# Edvinas Bartkus > Thoughts ✍️ Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About this site URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T18:41:59.000Z Edvinas Bartkus is an independent publication launched in July 2026 by Edvinas Bartkus. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Edvinas Bartkus to continue to exist. Thank you! ### Access all areas By signing up, you'll get access to the full archive of everything that's been published before and everything that's still to come. Your very own private library. ### Fresh content, delivered Stay up to date with new content sent straight to your inbox! No more worrying about whether you missed something because of a pesky algorithm or news feed. ### Meet people like you Join a community of other subscribers who share the same interests. --- ### Start your own thing Enjoying the experience? Get started for free and set up your very own subscription business using [Ghost](https://ghost.org/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com), the same platform that powers this website. ### About this site URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/about-2/ Last updated: 2026-01-27T12:26:30.000Z Edvinas Bartkus is an independent publication launched in January 2026 by Edvinas Bartkus. If you subscribe today, you'll get full access to the website as well as email newsletters about new content when it's available. Your subscription makes this site possible, and allows Edvinas Bartkus to continue to exist. Thank you! ### Access all areas By signing up, you'll get access to the full archive of everything that's been published before and everything that's still to come. Your very own private library. ### Fresh content, delivered Stay up to date with new content sent straight to your inbox! No more worrying about whether you missed something because of a pesky algorithm or news feed. ### Meet people like you Join a community of other subscribers who share the same interests. --- ### Start your own thing Enjoying the experience? Get started for free and set up your very own subscription business using [Ghost](https://ghost.org/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com), the same platform that powers this website. ## Posts ### Buttons for my coding agents URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/buttons-for-my-coding-agents/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T17:15:31.000Z I made a spontaneous purchase. I bought the [Work Louder Creator Micro 2](https://worklouder.cc/creator-micro-2?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). I did not buy the Codex Micro. I tricked myself into thinking that by buying Creator Micro 2, I was getting basically the same product at a discount. So, it has arrived! ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2026/08/IMG_1339.jpeg) There's been lots of rumbling about that Codex Micro being an overpriced piece of hardware and that you could build one yourself for pennies. However, I think the quality of this device is worth every penny. By by quality, I mean the experience. Device is open enough that I was able to instruct my *Pi* agent to go and figure out how to integrate my *herdr* with the *Creator Micro*. It found everything necessary to make it work, and now it works smoothly. If you are not familiar with *herdr*, it's like *tmux* but designed to be used with coding agents/harnesses. It lists all running agents and reports the status of each one. So, at a glance, I can see which agent is blocked, which is working, and which has completed its work. In the picture of the device, you'll see that these statuses are now also reported on the *Creator Micro*: - Blue: agent is running - Yellow: agent is blocked, and I likely need to answer a question - Green: agent has done its work and the turn is complete - Lit: agent is assigned - Unlit: no agent is assigned ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2026/08/IMG_1344.jpeg) If I click a button, the *Ghostty* app comes into focus and switches to the agent assigned to that button. Other buttons are assigned to things like switching tabs, switching layers, or simply focusing my browser. Love it when hardware is open enough that I can make it work with other open and programmable tools. ### Oslo URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/oslo/ Last updated: 2025-06-29T19:32:13.000Z Does it still count as *coolcationing* if we travel from cold and rainy June in Lithuania to a warmer, sunnier Oslo for a long weekend? It was my first time in Norway, and I was open to a good first impression from the Nordic city—and it delivered! Our tour guide misled us into thinking that Le Corbusier had something to do with Oslo City Hall. That wasn’t true, but regardless, it was a marvelous building—both inside and out. I wish we saw more of this kind of *brave* architecture today. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/DSCF4566.JPG) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/DSCF4586.JPG) Oslo Town Hall Everyone knows that Norway is a leader in renewable energy, but I didn’t realize even the ferries are fully electric. It’s so nice to be on a boat that doesn’t make a roaring engine sound—so silent, and it feels incredibly clean. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/DSCF4598.JPG) Oslofjord II The city has some really beautiful parks. I wish we had spent more than 72 hours in Oslo to enjoy them at a slower pace. No one warned us that the James Turrell art installation is only accessible on Sundays, so that’s one thing we’re genuinely sorry to have missed. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/A9A1FB59-F57F-4780-A3B5-3E57C29F5F71.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/44BC9902-5256-4D30-8FFC-E4C7E3D0B63B.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/A6E0E257-646B-4159-AC3E-35C9B2DD4299.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/83CE2EAE-2967-4B03-B762-C1A9C9D6C88C_1_102_o.jpeg) Ekebergparken and Frognerparken The Munch Museum has a whole building dedicated to the artist, but to be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment. It felt like they haven’t quite figured out their concept. They rely on one gimmick that seems more about building hype than offering substance. The museum holds three versions of the famous *The Scream*. They say they’ve calculated how much light each version can safely be exposed to during the day to preserve them, so only one is displayed at a time—for just 30 minutes. It’s all automated, and there’s a dramatic moment when the curtain closes and a new version is revealed. Then you visit the Oslo National Museum and find the fourth version of *The Scream*—arguably the most iconic one. It’s always on display, no theatrics. If you go early, you might even have the room to yourself, with just two security guards quietly standing by. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/4218BE19-512F-4AD1-80CF-FB600BFF4072_4_5005_c.jpeg) The Scream All in all, I really enjoyed seeing the rest of Munch’s work—I truly like his style. The colors, the themes, the mood—everything resonated with me. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/1A55442C-6971-4B68-89BD-10AA6C062D70_1_102_o-1.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/6AA453D4-26F6-4E60-8F36-4824B8325C4A_1_102_o-1.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/1EE72281-E39C-4C7A-95ED-76510262C0FC_1_102_o-1.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2025/06/54E60883-AECD-416C-A194-E07AC1A02D0D_1_102_o-1.jpeg) Some tips: - Get the Oslo Pass — it’s a good deal. - Trams are my favorite way to get around. - The electric ferries for island hopping are a close second. - Oslo Pride is an example for other cities — though even here, there’s always that one guy shouting about how Jesus will punish everyone. - Summer days in Oslo feel never-ending… if only the places didn’t have closing hours. ### Travel in 2023 URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/travel-in-2023/ Last updated: 2024-02-16T16:32:08.000Z I am aware it's already February in 2024\. But it's never too late to recap all the significant trips from last year. ## Turin / Val Thorens ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF6405.JPG) Les 3 Vallées For the very first time we went to France for our ski holidays. It was the fifth winter (except for COVID years) for us to spend a week in the Alps improving our snowboarding skills. Previously, we were exploring Italian resorts. It was time to try the French Alps. Val Thorens was the town that others have highly recommended: high altitude guarantees the snow; wide and long slopes are ideal for snowboarders. We got it all. There were plenty of headlines about the lack of snow in European pistes. Val Thorens is the highest ski town in Europe and will likely will be the last winter resort to close down because of climate change. France is more expensive than Italy. Val Thorens is a town in high demand. It is full of Brits and French. It does creates an extra price markup. Thus, Val Thorens feels much more cosmopolitan: salads with quinoa in the slope restaurants, 1980s-style hotel bar with a great twist for Negroni. Our hotel had one-step access to the slopes. Nothing beats the convenience of returning to the hotel directly after a 30-minute run down the mountain. It was the best ski trip so far. It will be hard to beat Val Thorens for any other resort, but we are still in the phase of exploring. Maybe Switzerland in the year 2024? But we are definitely coming back again to [Les 3 Vallées](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les%5FTrois%5FVall%C3%A9es?