Phil Bowell

Figma is so close to working really well on iPadOS 26. If they can make zooming with a trackpad work like it does on the Mac then it’s basically there.

I’m trying out a new way of writing at the moment, trying to set a scene and tell a story. It’s fun, but it feels like I’m turning more and more introspective each time and I’m not sure how much of a good thing that is.

It’s raining outside but it’s still a balmy 18 degrees. Whilst the rain is refreshing, and the plants really need a good soak, it makes inside humid, especially in this coffee shop. It’s not my usual morning coffee spot, but the batch brew is nice and the music is creating a nice ambience. The drum beats mix with the clatter from the espresso machine and the hubbub of people chatting.

There’s an interesting mix of socialising and solitude. People on their own are smiling to themselves as they tap away at their phones, the couple in front of me sits opposite each other but they don’t converse. Little words between each other, whilst holding their phones. Together but separate. Connected but not present. It reminds me of the pub I used to work in when I was eighteen. Beer replaced by coffee. Newspapers replaced by phones. Crosswords replaced by games, or perhaps digital editions. On the surface not so different, but yet it still feels like it is.

I remember seeing a photo of a train carriage in America from decades ago. People on their commute all reading the newspaper catching up with the world before their day at work. It’s a similar scene today.

We may decry the effect that our devices are having on us, our ability to concentrate and focus, the most connected to the outside world we’ve ever been with the highest rates of loneliness we’ve ever been aware of. I don’t want to minimise those thoughts, but I wonder how different we really are to the people in that photo from 60 years ago? Perhaps it is the speed of things that is the real problem. There is no need to wait for the newspaper the next morning to get an understanding of what is going on in the world. We can see it happening in front of us, in near real time, with all the inaccuracies that we can dream of. No one goes back to correct or check, there’s no verifying, just moving on to the next thing. Even people who care about certain causes don’t take the time to learn. They feed upon the fire hose of opinion, of misinformation, there is no time to study or learn. Instead they must signal where they stand and move on.

It is sad, but I get it. Everyone is busy. Not everyone has the ability or desire to inform themselves fully before forming an opinion. It is easier to react and move on with the day.

The couple in front of me have been replaced by a Dad and his Son. Coffee and apple juice, sharing a pastry together. A moment of connection in a world of solitary people, they bring a smile to my face.

It’s hot in England at the moment. The country is being hit by another heat wave with temperatures sitting at around 30 degrees. It’s not the hottest but the heat here is different to other places.

Looking at my weather app it tells me Cheltenham is going to have the same high as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv today and I find my wishing I was facing the heat there rather than here. Tel Aviv might be sticky but at least it’s by the sea, the beach a short walk away, paddling in the warm Mediterranean waters a nice way to cool off. Jerusalem is high up, its heat is drier, the evenings cooler. It’s a gentler and more relaxing heat, like a good holiday.

This morning isn’t so bad. I stood at my sliding door eating my breakfast, some Greek yogurt with blueberries and almonds, listening to the world go by. It was oddly clam and tranquil. I could hear birds twittering away to one another. The traffic noise was gone, maybe everyone went to the office early or has stayed home inside where it’s cooler.

There’s a man replacing a windscreen at the end of the road. I can’t hear his radio, perhaps he doesn’t have one on. He seems engrossed in his work. The new windscreen held up on a rack as he polishes it, paying attention to the finish making sure there are no streaks. The only sounds I hear now are my fan and the scrape of my spoon on my bowl as I finish my breakfast. It’s time for a coffee and to get back to work.

Back at my desk to do some work I’m drawn not to the messages on Teams or my design in Figma, but to Ulysses. I start a new sheet and begin typing this. I want to capture the feeling of this morning before the real madness begins. My first call is at 10:30 and then it’s back to back until 14:30.

The events of this weekend seem to weigh heavy on me. Glastonbury and the BBC have a lot to answer for. Our politics may not be similar, but how they can justify the hate speech that they gave a platform to makes me feel sick. What’s worse is the number of people who joined in. My country disappoints me more than it ever has at the moment. It feels like society is crumbling.

I’ll open my Bible for a few minutes and then get to work once I’ve published this. It’s the only thing I can think of to stave off the spiral of despair.

Trying a new thing this week. When I’m at my desk for work, my iPhone is not with me it’s across the other side of the room. Let’s see what impact this has on my mood and concentration levels.

I had somehow missed that when using tiling on the Mac you can drag the gap between two windows to resize them like the old split view on iPadOS.

Decided to give the new Reeder a go for RSS. Seems to be ok after the first day, but we’ll see how well it syncs up.

I might be doing a silly thing, but the iPadOS 26 beta is currently downloading. I need to see the new design on a device to know whether my designers intuition is right or not. I have accessibility concerns, but can’t help feeling excited.

Watching the key note from last night, there’s lot’s of name dropping of ChatGPT, Private Cloud Compute, and On Device models. I don’t think they’ve mentioned Siri once when referring to Apple Intelligence.

One of the best things about being away from the computer and not checking in on RSS or Micro.blog during that time is the deluge of good posts to read over coffee on a Monday morning. This is the internet I like.