resources on Cliff538

📚 Twentieth-Century Color Photographs - Identification and Care

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:05:47 -0700

I recently stumbled upon this book by Sylvie Pénichon, and it is a wonderful deep dive into the history and care of color photographs. The appendix includes a chronology of several film types, including Kodachrome and Ektachrome films, Polaroid-Kodak-Fuji instant films, and more. It also has sheet notch codes, which are really nice. Just a great resource.

From the book description: This abundantly illustrated volume provides an accessible overview of the history and technology of the major traditional color photographic processes and promises to become the standard reference in its field. Following an introductory chapter on color photography in the nineteenth century, seven uniformly structured chapters discuss the most commercially or historically significant processes of the twentieth century—additive color screen, pigment, dye imbibition, dye coupling, dye destruction, dye diffusion, and dye mordanting and silver toning—offering readers a user-friendly guide to materials, methods of identification, and common kinds of deterioration. A final chapter presents specific guidelines for collection management, storage, and preservation. It also includes a glossary of technical terms, along with appendixes presenting detailed chronologies for Kodachrome and Ektachrome transparencies, Cibachrome/Ilfochrome printing materials, and Instant films.

360 pages with 375 color and 70 B&W illustrations.

It covers the identification of:

chromogenic color prints
dye-transfer processes
Kodachrome
Ektachrome
Cibachrome/Ilfochrome
Polaroid instant films
Kodak instant films
Fuji instant films
deterioration and storage issues

If you’re interested in the history and the how and why of color film, you will enjoy this book. You can read it cover to cover or use it as a reference. I’m slowly working my way through it alongside The Darkroom Cookbook.

I’ve also updated the Film Journey & Resource page with it.

Beam Paints - M’Chigeeng First Nation Company on Manitoulin Island

Mon, 11 May 2026 11:06:39 -0700

Beam Paints

My wife is a watercolor artist in her free time and just found a wonderful resource for hematite pigment. Harvested by an M’Chigeeng First Nation company on Manitoulin Island. She just received them today.

It’s not cheap. But, I’m told there is no replacement for quality paint.

I just wanted to do a shoutout about a First Nations small business.

From their About Page:

Beam Paints is the result of a multi-generational love of pigment, paint, colour, and innovation. I was raised by my artist parents, Carl Beam and Ann Beam, and was taught from a young age how to harvest hematite pigment in the LaCloche mountain range near our home in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island. Beam Paints draws on my early educations in Indigenous pigment and expands it to encompass all paint traditions. A focus on high quality pigment content creates sublime artist materials, with plastic free packaging. Beam Paints is 100% Anishnaabe Kwe owned, and operating in our home reserve of M’Chigeeng First Nation, we are happy to employ paintmakers and woodworkers, men and women from our communities including M’Chigeeng, Sagamok and Wikwemikong. Click on one of these articles to find out more:

www.thefoundryhomegoods.com/blogs/jou…

Lightfast pigments, gum arabic, and Manitoulin maple sap blend together to create a handmade saturated colour that is a joy to paint with. From thick stripes to fine washes and details, quality is evident in every stroke. Our watercolours are shaped into paintstones, our version of a half-pan, before being wrapped in beeswaxed cloth. Our pans are packaged in slices of cedar and birch offcuts from an Indigenous sustainable lumber operation.

Denoise: LightRoom vs DxO PureRAW 5

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:04:03 -0700

A quick down-and-dirty comparison between LR and DxO denoise. There is a very clear winner here.

I was doing a fair amount of low-light shooting with my OM-1 Mark II, and the noise was just killing me during editing. I recently purchased DxO PureRAW 5 and haven’t really used it yet. I thought I’d do a quick comparison. Nothing scientific here, and I’m not even sure how much will show up in the screenshots below.

The OM-1 is a 20.4 MP Micro Four Thirds sensor and does not handle low light very well. So noise can be a real issue at times. I’ve always just used LR denoise, and it’s been good enough, but after seeing what DxO can do, I’ll be using DxO for all serious noise issues.

Here is LR denoise vs. out-of-the-camera ORF (raw): You can really see how noisy the OM-1 is in low light!

Here is DxO denoise vs. out of the camera ORF:

Finally, here is DxO vs. LR: I zoomed in to 200% for the best comparison.

In Summary, I hope you can see the large differences in the screenshots. The clear, hands-down winner is DxO. I would love for Adobe to improve the denoise in LR so I could skip this extra step, but here we are. Something to look for with denoise is preservation of detail; denoise tends to soften your picture, leaving you with less detail where you may want it. DxO also did a much better job in preserving details.

DxO also provided Optical Corrections: Lens Sharpness Optimization, Vignetting, Chromatic aberration, and Lens Distortion, but I did not take the time to analyze these.

I’m extremely impressed with DxO’s performance. On the downsides, it takes a while to process, and it’s an extra step in your workflow, but if you have a lot of noise, it’s worth the extra time. My average processing time per picture was 17-25 seconds.

I also learned that LR isn’t as bad as I thought. I’ll still use it for light noise issues, or when time is a factor, but for your good shots where you want maximum noise reduction and preservation of detail, DxO is worth every penny and your time.

Whether this is worth it to you depends on the camera you are using and the conditions you are shooting in. At the time of this blog post, DxO PureRAW 6 costs $139.99 as a one-time fee. If you just post your shots to social media in low-quality JPGs, you may not even need to denoise. But if noise is an issue for you and you’ve been unhappy with the software you are using, it’s worth your time to test-drive DxO.

Let’s go shoot some pictures tomorrow!