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF6421.JPG) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF6534.JPG) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF6566.JPG) Turin The opportunity to visit Val Thorens has opened up because of a direct flight from Vilnius to Turin. It's so convenient to fly direct. As usual, we explored the city for a couple of days after going down the Alps. It's a beautiful city close to the mountains. We visited [Museo Casa Mollino](https://maps.app.goo.gl/FjJkKoEBWT8K9GXv7?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). An visit requires a booking in advance. In return, you are in for a boutique storytelling about Carlo Mollino. It's a very inspiring story surrounded by beautiful surroundings. The most significant art piece that Carlo Mollino has created is [Teatro Regio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro%5FRegio%5F%28Turin%29?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). Sadly, during our visit, no performances were happening. That's enough of a reason to come back to Turin. ## Chile ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF7017.JPG) Torres del Paine We continue to explore the guide of [the greatest hikes in the world](https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/epic-hikes-of-the-world-1?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). This year, we have decided to visit Patagonia. We have limited ourselves just to seeing Chile's Patagonia. In our lifetime, we still expect to visit Antarctica. It will be part of the bigger trip to see Argentina's Patagonia and visit Antarctica sometime in the future. So for now, it was all about seeing the best of Chile. Chile has Torres del Paine National Park. There is a great hike there: W for a few days; O for at least a week. Since we dedicated only two weeks to this trip, we chose to hike the W trek. It took as 4 days to complete it by staying in huts most of the nights and the campsite once. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF7018.JPG) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF7113.JPG) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/DSCF7224.JPG) Before the trip, we spend daily going up and down the stairs in our 8-floor building. This has helped us to prepare physically and it was the right preparation for the 4-day hike. We completed around 20km each day by bringing with us food and sleeping bags. In comparison with [Laugavegur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laugavegur?ref=edvinasbartkus.com), it was a more mainstream hike with more comfort for the hikers. We stayed in the rooms for 6, we had a shower, and for dinner, you could get freshly cooked Salmon. There were quite a few hikers on the trail so you never felt of being in the wilderness. ## Vienna For the wedding anniversary, I and my wife chose Vienna for a weekend gateway. Just before the trip, Monocle published Quality of Life survey results awarding Vienna as the most liveable city in 2023\. It was a good opportunity to explore it for a few days. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/3A803044-4FA2-4912-90C9-DBD2E7ACFA4B-12858-000005423EB8E0BF.jpg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/CDE4009B-E7E5-40E4-86B9-E6E035A54583-12858-00000541E9435628.jpg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/429ADA1C-817F-4A8F-9E12-737D8AF6C55B-12858-0000054378D7414C.jpg) Vienna Vienna is a grand city. Rich history with fancy architecture. Huge museums with very expensive art collections. It does match all the quality of life criteria: good connections with other airports, great public transport, very extensive infrastructure to bike and walk in the city, super safe. However, sometimes you can feel too much structure/system in everything that you can't feel the soul of the city. You might feel distant from the city. Often I think about my home city Vilnius. I wonder what impression the city leaves on those who come here for a weekend. On paper, Vilnius is far from Vienna: there aren't that many flights, public transport is rather old and not so popular, bike network is booming but haven't usage has not caught up. However, for tourists, the city can leave a great first impression – a beautiful old town, with friendly people and cozy spaces. What I find loveable about my town is just outside of the tourist bubble. Weekend tourists rarely step out of that bubble. I believe Vienna has a strong soul and a very rich local culture life. However, when you are just for the weekend it's rather difficult to break out from that touristic bubble and experience how the locals live. I bet Vienna is better to live in, rather than for a long weekend stay. ## Paris ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/39E555BA-D16F-42D1-A156-38D9848D7ADC-20009-000004CCA965382C.jpg) [Bourse de commerce Pinault Collection](https://www.pinaultcollection.com/en/boursedecommerce?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) I am pushing for a new tradition - visit Paris at least every other year (London every second year). Paris like London is the city that you come to every year and there is plenty of new places to visit, exhibitions to see and restaurants to explore. This year, we came for the last weekend of September. That's not the best weekend. There were so many exhibitions not yet ready for an opening. Just one week later, there were so many more things opening up: the Van Gogh exhibition opening in d'Orsay, the Duchamp and Chagall exhibitions opening in Pompidou, Rothko exhibition in the Louis Vuitton Foundation. The takeaway, the French are rather late to come back from the summer and spend most of September preparing for the new season, the best time to come is mid-October. Next year, there is an Olympics in Paris. A year to skip if you are not supporting your favorite athlete. After the Olympics, Pompidou will close for 5 years and we took an opportunity to visit Pompidou one more time. Let's see what will it be like when it reopens. I am pretty sure there won't be an NFT hall there anymore. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/IMG_2445.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/IMG_2513.jpeg) [Lee Lozano](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee%5FLozano?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) and [Gustave Courbet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave%5FCourbet?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) During the visit to Paris, we dedicated quite some time to see [Musée d'Orsay](https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). It was a great recap of the art courses that we have completed in the previous year. We saw so many artworks that we could recognize from the lectures. That also signifies our growing interest in art and trying to educate ourselves more about it. ## Andalusia By the end of the year, we had one more trip. To southern Spain. Another attempt to create a tradition. Two years ago we started going to a local rock climbing club. With on-and-off timing, we continue to slowly progress in climbing. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/IMG_0192.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/IMG_2888.jpeg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/12/IMG_2965.jpeg) We spent 4 days in the El Chorro region learning and practicing lead climbing. We have spent each day outdoors in the sun until the beautiful sunset in the evening. When lucky with the weather it is easy to be envious of the Spanish winter. Before rock climbing, we spent a few days in Seville. A beautiful and sunny city full of history. Somehow, it feels like the time slows down here where traditions remain alive. From bullfighting to religious processions. After the trip, we spent a couple of days in Granada. Yet another beautiful historical city. Many beautiful gardens around beautiful palaces. The mixture of African culture makes the Andalusian region very different from other parts of Spain. --- There were quite a few new destinations in the year 2023\. Love to see the traditions being alive for us. It was an incredible opportunity to complete one of the world's most beautiful hikes in Patagonia. For the next year, I think we will skip doing a big hike but rather visit a big metropolis. I see Japan being on our radar. The Venice Biennale is happening in 2024, and we want to see it. Also, it will be the year visiting London. Great travel ahead! ### 30 best restaurants in Lithuania URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/30-best-restaurants-in-lithuania/ Last updated: 2023-07-30T10:38:48.000Z Last week we had the [30 best restaurants in Lithuania](https://30geriausiurestoranu.lt/restoranai?