Chris J Wilson

I’m interested in getting a new iPad (eventually) and I’ve heard a few interesting rumours about the next iPad updates (But I’m not following religiously). But, here’s my take on where the product lines should go.

These are not what I expect Apple will do, but I what I believe would be a good, clear delineation and attractive line up.

TLDR

• iPad mini is the small one
• iPad is the cheap, causal device
• iPad Air (change name to studio) is the Artists one
• iPad Pro is the future touch laptop replacement one.

iPad mini

This is the one iPad Apple has nailed. There are a few performance compromises over the larger ones, but it does a great job as a small reader iPad that you can also sketch on. You can even hook it up to a display if you really want.

Just keep on this track and you’re fine.

iPad

The iPad is doing…okay. It’s better now with the USB pencil avoiding that confusing usb to lightning cable and adaptor. It’s great as a first computing device with the folio keyboard or casual browsing device. Just give it a chip update and improve the screen refresh.

iPad Air (Studio)

The Air is the strange one at the moment. It’s a halfway house between the regular iPad and pro. Some of the compromises are just to make the pro more attractive, while it has some really impressive spec that make it almost as good. I suggest Apple makes this take the place of the current Pro in their line up, make it more for artists and designers, and call it the studio.

1. They don’t have to compromise and hold the Air back
2. Air is a strange name, it suggests lightweight but it’s more pro than the regular. Calling it the Studio helps fit with the mac naming system.
3. Artists/aspiring artists are a great market and keen users of the iPad. By tailoring this device for them, they can really hone in on what they need.

One other factor to mention, add a 13" size. That’s a bit plus for some artists.

But what about the pro? I’m glad you asked.

iPad Pro

The rumours for the iPad pro are that it will be a foldable device and gain even more power. That sounds really intriguing and could help push the pro more towards the hybrid laptop/tablet so many users want. But, will a foldable be great for the artists? How will it affect using a pencil on the screen? I have no idea but let’s imagine there are some compromises for the first couple of years. By elevating the air to the studio, you mitigate against those risks AND can still charge more for both devices (I’m pitching to Apple execs right now).

Plus this would allow the Pro to really stand out as a different device from in the line up.

And, if this is perfect for an Artist with no compromises from the folding of the screen, you can pitch this as a larger cintiq replacement too.

Final line up

• iPad Mini (7")
• iPad (11" ish)
• iPad Studio (11")
• iPad Studio (13")
• iPad Pro (7-14" foldable)
• iPad Pro (12 - 24" foldable)

Not perfect at all, but I’d certainly know what I’d buy next.

I love my iPad pro. It’s probably my favourite Apple device (although my m1 Macbook Air and iPhone are great too). But, do I have to stick with it?

For years, the iPad was the only choice of tablet.

Sure, Microsoft had some more powerful tablet-shaped laptops, but that’s what they were. Big heft laptops that could dress up (or down?) as a tablet if you really wanted (but no one would want to read an ebook on them for an extended time).

While there were several factors that kept me in the Apple ecosystem, the portability and battery life of the iPad was a big one (it was the perfect EFL teacher’s device) and Procreate made it more inevitable than Thanos.

But now I’m not a teacher and there a more than viable (and arguably far suprerior) alternative to procreate in Adobe Fresco (Concepts is great too but I’ve never quiet got on with it).

So what if I switched?

I’ve had a long term plan to replace my iPad after the screen got a white spot due to overheating. It still works, but obviously isn’t great for drawing (and it doesn’t harm that the new Pros have a better pencil, better support for external displays, new multitasking, and so on.

But, if I’m using Adobe fresco, maybe there’s a cheaper or better alternative? (I just did a quick check and it’s not looking great. Surface options look pricey and don’t have great battery life. Sure, it’s more of a computer when plugged in but I have other needs).

For a long time I’ve liked Apple as a company.

Their philosophy of devices that work well together, opinionated products and commitments to environmental causes have resonated with me. But their attitude to recent anti-monopoly regulations has left a bad taste in my mouth.

That said, Apple still does seem to align with my values (though I’m sure there are alternatives who do align more). And buying an Apple or alternative device so close to rumoured release dates for updates would be crazy — I don’t have the funds anyway!

In all likelihood I’ll still end up with an iPad. The combination with my Macbook is fantastic and it is probably the best tablet tablet for me around. But it’s not a guarantee.

I really enjoyed the Dr Who specials, but also didn’t really like some of the decisions like the reason for his old face and the bi-generation (which apparently was always a myth but isn’t explained at all. Shouldn’t he turn into two new people? Otherwise wouldn’t it be myxosis and he should be two of him. Also isn’t it amazing that David Tennent’s Doctor TWICE gets to go off and live a normal life. These kind of changes feel like rewriting the lore of who for no reason (okay it’s because ratings had plummeted and people love Tennent and so they now can keep him around for whenever, maybe a bonus one off adventure.

