Why I Love Star Wars

Happy May the 4th, Everybody!

If you’ve been paying attention around here, you may have noted that I have a child-like infatuation with Star Wars. It occurs to me that I’ve never fully explained why I love Star Wars so much, so I thought I’d use this geek holiday to give you a little explanation.

Star Wars, Episode IV, which at the time was just called Star Wars was released in 1977. I was nine years old. It was a moment in time when there was no Internet and geeky kids (like me) got beat up, not celebrated. Going to the theater, I was a clueless nine-year-old with no idea what I was getting myself into.

Then I sat in the theater with my popcorn, and George Lucas blew my mind. I’d never seen anything like Star Wars. I was entirely invested. I have so many memories of that first viewing. When Darth Vader escaped at the end, I was outraged. When Luke turned off his targeting computer, I was worried. When he blew up the Death Star, I was overjoyed.

Growing up my family was very working class. My parents grew up during the depression, and the thought of seeing a movie twice was not on the menu for the Sparks house. The film was in the theaters forever, but it took me months to get the money to see it again. In hindsight, I’d have been willing to sell a kidney.

My sister had bought the soundtrack by then, and it had great liner notes. With two viewings under my belt, I could visualize the movie just listening to that John Williams soundtrack. So I did that. Often. I sat on our living room floor with the record spinning, giant over-sized headphones on my head, looking at the album art and reliving Star Wars in my head.

For later generations, every new Star Wars movie arrived with a deluge of new Star Wars toys, but for that first movie, there was nothing. My friends and I figured out that empty cardboard tubes, the kinds that hold wrapping paper, made excellent lightsabers, and we destroyed so much cardboard in my backyard.

Another thing folks don’t realize is that there were three years between each movie in the original trilogy. That was three years of no content. It was a more innocent time for fandom. We all had fun, but there were no YouTube channels or blogs pumping out theories. So instead, my friends and I discussed endlessly our own ideas of what was going on. There was one line in the original movie about the clone wars. I remember staying up all night at sleepovers, debating precisely what that meant.

When The Empire Strikes Back was released, I was there on opening day. By then, I was old enough to make money off the neighbors doing chores, and as the movie release date approached, I began earning money any way I could. At that point, our currency moved from dollars to tickets. “How much do you have? Three tickets.” When the movie was finally released, George once again gave us a thrilling ride. Little Yoda being the great warrior of days past, completely threw me. When Lando betrayed our gang of heroes, I wanted Chewie to pull his arms out right then and there. “I am your father” literally made my jaw drop. And then that ending! As an adult, I love the way Empire ends. As a 12-year-old, I was outraged. “That’s it!? But they’re still losing!?”

So I was a bit older, but the next three years were like the first hiatus including theories with friends and endless debates. I wore the soundtrack record out. One thing that also started happing after Empire is that my friends and I routinely talked about the light side and the dark side. It became our moral code without any of us realizing it.

Then came The Return of the Jedi. We saw Luke Skywalker in his fully realized bad-ass Jedi self in the first scene. That is what I had been waiting for. I was hooked. I loved every moment of that movie. People today talk about how George sold out using Ewoks instead of Wookies for the Endor battle. None of my friends and I cared or worried about it. We loved those little storm-trooper-killing teddy bears.

The story I’ve shared with you so far explains why a kid in the ’70s would fall in love with Star Wars. But it doesn’t explain why a middle-aged man can still love Star Wars.

For me, it was the final battle with Luke, Darth Vader, and the Emperor. Specifically, it is the moment when Luke has Darth Vader on the ropes and then throws down his lightsaber. Everybody knows these movies now but try to transplant yourself to 1983, sitting in that theater for the first time. Luke, who has been on a Joseph Campbell-playbook heroes journey for six years and three movies, finally gets to the moment of victory. He’s evolved from a farm boy to a Jedi Knight, and rather than defeating the enemy, he throws down his weapon. When does that happen in movies? When does the hero win by refusing to fight? What was the last action movie you watched where the hero triumphed through an act of love? (This also explains my middle-aged outrage at how the Luke Skywalker was portrayed in Episode VIII. But I’ll save that one for another day.)