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) announced. While we do not have a Michelin guide, the competition remains the highest-profile event to rate the restaurants. The rating is not made by the professionals but rather by the popular vote. Rated by 80 members (including the restauranteurs), it's an election for the restaurant goers to choose what they prefer the most. This competition got me and my wife excited. We have visited most of them so we can use our experience to rate them as well. We made our predictions and made our bets. We've made correct guesses about who will make it to the Top 5\. I've even managed to guess #1\. It's not surprising, though. If you follow Lithuania's culinary space, it's not that hard to predict who will be at the top. [Some](https://www.facebook.com/Ceprackas/posts/pfbid04KBidLTucDBevt25ZyPEWttZ2xru4NGMDigwxgEK8sNJiNbCuczjGwrHTk26yo5kl) hate the competition. The argument - leave the ratings to the professionals. While there is some truth in the argument, our market is too small yet to be noticed by high-profile ratings. While they are not here yet, it's fine to have our own Eurovision-like voted rating. During the winner announcement, they mentioned that 1st ([Gaspar's](https://www.gaspars.lt/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com)) and 2nd ([Džiaugsmas](http://www.dziaugsmas.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com)) had a very close score with a big gap from the third place. The more I think of the experiences we had at those two restaurants, it was always a great experience: the food was always a delight without making you feel at the edge, the service was always pleasant and most importantly we really wanted to be back there again and again. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/07/180469.jpg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2023/07/171777.jpg) Joyful in Gaspar's I do believe the rating has picked the top restaurants that had consistently created a joyful dining experience. There is plenty of room for other ratings to come and judge the chef's excellence and mastery. For now, we have a rating that shows what common restaurant goers choose for a great dining experience, and it's perfectly fine rating. ### 2022 in review URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/year-2022/ Last updated: 2023-01-10T21:11:04.000Z I have spent the end of the year at home with the flu. NYE cancelled. Kopa, our dog, was staying at the hotel to ensure I minimize the human contact and to preserve my energy. It was a strange feeling not to have a dog around. Home felt empty and silent. Now Kopa is back home, and everything feels more or less mundane. It is time to reflect about the year that just wrapped. I have mixed feelings about this year. The war that started in the first quarter disrupted the calmness. It feels like the progress of humanity has stepped back. I hate that after 10 months the war few thousand kilometers away has become the new norm. Often I feel helpless. The end does not seem in sight. The hope for justice is lost. I try to follow the news and [root](https://blue-yellow.lt/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) for the victory. Слава Україні! Regardless of the disrupted world, my personal life did go quite well. As I was collecting the moments from the last year, I feel like there were plenty of trips and adventures. ## Travel We didn't do "big" trip this year. There were many smaller ones though: we resumed our winter slopes tradition; we have visited Venice twice; we have visited Nice for a late autumn break. We did spend a week of our summer vacation in Madeira. It was a dissapointment. There were good parts: we hiked [Pico Ruvio](https://www.alltrails.com/trail/portugal/madeira--2/pr1-pico-do-arieiro-pico-ruivo?ref=edvinasbartkus.com), drove around the island, did see beautiful nature and tried canyoning for the very first time. But overall, we felt like we were in the land where people come to spend their afternoons by the pool in enourmous resort complexes by the ocean. We have worked-lived in Amsterdam for a week. I had big hopes for Amsterdam, but somewhat the week there was too much. There are plenty of other beatufiul cities in Netherlands that are definately on our radar. We had a very first rock climbing trip to the mountains. We have been going to local climbing community center. We progressed slowly, but by the summer time we were ready to try out the rocks. We enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to our guide, who couched us well, we enjoyed the mountains a lot. I am hopeful it was the beginning of a new summer tradition. ## Music Covid is "over" - concerts are back. Bonobo, Caribou, Arlo Parks, Alt-J, Michael Kiwanuka, Dry Cleaning. All of them were great. I have enjoyed being in a crowd surounded by others enjoying good performance. In 2022, I have stopped following the top trends and looked back at what is my favorite genre of music. Indie Rock and Alternative Rock is what excites me the most. I have been seeking for the great guitar sounds more and more. I've listened more old albums but enjoyed some new releases as well. Nilüfer Yanya released a new album "Painless". It dominated my listening queue. The album was rated well by the critics. Her voice and guitar sounds make a pefect energetic combo with nostalgic mood in the songs. I wish to see her live when she tours with Painless. I missed it in 2022, but I am hopeful to see her somewhere in Europe this year. ## Books I won more time for books this year. Even though the number of read books is still low (around 15), I feel like I spent decent amout of my attention being into a book. Somehow I feel like I've broken free from pressure of reading and enjoy it just for myself. I spend quite some time exploring what to read. When I find it, I really get into book. I continue enjoy the autobiographies. [Lady Sings the Blues](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/290112.Lady%5FSings%5Fthe%5FBlues?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) was great; [Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/532458.Out%5Fof%5FThis%5FCentury?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) has really elevated Venice experience; I am interested what Sofia Coppola will make it from [Elvis and Me](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/955725.Elvis%5Fand%5FMe?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). [Open](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6480781-open?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) was the one that helped me to conclude that Tennis is the sport I enjoy the most watching. Hopefully I get to see big slam finals live one day. I am interested in continuing the journey of becoming a bigger reader. I know that I need to improve my habits to pick up a book more frequently. ## Movies I feel like I am less into movies. I remember in the old times I could watch any movie. This year, I left the cinema in the middle of the movie – it was bad, and it wasn't getting any better. I have managed to get criterion subscription. Now I try to watch at least one old movie per month. Learning about the movie history gives an additional perspective about the current movies. [Cinema Speculation](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55922488-cinema-speculation?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) was the book that also made me appreciate the impact of some old masters. Hopefully this interest continues. Favorite movie? Hard to say. But there were really great gems in movie festivals through out the year. [Pacifiction](https://letterboxd.com/edvinasbartkus/film/pacifiction/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). [Godland](https://letterboxd.com/edvinasbartkus/film/godland/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). [Boiling point](https://letterboxd.com/edvinasbartkus/film/boiling-point-2021/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). [The Restless](https://letterboxd.com/edvinasbartkus/film/film:707123/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). My wish for next year is to continue the interest in indie and festival movies and educate myself about old movies. ## Side projects There weren't more time for my side projects. There is plenty of work at my day job, and as I have recapped all activites that I have done through the year, I don't feel like I have wasted time for unmeaningful activities. I am OK with not having an active side project for the time being. Regardless, I have started Ticket Holder rewrite in Swift. It is going slow, but I really enjoy learning the native development for iOS. I plan to release Ticket Holder without any new features this year, but purely rewritten in native language for it's operating system. [Ticket Holder](https://ticketholder.app/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) continues to be valuable utility for me: I keep buying tickets and planning concerts, performances and other type of events for 2023. ### Community of subscribers URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/the-world-after-twitter/ Last updated: 2022-11-13T16:37:53.000Z Lately, my Twitter feed has plenty of Linkedin promotionalism, bunch of Reddit memes, and in recent weeks everything is more or less about Twitter itself. During these turbulents times, I question myself how much do I need Twitter. Maybe it's just an old habbit of keeping my FOMO in place. I do not see Elon's acquisition of Twitter as bad, nor good. I wish he has an opportunity to experiment and to try different things. Sadly, I think he has very limited Twitter experience. It will limit him greatly coming up with right ideas. But in the end, he will spend most of his energy trying to fix the business side of Twitter. Just like every other CEO tried to do before. World without Twitter does not sound like an extreme. Already, many have shifted their focus to smaller group medium, keeping opinions and discussions more private. Nieche communities built around opinion leaders have also switched to newsletters and RSS feeds. I wish this medium would innovate expanding current format of broadcasting ideas. Make it more bidirectional way of communication. Medium.com has completely missed the new wave of newsletters. However, they did well on creating easy way to highlight and start discussion around certain parts of text. I know that [Ben Thompson](https://stratechery.