I loved the Toymaker and the Wide blue yonder was great (the clones who have all the same memories made it fantastic for the mystery of how do you tell them apart).

It was the first who I had seen in years (a fair part due to not being in the UK) and I don’t know. The new dr seems fun and if they keep it on Disney+ I will certainly give it a try.

I had checked the context of Psalm 91:11 for the Psalm, but not the whole Psalter. Psalms stand alone, right? Wrong, past-Chris. You know better than that. Psalm 91 is early in the fourth book, just after a Psalm of Moses for forgiveness for the golden calf (during the exile), the whole book has a theme of hope in YHWH as the kind of all creation. It is a response to the previous book’s messianic longing during the exile. Interesting that this is the book of the Psalter Jesus quotes from.

I started using the action button for the camera, but this is not the best choice. It’s fine for opening the camera (I quite like that), but as a shutter it doesn’t work (for me). I find I put my finger too close to the lens and so it can sneak into photos, especially when used one handed. Plus, it’s just not a comfortable position. It would be better if a) the volume down was the action button. b) it was under the power button on the other side c) Maybe on the bottom left hand corner or top right hand corner for two handed use? I think I’m going to switch to using it with a shortcut, maybe some sort of quick capture system.

This is one of my core values.

It’s a phrase taken from Football [^1] and means “debate the idea, not the person.”

On one level, this is a reminder not to fall down to ad hominem attacks, but it goes beyond that too. When we look at bad behaviour, we should consider the system that created the issue as well as calling out the behaviour, not the person.

This is one of the things we try as parents.

We don’t say “you’re being mean” or “you’re silly”, but “it’s not nice to…”. Of course, the other person might not notice the difference, particularly over topics their identities are tied to. But at least this option allows people to change.

When we play the ball, we have the option to discuss the issue, not ourselves.

Exceptions: abusers and repeat perpetrators

Of course, sometimes the behaviour needs to be specifically called out.

When someone abuses someone else, commits a crime or a great injustice, they need to be called out. Even in these situations, it’s still good to focus on the actions and showing how they are wrong rather than the person who perpetrated them. After all, some people can rush to defend an obvious corrupt government official just because he happens to be in their party affiliation.

Individuals as emblems of a system

A while back there was a professor who made a joke to point out the obvious discrimination against women in the sciences. It was clear satire to most of the attendees of the conference. One attendee, a journalist then denounced the professor on Twitter leading to his eventual dismissal. When the transcripts came out that showed his was joking and pointing to the ironies in his own life, many still attacked him.

He was an emblem of the problem.

That’s a dangerous stance. When we start to attack someone rather than the actions, we can infuse their actions with all sort of other beliefs. “They might not have said X, but this is exactly the kind of thing that leads to X.” So we’d had just better assume they believe or do X anyway.

Nonsense.

It’s okay to point out the slippery slope or common beliefs but that’s why we need to attack the broader issues (radicalisation, sexisim in science) rather than creating scapegoats to sacrifice.

While it might clean us of our sins, it doesn’t actually address the real problems.

[1]: sorry, Americans. “Soccer”. And yes, I know it was originally Associate football and widely called soccer in the UK till the early 90s. You know who doesn’t care, the rest of the world now.)

The internet is a game.

If you play it well, you get “internet points.”

Most of the time they are pointless, but if you collect enough of them, you can become “internet famous” and even earn some income because of them. For the most part, internet points just give us a sense of feeling good or “valued”.

How do you get internet points?

I’m glad you asked.

You get internet points for doing actions that the internet validates. It doesn’t have to be the whole internet, it can just be a small group, but the more validation you get, the more points you get.

If you put a post and no one reacts, that’s zero points for you.

But if you get 10 reactions, even if one attacks you, that’s 10 internet points.

So if you want to win the never-ending internet game, you need to start an arms war. What got you points yesterday won’t today. That controversial or “risky pick” that you made last year, you need to go far crazier this year.

Even if no one else is competing with you, you need to compete with your past self because just as the addict gets less of a kick from subsequent hits, so the internet machine needs greater and crazier content to doll out its points.

Just look at Mr Beasts.

As you can guess, this is a problem.

The internet game is changing what we think and how we act. A nuanced opinion or debate is “boring” (even if it’s accurate) but a snappy comeback is pure gold (even if obviously wrong). Getting in a quick reply for your side will win you far more internet points than reflecting, waiting and offering a true critique.

