows audio actions, and even though it uses the CLI for everything you do not need to remember any Terminal commands. Oh, and you can also run your saved Clop pipelines from there!
I know this can sound like power-user territory, but the nice thing about Clop is that you can keep it simple. Install it, drag a file in, and get a smaller file back. The extra settings are there when you start noticing repeated tasks you would rather stop doing by hand.
I cover my own setup, the drop zone, pipelines, and the Alfred workflow in the video below 🙂
On Via Negativa
One of the most interesting things I read last week was this article on Via Negativa. A lot of advice focuses on what we should add, a new habit, a new framework, a new system, another series of steps. Via Negativa approaches decisions through removal. We can often identify what is harmful, unnecessary, or unlikely to work with more certainty than we can identify the perfect answer.
I kept thinking about this relates to editing. In narrative video work, I try to see shots as words inside a sentence. You begin with far too many of them, then remove whatever weakens the meaning, repeats something, or takes the sentence away from what it is trying to say. I may not know the final shape of the piece yet, but I can usually recognize what does not belong. The same applies to photography, writing, and even the way I build workflows. Adding is easy because every new piece feels like progress. Subtraction asks for a clearer decision. A shorter edit can take more work than a long one because you have to understand what the piece is really about, or at least keep removing until that meaning becomes easier to see.
Super interesting read. This also explains why failures can teach us so much. Success has too many variables and sometimes includes luck. Failure often gives us something more specific to study. There is a lot in this article, including some philosophy and theology, and I have found myself returning to the main idea since I read it.
A few of my favorite highlights:
Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines Via Negativa as, “The principle that we know what is wrong with more clarity than what is right, and that knowledge grows by subtraction. Also, it is easier to know that something is wrong than to find the fix. Actions that remove are more robust than those that add because addition may have unseen, complicated feedback loops.”
One small negative observation can disprove a positive statement, while millions can hardly confirm it. Even after observing millions of white swans you cannot confidently claim that all swans are white, but observing a single black swan can disconfirm your claim instantly. Disconfirmation is more rigorous that confirmation.
When Michelangelo was asked about how he carved the masterpiece of all masterpieces, the statue of David, his answer was: “It’s simple. I just remove everything that is not David.” Focus on obtaining negative knowledge, because perfection is simply the practice of eliminating the unnecessary and the unimportant.
Light means the absence of darkness and knowledge means the absence of ignorance, good should be defined as the absence of bad. Similarly, success means the absence of failure; keeping one’s distance from the ignorant is equivalent to keeping company with the wise; and as Steve Jobs has said, focus is about ignoring a thousand good ideas.
On Readwise
After years of using Readwise almost every day, it was refreshing to see its main iOS app receive a complete rebuild! I have always loved thie main app, especially the Daily Review part of it, but I usually preferred the web version because the old phone app felt behind everything else Readwise was doing. The new app feels faster and much nicer to use. The Daily Review has been redesigned, search is better, dark mode finally feels at home, and tools like Ghostreader are a tap away. I am still using Readwise in the same way, but now checking my highlights from the phone feels like part of the real experience rather than a smaller companion to the website.
On Recording
Reel, the four-track recorder I have been using on my iPhone, also received a HUGE update. I originally saw its potential as a companion for the OP-1 Field, but keeping recordings and sessions in sync was still troublesome. The app now includes MIDI sync and learn, Ableton Link, looping, overdubs, punch-in recording, resampling, and several other tools I have barely had time to process. I watched this overview once and immediately knew I needed to watch it again haha. I am excited to make some time to play with this.
On Keeping My Mac Awake
I have been trying to solve a small problem that is becoming more relevant as remote AI tools get better…. how can I wake my Mac from my phone, keep it awake for a limited amount of time, then let it return to sleep?
Alter’s latest update added Gateways, which let you reach the app through Discord or Telegram while Alter continues running locally on your Mac. Codex (or Chat GPT Remote…) has a similar feature built-in. These tools are useful when I am away from my desk, but the Mac still needs to be available. I don’t like the idea of leaving the app awake all the time as suggested by the Alter team or Codex users, I fear it will be too taxing on the battery.
Now, for years I have used Screens Connect when I need full remote control. It works well, and what I’ve been doing for a long time is opening Screens, connecting to the computer, launching Alfred, and running my caffeinate command just to prevent sleep feels like too much ceremony. Too much of a hassle tbh. I have found a few possibilities. Off supports Wake-on-LAN, Keep Awake, Siri, and Shortcuts. Power Remote includes a timed Keep Awake command, although it appears focused on local network control. Cmdora seems to allow running commands remotely, so perhaps I could use it to run caffeinate with fewer taps. I have not tested any of these enough to recommend one yet. I want something I can trigger quickly, preferably through Shortcuts, and set a specific amount of minutes for whatever task I need.
If I ever find a solution that works, I’ll make sure to share. In the meantime, feel you can check the above apps and feel free to report back if you solve it 🙂
On Cinema
Desert of Namibia (2024). Kana is a difficult character and often toxic, but the film never rushes to judge or excuse her. The people around her are just as imperfect, leaving plenty of room for viewers to project their own ideas onto these relationships. A very solid, very human character portrait. Synopsis: A young, temperamental Tokyo beautician struggles to navigate her relationships with lovers, friends, and family.
Super Happy Forever (2024). On the surface, this is a simple film. It begins with the aftermath, returns to the beginning, and then brings us back to the same emotional place with completely different weight. Once we understand what came before, every small interaction becomes more painful because we know where it will lead. It could have easily become cheesy or manipulative, but the performances feel natural and the romance is built through ordinary details. So sweet and painful. A beautiful film with much more depth than I expected. Synopsis: Accompanied by his friend Miyata, Sano returns to Izu, a seaside resort in Japan where five years before he fell in love with his wife Nagi.
BEEF (2026). I wasn’t expecting Season 2 to recreate what made the first one so good, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The story felt even more cohesive this time, and the ending worked much better for me. It felt more natural and emotionally complete. My only issue is that it eventually moves into Korean crime-thriller territory, with sudden gunshots and violence everywhere, and briefly loses some of the tension it had built. Still, most of it worked remarkably well. A very strong second season. Synopsis: A road rage incident between two strangers, a failing contractor and an unfulfilled entrepreneur, sparks a feud that brings out their darkest impulses.
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