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) receives plenty of replies to his daily updates. I want to part of it. I want to know what others are questioning or arguing. That's where I feel we're moving, medium owned by authors but with tools to let me connect with others who subscribe to the very same thing. ### Year 2021 URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/year-2021/ Last updated: 2022-01-13T22:29:42.000Z Two weeks into 2022\. It feels like it is too late to talk about the previous year. After a year-long break from publishing anything here, I am keen to put a note. This post is an excuse for the long pause of no writing. In the autumn of 2020, I have received an unexpected offer to join [a startup](https://argyle.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). It was a timely change of my job and a return to the startup world. I have had missed a fast-changing environment with chaotic adventures every week. Three years prior have been spent working in [a well-established company](https://nearform.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) with a healthy life-work balance. I have enjoyed every bit of it. I did meet inspiring engineers where I've learned plenty of new things. After dozen different projects I've worked on, I have started calling JavaScript my mother tongue language. Working in a steep growth startup, you have to adjust. By seeking to keep my work-life balance, the first thing that suffered was my side projects: I did not write any new thoughts post last year; [Ticket Holder](https://ticketholder.app/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) has not received any new update (this is a happy note to celebrate that the app is working and is functional); my Twitch stream project ended before getting my very own publicity. On the positive side, I did find valuable time for spending time offline: traveled around Iceland; visited Athens; started practicing bouldering regularly; caught up with old-time classics (movies and TV). Even reading was not that bad last year. The startup is growing. I am adjusting to my role. Compared to what it was in the beginning, it has much more defined responsibilities. For me, it is a familiar feeling from the past. This time I am enjoying it and embracing the change. In 2022, I want to win back some of my time for side projects. Priority number one is to bring back my writing. It must be a long-term game. - frequent short personal writings. In other words, a dump of my thoughts to document what's going on. My life is not only work. There are quite a few things I would love to share here. ### Long Live RSS URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/long-live-rss/ Last updated: 2020-08-29T20:13:36.000Z Back in a day, I was a heavy Google Reader user. I had subscribed to a few hundred feeds. It resulted in quite some posts every single day. It was messy, unorganized without a focus. Still, I used to check as one of the primary sources of information and tried not to miss "the news." The killing of Google Reader, not only removed the tool but also ripped out my habit. I exported my subscriptions from Google Reader. I tried to use new tools like Feedly. However, none of it did stick with me. I completely abandoned the following. Maybe I was too young for it to organize it well? Maybe Google Reader was just a toy to satisfy my fear of missing out? ## Feedbin Maybe a year ago, I noticed the comeback of RSS. Not sure if it was gone or I was only missing out on it. The primary driver was the interest in following people's blogs. I got fed up with Medium and other content aggregator's reading experiences. I wanted to support independent blogs with my attention. I decided to try out the RSS reader again. Quickly reviewing the existing tools and solutions, it seemed a good idea to use [Feedbin](http://feedbin.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). It uses a clean and well-thought design. More than a year later, Feedbin has been one of the few loved products that I'm super happy paying for. Strangely, I think paying for a service, in the beginning, was a critical reason why was able to get my RSS habit back. If I am paying for a service, I really want to use it and to know I am getting the best value for the buck. Feedbin exceded every expectation. ### Native apps Feedbin is such a long time player in the field that almost all native Mac apps for RSS do support Feedbin as a sync account. I did try to use a couple of them. Little did stick with me. I use [NetNewsWire](https://ranchero.com/netnewswire/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) on my iPad. It works smoothly and is one of those [Mac-assed](https://daringfireball.net/linked/2020/03/20/mac-assed-mac-apps?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) apps. It works great on the Mac too but somehow I miss some keyboard shortcuts. I do come back to vanilla Feedbin just because it is that good. It provides a lot of customization and it is as fast as a native app on my mac. And actually, it is faster because it does not have to do any sync. ### Newsletters Feedbin gives you an email that you can use for newsletter subscription. I have moved all my email subscriptions and I am very happy about that. For me, a newsletter is just like an RSS feed: an occasional post that I am interested in. Additionally, Feedbin native web app is able to recreate some styling that was applied for email. It creates one more compelling reason just to stick with vanilla Feedbin. ### Read it later Feedbin also solved another problem. Before, I was a [Pocket](https://getpocket.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) app user. I used to bookmark articles to read. However, I bookmarked more than I read. Feedbin does come with a bookmarklet that can be used as a way to send the whole webpage to Feedbin inbox. Since now it's a habit to read RSS updates, it's a great place to come back to long-reads that have been bookmarked before. ## Conclusion I am happy that now I have created a workflow that works well for me. I am driven by the idea to support people who come back to personal blogging. I am still interested to find more great blogs to follow. Once found, I will know what to do: - if it's in a form of newsletter - I have an email address to subscribe to - RSS provided? I will subscribe to it - a single blog post to read? I will send it to my reading inbox Note: this is not a sponsored post. Simply, it is my appreciation for a great tool out there - well priced, well designed and working flawlessly. ### Little love for software URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/little-love-in-software/ Last updated: 2020-07-13T19:04:12.000Z Last week Jon Gruber published an article "[A Moment of Clarity Regarding the Raison d’Etre for the App Store](https://daringfireball.net/2020/07/app%5Fstore%5Fmoment%5Fof%5Fclarity?ref=edvinasbartkus.com)". It was right to the point. It reminded me of the story that happened in my family. A year ago, my wife was thinking about getting a light portable computer. Her work laptop is heavy and bulky. It is no joy to bring it home in case there is something urgent that needs to be done in the evening or at the weekend. She wanted to have a light machine that would enable her to send an email, edit a webpage, or create a document. Tablet was a perfect fit. Nowadays, they are light and easy to use, powerful for Microsoft Office suite, and full of apps to do any work. Shamelessly, I highly recommended an iPad since I hear only positive things about it. We did not finish setting up all the needed apps and setups, the idea of iPad being a work tool was shattered. One night, my wife had to send out an email with an attachment. It was mission impossible. She uses Gmail at work, so it was no brainer to install Gmail for iPad. She received a few emails