Luke’s decision was heavy stuff for me. I left that movie so happy to see how the story ended, but I also left that movie with a lot on my mind. How did Luke know to do that? Why did he do that? It was a lot to unpack for me. And it has stuck with me throughout my life. These concepts of the light and dark sides and showing love instead of delivering the killing blow mean something to me. They have stuck with me and helped me make the right choices throughout my life. I’ve failed on occasions. (Sometimes miserably!) But Star Wars morality gives me a framework to pick myself up, dust myself off, and try to do better. I don’t keep a Yoda statute on my desk because he had a funny voice. I keep Yoda there to keep me honest.

Anyway, that’s why I love Star Wars.

Book Purchasing and Consuming Choices

It looks like Amazon will be allowing you to put EPUB books onto your Kindle devices. Historically, only MOBI formatted books were allowed on the Kindle, so this is an excellent (if not overdue) update. This change, as noted by 9to5 Mac, will still not allow you to put EPUBs purchased on the Apple Books Store on your Kindle, since the Kindle only supports non-DRM EPUBS.

I’ve not written about this, but years ago, I made a few decisions:

1. I Prefer Digital Books to Paper Ones

I know all my cool friends dig their paper books, and I’ll grant you a full bookshelf makes a great backdrop, but I no longer buy paper books. I remember the days of carrying 50 pounds of books around and still not having the one that I needed. I don’t feel nostalgia for using paper books. I feel dread.

Digital books are better in the ways that matter to me. I can search them. I can combine them with other services. I can copy and paste right out of them. Most importantly, I can carry my entire library in one pocket.

2. I Am Buying Books from Amazon, Not Apple

Having spent some time as an Apple Books author (and using iBooks Author), I was initially sold on the platform. However, over the years, it seemed more and more like the Apple Book Store was more a hobby than a passion for Apple. Moreover, I got a Kindle for my bedside table (and travel), and I like the E Ink pixels before bed more than an LCD.

For additional convenience, I often buy audible books, and Amazon makes pretty good offers to add the Kindle book at the same time. Also, services like Readwise usually get around to Apple Books, but they always cover Kindle Books. I’m not a particular fan of Amazon, but I find the convenience of Kindle e-Books hard to beat.

Task Manager Survey: Using the Bento App (MacSparky Labs)

As part of my ongoing task manager survey, there’s a new simple task list / focus app called Bento and I’m trying it out. The app is pretty and functional so long as your task list isn’t too big or complex. Still, I dig the way they got the little details right and can see a lot of people using Bento. Here’s an app walkthrough and discussion…

This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) and Level 2 (Backstage) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

Testing a Card System for Monthly Goals

I’m testing a new analog-based system for keeping my monthly and weekly goals on my desk. It’s not very fancy, but I’m looking forward to attempting it…

This is a post for MacSparky Labs Early Access Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?

On Jony Ive’s Influence

Yesterday the New York Times ran an article on Jony Ive and the end of his tenure at Apple. The story, titled How Technocrats Triumphed at Apple, felt a little dramatic. Jony Ive and Steve Jobs clearly had a special friendship and working relationship that helped save Apple. But in the years after Steve, the story implies that the suits pushed Jony out. While I’m sure Jony didn’t get everything he asked for and I’m certain that Tim Cook made a mistake in giving Jony too much admin work, it doesn’t strike me as a situation where the accountants have been actively wrecking the products.

The latest MacBook Pro is a good example. The new MacBook Pro, with its Apple silicon, remarkable screen, and functional ports is far superior to its minimalist predecessor. At the same time, I agree with some of the points in the article. For example, I also worry that Apple’s focus on services may cause it to lose sight of what makes Apple special (to me at least).

As is always the case, things aren’t as simple as the stories we tell about them. As someone that uses Apple products every day, I have nothing but gratitude for the hard work Jony Ive did for the company. At the same time, I don’t see him as the only person capable of keeping Apple on track.

