657: Time to Check the Rhonda-grams!

Summary

Clockwise Episode 657: "Time to Check the Rhonda-grams!"

Date: May 20, 2026
Panel: Dan Moren (host), Lex Friedman (co-host, sitting in for Micah Sargent), guests Shelley Brisbane and John Moltz
Theme: Four people tackle four rapid-fire tech topics in 30 minutes, reflecting on app habits, Apple Store visits, morning phone rituals, and delightful tech purchases.

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Episode Overview

This episode examines shifting relationships with mobile apps, the current relevance of Apple Stores, morning technology habits, and tech purchases sparking genuine delight. The panel mixes personal anecdotes, practical feedback, and characteristic wit throughout each topic.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Apps We've Abandoned or Moved Away From

[01:31] Dan's Topic:
How has your relationship with apps changed? Have you given up an app, replaced it with a web/analog option, or shifted your habits in a notable way?

• Shelley [02:04]:

  • Uses fewer phone apps, especially for RSS. Now prefers using the Feedbin website on her Mac for RSS scanning, avoiding dedicated apps because “it just does its work and stays out of my way.”

• Lex [02:47]:

  • Uninstalled both the Washington Post and Twitter apps:

    “I literally have them uninstalled and don't ever allow them to enter my brain space.”

  • Replaced Twitter with Kindle in the same app slot:

    “Every time my brain was like, hey, let's go to that dopamine hit of opening Twitter instead, I would read a book for a few minutes and that was good.”

• John [03:42]:

  • Quit Twitter and Instagram, replaced Twitter with Mastodon/Bluesky but finds no good substitute for Instagram:

    “So mostly I just don't look at pictures online anymore.”

  • For health insurance, prefers the web interface on a larger computer over using small-screen mobile apps.

• Dan [04:55]:

  • Still reads the New York Times, but now via web and newsletters instead of the app.

    "Honestly, most of my New York Times consumption is via their morning newsletter.”

  • Finds app-based news readers, like Apple News, unsatisfying:

    “Apple wants to push everybody. Apple News. I think that app is terrible and I never want to use it.”

  • Plays a narrower set of games on his phone, mostly puzzle/word games.

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2. Apple Stores at 25: Do We Still Go?

[06:43] Shelley’s Topic:
How often do you find yourself in an Apple Store, and why do you go?

• Lex [06:58]:

  • Rarely visits the mall or Apple Store but enjoys checking them out when he’s nearby:

    “I like seeing the cool stuff… But I do not like the… feeling of the way Apple trains its employees that we are cattle that Apple is herding through their store.”

  • Finds retail experience frustrating, dislikes waiting and the staff approach.

• John [08:11]:

  • Went to Apple Store openings years ago ("such an event at the time") but now rarely visits except to handle new products (“like baby chicks”) or for hardware repairs.

• Dan [09:45]:

  • Increased visits recently due to purchasing/returning devices for family, but mostly just browses:

    “If I go to the local mall where the Apple Store is, I will go by the Apple Store. In fact, there's very little other reason for me to go to that mall.”

• Shelley [11:30]:

  • Not a fan of the in-store experience: “It's way too bright in there and it just feels too scattered.”
  • Visits only for specific product needs (e.g., new AirTags) or to try new hardware.
  • Both Apple Stores near her are inconveniently located.

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3. First Thing You Do On Your Phone Each Morning

[14:07] Lex’s Topic:
What’s the first thing you do when you grab your smartphone in the morning?

• John [14:21]:

  • Easings into the day with movie-themed games (Framed, Cinequote), then Duolingo for daily challenges, all while still in bed.
  • Follows with an upbeat music playlist.

• Dan [15:43]:

  • If woken too early: uses AirPods and white noise to fall back asleep.
  • On waking: turns on the radio (!), then checks email, web comics (via a Shortcuts launcher), and finally Slack, Discord, Mastodon:

    “That's very similar to the kind of stuff I've been doing basically forever on my phone when I wake up.”

