I have to give it to Dabo, he’s been pretty great on the recruiting trail. Since the All-In Cookout, there have been annnounced commitments from a couple of 4-star recuirts: [RB Tyshon Dye](http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jul/21/size-power-speed-4-star-running-back-tyshon-dye-co/) and [WR Dearcus Robinson](http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/jul/20/four-star-wide-receiver-demarcus-robinson-commits/?partner=RSS)
I’ve seen recent postings from [John Gruber](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/07/19/schumer-ebooks) and [David Sparks](http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/07/senator-says-apple-e-books-suit-could-wipe-out-the-publishing-industry/), critizing the DOJ’s antitrust case against Apple and book publishers. These posts from Mr. Gruber and Mr. Sparks seem, however, to ignore how antitrust law actually works. One of the things antitrust laws prohibit is companies from holding clandestine meetings to agree on a pricing strategy for the whole industry. That is exactly what the book publishers are accused of doing in this case. Mr. Gruber and Mr. Sparks can try to make the argument that the current situation is *better* for consumers,[^ppfix] but they should not criticize the DOJ for filing a complaint against companies whose alleged conduct is prohibited by antitrust statutes.
[^ppfix]: Though that argument is an uphill battle when most eBooks have increased in price by 2-3 dollars per book since Apple got involved.
Daniel Jaikut explains the problems he’s going through trying to talk to the Tumblr API. This comes around the same time as [his comments that MarsEdit will not be able to post to SquareSpace 6 due to changes in the SquareSpace API](http://twitter.com/redsweater/status/226072396283645952). To me, these kind of API changes that are not communicated to developers of third party clients is one of the major problems with using one of these all inclusive blogging and hosting providers.[^ss6]] Though people may complain about the hassles of self-hosting on WordPress, I have a high level of confidence that an open source project like [Wordpress.org](http://wordpress.org) will continue to support an API.
[^ss6]: I wonder if anyone who gets sponsorships from SquareSpace, who has previously talked about how awesome MarsEdit is, will point out that the new SquareSpace 6 does not support MarsEdit.
> The last couple of times out, my two-seam fastball has been a pitch like it was a couple of years ago for me, being able to throw it to both sides of the plate,” he said. “My four-seam seems to be there whenever I have a good two-seam working. I was able to throw some changeups for strikes and get some swings and misses on it. My curveball has been my best pitch all year, so that was working for me when I gave it a chance tonight, also.
Music to my ears.
There must be a lot of cell phones at Royal Lytham.
On this week’s [B&B Podcast](http://5by5.tv/bb/70), [Ben Brooks](http://brooksreview.net) and [Shawn Blanc](http://shawnblanc.net) talked about the returning popularity of email newsletters. I realized the other day that I was also starting to subscribe to more newsletters. Here is my current list:
* [Dave Pell’s NextDraft](http://www.nextdraft.com/) – A daily newsletter featuring tech news and related stories.
* [TThor](http://tthor.com/) – A weekly newsletter featuring stories for designers, programmers, and geeks.
* [Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin’s Bulk Bag](http://merlinmann.us2.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=40f9bca54e3ea011fecc2118d&id=7f35ed7801) – A newsletter for the [5by5](http://5by5.tv) podcast [Back to Work](http://5by5.tv/b2w).
* [Shawn Blanc’s Member’s Journal](http://shawnblanc.net/members/) – A newsletter for members of Shawn’s site.
* [Dan Lewis’ Now I Know](http://www.nowiknow.com/) – Learn something new every day.
> We will continue to make available our existing products, and we will provide support and critical updates to our users. However, as we’ll be busy with new projects at Google, we do not plan to release new features for the Sparrow apps.
That makes me sad.
> “There’s no better feeling.”
Cody Ross
If you’re looking for a way to cheer yourself up, take a peak at all of the stories on Cody Ross’ game winner from last night:
* [Over the Monster](http://www.overthemonster.com/2012/7/20/3171708/cody-ross-walk-off-boston-red-sox-chicago-white-sox)(with video of the HR)
* [Over the Monster Game Recap](http://www.overthemonster.com/2012/7/20/3171144/cody-ross-walkoff-homer-red-sox-white-sox)
* [Fenway West](http://www.fenwaywest.com/2012-articles/july/cody-ross-does-it-again.html)
* [The Providence Journal’s Red Sox Blog](http://blogs.providencejournal.com/sports/red-sox/2012/07/ross-delivers-the-walk-off-home-run-theres-no-better-feeling.html)
I listen to podcasts. A **lot** of podcasts. In addition to regularly listening to a bunch of different podcasts, I also subscribe to a number of others that I listen to occasionally[^subs]. As one can imagine, this means I am very demanding of my podcast applications. Unfortunately, this also means that I have not been able to find a podcast application that fits with my needs. [^rprob]
## Ideal Podcast App
My ideal podcast app would do the following:[^basics]
1. Have the ability to download or stream podcast episodes. Whether to download or stream would be something I can select on a podcast or episode level.