with the documents. She saved it locally on the iPad. She composed a new email and wanted to attach the documents. With an attachment picker, she could not find how to find the files she had saved a few minutes ago. I was called in for help and tried to find a magic trick. Gmail for iPad simply did not choose to use a native file picker. They created their picker with their custom functionality. As a result, their non-native file-picker did not have an option to pick a file from local storage. I spent half an hour Googling for a solution and trying to find the way. Without any luck. Eventually, I came up with a "magic" trick to send out an email with received attachments to yourself. Then, those attachments will appear in "Recent attachments" in the Gmail attachment picker window. It was an ugly workaround to such a simple situation. This situation completed killed the experience for my wife. She was furious. She did not want to get to know who to blame. The software did not work. It was a situation that does not allow you to do the job. That was it. Since then, the iPad was collecting dust until I picked it up for my use. I do remember this situation quite often. It is a reminder of how often so little love is put into software making. It was a little bit of an opening that living with workarounds has been part of my daily routine as a software developer. But it should not be a thing! ### Remote URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/remote/ Last updated: 2020-06-09T18:00:00.000Z I have spent 3 years working remotely. Here are my thoughts on the whole experience. Three years ago, I was looking for a job. I was very interested in a different work environment. Breaking out to different circles of people sounded like a change I needed in my life. However, I did not want to leave my home and my city, friends, and family. Remote work was not the key criteria back then, though it was the closest thing to my interest in change. After the round of interviews, I ended up joining NearForm, the company known for its expertise with Node and JavaScript ecosystem. Most of the staff are remote in the EU and US and the company is proudly remote-first. ## Routine During those three years, I have tried out different things in my routine. At first, I was spending full time working from a co-working space. Later, my partner and I were moving to different cities every few weeks, working from Airbnb rentals. Most recently, before the quarantine, I was combining work from a co-working in the morning and working from home in the afternoon. Now, during the pandemic, I am working from home. What I have learned is that I love changing the environment. Often, the change itself is a great motivator and it improves my focus. Also, the change during the day is a great quick reset to increase my motivation. That's why the combination of co-working and work from home worked well for me and I am looking forward to getting back to it. Another reason why I choose the combination is that I don’t want to get bored with my home. Having lunch in the city is a great way to break out of monotony. Having a shared co-working is also a great way to practice some offline socialization. It is valuable to know what works best for you and be in control of it. I don’t find myself unmotivated as I used to get in the past. It is extremely beneficial for my work and life balance. Remote work allowed me to explore it and it helped me learn about my motivations and inspirations. ## Challenges Two of the most common complaints about remote work are about ending your workday and feeling lonely. None of those has been a big issue for me. For the past two years, there is a German Shepard in our family. Every minute I spend working from my home office she is sleeping next to me. With her next to me, I don't feel lonely at home. Without her home would feel too empty. More importantly, she is great to help to seize the workday. Usually, around six she is awake from her day sleep and asking to go for a walk. It's the best reminder to wrap up your workday. I start a day with a fresh walk in the forest with my dog. This is a valuable part of the routine. I never get to my work with pajamas. It's the other way around, I start my workday fresh and energized after spending almost an hour being outside every morning. For me, the biggest challenge is about finding friends with your colleagues. Often, we take for granted that offices create situations where people spend time not only working but also getting familiar with each other that lead to friendships. In remote work, it does not happen naturally. It takes work to create relationships and keep those relationships strong. Sometimes all the work and all the meetings can get only just about work. This is something where I want to improve myself a little, to become more of a friend to my colleagues. ## Home office My setup at home is far from perfect. Improving it is a constant process where you learn a lot as you go. Being in control of the setup gives you the responsibility to think and evaluate what works and what’s not. Before, it did not feel so important how your tools fit your needs. Now, when most of the things were well thought through, it gives more motivation about my environment. It can become a hobby or a time-waste researching the keyboard, mouse, chair, or headphones. For me, it feels like an inner nerd is a little bit happier with all the conscious decisions I have made. In the past, I appreciated all the minimal workspaces and it’s aesthetics. Now, I am more interested in all the cluttered spaces because there is something more special about getting all those things in place. Cluttered space is not necessarily untidy. It can be that everything was placed to solve a special need. My workspace is opposite from minimal and now it feels more personal and more thought through. The workspace that I like contributes a lot to love my work. ## Conclusion Overall, I am in the best relationship with my work in recent years. Partly, it's about the work that I do. Partly, it's because I can work remotely in my chosen environment being more in control. It does not mean that I can't go back to the office. More like I am more aware of how to evaluate the pros and cons of any possible future work environment. In the past, I think I had to cope a lot with invisible stress that I was not well aware of. In the current setup, it's not that a avoid stress completely. It is more of that I have more tools to control the stress. Especially, the home environment is a thing that helps a lot to prepare and address the challenges that await. I feel physically and psychologically in a good state. Any changes that might happen, I will try not to worsen what I have right now. ### Ode to rdio URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/rdio/ Last updated: 2020-05-07T16:02:25.000Z Great software does not come along often. No one has nailed music listening experience as rdio did. It was the best music app. It is gone for 5 years already. I miss it a lot and I am not the [only](https://mobile.twitter.com/TrentWalton/status/893115010058133504?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [one](https://mobile.twitter.com/jayholler/status/885297914435616768?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [who](https://mobile.twitter.com/kowitz/status/1235450695580409856?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [misses](https://mobile.twitter.com/Shpigford/status/1257405372740108289?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) it. What was so great about the product? ## Collector experience First, with rdio I learned to listen to albums. I forgot about the existence of the shuffle button, I forgot about the playlists. It was surprising for me how much thought and work are put into the album itself, and not just to the songs. The sequence of the songs is the journey that the artist is willing to take you and it's a very important part of the music listening. With this new learning, I started to fall in love with particular albums. I felt like I need to listen to the whole album to understand it. Once I like it, I would add to my Collection. It created the feeling that every album in the collection is special and well-chosen. In recent years, I have started to practice the music collection by buying vinyl. It became an interesting part of every trip for me and my wife to browse through vinyl shops searching for the music that should be part of our ultimate collection. Nevertheless, my vinyl collection is much smaller than I want it to be. I still like digital music listening experience and I wish I could still keep my bigger collection with digital albums well organized. Rdio product nailed it by creating a possibility to love the album separately from keeping it in the collection. Loved albums is the subset of your collection that you want to come back to more often than to all the other albums. In rdio experience, the album was always the primary unit of music. It made a lot of sense and it felt respectful to music. Current solutions are too obsessed with curated and personalized playlists, it often feels like consuming the radio. ## Design