• Shelley [17:09]:

  • Waits 30–45 minutes before touching her phone; starts day with offline routines (radio, breakfast, cats, husband).
  • Phone’s first use is to check the daily work “Rhondagrams” in Slack:

    “When I go to pick up my phone, I say, time to check the rhondograms."

• Lex [18:06]:

  • Checks notifications for anything urgent, then solves New York Times Wordle and Connections puzzles before allowing himself out of bed.
  • Tests one or two of his own games for quality assurance.

    “It is amusing to me that my wife and I still play wordle and still send our scores to each other each day. I do it first thing and she does it last thing.”

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4. Most Recent Delightful or Whimsical Tech Purchase

[19:27] John’s Topic:
What’s the last tech product that surprised and delighted you with its whimsy, fun, or “joie de vivre”?

• Dan [20:09]:

  • XT Inc. X4 mini ebook reader running custom Crosspoint firmware:

    “I love the fact that there's this community out there that has become like super dedicated to producing this firmware… It has brought me much, much joy.”

• Shelley [21:11]:

  • Elago AirPods cases in cute designs (old Macs, cassette tapes):

    “They're just so much fun. They're cheap… I could see myself collecting a little army of them because they're so cute.”

• Lex [21:47]:

  • Aura digital photo frame (older purchase, but still brings daily joy):

    “I thought digital picture frames were silly. I have one here in my office and I add photos to it all the time… Sometimes I'll take snapshots of the frame and send it to my family.”

  • Also enjoys photo-memory apps like "On This Day".

• John [23:18]:

  • Vita Bay E Ink fridge magnets with NFC for easily updating images:

    “It worked, you know, basically seamlessly… Just being able to look up there and seeing some memory that makes you smile. It was really neat and I was happy to get them.”

  • Panel bemoans non-magnetic fridge fronts: “I got a new fridge and the front isn’t magnetic!”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lex [02:47]:

  “But it's mostly companies that I have grown to despise that I removed from my phone.”

• John [04:05]:

  “There's really no good replacement for Instagram, unfortunately. So mostly I just don't look at pictures online anymore.”

• Dan [05:06]:

  “I've never found like a good solution… Apple News, I think that app is terrible and I never want to use it.”

• Shelley [17:09]:

  "Time to check the rhondograms"—the affectionate nickname for daily Slack rundowns from her producer Rhonda.

• Lex [18:35]:

  “Before I’m willing to get out of bed, I have to solve the New York Times’s wordle and connections puzzles.”

• John [23:18]:

  "It was really neat and I was happy to get them," about his E Ink fridge magnets—pure, simple delight.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Intros, panel introductions
• 01:31 – Topic 1: Apps we’ve stopped using or replaced
• 06:43 – Topic 2: Apple Store visits and experiences
• 14:07 – Topic 3: First thing on your phone each morning
• 19:27 – Topic 4: Delightful/whimsical tech products
• 25:42 – Bonus: Favorite ice cream/frozen treat orders

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Tone & Style

Lively, personal, and humorously self-aware. Panelists are candid about their habits and quirks, blending nostalgia (“I still play Wordle”) with measured techno-skepticism (Apple Store gripes, app abandonment, uncertainty about the value of new tech trends). Their rapport keeps the discussion engaging and authentic.

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Bonus: Ice Cream Preferences (for Fun!)

• Shelley: Amy’s Ice Cream, Austin—dark chocolate flavor.
• Lex: Chocolate peanut butter or cinnamon ice cream.
• John: Chocolate eclair–style crunchy ice cream bars.
• Dan: Classic chocolate cone (with chocolate sprinkles), preferably in a fresh waffle cone.

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Summary

This episode of Clockwise captures a mood of thoughtful tech paring—using fewer, more satisfying apps; gravitating toward web or analog substitutes; and striving for small moments of joy with whimsical, nostalgia-driven gadgets or rituals. The panel’s banter and openness make their tech habits relatable, even for listeners outside the Apple-centric bubble. Whether it’s finding delight in a custom firmware ebook reader, resisting the pull of social media, or starting the day with Wordle and "Rhonda-grams," the episode offers both practical insights and a sense of everyday delight in tech.

