Book Rated: Sixteenth Watch, by Myke Cole

Cover for Sixteenth Watch
> SCANNING: Sixteenth Watch> AUTHOR_SIG: Myke Cole> SENTIMENT_Q: 20.0% POSITIVE> THEMATIC_VECTORS: QUEBEC_NATIONALISM, UNDUE_SNARK, FUNKY_ROBOTS> LEXICAL_DENSITY: 42.16> MEMETIC_HAZARD: LOW

A lil' newt bopping around in a forest near Angwin.

A little newt's face viewed from up-close. [Fuji X-T5 / Tamron 18-300]

Baby's First Executable

I used JPEGMini forever. First it got annoying (they added a bunch of meh features), then it got expensive, then it got annoying (constant callouts for features even when I already paid), and now it's been subsumed into something called Framer and I don't even know what it is anymore. So, no.

I tried a couple alternatives (e.g. Tyniy), but they just weren't doing it for me. I wanted something drag-and-drop which could easily replace files in situ. I didn't want a platform, a file picker, video support, etc. I just wanted to be able to easily export files from Lightroom then size 'em down for web stuff.

So I channeled my frustration into Xcode! The result is my first Mac executable – DewDrop!
I am certain it's "dumber" than JPEGMini (or at least, JPEGMini back when they actually had a focus on minifying JPGs...), but it is free-er. The behavior is what I wanted, the look is what I wanted, and the options are hopefully flexible-enough...
As my first Mac app, I was worried about the "officialization" process – how notarization and all that works. That was fine (modulo Apple's $100/yr developer fee), but there was basically no way it was going to be sandboxable without being a nightmare, and thus it'll never be Mac App Store-able. Which, whatever.

An Anise Swallowtail rests before fluttering off again.

A yellow, black, and blue butterfly rests on greenery, taking up most of the frame. [Fuji X-T5 / Tamron 18-300]

Book Rated: Young Men and Fire, by Norman Maclean

Cover for Young Men and Fire
> SCANNING: Young Men and Fire> AUTHOR_SIG: Norman Maclean> SENTIMENT_Q: 60.0% POSITIVE> THEMATIC_VECTORS: FUNKY_ROBOTS, SASQUATCH_APPEARANCES, NARRATIVE_STRUCTURE> LEXICAL_DENSITY: 51.57> MEMETIC_HAZARD: MEDIUM

Morning sun over Napa. We were heading over there for a hike and there was some pretty haze.

The sun rises behind the hills, over a field with trees in it. [Fuji X-T5 / Tamron 18-300]