The Good Stuff - March 2026

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:33:40 -0700

A smattering of useful things I’ve come across this month

March 2026

DOFSimulator - A great website for learning about Depth Of Field. You can select your camera and lens, move the model, and change the focal length and f-stop. Very useful web app.
cliff538.com from 2009 - Finding my blog from 2009 was fun! The original cliff538 was built from scratch as an exam for an HTML/CSS class that I was taking. Really brought back some good memories. Sadly, there is no record of my very first blog, where I documented, step by step, how to build a stitch-and-glue kayak. Everything has been lost to time. Some more old blog links: here and here
Book Alex - A great spot for book reviews and more from Alexandra.
Small Web - An IOS app from Kagi that focuses on the small web.
GPSJAM - great website showing where GPS jamming is occurring.
ReKindle - has all kinds of apps for your Kindle. I did not try any of them since most of my digital reading is on an iPad, but it sure looks promising if you are a Kindle user. If you try it, let me know what you think.
TRAVELER’S COMPANY USA - Pretty cool place for all things journaling. Lots of unique items and journaling kits.
Japanese Stationery Awards 2026 – bungu - Best of the best for 2026.
BRICKA | Premium magazine for Lego Fans - BRICKA is an online and physical print magazine dedicated to exploring, amplifying, and featuring voices within the brick building community of Adult Fans of LEGO.
Orion Magazine - Just found this and need to explore it more.
Netlify - Netlify is a cloud platform for hosting and deploying web apps, websites, etc. I made a free account with them and explored their Agent help with making a static web page. They seem to have a fairly generous free level, so you can experiment with deploying websites and apps. I’m currently using the free tier at Vercel to host my web app for posting to my blogs. I have zero complaints; it’s been a great service, but it’s nice knowing there are options.
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century - Gift Article - As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers – with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.
Nine Books to Reset Your View of the World - Gift Article - Each of these titles will widen your perspective, offering you original insight and vision.
100 Jumps - This is a surprisingly fun and frustrating game. I still haven’t made all 100 yet. I’m not giving up! You really want to work on getting perfect jumps. Every time you get three in a row, you get an extra life. Here is the iOS [link](apps.apple.com/us/app/10… 100 Jumps)
The Onion Newspaper - “With 65,000 paying print subscribers, in 50 states and 50 countries, The Onion is, by some estimates, the country’s 12th-largest print newspaper, above The Boston Globe. Overall annual revenue grew 300% in 2025.”
- They are running a sale right now - $75 for one year of print.

The Good Stuff - January 2026

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:43:00 -0700

A smattering of useful things I’ve come across this month

January 2026

NYT gift article - 100 Best books of the 21st Century
CraftWork by FlohGro - If you use Drafts and Craft, this may come in very handy for you.
When you should use Safe Mode and what it does Howard always has great articles. Anything you want to know about your Mac, it’s probably on Howard’s site.
100 Days To Offload - The whole point of 100DaysToOffload is to challenge you to publish 100 posts on your personal blog in a year.
URL Manager Pro - A full-featured, powerful bookmark manager. No fancy front end on this one, just a clean, simple, yet powerful manager.
Language Transfer - free courses to learn new language skills with no memorization or writing things down. I’ve just started the Spanish course and am curious about their approach. I’ve been using Duolingo for a while now and am always looking for a new angle.
Enclose.Horse - I’m not a huge gamer, but this game has really stuck with me. It appears so simple, but it’s not. You can make it as quick as you’d like or take some time and really try for a good score. Updates daily.
Past Puzzle - another quick, fun daily history game. Free, and ad-free. I’ve just found it through Mastodon, and it’s really well-made and fun.
Moving your DayOne Journal entries to Obsidian. This Swift Script makes it happen. Sometime back, I used a similar script, and it worked really well.

I’m attempting to keep track of and post my monthly finds this year. We shall see how disciplined I can be! I really enjoy it when other people do this; I find such great stuff. I’m hoping to pass some of the love on.

As always, thank you for taking the time to be here, and I hope it’s a beautiful day. Cheers.

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:00:07 -0700

Excellent information about Safe Mode for Mac users, including what it is and when to use it.

Howard’s website is a wealth of information and apps for understanding and diagnosing your Mac. Plus some great Art History lessons as well.

Setting Up A Mac Mini Home Server

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 09:54:36 -0700

I’ve always wanted one, but I knew I didn’t need one. Money/Time spent on something that you really don’t need. TailScale and how much I travel were the reasons I finally justified the purchase and took the time to set it up.

I purchased a low-end Mac mini, an HDMI dummy plug, and an external HD for Time Machine. Hardwire the Mac mini into your router. To start the headless operation, you need to plug in a screen, keyboard, and mouse initially. If you don’t have a spare screen lying around, you can use an iPad and the Orion App with a USB-C Capture Card. This is what I did, and it worked brilliantly. Set up sharing, enable screen sharing, and configure the power-saving options you want. I recommend turning off power saving and leaving it running all the time, as that’s its purpose. Turn on auto-login for the account you will use to manage it. If the mini restarts, you want it to log in automatically and start Plex and TailScale. You’re still protected, because you’ll set the screen saver to require the password immediately.

After that is set up, you can unplug your attachments and plug in the HDMI dummy plug so the mini thinks a screen is always attached. Head to your main computer, find the mini on your network, and screen share into it. You should never need to attach anything to it now. Keep things updated, and work on it using screen sharing from now on.

Numerous blogs, YouTube videos, and LLMs offer guidance on home server settings, so I won’t go into more detail.

I deleted the apps I didn’t want on the mini, logged into my Apple account, turned off cloud sync for desktop items, and installed Plex Server and TailScale. Plugged in a 4TB external HD for Time Machine and set that up.

I opened Plex, pointed it to my home NAS, and ensured it started automatically at login. TailScale setup can be a bit involved, and here is where I reached out to ChatGPT for some guidance: I wanted an Exit Node and Subnet for my home LAN. There is some command-line work here that was beyond my skill level.