Transcript

[A]

You. It's Time for episode 657 of the Clockwise podcast from Relay, recorded Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Clockwise, four people, four tech topics, 30 minutes. Welcome back to Clockwise, the tech podcast that's more regular than seasonal allergies. My name is Dan Moran and I am joined across the Internet not today by Micah Sargent, who is on assignment, but sitting in for him is podcast co host and app developer extraordinaire, the one and only Lex Friedman. Welcome back to the show, Lex.

[B]

Hi, Dan. Happy to be here and happy to have authority over Mult.

[A]

We're getting there because this is, of course, the show where we invite on two fantastic guests to talk about four topics to my left. This week it is producer and reporter at the Texas Standard, host of the Lions, Towers and Shields podcast, author of iOS Access for All, and contributor over at Six Colors, it's Shelley Brisbane. Welcome back, Shelley.

[C]

Hello. I'm not sure if Dan, that means you have authority over me. Is that how that works?

[A]

I mean, limited authority in that I control this podcast.

[B]

It's my honor to introduce podcast host and Six Colors contributor and my personal friend, John Moltz. Hi, John.

[D]

Lex, I'm always happy for you to have authority over me.

[B]

I really appreciate that.

[D]

Actually, I really need the help.

[A]

I was gonna say someone should. Well, we've got 30 minutes. We got four tech topics. Let me kick things off with this one. I feel like I use fewer apps on my iPhone than I used to. Like, I either a few that I use regularly and then many, many, many I never use. I'm curious if there's an app you've given up, either like you've abandoned it entirely or you've switched to using that in a different form, like on the web, or you switch to doing something you used to do on your phone, analog. Is there something like that that sort of fills that slot for you? Shelley, we'll start with you.

[C]

This was really difficult for one for me, and I have to cheat a little bit because I've probably used fewer apps on my phone, not because I've given up on a particular app, but just maybe I've stopped doing those things in app form. So my cheat is that I'm going to say on the Mac, I'm a big fan of rss and I do a lot of RSS scanning on the Mac, and instead of using one of the mini fine RSS apps out there, I use the Feedbin website because it looks almost exactly like the app and it just. It works. I mean, if it didn't work. If it was an electron thing and it was annoying, I wouldn't use it. But Feedbin does what a website should do. It just does its work and stays out of my way and that makes me happy.

[B]

Well, I would say I also struggle with this a little bit and my answer is neither of them make me feel great about the world. But the two apps that I thought of that I used to use a lot and now never use are the Washington Posts and Twitter. For reasons. But it's not just that I don't use them. I literally have them uninstalled and don't ever allow them to enter my brain space. I will say that when I removed those apps, I put apps that I thought could make me be a better human or be happier with my choices in their spots. So for a long time I had the Kindle app in the spot where the Twitter app had been. So every time my brain was like, hey, let's go to that dopamine hit of opening Twitter instead, I would read a book for a few minutes and that was good. So I think that it was a turn for the positive. But it's mostly companies that I have grown to despise that I removed from my phone.

[D]

Yeah, my answer is pretty much the same because I've stopped using Twitter and I've also stopped using Instagram, which was, boy, that was harder. I think I've been able to replace Twitter with Mastodon and Bluesky. There's really no good replacement for Instagram, unfortunately. So mostly I just don't look at pictures on online anymore.

[B]

There is pixelfed where you and I post pictures and nobody else does.

[A]

Right, right.

[D]

But. But even you and I don't post that many. So it's like it is. I check it rarely now. I was like doing that a lot for a while and now I'm just not. I think one of the other things though, we once again we switched health insurance companies at the beginning of the year and my wife is a big fan of using the health insurance company apps.

[A]

And.

[D]

And I can't stand it. I always want to use the web on my Mac instead of either the app on my iPhone or the web on my iPhone just because the screen is so much smaller and I just have a much better personal usage experience on the web and that is just something that she's constantly trying to get me to do. And I'm like, no, I'm going to go to the web and use it because I just find that I want the real estate.

