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Apple Watch Ultra First Impressions

Apple Watch Ultra (2022) on a would-be wrist model.

I got the Apple Watch Ultra and if I could sum up my first impressions in one word, it’d be: awesome.

The larger and brighter screen, the titanium case, the nice knobby crown, the new alpine band, the increased battery life, the dual-band GPS… I could go on and on. I was already in love with the potential of the Apple Watch platform as battery tech gets better, and this Watch furthers that love. I am enjoying every day with this iteration, and I’m extremely excited for what future iterations bring!


Everyone’s talking about the battery percentage indicator on the iOS 16 beta, but that’s only because you haven’t turned on the keyboard haptics. (Under Sounds & Haptics, not Keyboard)

Yes Android users, I’m aware you’ve had that for years, no need to @ me.


Can we all admit that without YouTubers pointing out the “defects” in Tesla’s manufacturing, most of the issues would go unnoticed. None of us ever checked panel gaps or paint depth on our Fords, Hondas, or Toyotas.

Disclaimer: I own shares of $TSLA & $F commonstock.com/jmc


Is it really about pajamas?

Malcom Gladwell recently slammed advocates of working from home on the Diary of a CEO podcast. Among his quotable lines were this one about pajamas:

“I know it’s a hassle to come into the office, but if you’re just sitting in your pajamas in your bedroom, is that the work life you want to live?”

And this great one about belonging to something:

“If we don’t feel like we’re part of something important, what’s the point? If it’s just a paycheck, then it’s like what have you reduced your life to?”

These questions are not only intellectually dishonest, but intentionally reductive.

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Rating movies on a seven-point scale

Years ago, my friend Dave introduced me to a different way to rate movies: a seven-point scale using whole numbers only (no half stars). He goes into detail breaking down exactly why he advocates for it on his blog.

I recently updated my personal site to use the seven-point scale for my movie ratings, and part of the challenge was mapping Letterboxd ratings to a representative number on the seven point scale. So I briefly wanted to note down how I reasoned about the mapping and what I settled on.

5-star 7-star Reason
0.5-1 1 Point for trying I guess?
1.5 2 Not great
2-2.5 3 A below average movie
3-3.5 4 Average
4 5 An above average movie
4.5 6 A great movie
5 7 A perfect movie

I have found that I’m a little on the generous side when it comes to rating movies on a 5-star scale, so I wanted to lower the curve and have a bit more variation at the top of the scale. While 4/5 doesn’t say the same thing about a movie as 5/7, it feels right.

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