Now, when I’m traveling, which is every week, whether I have my iPad, Mac, or iPhone, I activate TailScale, turn on the Exit Node for my mini. It’s just like I’m sitting at home. I’m protected as well, or better, than any commercial VPN, and I have access to any computer, NAS, router, or external HD on my home wifi network.

I can open Plex and watch live TV or media on my NAS. I was nothing short of frustrated with Plex Server running on my NAS. I had nothing but problems, and eventually just deleted it. But so far, Plex running on my mini has been rock-stable. I still prefer using Infuse for the front end to Plex. It just works.

The one area I have been unable to make work is printing to my home printers from the road. In theory, you can do this. I can make the printer print pages, but they’re blank. There is a communication error in the printer setup somehow. I found my printers on the home network, renamed them, and attached them in a Finder window. Tried to print, but it doesn’t work. I went into Printer settings on my home computer and added the printers by their IP addresses, trying every available communication protocol, but that didn’t work either. I can open a Note and print it, but it prints blank. I’ve tried every different setting, consulted ChatGPT, and no dice. I don’t see a reason ever to print anything at home from the road, but I wanted to know if I could make it work.

Another advantage of the mini server is an additional place to store user documents on your home network. If you’re uncomfortable having a document you’re working on in the cloud, save it to your mini with the security of Time Machine backing everything up. You could also set up a web server to run a website. The internet offers many options and ideas for your home server.

It was a fun process; I really enjoyed setting it up and tweaking things. My primary purpose and justification are the TailScale benefits; as much as I travel, having the ability to browse the internet safely and access my home LAN is peace of mind. So far on the road, I’ve had zero issues with performance or speed, doing all my internet needs through my home wifi.

To put a finer point on this Exit Node/Subnet feature, when you log into TailScale on your iPad, iPhone, Mac, any device, and then activate your home mini server Exit Node that is also setup to be a Subnet, your device thinks it’s on your home LAN, you can do a IP address lookup and you’ll show back at home. You have full access to everything on your home wifi. (Except maybe your printers) When you surf the internet, you are using your home wifi. Any website that cares where you are physically (I know some financial institutions won’t let you log in if you are out of the country) will think you are home. This can also come into play with some streaming services. The Exit Node gives you access to your home internet. The Subnet provides access to your home LAN. You can set up an Exit Node with or without a Subnet.

I’m no expert, and my terminology could be wrong in places; for that, I apologize. You networking experts will cringe at reading this (actually, no networking experts are reading my blog, ha!) Set up a home server and play with it; you’ll gain some good things.

If you have any questions, please post them below, and I’ll do my best to answer them. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Cliff Notes: The Good Stuff!

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:04:43 -0700

A smattering of useful things I’ve come across lately

Pu’erh Tuocha - a new Pu’erh tea that I’m really into right now. Dark, earthy, smooth, and organic. In very handy single-serving mini tea bricks, suitable for 2-3 infusions.

Origin Reserve Sampler - Pretty expensive treat, but if you really enjoy trying new teas, this is for you. I haven’t tried them all yet, but so far, they’re outstanding.

Luis Mendo Book: Mundo Mendo, Book One. - Luis is an artist based in Japan that I really enjoy. He has a new book out that I received in the mail today. Check out his work, you won’t be disappointed.

Classic Manual Bread Slicer - I suck at slicing bread. I thought I’d get better, but nope. Not getting better. In steps the Zassenhaus manual bread slicer. I highly recommend. Click the link, and you can see it in action. My wife was totally against it, thought it was a ridiculous purchase, then she used it a few times, and she’s a believer now.

Backdrop - The Mac Wallpaper Engine. I’ve been using this for a few weeks now and just love it. A very nice collection of live wallpapers and screen savers.

The New Yorker at 100 - I really enjoyed this film. A sneak peek behind the scenes on how they put together the magazine and its long, rich history. You can watch it on Netflix. Also see the New Yorker at 100 webpage.

Cliff Notes: Q4 Photography Update

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:11:07 -0700

I’m going to try to update my photography goings-on every few months or so, so I have a good look back on all things photography-related.

365Pixels

365Pixels is coming along nicely. I think I’ve found my groove in posting every day. Life still gets in the way and forces a missed day or two. I haven’t back-dated anything yet. I don’t think I want to go down that road; I’m still deciding.

I want it to be an actual daily photo blog, and if I miss, I miss. It should be noted as such. If I back-date, then I really didn’t post every day… There are no real rules to this, I’m just making stuff up as I go ; )

I thought about putting everything photography-related on the website, but I have decided against it. Cliff538 really needs to stay the central hub. I came very close to posting my daily photo on Cliff538, and, to be honest, I’m still not sure whether 365Pixels as a separate blog was the right choice.

Hardware

My travel/hiking/flight-bag camera has always been my Olympus OMD E-M1 Mark II. It’s small, lightweight, and performs magically in handheld low-light situations. I would really like to do more bird photography, and the latest OM-1 offers a big step up in focus tracking and frame-per-second shooting. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on it and have been very happy with it so far. I know it’s an old camera now and needs to be updated, but it’s a big step up in performance for me.

Not sure if I’m going to sell the OMD or keep it for bashing around in a backpack or something.

Really Right Stuff Modular L-Plate Set I’ve been using RRS L-Plates on my cameras for years, excellent quality stuff. Of course, my OMD plate doesn’t fit, so I had to get the one for the OM-1.

Picked up the Godox iT32 with X50 Flash Trigger. I’ve had a few practice sessions with it, and so far I’m really impressed. The magnetic hotshoe lets you mount it on a camera or take it off and hand-hold it wherever the flash needs to be. I’m going to get this for the Nikon as well.

