Hi Reader 👋 -
Earlier this week was the school science fair. My 5th grade and kindergartener both participated (one of them dyed eggs and the other one researched quantum physics — I'll let you guess which was which).
My 5th grader will be off to middle school next year so this was his last science fair. I also have an older child so we've been doing the science fair since 2016. Even though we have several years left with the youngest, it made me realize that there will someday be an end to this annual event. No more school science fair.
1) Reflection:
Over the past few weeks, I stopped posting on Twitter.
This moment has been on the back of my mind for months. Twitter was a hub for writers and journalists. It was my news feed. I've connected to people through Twitter.
But more and more, it felt like a space that was subject to Elon Musk's whims (like the brief fight with Substack). NPR left. Microsoft won't pay for Twitter's API. The writing is on the wall, so I started thinking about life without Twitter.
I am using Artifact for my news feed. And been playing around with Substack Notes. There are times when my fingers instinctively move to the spot where the Twitter app used to sit on the home screen of my phone. But then I remember that it's not the same Twitter I once enjoyed.
2) Product:
Ever have a moment when you're scrolling through a feed, see an article, and think "I want to read that, but not right now." And then it's impossible to find again.
Sure, you can bookmark in your browser or the app or whatever, but then you end up with bookmarks alllll over the place.
I use an app called Pocket to save links. You can save from a browser or mobile and even save things like a specific LinkedIn post or Tweet (if you're still on Twitter). I'll also save things like an e-commerce product I may want to buy later.
I use Tags to categorize my Saves so that I can find them later. And once I've read an article I've saved in Pocket, I archive it.
3) Tip:
Yes, I've received the memo that my time with my kids is short. I believe it. My oldest is already a teenager.
I take countless photos with my phone. A tip I got from a friend years ago is to print out new pics every month. Admittedly, I don't do this monthly, but I swap out photos pretty regularly. It only costs a few dollars to print at a place like Walgreens or similar.
School pictures and the like always show a drastic change in the kids from year to year. The more regular swap out is so different. Plus I like to choose "action shots" of the kids doing something they love rather than a formal photo.
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That's it for this issue of Tinkering! See you again in two weeks.
Cheers,
Anna Burgess Yang
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