2. Allow creation of playlists for podcasts, either manual or “smart.”[^splay]
3. Refresh feeds and download new episodes quickly.
4. Sync information about subscriptions, episodes (such as played status, including where I left off on another device), and playlists across devices.[^icloud]
## The Players
The two major players in the iOS podcasting space are [Instacast][icast][^afflink] (and its iPad version [Instacast HD][icasthd] and [DownCast][dcast].[^apod] I had been a user of [Instacast][icast] since its initial release, and had been generally happy with its functionality. With the [release of Instacast 2.0](http://vemedio.com/blog/posts/instacast-2-0-available), however, I began having problems. Mainly, there were a bunch minor bugs, such as the app crashing when I tried to restart playing a podcast after having it on pause for more than 2 or 3 minutes, that annoyed me but did not make me consider dropping the app. Most frustrating, however, was how easy it was to “Mark All Played” in the various menu options. I did it once when trying to “Delete all Played” and twice it happened via a “pocket dial”.[^pdial]
Instacast allows for iCloud syncing. This, for the most part, works pretty well. Last week, however, my iCloud syncing started to throw error messages. It presented me with two options “Reset” or “Try Later.” I attempted to “Try Later” a few times. That did not put an end to the repeated error messages. I eventually selected the “Reset” option, but that too did not put an end to my error messages. I eventually resorted to manually deleting the iCloud sync file[^iinstac] and starting over.
My frustration with Instacast’s iCloud syncing led to my attempt to switch to Downcast.[^marcodrang] I began the tedious process of moving my 102 feeds from Instacast to Downcast, making sure that I set the correct unplayed episodes and the correct timestamp on the partially played episodes. The process took about 3 days of very, very part-time work.
Downcast seemed much more reliable to Instacast, both for application stability and for iCloud syncing. Unfortunately, it had two major issues: (1) the syncing of my feeds was insanely slow[^slowsync] and (2) having the application open caused rapid battery drain. The slow feed syncing prevented me from taking advantage of one of the benefits of using a podcaster app: on the go episode downloading. With Instacast, I could quickly download a new episode of [Geek Friday](http://5by5.tv/geekfriday) right before leaving for dinner on a Friday night. With Downcast, I had to plan 10 minutes of update time around any feed refreshes.
Though the slow feed update was annoying, it was not the “show stopper” that Downcast’s battery drain was. I first noticed the battery drain during my morning workout. Normally, when I got back from the gym, I would have about 96-95% battery life remaining on my iPhone. When I’d get back from the gym after using Downcast during a workout, I’d have 75-72% remaining. That translates to about 25% of a full battery charge gone within 2 hours of me unplugging my iPhone from the charger. With this kind of battery performance, Downcast clearly could not be my solution going forward.
## My Solution
I’ve decided that since neither Instacast nor Downcast individually can fulfill my podcasting needs, I will simply use them both. My current solution is:
* My *top rated* [^trated] podcasts are stored in Instacast
* This allows me to take advantage of Instacast’s superior speed. Also, since these are episodes I consume very soon after they’re released, Instacast’s iCloud syncing issues and its easily triggered “Mark all as Played” functionality are much less problematic.[^lesse]
* Secondarily, Instacast’s new “podcast parking”[^pparking] feature means that I can get push notifications from Instacast for new episodes of **all** my podcasts but only have to refresh my top rated feeds.
* Everything else is stored in Downcast
* This allows for Downcast’s much more reliable iCloud syncing to keep all my less frequently listened to podcasts in sync.
* It also means I can use Downcast almost exclusively when I have the option to plug in my iPhone or iPad, so I do not have the issues with Downcast rapidly draining my battery.
“
I fully admit that this solution is kludgy and less-than-ideal. With the options I have available currently, however, it accomplishes my podcast listening goals.
[^pparking]: “Podcast Parking” means that Instacast will still check to see if there are new episodes of a podcast for push notification purposes, but it will not do anything with the feed or the episodes during the “check for new episodes” process when the app itself is open.
[^slowsync]: Downcast sync time is measured in minutes, while Instacast is measured in seconds.
[^marcodrang]: Recommendations from [Macro Arment](http://5by5.tv/buildanalyze/71) and [Dr. Drang](http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/2012/06/why-downcast/) also helped.