Rolleiflex

My focus screen is so dark that I’ve essentially stopped using the camera because I struggle to see what I’m shooting and focus properly.

In steps BrightScreen. Where have you been all my life! I got a prompt reply from Rick about a few questions I had, and days later, I had my new screen with good instructions attached.

I replaced the screen in about 20 minutes, and most of that time was spent cleaning while the hood and focus screen were off. It’s like a new camera! A very bright, clear, focus screen. I’m in love again.

If you have a dim focus screen, please don’t wait any longer and look at BrightScreens. They have screens for over 50 different camera models.

Stray Pixels

I’m told the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries don’t leak. I don’t know how many electronics I’ve ruined by accidentally leaving the batteries in and having them leak their acid into the inner electronics.

No more cans of compressed air to clean equipment: Wolfbox MF50 electric air duster saves the day. I love this thing!

The Find Lab I’ve read many good reviews and will be using their services soon. I’ll let you know what I find out with film purchases, developing, and negative scanning.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Space Travel Posters

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:09:41 -0700

Pretty cool space travel posters/wallpapers from NASA:

Notes from the series "The Eightfold Path".

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 17:44:36 -0700

I’m a daily user of the meditation app Waking Up. I’m not a Buddhist, but I love many of their teachings. Along with daily meditation, this makes me a better person and gives me freedom from ruminating on my thoughts.

I listen to many talks from Joseph Goldstein and usually take the time to make notes. I started a new series within the App called The Eightfold Path, which is hosted by Dan Harris, Joseph Goldstein, and Sam Harris. The first talk was approximately two hours long, and I listened to it once through uninterrupted, then returned a second time with the purpose of taking notes.

I thought I’d post my notes from the first talk. Perhaps this will pique your interest enough to want to listen to the entire series, or maybe even try meditation. It has changed my life.

“The Eightfold Path”

Dan Harris, Joseph Goldstein, & Sam Harris on the Waking Up App.

Day 1 - The Right View

Someone asked the Buddha, Are there still enlightened beings in the world? As long as people are practicing the Eightfold path, there will be enlightened beings in the world.

Enlightened, awakened: The uprooting of greed, hatred, and delusion.

Assess your practice, are you suffering less or more?

Generosity, Love, and Wisdom are causes of greater happiness.

Dukkha:

The Pali word is usually translated as suffering, but Joseph likes the inevitability of unwanted experiences. And why the inevitability? because everything is unstable, everything is continually changing. Things are becoming otherwise.

The monkey trap:

Hunters will hollow out a coconut and make a small hole, just big enough for a monkey to put his empty hand through. Inside is a sweet, tempting treat. The monkey slides his hand through and grabs the treat, but is unable to remove his hand while holding the treat. The hunter is approaching, and the monkey is trapped. Unable to remove his hand. It is the rare monkey that can “let go” and remove its hand. Because of the force, the habit, the deeply conditioned habit of grasping to what is pleasant, holding on.

You get to the edge of your comfort/discomfort:

Level of discomfort, painful emotion, you get to the edge, the goal of practice is not to avoid that, it’s a benefit that the practice leads you to this place. You can learn how to relax into whatever that experience might be without holding onto it or pushing it away. You are seeing the impermanence of the discomfort, the emotion, so your comfort zone gets a little bigger. With more practice, over the years, you are enlarging your comfort zone, ultimately to the place where you have no edges. So, whatever arises, the mind is relating to it from a place of greater freedom.

Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Plasma, Gas, Liquid, Solid.

The Two Arrows:

The first arrow is the pain. The second arrow is all the mental suffering you might add to the physical pain. The Buddha points out that it’s the second arrow that we can work with. How we relate to it is up to us.

Letting Go:

It’s not the best phrase, but using the phrase “Letting Be” is much better. If something is painful, you’re not holding onto it; you don’t want it. Letting Be is a better description. Let it be, watch it change, watch it go away.

Preferences:

It’s not, not having preferences. It’s not being attached to the preference. You’ve been planning the buffet all day long, craving sweet buns, and you get to the buffet and they are out of sweet buns. Ideally, this would not cause a ripple in thought, nor cause suffering. To hold what is pleasant and unpleasant with equanimity.

Buddha would visit the sick:

I hope your pain is diminishing, but the patient would say No, it’s getting worse. The Buddha would say, Though your body is afflicted, may your mind remain unafflicted.

Mental Suffering:

Our thoughts on the past, present, and future bring the most suffering. The real promise of meditation is that, though the first arrow of physical pain is inevitable, the second arrow of mental suffering in all its forms, certainly your suffering of thoughts of the past, present, and future, is something that you can wake up from.

The Buddha said mental suffering is worse than physical suffering. The teachings of the Buddha are how to free ourselves from that mental suffering.

First Step of the Eightfold Path is Right View:

One expression of wrong view is: it’s the feeling or experience of, I’m happy, or I’m sad, I’m afraid, I’m bored, etc. This is the common way we interpret our experience. The wrong view aspect is the claiming of that mind state to be the self, to be I. Which is so deeply embedded into our conditioning. So the relief from that suffering is to be mindful enough, aware enough, of the emotions themselves as being impersonal.

One Tibetan teaching says, Thoughts and emotions wander through the mind like clouds in the sky, no roots, no home. What we can do is to root those emotions in the view of self, and that is what is problematic. Our practice of meditation is to see the emotions, the thoughts, for what they are: moving, always changing, passing by. Do not root them into the ground, into your mind as yours, as I.

Right View sets the direction of your path.

The first level of Right View is sometimes called Mundane Right View. It has to do with the right view for developing greater ease and happiness in our lives. How do we live wisely in a way that reduces suffering, creates more ease, aligns us, and puts us in harmony with the way things are?