[A]

So I mean, these are good answers. And I think, yeah, I mean, Twitter was kind of the obvious one, but the one I was thinking about was I do still read the New York Times, but I don't use the app anymore. I just, I read via the web and I often. I mean, honestly, most of my New York Times consumption is via their morning newsletter because that's kind of how I envision, like, all right, you know, I go read through the headlines there and I tap through to, you know, stories I want to read from there. And that's true with some other new stuff. I do still use RSS for a lot of my very specific to like, you know, tech writing and tech journalism stuff. But, like, for other things I read on the web, mostly, I don't know, I just. I've never found like a good solution. You know, Apple wants to push everybody. Apple News. I think that app is terrible and I never want to use it. And I feel that way about a lot of the other apps that were made by media companies. I feel like the web is a much better fit in most cases for what you want to do there. The other thing I was going to mention was I play a narrower. A narrower style of games on my phone. I think in general, like, I tend to play puzzle and word games from various sources.

[D]

Are people making puzzle and word games these days, Dan?

[A]

I hear about that, but I don't

[C]

wish I knew somebody who did that.

[A]

I don't play as many. I felt like in the early days I was like downloading all sorts of games. You know, there were platformers and there were adventure games and all this stuff. It's like, I really don't have. Maybe this is about more about me than what's out there, but I really don't have the time or patience or inclination to play many of those style games on my phone in the way that maybe I used to. Maybe. I don't know. It just feels more time wasty than. Than anything at that point. At least with puzzle games, I'm like, I can tell myself I'm developing my brain. Thank you all for your thoughts on that. Let's go to our second topic, which comes from Shelley.

[C]

Quickly, I agree with the rest of you. I don't have Twitter either. I forgot about it. It's been so long ago. So Apple is celebrating 25 years. And my question for you is, how often do you find yourself in an Apple Store and why do you go when you do?

[B]

I. This is. I love this question. I very rarely go to the mall, and that is the Only Apple Store near me. When I go to the mall, I always go by the Apple Store, even if it's not on my route for whatever I'm doing at the mall. I like to see it makes me feel happy. And I feel this weird relationship with the Apple Store where it's like. I mean, it's probably a little bit jerky, but I'm like, I know about all the things in there. I have some real expertise with these things. But I almost never go in. The only times I actually go into the Apple Store are if there is something brand new that I really want to see, or on the rare occasion where it makes more sense for me to be doing a trade in there or to be buying a thing there. I do not love the Apple Store retail experience. I'm amazed that people like the Apple Store retail experience. I like seeing the cool stuff. I like if there's a thing I want to play with. I like that it's there. But I do not like the, the. There's a feeling to me of the way Apple trains its employees that we are. We are cattle that Apple is herding through their store. And there's, to me, a lot of waiting. And I do not love that vibe. I cannot believe. I mean, I think the stores are successful because of what Apple sells. I do not love Apple's approach to how to handle those stores. That's my unpopular opinion. John.

[D]

Yeah, I don't, I don't go there much. I mean, it used to be years ago when they first started, we would go to the openings. I mean, I remember driving up to. To Bellevue and to Seattle when they opened stores just to hang out because it was such an event at the time. And now I hardly ever go. The only, like, if I do go to the mall, sometimes I will stop by to hold the. The new iPad pros because it is a device they're like, probably will never buy.

[A]

They're like baby chicks that John's like, petting and like, oh, that's okay.

[D]

And he puts them back down. It's like, it's like going, yeah, like back when, you know, pet stores used to have puppies and stuff like that. Yeah, it's just like, oh, man, I really want one of these. But I'm probably never going to be able to buy one because they're ridicul. Expensive now. But the only other times that I've ever needed to go there for, you know, an actual reason for hardware repairs, I think my son had cracked a screen or something like that a couple of Years ago and I think years, the previous one was me. I think I changed a battery out on an iPhone that I had for a long time. So yeah, I don't, don't tend to go there very often. Lex. I don't know how often they turn over the Macs there, but you could always go in and put a link to your game sites on all the

[B]

Macs and they're good idea.