rdio design was before it's time. When iOS design migrated from iOS 6 (skeuomorphic) to iOS 7, it felt like the whole iOS copied rdio design guidelines. Back then I think the rdio product design inspired a lot of other designers to seek minimalism. As I was going through old screenshots of rdio I found how well it was designed for the small screen. Limited space constraints pushed designers for a better experience. You needed to prioritise action buttons and information you want to display. With rdio, everything was easily accessible and well-chosen where is your focus. In the product UI, it felt like the album cover art is the central piece of every screen. This also resembled that feeling of putting posters of your favorite bands or movies on your wall in your teenage years. The minimal design embraces the art of the content and album covers are as important as the lyrics and the melody. ## Playback The unique feature that I haven't seen yet replicated by any other music player is the ability to manage your listening queue by albums. Yet again, if you add an album to the queue you get the album as an entity in the queue. It was very convenient to resort the queued albums instead of dealing with a bunch of songs on the long list. rdio felt completely opposite to the radio but it mastered music discovery pretty well. You could start listening to a station based on an artist and at any time you could choose the degree of how adventures you want to be with the next recommended song. It was brilliant! ## Social An important part of music discovery was having social features. You could follow other members and see what they are listening to, adding to their collection. The social side of the product did not felt obtrusive. It was integrated elegantly. The whole social network of rdio reminds me of [Letterboxd](http://letterboxd.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). It was about reviewing and taking care of the well being of your collection first, discovering, and socializing second. After all, probably great product attracted great a community and it was lively. ## Conclusion Compared with the current state of music listening services, it does not seem that rdio was so unique or radical. Using Spotify and Apple Music you can still enjoy music. There is just less excitement in spending hours and hours with music. Small details make a big difference. I choose to believe that rdio product designers were well opinionated what music listening experience should be and they did not have to deal with design committees that end up with compromises. Some of the small neat details cost a lot of time to develop (queued albums for example) and this was not good in a competitive market. In my view, rdio is a great example where the best product does not necessarily win. All my praises are completely subjective. At least I am not the only one who admired it: - [A Eulogy for rdio by The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/a-eulogy-for-rdio/416310/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) - [rdio, you'll be missed](https://medium.com/@bryanjclark/rdio-you-ll-be-missed-4322d2e7fbc4?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) As part of getting into SwiftUI, I will be dedicating my free time for the next side project to bring back some of the best rdio experience in a music player. Since my thoughts are coming back to rdio again and again, it should be an exciting project to play with, in my free time. ### Lost in Translation URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/lost-in-translation/ Last updated: 2020-04-25T11:07:18.000Z Before the quarantine, our local cinema theatre in Vilnius was doing a monthly screening of the movie from the past. They had "Lost in Translation" on a schedule and I could not miss it. I have been ranking it as my favourite movie of all. Moreover, it was one of the conversation starters with my wife when we met. Rewatching it was a test to see does it still stand as the movie number one for me. Seeing the movie after 17 years from original screening it really does make you perceive it differently. The movies don't change but we change a lot. The flirt between Charlotte and Bob does not seem to be so innocent nowadays compared with what I thought of it being 16-year-old. The younger me emphasised the beauty of the relationship in the making. Now, I am more worried about seeing unhappy people coping with their loneliness in life. My thoughts were wondering about the emotions that each character is living with. I was recognising more experiences of my own whereas originally it was unnoticed. The storyline feels so natural and relatable at the same time being a genius because of its simplicity. I tend to believe the beauty of the story comes from it being the reflection of real-life experience. It does not have anything too much or too little of. In spite of all the seriousness, I was surprised how much humour I found in the movie. I was catching myself giggling and smiling throughout the movie. I guess it is a part of the reflection of myself. I am in a rather happy state where I can enjoy things. This time, the movie was also more of a comedy where originally it was more of a romance drama. Lost in Translation was the movie that opened the door to the sub-genre that I have loved and explored throughout the years. Movies like Before Midnight (the whole series), Marriage Story, and similar realistic relationship dramas have been my favourite. In this sub-genre, Lost in Translation did not age at all. It is still relevant, still enjoyable and it's still my movie number one. ### Launching Ticket Holder URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/launching-ticket-holder/ Last updated: 2020-02-07T17:58:23.000Z A week ago I have publicly launched an iOS app called [Ticket Holder](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ticket-holder/id1440005713?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). It’s an app where you can import tickets in PDF file format. This has been my side project for a few years already. Here is the story of how it came to be. I have always been interested in dedicating my free time to some kind of a side project. I am interested in either solving some sort of a problem of mine or doing something that is in the field of my interest. With the side project, I want to work differently than I am used to in my daily work. It can be different technology development or something completely different from engineering (like recording and producing a podcast). # Problem and Solution Ticket Holder is an app that is solving my struggle to organize tickets to the events. At any given time I have tickets to events that I will be attending in a week or a month's time. It can be tickets to a theater performance, movie tickets at the festival, music concert or even basketball game. In recent years I have forgotten about tickets and I have missed at least two events just by not being well organized with my tickets. It was an even more awkward moment to come to the concert and learn that I have purchased a single ticket even though I was going with my wife. Because of all these problems I believed that an app that I can build will be of great help. Apple Wallet support is getting more popular but it’s still not the main format of how I get tickets after the purchase. Even when Apple Wallet is supported, all the tickets are provided in PDF format. That’s the most common for any type of tickets. That’s is also what I have built my app upon - importing PDF tickets. Even when you get your tickets to Apple Wallet, it’s still a great mess: - Wallet tickets are not automatically archived - You can’t get a glance at what are upcoming events - It’s rather challenging to see the event date - It does not integrate with your Calendar - There is no easy way to share the ticket before the event Overall, I find only three key features in Apple Wallet that are super valuable for tickets when it’s used: getting automatic full brightness for barcode scanning; providing a fixed view for good barcode scanning; getting the ticket to appear on the lock screen at the right time. With my plan what I can do with Ticket Holder, I knew I can replicate two of the three earlier mentioned key features. But with all other key functionality may be Ticket Holder can give more overall benefits. However, there is one feature that I can’t compete in easiness — Apple Wallet tickets come in a well-predefined structure (title, date) with all the right metadata (seat, row, etc.). Here is how imagined Ticket Holder working: - You can use the Share Sheet to export PDF file to Ticket Holder - Ticket Holder scans for barcodes and tries to predict the type of event, title, and date. You can quickly add ticket as key information is well predicted - All tickets are listed sorted by its upcoming date and time - Ticket Holder automatically creates a calendar event - At the time of the event, you open the ticket and you get a key call to action button - Zoom to scan. It automatically gets your screen brightened and zoomed to the barcode. Arrows forward and back let you iterate through all the barcodes # Development