The understanding that our actions have consequences. The Law of Karma. All of our actions will bear fruit at some point, depending on the motivation associated with the action.

When we act motivated by greed or anger, motivated by delusion, that is like planting the Karmic seed of some future unwanted experience. On the other hand, when we act motivated by generosity or love, by understanding or wisdom, that is planting the seed of some future desirable experiences.

When we act, it’s usually without thinking about where this act is coming from, what the Karmic consequences would be. Without taking the time to consider our motivations. Where is this act coming from, where is it leading, and do I want to go where it’s leading?

Which feels better, being happy and kind and loving, or being angry and upset? Which person do other people want to be around? It’s so simple and so powerful.

In the texts, it emphasizes the value of generosity, a behavior to cultivate, not just because it feels good in the moment but because it has very good Karmic consequences.

Make generosity a practice.

On the spiritual path, time is not a factor. We, especially in the West, want results now; we don’t want to wait. The spiritual path takes time, and time is not a factor if we are on the right path, going in the right direction.

Deep Dive into talking about belief in the deeper parts of Buddhism, like rebirth and Karma:

The willing suspension of disbelief. We can be attached to our disbeliefs as strongly as our beliefs.

Saying “I don’t know” is very different than saying “It’s not true”.

Be open to the possibility.

Sam references Pascal’s Wager in relation to belief in rebirth.

Pascal’s Wager:

Pascal argued that when it comes to belief in God, we face a kind of wager or bet:

If God exists and you believe → you gain infinite reward (eternal life).
If God exists and you don’t believe → you risk infinite loss (eternal punishment or loss of salvation).
If God does not exist and you believe → you lose little or nothing (maybe some worldly pleasures).
If God does not exist and you don’t believe → you gain little or nothing.

So, from a practical, risk–reward perspective, believing in God is the “better bet,” because the potential gains outweigh the potential losses.

Joseph had a teacher who said, “You don’t have to believe it to become enlightened; it’s true, but you don’t have to believe it.”

Dan’s summary of Mundane Right View:

Understanding that actions have results or consequences. 
Understanding that awakening is possible.
The root of suffering is craving. 
Joseph adds, selflessness or non-self.

We don’t invite our thoughts to come; you can, but most of your thoughts come uninvited.

One technique is to treat your thoughts that pop into your head as if they are coming from the person next to you. It can help you not identify with them.

As the thought is there, ask the question, What is a thought? Not what the thought is saying. But what the thought is as a phenomenon. You’ll find that it’s not much. You are taking the power away from the thought. You can get angry, or jealous, or have a very strong emotion over a little, small thought. Take that power away. Look at what that thought is. The empty nature of thought.

Impermanence, Dukkha, and Selflessness.

Mundane Right View: Day-to-day right view, conditional, conventional, what are the actual ways of producing ordinary states of happiness. Super Mundane Right View: Transcending all the Mundane Right View and waking up

In Sam’s view, the most astounding quality of the mind:

Unexamined thoughts are everything, and examined thoughts are nothing.

There is almost no tradition in the West of philosophy or psychology that even acknowledges that fact.

We are completely in our stories.

Three stages of Tibetan self liberation:

Writing on water: as soon as you write it, it vanishes.
The knotted snake unties itself.
Thieves entering an empty house.

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 12:27:36 -0700

📚 WSJ - 15 Books We Read This Week.

Gift Article

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/15-books-we-read-this-week-51973894?st=vBaQtt&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 12:21:40 -0700

📚 In reference to finding great new books to read, here is some help from the Atlantic:

Gift Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2025/07/one-book-everyone-recommends/683582/?gift=-eLYw90o90IZjS23Qvwmd883CDjEY5AwzeSEzDThiWk

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 11:43:56 -0700

I learned about this website from Ed Young’s Newsletter. I think everyone in the U.S. needs to see it.

About The Website Unbreaking:

The United States is experiencing institutional collapse at a speed and scale that are difficult to understand, especially through feeds and updates that atomize our attention. We believe that mapping the damage done and its human costs—and the pushback and resilience work already underway—is necessary groundwork for building and retaining political agency.

https://unbreaking.org

Koofr and pCloud

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 18:28:46 -0700

Well, I’m uploading 2TB of photos to Koofr, so far, so good.

I’m new to them, and setting everything up has been straightforward so far.

I also signed up with pCloud and set it up, but I haven’t used it much yet. I can say I prefer pCloud’s interface, which looks and feels better to me.

After using both, I’ll let you know the pros and cons.

#koofr

#pcloud

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 14:26:27 -0700

Through a newspaper article, I learned about Hiroshi Yoshimura and his Ambient (Sound Design) music. It’s really nice background music to have playing. I’ve listened to three albums now, and “Surround” is my favorite.

music.apple.com/us/album/…

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 08:20:34 -0700

I have Tailscale up and running on the Synology NAS. There is very good step-by-step instruction here. It’s pretty cool to be able to use the Sharesheet and send whatever you need to it from any device.

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 08:05:08 -0700

PSA: Tomorrow is the cutoff to download your Amazon books. How To Do Stuff walks you through step by step how to do it with automation. Easy Peazy.

youtu.be/A4nRGFUCl…

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:17 -0700

I did 1,157 books the old fashioned way, with lots and lots and lots of clicking. Don’t be like me, be smart. Follow this 👇

‘How to bulk download Kindle files, while you can’ 🔗 Jason Snell / sixcolors.com

Bringing a Little Joy Into My Day and Weekly Planning

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 15:22:31 -0700

There are endless blog posts about the latest to-do apps and systems. My goal is not to proclaim from the rooftops that I’ve found the secret to daily planning success but to share some thoughts on a few options that I have found very rewarding.

