Over the past couple of weeks, I've dabbled with Claude Code and Claude Cowork to see what it's all about. I love tinkering with technology, after all.
Claude Cowork is essentially a less technical way to do the same thing Claude Code can do. It can be used to manipulate files in specified folders as well as connect to the many online services you may have. You can then automate tasks, do research, clean up files, create or manage notes, and the list goes on.
I've been seeing many posts and videos talking about using Claude Code to manage their local Obsidian vaults.
I played around with this and found it potentially very valuable for someone (like me) who enjoys making notes but doesn't enjoy the organization of said notes. Or for processing meeting notes and other work-related data and acting as a project manager assistant that handles all the grunt work I would rather not do myself.
Below are some apps, services, and hardware that I currently use. The idea became popular through the Hemispheric Views podcast Episode 97 and then further through Robb Knight's App Defaults directory.
This time around, I copied my previous default apps post and updated it, striking through things that have changed. Hopefully, it's still readable. I find it useful to see what changes over time.
I favor technology, though something about the feel of paper appeals to me. It’s the feel, the sound, even the smell of paper that keeps me coming back, not the efficiency.
If you're getting ice cream at the grocery store, take a look at the packaging. You'll notice that most say “frozen dairy dessert” and not ice cream.
Apparently, this is because the quality no longer meets FDA requirements for what is considered ice cream, which requires at least 10% dairy milk fat and must weigh at least 4.5 pounds (2.04 kg) per gallon.
Today's “ice cream” often contains skim milk and contains more air as the manufacturers air-whip it to increase the volume.
They usually add more sugar to make them taste delicious.
It's remarkable how things gradually change for the worse over time, and we rarely notice.
Dispatch is a game/episodic comedy where you manage a team of dysfunctional misfit heroes. You send them on missions while navigating workplace dynamics.
I loved this game! The pacing, humor, action, and voice acting were excellent.
You can be terrible at this game (and I was) but still finish. You could not touch the keyboard, and everything would time out and progress forward, and you’d still complete the game. However, the decisions, and I think even how well you do, impact the story.
The gameplay was simple but enjoyable. Your job is to decide which “hero” to send on each crisis, like a 911 dispatcher, but for superheroes. Since your character is capable, you get to attempt some hacking along the way.
The best part of the game is the cutscenes. Each episode consists of scenes, your dispatching shift, and closes with more. It’s about 1 hour per episode, and there are 8.
Your decisions significantly change the story’s progression and ending, making it easy to replay. I plan to do that soon.
I keep telling myself to stop reading “self-help” books and pick up more interesting or work-related ones. Yet, I found myself with Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell, a book about time management for entrepreneurs.
I've switched all my newsletters over to my Feedbin address instead of my main email.
There are a few stragglers; as they come in, I'll update them.
Feedbin is such a great RSS reader and is also great for newsletters. You can see the newsletter in the original format, which I love. It's so clean and straightforward—a pleasure to read.
I don't understand why I didn't do this so long ago.
Introducing Kagi Assistants | Kagi Blog
Kagi’s Research Assistant happened to top a popular benchmark (SimpleQA) when we ran it in August 2025. This was a happy accident. We’re building our research assistants to be useful products, not maximize benchmark scores.
I continue to be more impressed by Kagi Assistant as I use it. While not a full replacement for something like ChatGPT or Gemini, it certainly gets the job done. I think the results are drastically better simply because Kagi provides cleaner, more relevant search results.
AI language models are quickly becoming a key part of knowledge work. They handle many of our administrative tasks, allowing us to focus on the unique work that adds real value.
Microsoft is leading this shift, and many companies now treat AI agents like regular employees, giving them their security, management, and job roles.¹ Experts predict there will be 1.3 billion AI agents by 2028. ²
Just for fun, I created a Google NotebookLM notebook and set this site as its only source. I then listened to the podcast Deep Dive. The results were quite interesting.
One of the main discussion points was how “the author”—me—seems obsessed with finding the “best” app, constantly switching between blog hosting platforms, browsers, notebooks, e-ink devices, etc.
Yeah, already knew I had a problem. But I'd argue it's not always about finding the best app or hardware but rather about satisfying my curiosity. I enjoy tinkering.
It was weird listening to two podcast “hosts” talking about the content of my site and making connections between my posts. I actually found it quite helpful. It walked through my posts about the various e-ink tablets I've tried over time, among many other fascinating connections.
A few weeks ago, I created a dedicated page that lists all the apps and hardware I'm currently using. I decided to move that page into its blog post. The idea is to repost this content (whenever I'm in the mood) with an updated list. This approach allows me (and you) to look back over time.
Below are some apps, services, and hardware that I currently use. The idea became popular through the Hemispheric Views podcast Episode 97 and then further through Robb Knight's App Defaults directory.
I recently started using a Supernote Nomad for writing notes, journaling, and light task management. I wrote about my thoughts on the hardware recently, and in this post, I wanted to think about the Digest feature. After all, this feature is one of the main reasons I went with the Supernote.
For the longest time, I've enjoyed writing on paper, but it never stuck. I enjoyed the process of writing, but then finding my notes is where everything fell apart. I tried all kinds of systems, but I always found myself going back to digital, which is simply easier.
Almost two weeks ago, I purchased a reMarkable Paper Pro Move on a whim and, after some research, decided to order a Supernote Nomad to compare and see which device I prefer.
There are quite a few personal blogging platforms available today. Of course, there are the big dogs, like WordPress, Ghost, Blogger, Squarespace, Medium, Wix, and even Substack. But for those looking for something simpler, we have options like Micro.blog, Pika.page, Bear.dev, Write.as, Scribbles, Blot.im, Svbtle, and I'm sure there are many more. You can even get nerdy and host your site generated using Hugo, Eleventy, Next.js, or other static site generators.
I recently came across Pagecord. I actually found the link in my bookmarks, so I must have picked it up from someone along the way, bookmarked the site, and forgotten about it. While scanning through my bookmarks one day, I happened to come across the link again.