Some versions of the internet are worse for internet points. Platforms with likes, hearts and algorithmic suggestions will always promote the game. But there are slower forms of the internet where we can play a different game.

My kids know my dark secret.

I have an alternative, evil personality.

His name is “Grumpy daddy.”

I don’t turn green and suddenly rip my clothes when he emerges, but the personality shift isn’t that different. Instead of the peaceful and fun-loving father they expect, they have a grouch who just wants to be left a long.

I don’t like grumpy daddy, no one likes grumpy daddy, and yet he is a fixture of our house.

Just like Bruce Banner, I haven’t found a cure for my alternative personality, but I have found a trick that works well when I remember it.

Play grumpy

If I can put on a silly voice and give my reasons for being annoyed, I don’t transform into grumpy daddy.

It’s amazing how it works but I can instantly switch into a more appropriate mode. When the kids have done something wrong and we need to talk about it, I can talk about it sensibly AND THEY LISTEN! (I know!). And when it doesn’t really matter — most of the time — I can reveal how silly my grumpiness really is.

The only challenge…

Remember to make the jump isn’t easy.

When the red mist descends, the lizard brain wants me to react instantly. It wants me to escalate the tension, to give in and lose control. The adrenal makes it harder to have a cohesive thought let alone remember to be playful.

But I’ve had some success. And I’m writing this to remind me to do it more.

Thinking about this idea especially before a grumpy daddy situation arises can help, at least that’s what I’ve seen so far.

I hope this helps you and I’d love to know what already does help you.

There’s this common idea that “it’s the action/skill not the tools that matters.” As with all good pithy statements, it applies in most situations, it has a great deal of truth in it, but it is not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And so help me God I’ll prove it to you.

A few weeks back I put a new curtain rail up. To do so, I had to drill a couple of holes into our walls. The first was easy, but the second set was impossible. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t do it. In the end we borrowed a drill from a friend who does smart home installation.

It finished the job in seconds.

My skill didn’t matter, I needed the right tool.

Admittedly, if I didn’t know how to drill straight or what size drill bit I’d need then the right tool would make no difference (here’s that kernel of truth again). At the same time, even if one can achieve an outcome with any tool (such as making sweet sounding music on a “bad” guitar), it can be easier and far more enjoyable with a high-quality and correctly setup tool.

And when it is more enjoyable, you often want to do it more.

So investing in a good tool can lead to you improving your skills more than a bad tool.

Professional vs good tools

Professional tools don’t always meet this criteria.

They can be enjoyable to use and help beginners, but often a professional tool requires more skill than a beginners tool. If a beginner tries to pick up a pro level camera and just snap a picture, they may be confused by the controls and options causing them to accidentally set their auto focus point to a different subject.

In contrast a beginner tool might abstract the process too much and leave them to enjoy the process too little.

So while “cheap” usually means bad, expensive doesn’t always mean good and certainly not good for you.

The best tool, is the tool you’ll use

I believe this is what Chase Jarvis was getting at when he said “The best camera is the one you have with you.”

There might be a “superior” tool out there, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t have it with you or choose to use it. I still regret selling my fuji x100t, not because it was the best camera, but it was the camera I took the most photos with.

Yes, part of that was due to the quality and style of images it produced, but it was also the experience of shooting with it and its size and portability.

And while many people have this same experience with smartphones, I preferred a dedicated device that I didn’t have to worry about draining my battery with.

There are plenty of good reason not to buy new gear, but you shouldn’t not buy gear just because someone on the internet shamed you into thinking that the pros all could make. something better with rubbish gear.

It’s probably true. There was a great series on YouTube called ProTog Cheap camera which featured just that.

But those pros didn’t stick with their terrible cameras. They went back to the cameras they enjoyed using.

Find the tools you like and you use and enjoy them!

Yesterday I was stuck driving home behind a car who had the audacity to stick to the speed limit (I know. The nerve of it!).

At first I tried to spy moments to overtake and thought ahead to the prime spots on the road for overtaking. Then something changed. My perspective.

I realised I was in no rush. We were returning home after a bbq to celebrate my daughter’s birthday and practically the whole family was fed and having a nap. We had no pressing deadline to make.

Suddenly I realised this could be an invitation from God to practice patience and to slow down.

So I sat back in the driving seat, stopped straining my eyes ahead, and appreciated the time I had.

There are many moments like this every day which I pass over in my rush to Getting Things Done™️. And while I could still take action to alleviate my impatience and boredom, I wonder if it’s better to see them as a gift. As if each moment were an invitation to slow down, appreciate what is around us and maybe even accept the boredom that comes with it.

Now excuse me while I get back to being frustrated at a website taking more than a second to load! (outrageous I know!)

