Linked List: June 23, 2022

Thursday, 23 June 2022

Marques Brownlee Previews Industrial Design of Nothing’s ‘Phone (1)’ ★

Shot: MKBHD has a nice short preview look at Nothing’s first phone, which is debuting in a few weeks. There are some aspects of its design that are clearly iPhone-inspired — the basic shape, flat sides, button shapes even. But there are other aspects that are clearly like nothing else — the clear back and light-up “glyph” interface for custom notifications while the phone is face down. I dig the Nothing aesthetic, so I was thinking maybe this might be my next Android “see how the other side lives” devices.

Chaser: “Nothing Confirms Phone (1) Will Not Be Coming to US”.

So much for that idea.

Twenty Years of Flying Meat ★

Gus Mueller:

On this day twenty years ago I registered the flyingmeat.com domain. I had no idea what I was doing back then, only that I loved coding, I loved sharing what I worked on, and indie companies were undisputedly cool.

Twenty years later I still have no idea what I’m doing, but I still love coding and sharing what I make, and indie companies are still the best. [...]

However I’m not going to let this opportunity pass without a little bit of fun, so I’ve put all my apps on sale for $20. Acorn? Normally $39.95, now $20. Retrobatch Pro? Normally $49.99, now $20. Retrobatch Pro Upgrade? Normally $19.99, now $20 (Yes, we raised the price. No, it makes no sense to purchase it).

Here’s to 20 more years. Both Acorn and Retrobatch are indispensable to my workflows.

Rick Olivieri, ‘Prince of Steaks’, Dies at 57 ★

Sad local note. Michael Klein, writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Rick Olivieri, 57, a grandson of cheesesteak inventor Pat Olivieri and the former owner of the popular Rick’s Steaks at Reading Terminal Market, died Sunday, June 12, at his Drexel Hill home after a 10-year battle with early onset frontotemporal dementia.

“He fought it for every minute,” said his wife, Debi, who met Mr. Olivieri in summer 1984, shortly after she took a job at the Bassetts turkey stand a few aisles away from Olivieri Prince of Steaks, where Mr. Olivieri had worked for his father, Herb, a son of Pasquale “Pat” Olivieri of Pat’s King of Steaks fame. (Pat’s, at Ninth and Wharton Streets for 90 years, is operated by Frank Olivieri, his cousin.)

Rick’s was, hands-down, the best cheesesteak I’ve ever had. First, each sandwich was grilled fresh — your steak only started grilling after you ordered. This meant lines were long at lunchtime, but the sandwiches were impeccable. Second, Rick’s used really good steak — a special cut of ribeye from a local butcher here in Philly. Third — and this is key — they were reasonably portioned. There are a lot of good cheesesteak joints here, but most of them pack way too much meat into each sandwich. Rick’s used exactly six thin slices on each sandwich — just right.

Lastly is the fact that Rick was always there, seemingly always manning the grill himself. I ate at Rick’s dozens of times. There might have been someone else manning the grill once.