[A]

I think they refresh automatically.

[D]

Yeah, I'm sure they do, but I don't know how often it happens.

[A]

Probably every day. Shelley, I like the original phrasing of your question where you said why do you usually find yourself there?

[D]

Because I just enjoy that.

[A]

Like I don't know. But I come to and I'm in an Apple Store and in some sort of haze. Um, I, I, I've been recently more times than usual, I think I, because I bought a MacBook Neo for my, my wife to use, which I previously documented and then I had to return said Mac Neo MacBook Neo after she decided she was done with it. And I helped my mom buy a new iPad recently. So within the last few months I've been there more than average. But I would say my, my experience is kind of pretty much akin to Lex's. Like if I go to the local mall where the Apple Store is, I will go by the Apple Store. In fact, there's very little other reason for me to go to that mall. And so, you know, I make a point of it. And if I'm in a city and like I'm walking, like there happens to be one there, like I'll often walk by or check it out if it's like a particularly interesting one. I think a lot of the ones in like Europe, they've integrated with some of the existing buildings and stuff there that are kind of cool architecturally. But like Lex, I get myself frustrated oftentimes with the experience there. You know, I'm standing around waiting for somebody to help me sometimes, like, and if you decline that first offer of help, it's like impossible to get anybody to help you again. They're all off doing other things. So I do like to just walk in and like check out the new products when they've arrived. I think that is, you know, it's nice to have like a, like a showroom style thing there. But I rarely find myself like, you know, actually buying things there. But I've been to, I went to the grand opening of the flagship store in Boston years ago and I interviewed Ron Johnson at the time. I remember it was very, it's very weird to see the mayor was there. It was really weird, weird experience. But I think it's less like that these days now that there are so many of them. Why don't you wrap us up?

[C]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the experience either for the reasons that Lex and Dan mentioned. Also, it's way too bright in there and it just feels too scattered. Like I want to go to a counter and ask a person for help. I have to look for this person with the right device in their hand and the right shirt on and hopefully I'll get help. It's like I say, it's too bright in there, it's too crowded. But I go when I have some specific reason. Like last time I went it was because I was about to go on a trip and the AirPods 2 had AirTags. 2 had just come out and I needed some. I decided I wanted to put them in my luggage and so it was quicker to just go to the Apple Store and buy some. And it went fine. But it was one of those experiences where I was sort of standing around just waiting for a person to help me because I actually needed help. I couldn't just go and pick up air tags and go to the back of the store and buy them, which would be for me a simpler experience. And I do occasionally go to look at something new like, oh, a MacBook Neo, which looks a lot like other MacBooks, but it's a MacBook Neo, so why not? You know, those are good excuses for a field trip. But my two Apple stores that I have access to. One is in a mall that's quite far south of where I live. One is a very upscale shopping center far north of where I live that I don't usually like going because it's a little too designery and too hipstery up there. So sort of the surroundings intimidate me, I guess.

[A]

All right, two topics down, two topics to go. Which of course means it's halftime. Here at clockwise. And this week's episode is brought to you by steamclock. You probably have opinions about app quality. You know, the difference between an app that feels right and one that feels off. SteamClock software builds mobile apps for companies that care about taste. They're a design and development studio based in Vancouver, Canada, and They've been shipping iOS and Android apps for over 15 years. Their clients are growing tech companies that care about mobile but don't have the in house team to build something great. Steamclock works with companies to level up their apps so they can go from it's holding us back to it's pulling its weight. Some of their clients discovered the hard way that vibe coding your way to the App Store isn't a product strategy. What makes Steamclock worth calling isn't just that they execute well. It's that they'll help you figure out the right approach and give you an honest read on your situation before you commit to anything. Their client apps have been downloaded over 10 million times and they've helped five of their clients through acquisitions. If you're building something and need a mobile team that cares as much as you do, Steamclock is where to start. Visit steamclock.com clockwise to get in touch. That's steamclock.com clockwise our favorite clock themed sponsor here on clockwise. Our thanks to Steamclock for their support of this show and all of relay. All right, halftime is over. Lex, what is your topic?