Mac Power Users 638: A Mac Setup Consulting Company

Stephen and I sort through listener feedback on this episode of Mac Power Users, revisiting topics such as Preview.app, time tracking and our own Apple silicon experiences. Oh, and the person who took a Mac Pro to the coffee shop to get some work done on the go.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

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The Video in Which Apple Pushes Every Single One of Sparky’s Buttons

The MacSparky Labs Content Update

We had a busy April in the MacSparky Labs. In addition to a lot of new content, I also started a podcast for MacSparky Labs Members.

2022-04-28 – Time Tracking with Timing – Setup (Levels 2-3)
2022-04-28 – MacSparky Labs Report Podcast (Levels 1-3)
2022-04-26 – Early Access: Setting up Timing (Level 3)
2022-04-26 – Week Planning and Setting Time Blocks Video (Levels 1-3)
2022-04-23 – Early Access Week Planning Video (Level 3)
2022-04-22 – Release – Weekly Update Podcast (Levels 1-3)
2022-04-21 – Calendar Tricks Webinar Video and Podcast (Levels 1-3)
2022-04-21 – Project Management and Obsidian (Levels 2-3)
2022-04-20 – Live Session: Startup/Shutdown Routines Deep Dive (Level 3)
2022-04-19 – Details for the Startup/Shutdown Routine Deep Dive (Level 3)
2022-04-19 – Friends of Dave Interview with John Siracusa about Career Change (Levels 2-3)
2022-04-18 – Power User Tips for Managing Spaces (Levels 1-3)
2022-04-16 – Early Access: Obsidian and Better Touch Tool (Level 3)
2022-04-14 – The Early Access Podcast and Early Access to John Siracusa Interview (Level 3)
2022-04-13 – Building a Digital Burn Bag Tutorial (Levels 2-3)
2022-04-11 – OmniFocus Automation (Levels 1-3)
2022-04-09 – April Virtual Meetup (Levels 2-3)
2022-04-08 – Early Access Update (Level 3)
2022-04-07 – Setting Up and Using Universal Control (Levels 1-3)
2022-04-04 – Details for the April Virtual Meetup (Levels 2-3)
2022-04-04 – Career Change Advice Post (Level 3)
2022-04-01 – Trying an AirTag Wallet (Levels 1-3)

Jim Eagar’s Home Screen

This week’s Home Screens features Jim Eagar. Jim is a retired US Air Force Reserve, JAG (and Chaplain before that), as well as a retired estate planning attorney. Jim is also a first order Mac Geek with his website at OriginalMacGuy.com. So Jim, show us your Home Screens.

What are some of your favorite apps?

MindNode is foundational to every project I work on. I use it to mind map negatives, positives, and other factors when I have a big decision to make. I mind map presentations that I make to my local community Apple group before putting together my Keynote and screencasts.

Unless it’s a simple post, I mind map the content and structure of blog posts before I write them. If a blog I’m working on requires some research, I’ll often insert an article name, author, link, and quotation directly into the appropriate node in MindNode, then transfer the info to Ulysses if I decide to use it when writing. I typically write blog posts with half of my screen showing Ulysses, and half showing MindNode. The one and only simple shortcut I’ve designed arranges these two apps in that configuration.

For my roles-based productivity system, I keep a list of my roles, ideal descriptions, answers to my “tough questions” and action steps in a large mind map. I use this when I go on 6-month retreats away from home to work on my roles system.

The graphical presentation of MindNode works much better for me to organize my thoughts than using a traditional outline. I can visualize my thinking and see connections between sections, and drag and rearrange with ease. I can see where there are gaps that need additional research or thinking to fill in. MindNode saves me hours in rewriting and helps me to produce much better blog posts, screencasts, and Keynote presentations.

Drafts is another primary app for me. Almost everything starts in Drafts. It’s my initial writing app for thoughts I’m not ready to put into my formal write-edit-publish process. I also use it to quick-capture ideas I have on the go (with the app on my Apple Watch).

I maintain an updated list of ideas for blog posts. Furthermore, I keep a few items I want to have instant access to — things like Kourosh’s task words, my updated roles descriptions, and Alfred keyboard shortcuts.

I have a template in Drafts that generates my weekly review. It includes my role descriptions and ideals, a “checklist” series of questions I intend to ask myself each week, and app locations I want to check each week.

