I long for the days where the tech podcasts I listen to are less politically charged than the political podcasts I listen to.

I know the iOS 13 beta season was rough, but iOS 13.0 (non-beta) was not so bad for me. I think the press has been overly harsh about the production releases (13.0 and 13.1) so far.

Nancy Pelosi Announces Formal Impeachment Inquiry of Trump. (Sigh.) Finally.

I just learned that to replace the busted blender jar and lid in my kitchen will cost $175 + tax. Excuse me while I lift my jaw up off the floor. I guess I’ll go buy a new blender.

I am 100% on board for a new food column in the New York Times by J. Kenji López-Alt:

Years ago, in an effort to answer a perennial question — what’s the best way to boil an egg? — I hatched a plan using the only method I know: lots and lots of testing.

Kenji’s egg boiling method, which is egg steaming actually, is probably better than my own, which I picked up from Alton Brown. The way I do it makes perfect whites and yolks, but the eggs are nearly impossible to peel. Apparently, steaming eggs makes them easier to peel. I have got to try it!

I hope that today wasn’t the last day this year that my family will visit the beach.

🎮 I will probably hold off on trying Apple Arcade until it is available on Apple TV. I prefer gaming with a controller and on a big screen. I am currently very much into my Nintendo Switch again, and don’t need more games right now, either.

I am giving Icro 2.0 a serious go right now, and I am very impressed.

Cooking updates: Homemade chicken soup is still delicious, even after three weekly iterations. As a bonus for my kids, I am baking a chocolate snack cake for tonight’s dessert.

1. Safari: This is the only browser I use on Apple’s platforms. It is fast, has just enough extensibility to block ads (with 1Blocker), and has a great reader view. The only reason I use the others is that I have a Windows computer and a work computer that runs Windows.
2. Firefox: Firefox’s looks and speed have improved since the last time I looked at it (a couple years ago). It is the most privacy focused browser there is, and its reader view is great.
3. Chrome: This browser keeps getting worse. It lacks a reader view and it soon will not support uBlock Origin. Privacy, efficiency, and even speed do not seem to be priorities for its development team any more.
4. Edge: I wanted to like Edge when Microsoft first released it, but I still can’t get on board with it. It underperforms Chrome on my system.

For non-work browsing on Windows, I’m switching back to FireFox.

Doctor’s offices seem to be asking for coinsurance payments up front lately rather than sending me a bill after my appointment. I wonder what all the reasons for this are.

I just kicked Calendars 5 off my phone. iOS 13’s Calendar, NotePlan, and Drafts’s “Fantastically Good Event Parser” will have to do.

I really like the new watch faces that come with watchOS 6.

I’m upgrading my iPhone 7 to iOS 13.0. 🤞 I am debating whether to jump on the iPadOS 13.1 beta for my main iPad, a 2017 iPad Pro, so that I keep on the same major release across devices.

Cooler autumn weather means roasted chicken, chicken soup, and home-baked bread for my family. I’ve got the chicken and soup down pat, but I am re-learning how to make bread properly in our old bread machine. The first loaf rose too much and didn’t bake to my satisfaction.

I have the premium headphones and DACs that would make Amazon Music HD, it’s new hidef tier, worthwhile for me. But…I really don’t want to subscribe to anything other than Apple Music, due in large part to Apple Music’s integration with all my Apple hardware, which makes life easier for me and every member of my family. Also, I do not like how Amazon’s Prime Video app looks or works so much, and don’t want to invite that kind of friction in my music listening experience. I do applaud their direction into higher quality streaming, though.

🎮 I wonder why no one is saying much about “Oceanhorn 2” in regards to Apple Arcade. I don’t have early access to Apple Arcade, so i can’t find out myself, but that is the game I was most looking forward to out of all of them.

Matt Birchler posted his review of watchOS 6 today:

watchOS 6 is not a massive update to the platform, and you will likely use your watch in largely the same way you always have, but there are some new apps, nice usability updates, no real regressions, and frameworks that will allow third party apps to get better in the future. Basically, it won’t all change your life, but there is probably at least one or two things that you’ll really enjoy in this new update.

I am not exactly eager to upgrade my Apple Watch immediately, because it works just fine and I am happy with its behavior and performance, but I am looking forward to the new watch faces, which I think look nice.

I have had an Apple Watch since the original Series 0, but I have always been a little disappointed in the watch faces. I find it harder to read the time on the analog faces, based on simple things like the relative shortness of the hour hand, and, on many faces, the lack of numbers or larger hour markers on the dial. Also, I have long wanted a watch face with seven small complications and the time in the upper right corner, which would act as an app launcher for all the apps I use on a daily basis.

Apple’s new watch faces will provide some more visual variety, especially the California face, which will have various configuration options regarding the numbers on the dial. I do wish that Apple would allow you to change the shape and size of the watch hands, though. They are the same on every analog-style watch face.

📺 I didn’t think I would like “Good Omens” but I definitely do. It is funny and I really like the cast. I’m about halfway through it, so I hope it stays as amusing as it is at the start.

I think it is funny that many video game and tech sites are expressing surprise today that Apple Arcade is actually good.

My pie was good but the crust did not meet my standards. I absolutely nailed the Apple filling, though. My family loved it, which is the most important part.

Looks OK so far. It will be difficult to wait till after dinner to try my Apple crumb pie. I think I need to find an actual recipe the next time I make it, though. I’d like a different kind of streusel topping.

Today, I am trying to make the first pie I have made in a very long time.

I wish there was something like RSS for Apple Music. I want “show me everything new by these artists thatI pick in advance, automatically, and I don’t want to miss a thing”. I know Apple Music’s algorithm gets me most of the way there, but I think I still miss new releases quite often.