[B]

I'm curious, what is the first thing you do or the first things you do plural when you grab your smartphone each day? I think on this podcast, on this episode, it's all iPhones. But what's the first thing you do when you grab your phone in the morning? John?

[D]

Check to see if it's happened. And then, and then after that I probably go to Duolingo. Oh, actually no, first they do. I have several movie themed games that I play in the morning. Framed and then Framed has a one frame shot game. And then I also play Cinequote which plays audio clips from. So I try to ease into the day basically. And, and then, and then I go to Duolingo and I'm, I, you know, usually try and complete the day whatever the daily challenges are so that I can get the the times three bonus for the next day. And because sometimes I'll be able to play, you know, before I go to bed at night too, but sometimes I won't. So I like to get it out of the way in the morning. And it's also just like, you know, I'm not thinking about, like not thinking too much about things that I don't want to think about. I'm just starting the day with something nice. And then after that I play a playlist of like, you know, upbeat songs so that it, you know, helps me get out of bed. Those two things I do while I'm still in bed. So I wake up, I stay in bed for at least 15 minutes.

[A]

I had to just laugh because I was like, is there a single serving website for has it happened Yet. And I found even better than has it happened yet? Wtf? Which is an app that just monitors for has it happened yet? Wow.

[D]

Anyway, has it happened yet? Dodd. Vodka, Dan. Come on,

[A]

Vodka. It's always happening, John. So I guess it depends on when is the first, like, what you consider the first thing you do with your phone. Because oftentimes, oftentimes I wake up at like 4 or 5 in the morning and I need to get back to sleep. And the thing I do first is put in my AirPods and turn on dark noise to listen to, like, some white noise until I fall back asleep. So that's like, the very first thing I do many days. But when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I generally do, actually, the first thing I do is not on my phone. I turn on the radio. I know, because I'm like, from 1940 Madman. I know, but I pick up my phone. I probably check my email first because, I don't know, I've got like, a few things that come in in the morning, like, that are on, like, automated lists or, you know, if I'm playing in Learned League, which is a trivia league, then the last night's game results are up. You know, those things. And then I often. I have, like, a few, like, comics I read. Like, that's kind of my. One of my first things I do in the morning is I'll, like, launch my little shortcut that launches the web comics and other comics I read, and I'll go through those, and then I probably then devolve into checking, like, Slack or Discord or sometimes Mastodon just to see, you know, what's going on overnight. So I feel like that's very similar to the kind of stuff I've been doing basically forever on my phone when I wake up in the morning. Shelley, what about you?

[C]

Honestly, the first place I go, and this is going to horrify you, but I'll explain, it is slack for work. And the reason is that I don't really pick up my phone for the first half an hour. I'm awake. I get up, our radio is already on. It's tuned to our public radio station where I happen to work, but I listened to it before I did. So I get my news without having to touch a phone. And then I go make breakfast and feed the cats and talk to my husband and all those things. And about 30, 45 minutes later, I go pick up my phone. And the executive producer of our program each morning produces a slack message, which is basically the updated rundown of the show. And one of the things you learn from that rundown is whether you need to assist with some segment that you didn't actually produce, because sometimes somebody's away or something like that. And her name is Rhonda. And so I affectionately call those Rhondagrams. And so when I go to pick up my phone, I say, time to check the rhondograms. And that's like my first phone interaction of the day.

[B]

Amazing. So I start first. I look at my notifications because I'm a bad person who has many, many notifications, all of which are muted while I'm asleep. And I see if there's anything that I feel like needs my immediate attention from Slack or Discord or email or whatever. But then before I'm willing to get out of bed, I have to solve the New York Times's wordle and connections puzzles. And then I typically play can you

[A]

not like physically can't get out of bed? Like, it's like a trap.

[B]

I'm unwilling.

[D]

Yeah, I'm unw.

[A]

No, not like a physical. Not like you're in some escape room. Yeah.