[^iinstac]: I have [begun monitoring and manipulating my iCloud files](https://johnkiv.us/2012/07/19/dealing-with-iclouds-current-shortcomings/) on a fairly regular basis, so this was no big deal for me.
[^afflink]: Affiliate Link *(as are all other links in this article)*
[^lesse]: Since I’m burning through these podcasts quickly, there are less episodes to get messed up if iCloud syncing goes wonky or “Mark All as Played” gets triggered.
[^pdial]: I put the iPhone in my pocket and sometime between when I first put the iPhone in my pocket and when I pulled it out of my pocket, all my unplayed episodes had been marked played.
[^subs]: I currently have 102 feeds in my podcast apps.
[^rprob]: The proverbial elephant in the room is that the real solution to my problem is to unsubscribe from some of the podcasts I hardly, if ever, listen to.
[^basics]: I’m going to ignore the basics like “check for new episodes.”
[^splay]: Similar to Apple’s Smart Playlists in iTunes that let you select specific criteria to build a playlist from.
[^icloud]: I do not care how this sync takes place. I’m fine if it uses iCloud, Dropbox, or magic beans.
[^apod]: Apple recently released its [Podcast]() app, however, it doesn’t come anywhere near meeting my requirements for syncing or playlists.
[icast]: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=r*bqlTuiXSo&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Finstacast%252Fid420368235%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30
[icasthd]: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=r*bqlTuiXSo&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Finstacast-hd%252Fid478853570%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30
[dcast]: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=r*bqlTuiXSo&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fdowncast%252Fid393858566%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30
[^trated]: Those podcasts I want to listen to as soon as possible after their release date.
> “You think I’m happy right now?” Lester said. “You think I like coming to the park with almost a 5 ERA (4.80) next to my name, with a 5-7 record? I mean, who would be happy?
> …
> “It’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing for my wife to be sitting in the stands to hear that. I’m embarrassed for her. I’m embarrassed what she has to hear in the stands. It’s not fun.
> “That’s not what I want to do. I don’t want to show up at the park and go, ‘[Expletive], I’m going to give up seven runs in four innings and call it a day, then go home and count my money because that’s all that matters.”‘
The rest of the interview is just as strong. I have never thought the Sox should try to trade Lester, and this interview makes me feel even more confident in that position.
I like it. Plus, I could remove the [hack I currently have in my hosts file](http://help.duckduckgo.com/customer/portal/articles/255650-hosts-file).
That’s an impressive warm-up routine.[^felix]
[^felix]: My favorite for this year’s Olympics is probably Allyson Felix, or my fiancé’s former sailing buddy, paige Railey.
I love of the concept of Apple’s iCloud: a system where all my documents and settings are instantly available on any device, without me having to think about configuring sync. If that was how iCloud worked, would be amazing. Unfortunately, Apple’s execution does not equal the syncing utopia I was hoping for.
## Problems
My two major problems for iCloud deal with (1) document management and (2) reliability. Document management can be summed up by the “Open from iCloud” dialog box in many iCloud-enabled applications: a list of files in some order.[^order] My hope is that Mountain Lion’s new *folder* system will allow slightly better organization for my documents, than a simple list, perhaps with some kind of search functionality.[^bword] For now, however, I am constantly faced with the simple list.
My second problem comes from reliability. I have been a paying member of [Dropbox][dbox][^aff] for a number of years now and I have never had a problem. When I go looking for ale I expect to be in one place, it’s always there.. With iCloud, however, I have not always had such success. I’ve left work with my iPad a few times, figuring I’d do some work at some other location, only to find that iCloud had not properly synced either the latest version of my document or, sometimes, the entire document itself. This normally means using either [Screens](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=r*bqlTuiXSo&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fscreens-vnc-control-your-computer%252Fid400012962%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30) or [FileConnect](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=r*bqlTuiXSo&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Ffiles-connect%252Fid404324302%253Fmt%253D8%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30) to connect to my computer and get the document I need to work on.
## Workarounds
In order to work around iCloud’s limitations, I have had to delve into the location iCloud stores documents:[^lion]:
~/Library/Mobile Documents/
In this directory, there are a number of sub-directories that contain the iCloud documents for individual apps. For example, [iA Writer](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=r*bqlTuiXSo&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fia-writer%252Fid439623248%253Fmt%253D12%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30) is located in:
~/Library/Mobile Documents/74ZAFF46HB~jp~informationarchitects~Writer
Though the names can look confusing, it is not terrible difficult to figure out which folder refers to which application. Inside the application-specific folder, there is a sub-folder called “Documents” and inside that folder are those documents that are stored in iCloud.