I have a constant struggle with Analog vs Digital; it perturbs me how much I think about this. I’ve given up worrying about which type of system it is, and I do what feels right and what keeps me on track. And, if that system brings a little joy to the process, even better.

I’ve been a Things app user for years now and love it. It’s quick and easy on all my devices and syncs well. It’s always on my desktop at home as a gentle reminder to keep me on track for the day. My problem with it is planning my week or my day. Things is an ever-growing constant list that mostly sits stagnant, and I have little interaction with it on a daily basis. I’ve tried building my day in calendar apps, and that works, but they don’t stay open. I close them at some point, and the day aimlessly drifts off down rabbit holes. One requirement I’ve found is that the day planner must always be visible.

When planning my week and day, I was missing something and wasn’t staying on track throughout the day. It’s all there in Things, but I don’t have any draw to it; I can’t touch it or grab it and alter it. I’m primarily digital, but I need/crave some pen and paper touch—not too much, though; I’ve tried paper journaling, and that’s too much. I love journaling in DayOne.

Enter Ugmonk. First, this is not a cheap system upfront, but by the time you read this, they will have a much more affordable metal version for sale (launching February 19th, 2025), which has been much needed. Also, this system is not complex; you could easily make your own with some woodworking skills or a 3D printer and 3x5 cards. The cost for me is worth it; it brings me a little joy, it looks great sitting on the desk, and I’ve stayed on track better throughout the day.

I’ve been using the system for over a month and love it. I’m still not sold on using the weekly and daily views together, but for now, it’s both. It comes down to how your brain works and what you need to see. I’m a person with an odd job. I’m away from home for 3 to 4 days a week. So, when I’m home, I need to see what is left of my week and what I want to accomplish that day. I never know what day of the week or day of the month it is; it just doesn’t matter to me. I have large calendar widgets on all my devices to help me remember. All I want to know, what I need to know, is how many days off I have until I go back to work and what I want to get done on those days.

I use the weekly card for this. On my first day off, I grab a fresh card and my favorite pen and map out my week in broad strokes; it sits on my desk, so I’m constantly reminded. Then, each day, I formulate a plan with the daily card.

There is something special about grabbing that thick, beautiful paper and writing on it with your favorite pen. It gives substance to the plan; it sinks it just a little bit deeper into memory by writing it out. It makes me smile; it brings just a little joy, and I like that. Plus, I always have paper to quickly grab to make quick notes using the backside of the weekly or daily card. When done with the day or the week, I can store them away, or I’ve been using them for bookmarks.

As an option to this analog version, I just learned about Tweek. I’ve used this alongside my Ugmonk/Things system just for testing. I think Tweek is really cool; I wish I had come up with it. If I ever want to drop Ugmonk, I’d go with Tweek. They have full function under their free plan, so you can test it to see if it fits into your world. But it’s sterile for me; I need some analog, I need to touch some nice paper, and I need to use my favorite pen. I need that little piece of joy to start my day, the constant visual reminder, and that satisfaction of marking off an item with my Sharpie.

I hope some of this helps you with your task list. Thank you, as always, for visiting my little piece of the web. Cheers!

Things

Ugmonk

tweek.so

KIWIX - A User Report

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 10:15:43 -0700

I’ve seen this posted about Mastodon a lot, and then @amerpie posted about it yesterday, and I thought, why the heck not? Let’s check it out; I’ve got some time to kill.

So, yeah, this KIWIX is really cool. I’m not a Super Bowl kind of guy, so I downloaded Kiwix and then proceeded to download the entire Wikipedia, then iFixit, then Gutenberg. Sheesh, why not? I have a Synology with ample space, so why not lock some of this stuff in and have it on local storage?

If you read some of the reviews on Kiwix, you’d think it doesn’t work well, but I’ve had zero issues with it; I’m using the Mac App. So now I’m a downloading fool, gathering what I can for no apparent reason other than because I can…

Here is their Library of downloads. Check it out and see if there is anything you may want to have stored locally.

Some of the files are huge, so good storage capacity is a must, but they have tons of different download options if you are interested in just sections of, say, Wikipedia.

You can even run a local Wi-Fi network from a Raspberry Pi with all your downloaded data. This would be great for classrooms, but I may do this just for the fun of it.

It’s good to have it stored locally, but clearly, the mission is for folks who have limited or no internet access. It’s free to use and looks like a worthy endeavor to support with your skills or finances.

Here is their About Page. Some pretty cool stuff here, like:

The Short Story Did you know that you could store the entirety of Wikipedia on your phone? And read it anywhere, at anytime?

The Long Story We can make highly compressed copies of entire websites that each fit into a single (.zim) file. Zim files are small enough that they can be stored on users’ mobile phones, computers or small, inexpensive Hotspot.

Kiwix then acts like a regular browser, except that it reads these local copies. People with no or limited internet access can enjoy the same browsing experience as anyone else.

The software as well as the content are fully open-source and free to use and share.

The Challenge
50% of the world’s population has no reliable access to the internet. This can be because of cost, lack of infrastructure, or censorship.

The Solution – How Does It Work?
We copy educational websites and compress them into files that people can take with them and browse anytime, anywhere. Kiwix Is Also A Nonprofit Most of our revenue comes from donations. We do not display ads, nor do we collect personal data.

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 15:35:31 -0700

Carl Griffith’s 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter

Want a Sourdough Starter that’s been active since 1847? I can’t verify that the offer is still active, but we did it several years ago. Follow the directions exactly, or they won’t send it to you.