[B]

And then I typically play test one or two of my games each day just to make sure that everything is working in my own Lexi Games app. And it's a habit that started early when it would often not be working. Now it's almost always working, but like, I still like to check and make sure. Hey, was there any typo? I don't have an editor. It's just me. So I look at the two or three most popular ones. Sometimes I'll wake up and Casey Liss always gets up extremely early. And he loves my game, lexicogs. And if there is ever a typo, he will tell me, or if he does very well, he will send me a screenshot of his score. So I look at all those things before I'm willing to get out of bed. It is amusing to me that my wife and I still play wordle and still send our scores to each other each day. I do it first thing and she does it last thing of the day. And it's a habit. John, we have one more question. Take us home.

[D]

Okay. Well, in an age of AI and the metaverse and tech companies seemingly coming out with these products that no one is actually super enthused about. It can be sort surprising when you get something that is like just sort of exciting and fun and. And works really well. And so I bought a product. It's these E Ink fridge magnets. I'll talk about when we circle back to me, but I was wondering what was the last tech product that you bought that surprised and delighted you with its whimsy or fun or joie de vivre?

[A]

I need some joie de vivre. I need some e joie de vivre. Is it a, is it a subscription service to get joined a vire?

[D]

Unfortunately, yes.

[A]

Bummer. I think for me I bought one of those XT Inc. X4 little tiny ebook readers and I really enjoyed even though I don't find myself using it all the time because I still predominantly use like my Kobo for reading. I love just playing around with the firm. The custom firmware that there was like is still constantly in development. This third party firmware called Crosspoint, which is just, I love the fact that there's this community out there that has become like super dedicated to producing this firmware that's even better that way. Better, way better than the firmware that's included on the device.

[D]

And so far they're unstoppable and face

[A]

their company unstoppable, which I love. That takes me back to like my favorite part of sort of the hacker ethos from the 80s and 90s. It's just like we can do this and we're going to keep doing it and I just really enjoy that and playing around with it and loading books on it and I have used it to read. I've carried it with me on a few different occasions when it's like, oh, I could just slip this in my pocket and go. It's just a fun, beautiful, easy to use little device. And it has brought me me much, much joy.

[C]

Shelley well, I had to think about this. I need more whimsy in my life because you can tell since the first thing I do is check my work slack. But I chose the Elago AirPods cases. There are many designs, there are some that are designed to look like an old Mac. There's one that looks like an old cassette tape. They're just so much fun. They're cheap as they can be. So I could see, despite the fact I'm not somebody who ever collected Apple watch bands because they were ridiculously expensive. But these Little El Lago AirPods cases are $15. I myself collecting a little army of them because they're so cute.

[B]

I really struggled with this question and I was trying to think of what is something that actually satisfies this answer or satisfies what's a good answer. Basically I really was debating and then I realized, almost inspired by your question and the thing you're going to talk about, which I'm intrigued by. It's an older purchase for me. I got it for Father's Day, I think not the most. Not the one a year ago, but the one two years ago. But my aura frame that my family gave me, I love. I thought that digital picture frames were silly. Silly. I didn't really get the point. And I have one here in my office and I add photos to it all the time. It has this enormous library of photos and it often shows two at a time. And I literally sometimes take snapshots of the frame and send it to my family for some of the photos that show up on there. It's wonderful. Like, I do think a lot about all these digital photos that we take, because I think we take more photos now than at any other time in human history. Right. Especially from before Canada. Cameras. But finding ways to service them. And the only other answer I had was photo related and really was an app and not hardware. But I love the. Was it.

[A]

No.

[B]

Whose name I can't think of. No. Yes. I love on this Day, which is an app that does a really nice job on iOS of surfacing your photo memories from that day. And I look at it every day and it's great. So I think I love. The devices that are giving me joie de vivre are the ones that help me indulge my nostalgia for the fact that we're all shuffling.

[A]

Wow. Okay. Well, that got. That got dark.