It was my daughter’s 5 birthday yesterday.

We did all her favourite thing:

• opened presents
• went to the local softplay
• had curry for lunch
• went to the playground
• had ice cream in the park
• made a plastercast unicorn she got from her uncle.
• watch a couple of episodes of Paw patrol
• had pizza for dinner

It was a real feast day.

Funnily enough, there’s a lot that we do often, but the combination of it all together really makes it stand apart. One of the challenges I wonder about, as a parent, is helping to keep things special.

There are things my kids can have every week (or even every day) that I only had a couple of times a year. On the one hand it’s great they live in this abundance, on the other hand I wonder if they don’t appreciate things in the same way.

It make me wonder about abstinence: not indulging often so we can appreciate things more when we do have them.

It requires patience (refusing cartoons can start a family civil war) and planning (having other activities and alternatives ready to go is a must) that make it far more work for us parents. But it helps to keep things more special.

And often the alternatives are better anyway.

This isn’t just true for parenting of course.

Last week I made a shocking discovery.

Fruit is great in hot weather.

I know, revolutionary insight but if you looked at my habits, this idea was a real shock.

I don’t have anything against fruit and eat it when offered, but I just don’t choose fruit or go for it. Instead I’m more likely to snack on a piece of chocolate or sandwich. But during this heatwave I realised that fruit was clearly the more refreshing choice.

And that made me think about my habits.

I know it’s not great, but …

There are a lot of my habits which don’t match my intentions or goals.

The fruit one is one small example.

It’s such a small thing that could be corrected with a minor lifestyle change (buy more fruit in the shop, keep sweets at home, choose fruit at snack time) and yet I wasn’t doing it. Why?

Well I wasn’t really thinking about that habit.

So I decided to make a list of the bad habits I have (in obsidian of course). Here’s a sample:

• not flossing every day
• drinking more coffee than I’d like
• snacking on chocolate during the day

And once I made that list, the alternatives were pretty obvious:

• Floss when after brushing your teeth
• drink water
• Eat fruits instead of chocolate

Not every bad habit is so simple or unentrenched, but some are.

And guess what, just making the list has helped me change these habits.

I’m still not perfect, but they’ve far lesser.

More tricky habits

There are a couple of bad habits in my list that are more sticky.

Not least of which is “being impatient with people”.

While it’s not something that just magically changes, I’m glad it’s on this list. Unless I acknowledge this is an issue, I won’t be willing to change it. And now it’s there, I can plan for change.

Not magic, but maybe worth a go

A lot of good coaching and therapy starts with awareness.

Sometimes, that’s enough.

And sometimes we need to do more. But either way, maybe making a bad habit list will help you with some of your bad habits that you know about, but do nothing over, or even ones you are less aware of.

If you give it a go, let me know what you think.

My kids are almost 2 and 5.

Both of them are going through a period of temper tantrums.

It’s annoying and frustrating. Especially when the elder one turns around and sets off the younger one, usually with a punch or a poke after being asked not to.

On my better days I stay calm and manage to get through the conflict.

But most days aren’t my better days.

Instead I can lose my cool and try to physically or vocally stop the conflict: It always increases it.

Doing the same negative behaviour

The irony is I’m often doing the exact thing I’m annoyed at my children for.

• They act out because they are tired — I act out of tiredness
• They shout at each other — I shout at them
• They aren’t patient — I lose my patience.

I fail the same measure I evaluate them by.

On being the adult in the room

I realised this all about three months back.

My child was acting like a child (as should be expected) but I, the adult, was also acting like a child.

How did I expect my children to learn the values I wanted if I didn’t embody them myself as an adult?

So I made a change and used this mantra:

I am the adult in the room.

Any time I face these kinds of situations, I say those words to myself and force myself to respond like an adult.

I wish I could say this has been a magical panacea — it hasn’t — but it has helped. A lot.

I don’t know if this will help you, but as a parent, I know I could use all the help I can get.

It’s the end of my Friday workday so I’m doing my simple weekly reflection. It’s called plus, minus, next and I heard about it from Anne-Laure Le Cunff of Ness Labs.

I like using the symbols

• / - / ➡

• Plus is for the good things from the week
• Minus is for the bad things from the week
• And next is for the things I want to do differently next week.

So simple, but that’s its power. By being so low effort, I can almost always do it; it’s just 5 mins at the end of the day. Now I have a record of what I’ve struggled with and what was easy and good.

You can do it on paper or digitally and I have templates for both Obsidian and DayOne.

One last thing to note, this isn’t a full weekly review in the GTD sense. Instead, I split that onto Sunday evening when I plan for the week ahead.