‘Source’ 🔗 Griffith / carlsfriends.net

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 07:56:07 -0700

‘Create an external bootable disk for Apple silicon and Intel Macs’ 🔗 Hoakley / eclecticlight.co

Digital Sovereignty - Own Your Content Reason Number 429

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:01:33 -0700

I used to write/publish photo stories at Exposure.co. It’s a nice website, and it’s a great place to see other people’s work, but it locks your content and locks you into paying every year to have access to your content. I’ve had a good engagement over there. I only have four stories there, but they each have 33,000+ views, which is a lot for my work. With that being said, I don’t do the things that I do for views, clicks, or money.

I’ve been moving my digital life to cliff538.com and have downloaded my data for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Today, I focused on Exposure. How much does it cost a year? Can I download my stories? Do I want this anymore? Keep or delete.

Over the years at Exposure I’ve been paying $99/year, the lowest tier now is $149/year. I decided to export my content and move it to cliff538.com. Well, guess what, you can’t. The only export option is a PDF, only if you pay for Pro Plus, which is $319/year. If I want to export PDFs of my photo stories, I’ll have to upgrade my account, download the PDFs, and close my account. But, they throw in some nice warnings; if your stories are over a specific size, you have to be on the business plan at $999/year to export your PDFs. Two, they warn you that the PDFs may not even look good due to pagination issues and that they are working on it.

PDF exports don’t help me much because I need to build a web page to recreate my photo stories. This makes me unhappy and reinforces why I’m making this move. Own your content, control where it is, and have full backups. Don’t be locked into price increases, a lack of export options, or business failures.

So what to do? Well, I’m stuck; luckily, there are only four medium-sized stories. I have all the photos; I used Obsidian Web Clipper to clip the pages, which gives me the text between the pictures. Reimagining the stories into web pages for my blog will be time-consuming, but the beauty is that it will be the last time. I’ll control how it looks and where it lives.

I thought about just deleting it but the stories really do have meaning for me. They are from a different time in my life. I wouldnt write the stories the same way today or use the same pictures (some of the HDR makes me cringe) but back then I did, and sometimes it’s good to see where you came from.

Note: below, you will read A.I. taking a crack at giving you reasons and risks. It’s polished, clean, and well done, but it feels soulless and generic, like reading a technical manual. I may be a lousy writer, but at least it’s real; it tells my story. I’m leaving the A.I. stuff just because it’s good info, a little novel, and maybe just a little bit for posterity.

(warning A.I. written text below)

The Risks of Relying on Third-Party Platforms

If you’re publishing your work exclusively on platforms like Instagram, Medium, or Facebook, you’re playing by someone else’s rules. While these platforms provide convenience and exposure, they come with significant risks:

Platform Dependency: What happens if the platform changes its algorithm, shutters its services, or bans your account? In 2024 alone, over 60% of creators reported revenue losses due to algorithm changes.
Monetization Barriers: Platforms often take a significant cut of your earnings. For instance, YouTube takes up to 45% of ad revenue, and Instagram’s monetization options are pay-to-play.
Data Ownership: The data you’re generating—your audience insights, contact lists, and engagement metrics—belongs to the platform, not you. They profit from it while you’re left in the dark.
Censorship and Restrictions: Platforms can impose restrictions on what you publish, often limiting creativity and expression. If your content doesn’t align with their guidelines, it can be removed or suppressed.

The Benefits of Owning Your Platform

By running your blog or website, you remove the middleman and take full control of your content and audience. Here’s what you gain: 1. **Full Creative Control**: Publish what you want, how you want, without fear of censorship. 2. **Data Ownership**: Collect and control your audience data directly, enabling better relationships and monetization strategies. 3. **Longevity**: Platforms come and go, but your self-hosted blog can remain online indefinitely, ensuring your creations outlive any trend or corporate decision. 4. **Custom Branding**: Unlike third-party platforms, your blog reflects your unique identity, free from distracting ads or conflicting branding.

Debunking the Technical Barrier Myth

Many creators hesitate to start their blog because they fear it’s too technical or expensive. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Modern tools like WordPress, Hugo, and Micro.blog make self-hosting more accessible than ever. Here’s a simple roadmap to get started: 1. **Buy a Domain**: Use a registrar like Hover.com to purchase a custom domain for as little as $10/year. 2. **Choose a Hosting Platform**: Services like SiteGround, Micro.blog, or Netlify offer affordable options. 3. **Start Writing**: With pre-built templates and easy-to-use tools, you can be up and running in a matter of hours.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

The shift toward self-hosting is gaining momentum: - **45% of creators** plan to invest in self-hosted platforms by 2026. - **70% of internet users** express concerns about how platforms handle their data. - **Domain registrations for personal websites** rose by 30% in 2023.

Call to Action: Own Your Digital Future

Owning your content isn’t just about control; it’s about building a digital future that belongs to you. Stop renting your ideas on platforms that profit from your creativity. Start your own blog today, and take the first step toward true creative independence.

Here are some resources to get started:

Your creations deserve a permanent home. Give them one.

Where Do You find Books To Read

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 21:37:14 -0700

This has been a struggle for me in the past. I often found myself running out of books and searching for something new to read, which led me to browse bookstores. Each visit is a wonderful experience; independent shops have a unique charm, often showcasing local authors, and the smell of books is irreplaceable. However, there were times when I left empty-handed, without anything that sparked my interest.

To tackle this, having a collection of online tools for discovering books is essential. Here are some ideas that may inspire you.

Now, I face a new challenge: a to-read list that keeps expanding, which is, in fact, a wonderful problem to have. I used to feel overwhelmed by this, but I’ve learned to embrace the reality that countless books will always remain out of reach. That’s why it’s so important to focus on reading what you love. Don’t linger on a book that feels just okay; there are countless extraordinary stories waiting for you. And don’t let that ever-growing pile of unread books weigh you down; it’s always there with your next book!

I will continue to add to this list with your suggestions and any helpful resources I come across. Please email or comment with your favorites, and I’ll include them.