[D]

It was really happy. And then suddenly it wasn't. Those are. Those are still good answers. And Lexus is related to mine because I saw this on the verge and it's Vita Bay E Ink fridge magnet. And these are. It's like, the screen's not huge, but it's in this sort of shape of a Polaroid picture. And so it's a little bit. You know, the picture is actually a little bit towards the top and it's only like, I don't know, two and a half inches diagonal. Three inches, maybe? No, it's more like probably three. Anyway, the. These are NFC devices and you download their app and, you know, you can. And it respects iOS' you know, like, you can just load one picture in if you want to. Which I was. I was. I was afraid it wouldn't, but it did. And you just hold it up. Hold the device up to your phone and it transfers to. Transfers the picture to the device. And there's no battery or anything. It's just the. The picture flickers a few times. The picture shows up and then you can stick it to your. To your refrigerator. I thought that was just so. It worked, you know, basically seamlessly. After I downloaded the app, I was confused the first how to get it to work. But. And then. But it's. It was perfect. And we've got these pictures up on our refrigerator now, and you can change them anytime you want to. And I don't have to worry about charging them, which is super cool. The picture quality isn't the best in the world, but I don't think it really has to be. I mean, it's just like it's being able to look up there and seeing some memory that makes you smile. And it was really neat and I was happy to get them.

[A]

That's very cool. I was actually not an ad goes.

[B]

But I wish my refrigerator were magnetic because then I would get that.

[D]

Yeah, it is on the side of the refrigerator because the front does not same.

[C]

I got a new fridge and the front isn't magnetic. It's too.

[A]

What. What's the point anyway, I guess keeping your food cold. I don't know who's making these refrigerators. All right, that's four topics down. We have just enough time for bonus topic. Before I get there, I'll remind everyone out there that if you'd like to support the show, you can go to clockwise social to check out all of our great swag. Shirts, hats, mugs, stickers, the whole nine yards. So go there, pick up something, and we appreciate your support. All right, bonus topic time. Summer is very nearly here. Memorial Day just around the corner in the U.S. what is your go to ice cream slash frozen treat order?

[C]

Shelley Amy's ice cream in Austin, Texas. A wonderful ice cream place for all your needs. But my go to order is a dark chocolate tiny Amy's ice cream.

[B]

My go to default flavor is always going to be chocolate peanut butter flavors that Dan does not like. But I'm a huge fan of chocolate peanut butter. My second favorite ice cream flavor is cinnamon. I think cinnamon is underappreciated as a standalone ice cream flavor. And it's a plus. John.

[D]

I can't remember what they're called, but it's like there's those ice cream bars that are chocolate with like a crunchy thing on them.

[A]

Like a chocolate eclair?

[D]

Yeah, like, I guess like a chocolate eclair. It's. It's more crumbles.

[A]

Right?

[D]

It's like there's a. There's a strawberry version too.

[A]

But I like the chocolate.

[D]

Yeah, Yeah, I like the chocolate ones.

[A]

Those are Those are good. I don't know why. Like I said, I don't like those flavors. I love chocolate. It's my favorite flavor. I smell like peanut butter. So my go to is a chocolate ice cream cone. Usually in a cone, preferably a waffle cone. If you can get it fresh, even better with chocolate sprinkles. That's. That is to me the perfect ice cream. There's nothing wrong with that. All right. If you would like to get ad free episodes with an extra unwound episode every single week, you can become a member of clockwise. Just go to Relay FM clockwise and sign up for just $7 per month or $7 a year and you'll help support the show. And with that, we have reached the end of this week's episode. All that remains is to thank our fantastic guests. Shelly Brisbane, thank you so much for being here.

[C]

Thank you for making me want ice cream.

[B]

Dan and John Waltz, thank you for being here.

[D]

I. I see that this show is 58 episodes ahead of Rebound, but I don't think we're gonna catch it.

[A]

Well, you never know. Sabotage goes a long way.

[D]

That's right.

[A]

And Lex Reidman, thank you so much for being here and sitting in for Micah this week. I really appreciate it.

[B]

My pleasure.

[A]

We will be back next week when Micah is returned. And we remind everyone out there listening,

[B]

watch what you say and keep watching the clock.

[A]

Bye, everybody. Buddy.