Rumor had it, Apple was going to add native sleep tracking to Apple Watch. In 2019. That summer, I began work to add sleep data analysis to RECaf, a feature I had wanted since I conceived of the app. The timing seemed right. If Apple were going to be adding sleep tracking to Apple Watch as a first-party feature, I wanted to be right there, ready to take advantage of that sleep data as soon as Apple started its marketing. Scientifically, it’s pretty well established that caffeine has some…

RECaf 1.6 For a while now, I’ve noticed RECaf users had a very different approach than I intended of logging an item from earlier in the day, or from the day before. The frequents list on the front panel of RECaf is great for one-tap access to your most frequent sources. But logging that way always records the current time and date. If you want to customize the date to say, this morning, my intention was for people to go through the custom logging process. (Push down the…

I really can’t say enough about how awesome Baratza is as a company. I’ve had my Virtuoso grinder for more than five years. Up until recently, I’ve only ever had to replace the occasional $5 part once or twice. (They have detailed videos and instructions on how to purchase spare parts and make the repairs yourself for the most common issues.) That’s not bad, considering how much wear and tear is involved in the grinding of coffee beans. A few weeks ago, however, I finally ran…

The way in which Aaron Sorkin describes Intention and Obstacle in the early bits of his Masterclass is so simple, so easy to comprehend, and most importantly, so easy to test [1]. In just a few minutes, he offers a simple way to detect whether there is an appropriate level of conflict in any story. You can apply this lesson to any screenplay or script that you read, including your own. Sadly, that sort of simple clarity is a rare thing these days. I recall when I was getting into…

Since professing my love for the Chemex on Release Notes a while back, I’ve been getting lots of questions about my coffee methodology. (Who knew a business tech podcast would have so many coffee drinkers in its audience?) So I figured I’d write up some thoughts here, so I have an easy place to reference for future inquiries. First things first: This is not the path to the best coffee on earth. It’s the path to the best coffee for me. Once you get into any sort…