In my previous career gig, I had an opportunity to lead the development of a mobile app. The mobile side of the product was a great success and I really enjoyed working on mobile platforms. Since I do not get to work on consumer-oriented products nowadays I felt nostalgic about getting to work on a mobile app. As a had great experience with React Native technology in the past, I also used it for Ticket Holder. To my surprise, along the way, I did get to write quite some Objective-C code. For things like Cloud Sync for the tickets or privacy-oriented Calendar suggestions, I had to work with the latest APIs. I see that my next step could be contributing a little bit back to React Native community at least with writings on how to take the benefits of the iOS ecosystem. I got an early version working on my phone rather quickly. However, it took more than two years to get the app publicly launched. Along the way I had abandoned the project several times but I kept coming back. Ticket Holder was the greatest learning project on how to manage myself. When I was stuck with code I tried to design; when I was stuck getting the feature to work I had to strip it out from the roadmap. Eventually, I got the whole app designed, programmed and launched by myself. Next step is to learn how to promote it. There were few important features of Ticket Holder that might not seem to be a big deal but were very important for my app vision. I don’t want to rely on my own built backend. I don’t want to protect anyone's valuables in my server. Also, I want to make this app long-living even when I will get bored with it. There is no user registration in the app but all the tickets are synced with iCloud so you can access it on two different devices. Also, I can’t get access to the tickets you have imported to the app. The storage and sync are managed by Apple and not being transmitted to my nor any third-party infrastructure. # Wrap up I would love to see Ticket Holder get viral success but the probability of it happening is very low. Therefore I will try to go slowly listening to other people how this app can be useful for them. At least until Apple gets to improve the Apple Wallet app. One key feature that has been already part of version one is the possibility to export already imported tickets to Apple Wallet. This is the biggest expectation I heard from people trying out the app. This app is already solving my problem but I believe it can help many others. Even if it’s a tiny community of users would love to know people are having the app on their home screen. Getting people to signup for TestFlight and getting positive feedback was very uplifting. Launching it and getting it public was a great sense of achievement. This has created a new experience that I have expected from side projects. There are still new experiences that I can get with Ticket Holder so will try to dedicate some of my attention-loving this project. ### 2019 in review URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/2019-in-review/ Last updated: 2020-01-23T19:11:54.000Z 2019 has been a great year. I got married, we took the most astonishing trip to the Canadian Rockies, for our honeymoon. Work was going well and I have improved my time management skills for side projects such as [podcasting](http://podaskestas.lt/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) and working on mobile apps. But year in review is more about consumable media that I want to rank and document for myself. ## Music A few years ago, when my wife moved in with me she brought an old record player. Since then we started visiting record stores seeking albums that are worth becoming one of the many that should age well. For the moment, I am super happy that we added [Lost In Translation](https://www.discogs.com/Various-Lost-In-Translation-Music-From-The-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/13468045?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack) to our beloved collection. It feels like in 2019 I've purified my primary choices in music. That well reflects in my rankings, but more importantly, I have enjoyed my favorite albums like I never did it before. [Nilüfer Yanya - Miss Universe](https://songwhip.com/album/nilufer-yanya/miss-universe?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [Faye Webster - Atlanta Millionaires Club](https://songwhip.com/album/faye-webster/atlanta-millionaires-club?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride](https://songwhip.com/album/vampire-weekend/father-of-the-bride?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [Mac Demarco - Here Comes the Cowboy](https://songwhip.com/album/mac-demarco/here-comes-the-cowboy?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [Brittany Howard - Jaime](https://songwhip.com/album/brittany-howard/jaime?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [Devendra Banhart - Ma](https://songwhip.com/album/devendra-banhart/ma?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) I listen to jazz occasionally. One notable album that was discovered in 2019 but released already in 2018: [Makaya McCraven - Universal Beings](https://songwhip.com/album/makaya-mccraven/universal-beings?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). This album specifically has condensed all the bits that I like about jazz. It is modern, it has a pulse and it creates a great atmosphere. ## Movies There were some great movies last year but I have listed only the ones that I want to remember from 2019\. I have spent much less time watching movies. More and more, we only watch the ones that were waiting for instead of seeing movies as a form of entertainment. [Marriage Story](https://boxd.it/hJAw?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [The Souvenir](https://boxd.it/gXU4?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) [Burning](https://boxd.it/hHUa?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) ### Poor Man's Podcasting Setup URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/poor-mans-podcasting-setup/ Last updated: 2020-01-11T09:03:21.000Z In the winter of 2018/2019, I have met two of my engineer friends for drinks. After a few rounds of drinks, we discussed that it would be rather fun to try out and launch a podcast. It seemed like in 2019 everyone started a podcast. For us, the podcast is the reason to catch up and to have a fun discussion not just once or twice a year but every month or so. We did not have the intention to run it as a professional project. Therefore we tried to keep it as lean as possible. We had to look for the best setup to record it, prepare it and publish it. Here are my notes on how we do it and how we keep at the cost of almost zero. ### Recording It's a three host show. Since we all are not based in the same city we can meet occasionally for the recording. We need a remote solution to record the episode. There are a few requirements for successful recording: - we need to record every track individually. Speaking one over another is rather inevitable. With each person as a separate track, I can edit the parts that are difficult to understand. - we need to keep the recording quality as high as possible. Tools like Skype are not known for audio quality. For the perfect scenario, we seek the quality that would not let the listener understand that this is a remote call. - we need the audio tracks exported to one of the free to use apps for the edit (Audacity, Garage Band or similar). - we need a cross-platform solution - we would like to use a free solution After all the experiments and tests we ended up using Discord server with a special Craig bot that records our audio channel. Discord works well on the Mac and Linux platforms that we use. Audio quality is rather high and Craig bot for Discord records each track separately. Anyone can add a Craig bot to their Discord server, use a command to invite to audio channel and after you ask it to stop it will provide you with the link to download audio files in different formats. In the beginning, we had an occurrence where Craig bot has crashed and left our audio channel. However, we did not lose what has been recorded up to the crash. Since then, Craig has worked without any problems. Important honorable mention - Zoom. It can be the best option to fit your needs. It has an option (off by default) to record every participant as a separate audio track. Additionally, you can even get raw audio quality. Bonus, you can use video to get a better discussion experience. However, none of us had a paid subscription for Zoom. The free version would limit the recordings up to 45 minutes. ## Editing My needs for audio edits are rather low. Since I am not an audiophile I do not do a lot of mixing on the equalizer. Most of the work is cuts and edits of what is being said. I have tried to work with Audacity in the beginning. It has a lot of great options to improve audio quality. In the first recordings, we had some problems with the background noise. A quick search on YouTube can give plenty of videos with instructions on how to master Audiactiy's effects. However, Audacity did not work well on my Mac computer. Even though nothing was broken the interface did not feel very responsive. Once you get used to edits you want things to be in the flow but Audacity was lagging for me. In the end, I ended up using Garage Band. It's a free app by Apple. It works fast and it's responsive. It is not as powerful as Audacity is but since most of the needs are just cut and paste for me it works flawlessly. ## Hosting In the beginning, we did not know how long our podcasting enthusiasm will last. No matter how many episodes we were going to record we wanted to make sure that those episodes would be available at any time. An intuitive approach would have been to host the audio files on [AWS S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) (maybe with [CloudFront](https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com)). However, we read some stories that this storage solution causes some issues for some podcast apps that fail to resume the download of bigs files on spotty internet connection. But more importantly, it complicates the process of retrieving statistics on how many downloads you get per episode. At the time of recording the very first episode, I have learned about [anchor.fm](https://anchor.fm/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). At the same time, it was being acquired by [Spotify](https://spotify.