I use Alfred constantly to open apps and find files and folders. Since my original 128K Mac, I’ve been in the habit of clicking on app icons, but this past year I’ve been transitioning to mostly using Alfred.

Another feature I use multiple times a day in Alfred is the clipboard history. When I’m researching for a blog post, I can copy the names of articles, links, author’s names, and quotations without constantly having to jump back and forth between my source and the app I’m writing in.

Things is my task manager of choice. I tried OmniFocus , but found it too complicated and fiddly for my simple needs.

I use Things to keep track of all of my tasks that don’t go on a calendar, including projects. I also maintain checklists for routine activities, such as actions I take when I post to a blog. I have recurring tasks for everything that I do on a recurring basis, including household chores, medication refills, and weekly reviews.

I love the simple, beautiful look of Things. To me, aesthetics are important, and I like beauty in as many technology spaces as I can have it.

I use Feedly several times a day to read RSS feeds from blogs in the areas I keep up with. I’m aware that Reeder is the cool app, but I never cared for its layout and prefer the layout of Feedly. I find it easier to use. It still amazes me that I can let one app gather posts from blogs scattered throughout the internet, and I can sit down and read them all in one convenient location.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

I use Facebook to stay in touch with some long-distance acquaintances and to keep up with many hobby area groups (backpacking the Arizona Trail, WWII strategic gaming, and WWII history) that only have Facebook pages. I also use my account to advertise my two blogs and often post reading highlights from Readwise. I limit my review of Facebook to 5-10 minute time blocks once a day.

What app makes you most productive?

For mental creative work, it’s MindNode. It’s in MindNode that my blog post ideas and other projects take form. I typically start with a single thought or topic, then expand it into related sub-topics, then flesh those out. In MindNode I create what my writing or project will look like, and the logical and research steps I need to go through to complete it in concept.

For actual production work, I’d have to say Ulysses. I do almost all of my writing in Markdown in Ulysses. I have folders to keep track of the things I’m writing, from initial draft to publishing. At a glance, I know what I’m getting ready to write, writing, editing, waiting to publish, and have published.

When I’m ready to publish a blog post, I can post it to the appropriate WordPress site directly from within Ulysses. It transfers links, inline images, and a featured image for the post. I can also update it in Ulysses, but I typically do the final review and editing in WordPress.

In addition to using the free version of Grammarly, I also use the proofreader and editing assistant built into Ulysses. I find it’s very helpful and improves my writing.

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

DEVONthink. Presently, I’m using it for the storage of PDFs, photos, mind maps, and whatever other types of documents I want to keep. I extensively use the web clipping function and sometimes change document formats in it. But I know there are a ton of other things I could be using DEVONthink for. It’s an extremely feature-rich app.

I have David’s DEVONthink Field Guide which is an excellent resource but haven’t worked all the way through it yet. And half of what I did work through, I quickly forget because I don’t implement it regularly.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

I use my iPad probably 5-15 times a day, sometimes more. I start out with my 11” iPad Pro and a cup of coffee on the sofa in the early morning for my morning routine (which is app-based). In addition, I use it many times each day to enter items into my daily food tracker, FoodNoms, look up things in Safari, check my task manager, and mark off completed tasks.

My iPad is my comfortable go-to device for reading and initial photo editing and viewing. I also use it to sketch out initial mind maps on MindNode and journal in Day One.

I don’t use my iPhone 13 Pro much when I’m home. The font size is too small for my older eyes to do much productive work with it. I use it for telephone calls, but I don’t like talking on the phone and avoid it if possible.

I use Messages and Apple Mail when I’m out and about and need to respond to something. When I go grocery shopping, I use checklists I’ve built in Apple Notes. I use Apple Maps to give me directions anytime I’m traveling somewhere that I’m not familiar with.

