TIL that in recent versions of macOS, most stock apps can't be deleted by the user. Want to delete News? LaunchPad won't let you. Command-Delete ain't it. It'll bounce right off the trash.
What gives? It's because they're not really in /Applications anymore. They're installed in /System/Applications and that's a read-only APFS partition. Neat.
I added string cheese to my cart, and this popped up.
This month's essay may be the single truest thing I've ever written about myself. If you're interested in understanding me or what the heck I plan to do with the rest of my life, sign up and you'll receive it. justin.searls.co/newsletter/
Evidence I've changed as a person: someone just stopped me on the street to say, "I'm sorry I just wanted to say you have an incredible energy and I wanted to hand you my card. Your chi is beautiful." And she clearly meant what she was saying. And seemed to be of sound mind.
First time for everything.
Possibly TMI: just me, or do socks and shoes fit more comfortably after trimming your toenails?
I'm not talking massive lengths here—even just a few millimeters and walking around in socks feels way more comfortable. Can't tell if this is just me having some hypersensitivity disorder.
This is a copy of the Searls of Wisdom newsletter delivered to subscribers on December 8, 2024.
I found myself in need of a post-election palate cleanser, which is how Becky and I found ourselves spending most of November traveling Japan again. As always, I learned a lot. Like that the rhythm game Chunithm is probably too difficult for me to ever become good at. And that the Kawasaki Brave Thunders have a tremendously loyal fanbase. And that driving cross-country in Japan wasn't quite as nerve-wracking as my fears had made it out to be. (Though it's hardly cheap.)
Oh yeah, I also learned that every room's TV in the Toy Story Hotel is set in an Etch A Sketch frame:
As it happens, my grandfather was an executive at Ohio Art and played no small part in bringing the Etch A Sketch to market. He sadly died before I was old enough to ask him for that story, so all I have are bits and pieces I learned from my dad. It's too bad that so many people who've touched my life in such profound ways remain complete mysteries to me. Writing this newsletter is one of a dozen ways I strive to avoid the same fate.
To be honest, this is perhaps the most personal essay I've published so far, if not the most emotionally vulnerable. It's certainly the most detailed account of "who I am", in a certain sense. I have no idea what you'll think or feel after reading this. If you find that it speaks to you, I'd be lying if I were to say that was intentional. The primary audience of every story I tell about myself is myself. And there's never just one story. And those stories always change upon retelling.
Here goes.
I left the country for a few weeks to get that taste out of my mouth but now I'm back and as salty as ever. Brace yourself.
I made a pretty strong appeal that you should e-mail the show at podcast@searls.co, so I won't repeat myself here. DO IT. DO IT NOW.
Hopefully I'll be back at least once more before we call it for 2024. Stay tuned. 📻
Train fare in Japan isn't cheap, but one way Japan gets people to choose it anyway is by directly exposing drivers to road infrastructure costs through steep highway fees.
In 8 days I drove 613 miles and racked up about $130 in highway tolls. Would have been more expensive to take trains, but just barely.
The Steelcase Leap (v2) is a good office chair in a world of mostly bad office chairs. I've been using it since 2020 and I don't love it, but I definitely hate it less than every other office chair I've ever owned. That's one reason I find myself vexed that Steelcase does not offer an after-market headrest for the chair (and no longer seems to let you configure one with a built-in headrest). In fact, so few office chairs offer headrests that I was briefly tempted to buy a "gaming chair" (do not buy a gaming chair).
And if you're reading this and identify as an Online Ergonomics Expert, I know you're champing at the bit to tell me, "headrests are bad, actually."
But if you're like me and have an incredibly large and heavy head, and/or you spend most of your time at the computer leaning back and pondering what to do next between furious-but-sporadic bouts of typing, then I'm happy to report I have a solution for what ails you.
I tried four different DIY solutions for slapping a third-party headrest onto the Steelcase Leap that were dreamed up by randos on Reddit, but only one of them worked. And the best part is that the winning thread only requires the headrest and a couple of zip ties, meaning that this approach shouldn't void your warranty by requiring you to drill into the back of the chair.
All you need:
If you're visiting here from a search engine or an AI assistant's generous citation, I hope you find this helpful! I can only speak for myself, but I am quite glad that I didn't have to buy a new chair just to keep my 15-pound head upright at the end of a long day.
Really feels like these ¥100 silicone mug toppers are trying to have it both ways.
I've written about Gaburi before but it remains the absolute best karaage I've found in years of searching. Just order the boneless fried chicken thighs ("momo karaage, hone-nashi") and, if you drink, enjoy the $10 all you can drink course for two hours.
Can't afford not to.