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). The service looked promising but also we were worried that we might end up locked in. We ended up uploading all the episodes to [anchor.fm](https://anchor.fm/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) only keeping our own static website that is being hosted on [gitlab.com](https://gitlab.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) as a static website. We proxy RSS feed to Anchor but it also gives a chance to change the service provider in the future if we decide to do so. [Anchor](https://anchor.fm/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) worked well and I can only recommend it for those who want to stay lean with their podcasting project. They also have an embeddable web player that has only one flaw. It does not preload audio files when going from one segment to another (you can upload multiple files for each chapter in an episode). You end up with rather long pauses between chapters. We ended up avoiding chapters after all trying to keep the episodes short with a single topic. Without a script, it's a rather challenging quest. ## Conclusion So far this setup was successful for us to record 7 episodes and we have plans for more. If you understand the Lithuanian language, I invite you to listen to our podcast. As we kept everything lean, simple and raw, we did the same with the name. It's called - "[Podas Kestas](https://podaskestas.lt/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com)". So far, it was a fun experience to have it as a side project. I did expect there were more tools in the podcasting industry to simplify the process. Nevertheless, it's possible to do it at a very low cost. However, it still requires time and dedication to make it. ### 2018/19: Snowboarding weekend in Kronplatz URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/kronplatz/ Last updated: 2019-10-21T12:04:13.000Z ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2019/10/IMG_20190208_120756.jpg) Kronplatz As we are planning our 2019/2020 winter vacations it's worth remembering and documenting our last winter season snowboarding experience. In February of 2019, we have been practicing snowboarding for the second season. We still felt newbies who need more and more practice. We spent the previous season practicing at our local mini ski resort and taking a quick trip to Slovakia's Jasna Ski Resort. The main requirement for this year's ski resort was to have plenty of wide and long blue slopes where we can continue our practice. As browsing through different ski resort websites I cam across Kronplatz that is well described in the [Telegraph article](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/articles/kronplatz-the-best-italian-ski-resort-youve-never-heard-of/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). We spent a long weekend in a beautiful small village called Parrocchia San Vigilio di Marebbe. We have stayed at a very memorable [Mölgg Dolomites Residence](https://www.moelgg-dolomites.com/en/dolomites-residence?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) where every room had a name of a skiing race location. The room was equipped with a mini infrared sauna that was just perfect to relax after the day of skiing. From the residence, it was just a short walk to get to the entrance of the skiing center. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2019/10/IMG_0110.jpg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2019/10/IMG_0112.jpg) ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2019/10/IMG_20190208_085032-2.jpg) Parrocchia San Vigilio di Marebbe / [Mölgg Dolomites Residence](https://www.moelgg-dolomites.com/en/dolomites-residence?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) As we started skiing on Thursday morning it felt empty and spacious. Without any queues, we got our equipment and got to the top of Kronplatz. From the very top, there were many wide slopes to ride on. In mid-February, the weather was warm and sunny. We quickly found our favorite slope going wide and long with a small bar at the end of it. Every other ride going down we would go to enjoy some sun and glass of Spritz. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2019/10/IMG_0118.jpg) The bar for Spritz We really enjoyed the spacious slopes and we had plenty of room to practice. We wish we stayed more days that we could enjoy the improvements we noticed on a very last day on the snow. Nevertheless, it's a great location for starters. The restaurants at the top were quick and the food was good. We wish there were more Italian food excellence at the places in the village. Nevertheless, we enjoyed cozy and friendly places that were no problem to get a table for two of us. This is one of the resorts that we would definitely be planning to come back, especially because of the hotel residency and the village. But also, there were many slopes that we did not try since our capabilities allowed us to enjoy the blue ones. ![](https://edvinasbartkus.com/content/images/2019/10/IMG_0125.jpeg) ### Music of 2018 URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/music-of-2018/ Last updated: 2019-01-06T20:36:58.000Z I think in 2018 I have listened to music the least. Mostly because instead of working in an open office plan I worked at home enjoying the silence and focus. Podcasts filled my commute time. Vinyl player replaced some quality time enjoying music at home. The highlight of the year was two of my favorite musicians visiting Vilnius. I was lucky enough to enjoy their performances: [Unknown Mortal Orchestra](https://unknownmortalorchestra.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) and [Mac DeMarco](https://www.mac-demarco.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com). Delightful surprises were [Moses Sumney](https://www.mosessumney.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) and [Laurie Anderson](http://www.laurieanderson.com/?ref=edvinasbartkus.com) performances in Vilnius. I felt like I have spent 2018 rediscovering forgotten albums and artists. However, top songs of 2018 do not capture that. It's more of a reflection of well-known artists bringing nice updates to their discography. ### Postmortem of not writing URL: https://edvinasbartkus.com/postmortem-of-not-writing/ Last updated: 2018-11-15T09:50:55.000Z I have attempted multiple times to start writing. However, it never came to be my habit. Nevertheless, I never stopped thinking of doing it. While I believe that writing is becoming cool again, it's yet my another attempt to do it. Here are few observations what went wrong and why I failed to deliver before. - I have created a dozen drafts with the stories I wanted to share. Most of them never been finished because I chose topics that required a lot of research and investigation. Instead, I should have focused on something simple. - I always wanted to provide new insights or valuable opinion. However, I am a starter and can't expect to deliver high quality on day one. I should not be afraid to share my honest opinion. - Many stories were around on broad topics. Those topics are great for the discussion but difficult to settle own opinion. However, there are plenty of personal insights that I could nicely document it instead of picking popular topics. - I was not able to finish anything I had started since I did not put any pressure on myself. Many drafts were waiting for my attention while my mind wondered on some new topics. To make it a habit I must treat it as a habit. I have to require it from myself to do it periodically. - I don't have an audience that watches my steps. Meaning, there is no one else but myself to disappoint. This time I will focus on documenting my experiences and I will keep on reminding myself: Short is better than long Today is twice better than tomorrow Personal is more interesting than general