Shots from last night at Craft and Draft in Irmo. Lizzy was very entertained by, well, everything.
Photo
Proud of Jilly. Honorable mention in the district science fair.
I love Iconfactory’s Tapestry – a unified timeline for my iPhone
2/4/25 • 4 min read
New app lets iOS users weave together sources
When the Iconfactory announced their Tapestry Kickstarter, I backed it immediately. I’ve been a fan of the Iconfactory’s work for decades, and was a loyal user of Twitteriffic before Musk cut off the API. I’ve had beta access for months as a Kickstarter perk and I’ve been using it daily.1 Now that Tapestry is released to everyone, I wanted to write a little review with some thoughts about how it’s working for me.
One app for pretty much everything. Tapestry is a unified feed reader. You build a feed from a variety of sources and “connectors.” I’ve used connectors to bring in my Micro.Blog, Mastodon and Bluesky social timelines. I still use Feedbin as a traditional feed reader so I’ve also some of my favorite RSS feeds and some YouTube channels. I even have a podcast feed in there and, while I wouldn’t listen to a long podcast in Tapestry, it does works for short audio files. All of it pulled together into a single timeline.
You said “pretty much everything?” Correct. To be added to Tapestry, the sources need to connect to the open web. That means no Meta apps. So if you want to connect to Instagram, Facebook or Threads, there isn’t an API to allow for a connection. This isn’t a problem with Tapestry, it’s a problem with Meta. But don’t get me started on the importance of open APIs.
Algorithm free. Tapestry doesn’t add any annoying algorithms to your content feed. You decide who you want to follow, and you see their posts in the order in which they were shared. No engagement manipulation.
Interaction. You can’t like or comment directly from the Tapestry interface, but it’s easy to swipe and access a Safari web view. For example, if I see a Bluesky post I want to like, I swipe and Bluesky opens. I like the post, click done at the top left, and I’m back to my feed. It’s a smart solution to a complex problem. I’m not someone who likes or comments a bunch so this little bit of friction is completely acceptable to me. I understand if this isn’t enough for you, but it works for me. You can “Mark” items for follow up later, and I find that helpful for keeping track of good links and stories.
Muffle and Mute. You can build rules to muffle (collapse) or mute (hide) posts that contain keywords. I find this to be incredibly powerful. There’s a person I know — who I want to follow — who shares his Wordle every day. So I muffled “Wordle” in my feed. You can build those rules to hide whatever you don’t want to see. I loved it in Twitteriffic and will absolutely use this in Tapestry.2
Opportunities and rough edges. This is a 1.0 version. There are rough edges, but also clear opportunities for them to improve the app. The Iconfactory is committed to improving Tapestry and offering a Mac version eventually. I’m excited about where this is going.
I’ve really enjoyed Tapestry because I can just dip into the most recent information. And since Micro.Blog and Bluesky are currently my most used services, this integrates perfectly. It’s tough to explain, but it brings a social media style timeline together for a wider variety of sources. It’s not for everyone, but it is absolutely what I want.
Tapestry is now available on the App Store for iOS free with ads. Or if you want no ads and premium features, it’s just $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year.
Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.
It’s almost time for the college baseball season to start. Beautiful day at Founders Park.
It’s dark. And my son is still in the backyard getting ready for tryouts next week. Trying to make the high school JV lacrosse team as a 7th grade goalie.
Had to take a few more pictures of the snow before it melts… the park behind our house is beautiful when blanketed in snow.
A little snow in Columbia, South Carolina is a big deal.
Proud of this kiddo. 9 am Saturday practice with the high school team. 27 degrees. And he’s excited to go to practice. (As a 7th grader, he’s pretty much the youngest kid out there.)
Every year, I make Team Wertz pose on the stairs before we open presents. Finally got around to posting the image from this morning. Hope y’all had a Merry Christmas.
Every year, I make Team Wertz pose on the stairs before we open presents. Finally got around to posting the image from this morning. Hope y’all had a Merry Christmas.
My favorite eight pictures from 2024.
Happy birthday, Lizzy. Hope you have a great day!
Post Thanksgiving date night at Craft and Draft Irmo.
Ryan was born on Thanksgiving day, so no matter when his birthday falls, we celebrate with a cake on Thanksgiving. This year, a red velvet turkey cake.
Happy 13th birthday, Ryan!
Only $40.
Then: Reflections from 11.10.24
11/10/24 • 2 min read
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
I skipped last week’s post. Sunday, I was busy with schoolwork and didn’t have time. I planned to post something later, but the election happened and I just didn’t feel like posting at all.
Favorite Picture of Last Week
Our oldest, Norah, joined us at the polls to cast her first vote in a presidential election. And while most of the races didn’t go the way we hoped, I love that I was able to share this experience with her.
Feels
- Nervous. I’m worried for the future of our country and the future of democracy in general.