Ironically, I get the most use out of my iPhone when I’m on a backpacking trip with no cell service. When doing a section hike on the Arizona Trail, I use a map app called FarOut. This gives me contour maps and shows me my location on the trail (or, sometimes, off it!). I use the MapMate app to connect by Bluetooth to my Garmin InReach Mini satellite communicator to send texts and emails when cell service isn’t available. All during the day while hiking, I’m typically taking landscape photos and videos with the iPhone’s excellent camera. In the evening, I increase the font size in Kindle to read books and perhaps listen to some downloaded music.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone/iPad?

My favorite feature of the iPad is the ability to design custom Home Screens. I didn’t even know that was possible until Focus Mode came out this past year, and I discovered the ability to make different Home Screens for different Focus Modes.

I use custom Home Screens for three purposes: 1) My morning routine screen, which is made up of apps and widgets, 2) My reading screen, and 3) My exercise Home Screen.

I have a custom Home Screen for the morning routine I follow every day. I recently wrote a post describing my morning routine process, “A Morning Routine that Works – An App-Based Approach.”

I use a series of ten apps to complete my morning routine. This was not something I intentionally planned, but developed over time. These include widgets for CARROT Weather, Things task manager, and Fantastical calendar. I use app icons for Day One, Feedly, Readwise, Babbel and Duolingo (learning Spanish), FoodNoms, and meditation with Insight Timer. Using apps for each function makes my morning routine visual and easy to follow (just follow the trail of apps), and increases the probability that I will actually do what I intend to do.

My reading Home Screen contains the widgets for CARROT Weather, Things, Fantastical, and Amazon Kindle. I also include the app icons for Apple Books, OverDrive (library loans), and Apple Music for background music if desired.

My exercise custom home page includes the Overcast podcast widget, the Apple Fitness widget, the Stocard app (a wallet app that includes my scannable membership card for the recreation center), and the Apple Music app. My exercise focus mode activates when I arrive at the recreation center and automatically shows my exercise Home Screen, so everything I need is waiting for me.

Over time, I’ve found that my morning routine Home Screen is the screen I use all day unless I’m reading. If I want to use an app, not on the screen, I just swipe down to open the search bar and type in the name of the app I want.

Do you have an Apple Watch? Show us your watch face and tell us about it.

My wife and I have had Apple Watches since they first came out. We ordered ours when they were made available, and received them in the first shipment. We’ve loved them ever since! We’ve upgraded a couple of times and now have version 7. One of the times we upgraded was when they came out with automatic fall detection. We were in our 60s, and that sounded like something we might potentially benefit from! (Remember those “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercials?)

I’ve used the Infograph Modular watch face since the beginning. I’ve tried a few of the other watch faces, but always wind up returning to it. It’s not the most stylish, but it is the most functional and easy to read. From the upper left to the bottom left, I have the workout complication, the day, and date, the time, my calendar, the Drafts complication, the weather, and the timer.

The Drafts complication is of special note. When I tap on it, it opens, and I can tap on the microphone option when I’m ready to begin dictating. It syncs almost immediately to all of my devices.

What’s your wallpaper and why?

On my Lock Screen on my iPad, I use the multi-colored “Hello” wallpaper in black by BasicAppleGuy. I use it because it makes me happy to be greeted with that classic Mac look when I open my iPad! For my Home Screen, I use the dark blue swirl pattern from Apple that debuted with the iPad Air 5. It’s colorful and interesting, but doesn’t overpower the app icons.

I use the same wallpaper on my Lock Screen and Home Screen on my iPhone. It’s the Blue-Green-Grey wallpaper that comes as a wallpaper option with the iPhone 13 Pro. I use it because it has darker, subtle tones and doesn’t make it hard to pick out apps.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’ve been aware of some productivity books like Getting Things Done for about ten years, and I’ve been an Apple fan since my original 128K Mac in 1984. But it’s only been in the last six years that I’ve spent much more time learning about how to productively use apps, and the whole area of productivity.

For me, the most important material I have encountered that has built the foundation and continues to inform my productivity system is David’s roles-based approach.

If you’d like more information about my system, I’ve recently written a blog article, “How a Roles-Based Productivity System Brought Clarity and Purpose to my Life in Retirement.” I’m sure it’s not for everybody, but it’s made a huge difference in my life and my productivity system.

Thanks, Jim!