Knowing the location my iCloud documents are stored means that I can create [Hazel](http://www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php) rules that operate on the folder. These rules are usually fairly simple. For example, I have Hazel sync all text files I create in iA Writer into my [nvAlt](http://brettterpstra.com/project/nvalt/) folder, That way, I can use nvAlt’s full text search functionality to figure out the document name I need to open back in iA Writer. I also use Hazel to create a series of backups of my iCloud documents,[^nosup] which gives me a little piece of mind as to whether or not my documents might get lost in transit during an iCloud sync. In total, this series of Hazel rules makes my iCloud experience much more comfortable.
## Over the Horizon
Though my Hazel rules have helped me settle into using iCloud for a number of different apps, my hope is that Mountain Lion will mean that they are no longer necessary. Thankfully, I only have to wait another couple of weeks to find out if that is the case.
[^nosup]: To my Dropbox account, unsurprisingly.
[dbox]: http://db.tt/bl7yQBc
[^aff]: Affiliate Link *(the kind where I get additional free space if you sign up)*
[^lion]: This is section is related to how iCloud operates in OS X Lion. My hope is that this workaround becomes obsolete with the enhanced iCloud support in Mountain Lion.
[^order]: Most recently edited is the ideal order for me, however, I’m partially okay with there be*any* order. The applications that seem to just dump the files randomly get deleted from my system rather quickly.
[^bword]: [Byword](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=r*bqlTuiXSo&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fapp%252Fbyword%252Fid420212497%253Fmt%253D12%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30) *(affiliate link, as are the rest of the app links in this article)* is an example of an application on the Mac that has basic search functionality built into the open dialog box.
Celebrate the birthday of someone who truly makes the internet better.
See also [Dr. Drang](http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/2012/07/brett-terpstra-day/), [MacDrifter](http://www.macdrifter.com/2012/07/terpstra-day/), [Practically Efficient](http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PracticallyEfficient/~3/S15gHJ6FnZE/), [MacStories](http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/macstories/ad-supported/~3/Wu0ihzI_9ts/) and [Brett’s New Podcast](http://5by5.tv/systematic).
> It’s probably not coincidence. His hot streak — including a stretch in which he’s hit in 21 straight games he’s had more than one at-bat — coincides precisely with the end of his days bouncing back and forth between first base and right field.
Really? I would have never thought playing completely out of position would have negatively impacted his hitting. Ugh.
I’d stay away. I’ve downloaded a couple of comics in iBooks format and the reading experience has been just terrible. If they go Comixology, that might be an option.
> The Boston Red Sox are contacting teams to gauge their trade interest in Crawford, according to major-league sources.
> No trade appears close. Such a deal would be difficult to accomplish, given the size of Crawford’s contract and his lingering elbow problems. But the first lesson of the July 31 non-waiver deadline is that nothing is impossible.
Ugh. The last thing this team needs is another distraction.
Since my photography blog is currently undergoing a “behind the scenes” upgrade (hopefully to be released in the next month or two), I figured I’d post this here as well as there:
Trey Ratcliff is offering a brand new online seminar called [Discover the Art of Photography](https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?ii=1113936&c=ib&aff=119692&cl=81034)[^aff] During this final week of registration, Trey is offering 20% the registration code when using the code **DiscoverArt20**.
The course description is:
> Discover the Art of Photography is a video tutorial series made specifically for individuals interested in learning the basics of photography or have recently invested in a new camera but do not fully understand how to use it.
[Register for the Course](https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?ii=1113936&c=ib&aff=119692&cl=81034)
[^aff]: Affiliate Link
Jeff Parker with an excellent essay on his upcoming Red She-Hulk book:
> [D]espite conventional wisdom, many do want stories about powerful women in big action- did Buffy the Vampire Slayer teach us nothing? This gender does have daydreams about throwing cars around and flattening fools with a backhand swat. The superhero model appeals to something fundamental in us- that we feel, despite appearances, we have untapped power that could break out in the right circumstances.
> …
> Tomorrow Marvel rolls out CAPTAIN MARVEL by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy, and it doesn’t have to stop there. I want to see VALKYRIE and SATANA follow with their own comics. STORM. TIGRA. Right now while Avengers and Dark Knight are making the media have to stop and pay us attention, lets put our best foot forward and show the whole other half the population they aren’t excluded.
I was already going to pick up Captain Marvel, and any book by Jeff Parker is a definite buy. I hope that this is the start of a trend.
Looks interesting. I hope they release an audio-only podcast version.
(via [TightWind](http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tightwind/~3/irIdd3-SRXI/))