- Optimistic. I had advisement this week and feel like I have a strong path forward toward finishing my Ph.D. I’m planning on taking two courses in the fall, one in the summer, and then, I’m pretty much just writing from there to the end of my dissertation.
- Reclusive. I don’t really feel like being around anyone right now. It’s don’t feel like sharing on social media. I kinda just want to be a recuse for a little while.
Health
- Fine. This week wasn’t the best week for my health.
Projects
- School work. I’ve got to talk about my research on Wednesday. And then finish up my project for class. Very doable.
Entertainment
- Not much. I’ll be honest. Pretty much avoiding all media right now. Just not feeling it.
Sometimes, being a goalie is lonely.
Then: Reflections from 10.27.24
10/27/24 • 2 min read
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
This week was busy like the last couple, but felt much more manageable for some reason. I have an insanely busy week ahead of me and as the semester wraps up, I have a lot of school work to do. But emotionally, I feel a little more focused.
Favorite Picture of Last Week
My son, Ryan, is a lacrosse goalie. He played four games this weekend and did amazing. Probably his best week in goal ever. I also try to capture the action and yesterday, a kid made a great move a slipped the ball past Ryan. Great shot, and a fun picture.
Feels
- Motivated. I have a lot to do this week. And I’m feeling good about getting it done.
- Deep in thought. I need to make some decisions on my dissertation that I’ve been putting off. I think I’m starting to figure out what I want to do — and it’s a little more ambitious than I originally planned. But if I’m staring off into the distance, that’s what I’m thinking about.
- Frazzled. Less than two weeks to the election. I know I should vote early, but it’s my oldest’s first presidential election and I want her to get the full experience of going to the polls.
- Tired. We dropped off Jillian very early this morning to go on a school trip to DC. I should be trying to get some sleep right now, but the cat woke me up and I so figured I’d be productive and knock this out. Honestly though, I should be asleep right now.
Health
- Still stable. Not much progress this week. At some point, I’ll kick back into high gear soon, but this week is not the week.
Projects
- School work. I’ve got some projects to finish up for the class I’m taking this semester.
Entertainment
- Welcome back, Lower Decks. Star Trek Lower Decks is back for it’s fifth and final season. Loved the first two episodes of Season 5 and excited to see where it goes. Sad that it’s wrapping up, though. It’s been a wonderful addition to Star Trek.
- Formula 1. In the middle of a three week stretch of F1. Mexico City Grand Prix is today.
School trip. Early morning departure.
At Jill’s Research Reveal for her AP Research class at Chapin. What’s AP Research? Basically grad school, but in high school. Fun to see all the interesting projects.
Then: Reflections from 10.20.24
10/20/24 • 2 min read
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
Another busy week. I feel like a broken record at this point. The kids’ schedules are busy. We went to the South Carolina State Fair. I was thankful that I didn’t have class this week for Fall Break, but I’ve still got a bunch of grad school deadlines to handle. We are actively looking to buy a car — which is a process I do not enjoy. It’s all quite overwhelming, but we manage to figure out how to fit it all in.
Favorite Picture of Last Week
I’ve decided to add this weekly feature to my Now page to encourage me to take and share more pictures. We went to the State Fair to see my daughter’s papier-mâché giraffe. While I was there, I caught this Ferris wheel against an impossibly blue sky.
Feels
- Overwhelmed. October has been a little bit of a whirlwind. Ryan is doing lacrosse. Jill has hit peak homework. We’ve got school events and volunteer events. It seems like we never have free time.
- Grace. Recognizing that I need to give myself some grace. I’ve been too hard on myself, and realize that I’ve been a bad model in that regard for my kiddos and Liz. There isn’t enough time in the day to do all the things I need to do. And I need to be okay with that.
- Frazzled. Still nervous about the state of the nation, but encouraged that I see more and more people standing up and expressing their support for Harris Walz. Several friends in Georgia recently shared their stance on Facebook challenging their conservative family members. My neighbors have Harris Walz signs in their yard in a corner of conservative Lexington, South Carolina.
Health
- Stable. October has been a holding pattern. I realize how much a busy schedule works against my efforts to be healthier. I’m choosing to give myself some grace…
Projects
- Accepted. My journal article was accepted for publication. A couple more editing hurdles and it’ll be ready to go. I’ll share more here when it’s out.
Entertainment
- SEC football. Big win for my Gamecocks over Oklahoma. Georgia beating Texas. Tennessee beating Alabama. There really isn’t a more exciting conference in college football.
- F1 is back. Watched some of the sprint race yesterday and qualifying. Watching the United States Grand Prix this afternoon.
- Quartiles. I’m really enjoying the Apple News+ game Quartiles. It’s pretty much replaced The NY Times games like Wordle and Strands that I had been playing daily.
Went to the SC State Fair to see a giraffe.
Ryan in goal today.
