2026-03-01 16:27:27
"The End" by The Doors
What song makes you feel like you're in a dream?
If Jim Morrison hadn't been so damn pretty, he'd be better remembered for the true poet that he was than just another 60s rock star. This is truly one of the sings of my life and one I've loved for more than 40 years.
2026-02-28 18:38:43
When you're faced with text that you can't select in the conventional
way on your Mac (meaning with the cursor), there are several options.
They all work in slightly different ways, and I use the one most
appropriate for the task.
The operating system has a feature called Live Text Recognition , an on-device computer vision feature that detects and extracts text from images and video so you can interact with it like normal text.
It uses Apple’s Neural Engine to perform optical character recognition; OCR, directly on your Mac. That means you can:
The key idea is this: pixels become selectable characters without sending your data to the cloud. It quietly turns static images into searchable, actionable information.
My go to choice is Cleanshot X, mainly because it's always running on my Mac anyway. Live Text Recognition requires you to open an image in an app like Preview first. Cleanshot X let's you select any region and get text immediately. The downside is that Cleanshot X is a paid app.
There is a Raycast extension called Easy OCR that combines the features of Live Text Recognition and Cleanshot X. After you invoke it, Easy OCR can be used on an image you've already captured, the clipboard or an area you select on screen. Just search for it in the Raycast Store.
(Free)
Even if you have the tools previously mentioned, there should still be room in your toolbox for TextSniper, an OCR app for YouTube videos, PDFs, images, online courses, screencasts, presentations, webpages, video tutorials, photos, etc. Like Cleanshot X, you don't have to make screen captures and open them in Preview to grab text. In my experience it works better than alternatives like PDF Pen, Adobe products, Google Docs etc. As long as you can draw a rectangle around the text, it doesn't matter if it's rotating, angled or shadowed.
Unique Features
Text Sniper is currently on sale for $2. That should be a no brainer. It is also available as part of SetApp.
OCRmyPDF is an open-source command-line tool that adds a text layer to scanned PDFs while keeping the image intact. It creates searchable PDF/A output. You can use it via this Apple Shortcut..
2026-02-28 17:49:12
"Leaving On a Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul & Mary
A song that reminds you of your last vacation or holiday.
2026-02-28 01:00:00
I have tried a variety of notch apps, and I haven't been truly happy with any of them. I am not sure whether the novelty of the interface is the problem, or if it's the design of the apps I've used that bothers me. I recently installed Droppy, an app built entirely with Swift for speed and stability, and I like it more than the other notch apps I've used. I don't say this lightly, but it could be the best $7 you ever spend on software.
It isn't overloaded with superfluous features, and the features it does have can be toggled on and off easily. It also seems very stable--I haven't encountered any bugs so far.
Depending on which features you enable, Droppy can replace several categories of single-purpose apps:
Droppy's architecture allows you to add or remove features through extensions. This keeps the bloat down. You won't be faced with menu options for Spotify or Alfred if, like me, you don't use either of those products. The currently available extensions include:
I tried Notchnook shortly after it came out, and it felt more like a minimally viable product than a finished app--despite its $25 price tag. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
My second choice in this category is Dynamic Lake Pro, which sells for $15.90 on Gumroad. It has a couple of features Droppy doesn't, such as a weather and calendar HUD and notification support. It's updated frequently, and the developer is very responsive to bug reports and user questions.
The developer of Droppy was recently subjected to a concerted campaign of disparagement by a competitor that involved brigading and a lot of Reddit style drama. That's unfortunate but he handled it with grace and class. If you have questions, here is a good explainer.
2026-02-27 21:16:51
MacPilot, a customization and utility app from Koingo Software, normally sells for $29.95 but it is currently $3.99 on Bundlehunt. There are similar apps like Onyx and Tinker Tool out there that are free, but for the price I thought I'd take a look.
Mac Pilot contains settings for several system apps. Here are just of the few things it can control.
Gives info and lets you perform maintenance on individual partitions
Detailed file information and settings
In addition there is a section for getting more information and doing some optimization but it requires disabling System Integrity Protection and I did not explore that.
The final potentially helpful tool is one that strips out the files from binaries for either Intel or ARM processors if you are running low in disk space and want to eliminate things you don't need. I'd make damn sure I had a good backup before using that.
I would also stay away from disabling SIP (System Integrity Protection) to use any of the features if you are working on your daily driver or a Mac with access to sensitive features.
2026-02-27 18:36:33
"Guantanamera" by Pete Seeger
A song in a language that you don't know.
Guantanamera is a Cuban patriotic song with lyrics from a poem by the Cuban poet José Martí. It is an expression of love for Cuba and of solidarity with the poor people of the world.