Updated March 18, 2026 from Somewhere in Arizona

Major Platforms

Five Books - They ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview. This site has an archive of more than 1700 interviews and 8000 book recommendations. They publish at least two new interviews per week.

The Millions - A great online publication devoted to books. Check out The Great Fall 2024 Book Preview as a good place to start.

NYT book reviews

100 Best Books of the 21st Century - NYT Gift Article

The Best Books of 2024 - The New Yorker

Atlantic book reviews

NYR Of Books - The New York Review Magazine is over my head and usually out of my wheelhouse, yet I still enjoy it and find it helpful. Although I usually read only one or two articles, the ads are mostly for books, and it’s been a great place to find new books I would never have ordinarily seen.

Washington Post book reviews

New Books To Read in 2025 - Penguin Random House. It also has a good weekly newsletter about their books.

Red Pen Reviews - Expert nutrition book reviews that sort fact from fiction

GoodReads - Amazon company

StoryGraph - A fully-featured Amazon-free alternative to Goodreads

Rakuten Kobo - For about a year now, I’ve stopped using Amazon and Kindle for my ebooks. Kobo has been a great replacement. They have a great book selection, and while still a little rough in areas, the Kobo reading app for iPhone and iPad has been good enough. I hope they continue to polish it. I haven’t tried any of their e-readers, as the iPhone/iPad apps are enough for me. I’ve heard really good things about them on Reddit.

Personal Sites & Blogs

Derek Silvers - He does a good job blogging about the books he’s read.

Trey Hunner - Has a great 2024 recap on his books and audiobooks.

The Library of Alexandra - I just found this via microblog and am looking forward to exploring it.

Robert Breen - Excellent book reviews

For myself, this is just Mastodon and the newly found Micro.blog. After you acquire a group of people you enjoy following, it can be a great place to see what they are reading and why.

Micro.blog - Really is amazing for book ideas and reviews. In your Discovery feed, you can filter by books to see what everyone is reading and their reviews. I’m new to it, but it looks like a gold mine!

Podcasts

It’s a great place to hear interviews with authors, or you can search your podcast player for book review podcasts.

If Books Could Kill - I haven’t listened to many of them, so I’m unfamiliar with their general theme and structure, but it might be worth checking out.

Friends and Family

I reached out to a small group of friends and said, “Let’s have a texting group where we text about the books we’ve enjoyed and recommend.” This has been an excellent source.

Community Driven

Literature Map - Type in an author, and it will show you other similar authors.

Recommend Me A Book

BookWyrm - BookWyrm is a social network for tracking your reading, discussing books, writing reviews, and discovering what to read next. Federation allows BookWyrm users to join small, trusted communities that can connect with one another and with other ActivityPub services like Mastodon.

Library Thing - A Home For Your Books, LibraryThing is a free, library-quality catalog to track reading progress or your whole library.

What Should I Read Next - Enter a book you like, and the site will analyze the huge database of real readers' favorite books to provide book recommendations and suggestions for what to read next.

r/books - Reddit

Literal* - Track what you’re reading, follow friends, and join clubs to collectively explore the ideas of the world’s greatest authors. I don’t use this site because the same features are built into Micro Blog, but it looks excellent for tracking your lists: Currently Reading, To Read, and Read, making custom Bookshelves, and reading other people’s book reviews. If I didn’t have Micro Blog, I’d be here.

Library Tools

OverDrive/Libby - Free ebooks, audiobooks & magazines from your local library.
You only need a public library card or access through your workplace or university. Always free - no fees or subscriptions.

Free EBook Sources

Standard EBooks - Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven effort to produce a collection of high-quality, carefully formatted, accessible, open-source, and free public domain ebooks that meet or exceed the quality of commercially produced ebooks. The text and cover art in our ebooks are already believed to be in the U.S. public domain, and Standard Ebooks dedicates its own work to the public domain, thus releasing the entirety of each ebook file into the public domain. All the ebooks we produce are distributed free of cost and free of U.S. copyright restrictions.

Soon, you’ll have a huge To-Read Pile!

resources on Cliff538

📚 Twentieth-Century Color Photographs - Identification and Care

Beam Paints - M’Chigeeng First Nation Company on Manitoulin Island

Denoise: LightRoom vs DxO PureRAW 5

The Good Stuff - March 2026

A smattering of useful things I’ve come across this month

The Good Stuff - January 2026

A smattering of useful things I’ve come across this month

Setting Up A Mac Mini Home Server

Cliff Notes: The Good Stuff!

Cliff Notes: Q4 Photography Update

365Pixels

Hardware

Rolleiflex

Stray Pixels

Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Space Travel Posters

Notes from the series "The Eightfold Path".

“The Eightfold Path”

Day 1 - The Right View

Dukkha:

The monkey trap:

You get to the edge of your comfort/discomfort:

The Two Arrows:

Letting Go:

Preferences:

Buddha would visit the sick:

Mental Suffering:

First Step of the Eightfold Path is Right View:

Deep Dive into talking about belief in the deeper parts of Buddhism, like rebirth and Karma:

Pascal’s Wager:

Dan’s summary of Mundane Right View:

In Sam’s view, the most astounding quality of the mind:

Koofr and pCloud

Bringing a Little Joy Into My Day and Weekly Planning

KIWIX - A User Report

Carl Griffith’s 1847 Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter

Digital Sovereignty - Own Your Content Reason Number 429

The Risks of Relying on Third-Party Platforms

The Benefits of Owning Your Platform

Debunking the Technical Barrier Myth

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Call to Action: Own Your Digital Future

Where Do You find Books To Read

Major Platforms

Personal Sites & Blogs

Social Media

Podcasts

Friends and Family

Community Driven

Library Tools

Free EBook Sources