· technology
Make TextEdit Open With a Blank Document
How to make TextEdit launch with a new untitled document instead of the Open panel, and how to change it back.
Systems thinker sharing tools and reading notes
I'm Tom, a web developer in Maryland. I build practical tools, read classics, and document what I learn. This site is where I share workflows, highlights from my reading, and experiments with code.
Field Notes
View all → · Perry Hall, MD
We woke up to several glorius inches of snow today. Baking, reading, and football are on the agenda.
· White Marsh, MD
I discovered brunch way too late in life. Highly recommend Lib’s Grille and The Local if you are anywhere near Perry Hall or White Marsh.
I rarely eat sweets, but when I do, it’s intentional.
· Baltimore, MD
One final game in my two year season tix experiment. Thank you, row 7, section 27.
Recent Posts
View all → · reading
What I Took From The Correspondent
Reflections on attention, correspondence, family, and place after reading The Correspondent.
· tools-i-actually-use
Tools I Actually Use: Google Sheets
Why Google Sheets sits at the center of my systems, with Apps Script and AI layered in deliberately.
· tools-i-actually-use
Tools I Actually Use: Instacart + ChatGPT
How I use Instacart and ChatGPT together to plan meals, build grocery orders, and keep food decisions contained and predictable.
· my struggle
What I Took from My Struggle Book 2 by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Unfinished adulthood, relationships, shame, ambition, and fatherhood in the second volume of My Struggle.
· classics
Finishing Anna Karenina and What It Stayed With Me
Reflections on completing Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and my connection to Levin, the novel’s tragic core, and the force of its characters.
Stay Updated
I share new tools, workflows, and reading notes every few weeks.