‘In an email to employees this week, Apple said Mr. Blahnik, 57, will retire in July “to spend time with his family and make an exciting move to New York City.”’

“Time with his family” is funny enough, but it’s the “exciting move to New York City” that collapsed me into uncontrollable laughter.

Apple Fitness VP Jay Blahnik to Retire to ‘Spend Time With His Family’ Kalley Huang and Tripp Mickle, reporting for The New York Times (gift link): Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of fitness technologies, is retiring this summer after a nearly 13-year tenure marred by accusations that he created a toxic workplace culture and sexually harassed an employee. Mickle reported those accusations

Apple Fitness VP Jay Blahnik to Retire to ‘Spend Time With His Family’

https://jagsworkshop.com/2026/04/jay-blahnik-to-retire/

The Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System (ABS) will frustrate (and embarrass) many umpires. Good umpires will adapt. Bad umpires will hasten their retirement. I’ll wager Bucknor will be gone by the All-Star Break.

MLB Umpire C.B. Bucknor Is Having a Very Bad Season Terrence O’Brien, writing at The Verge, on veteran MLB Umpire C.B. Bucknor’s brutal early-season mishaps: During Saturday’s game between the Red Sox and the Reds, Eugenio Suárez challenged Bucknor on back-to-back strike three calls and successfully had them overturned by the robo ump. This is the

MLB Umpire C.B. Bucknor Is Having a Very Bad Season

jagsworkshop.com/2026/04/cb-bucknor-very-...

Twenty years after I first used an Apple computer, I started working at Apple Computer. My first day was April 2, 2001—25 years ago today. When I applied for that job, my cover letter noted, “I still had my Apple //c—and it still works.”

That remains true today.

In 1981, my mom sent me to computer summer camp. That was my introduction to computers: the Apple ][+.

In 1984, I awoke to the large red box of an Apple //c computer and monitor next to my bed.

Those two moments defined my future.

Apple II Forever Jason Snell, writing for The Verge as part of its Apple @ 50 series: Apple would never have made it if it weren’t for the Apple II, the company’s first hit product and the first one to generate the amount of devotion we’ve now come to expect from

⚙ Apple II Forever

https://jagsworkshop.com/2026/04/apple-ii-forever/

First, the “hidden video” is only hidden on Macs; if you visit on iPhone (or iPad), the REW button is visible. (Interestingly, it still doesn’t show up even if you change your Mac Safari user agent string to iPhone in Develop > User Agent > Safari — iOS 26 — iPhone.) Here’s a direct link to the actual video file on Apple’s site. Tim Cook also posted it to X/Twitter (which I would have never seen because, well, you know.) Second, the music Shazam was unable to identify is actually the music from the Think Different ad, when played in reverse and pitched up, as noted by Lex Friedman. I had indeed watched the video in reverse, fully expecting that I (or Shazam) would recognize the music, but nope. Considering the number of times I’ve watched that ad, I’m extremely disappointed that I missed it.

UPDATE: Two of them, in fact.

jagsworkshop.com/2026/04/appl...

There’s an easter egg on apple.com: an element (a VHS-style double-left-arrow REW button) with a CSS class (`apple-50-link`) with `display: none`—so hidden by design—with a neat video behind it.

There’s a Second, Hidden Video on Apple.com Today In addition to the hero animation on Apple’s homepage today, there’s an easter egg I discovered accidentally when using Downie to grab that animation. Quite appropriate for April Fool’s Day. The element (a VHS-style double-left-arrow REW button) has a CSS class (apple-50-link) with display: none—hidden by

There’s a Second, Hidden Video on Apple.com Today

jagsworkshop.com/2026/04/apple-50-years-e...

Apple has another fantastic homepage animation today, its 50th birthday, featuring hand-drawn outlines of its most iconic products—and I do mean iconic: each one is unmistakable even when reduced to its most elemental form. Just gorgeous.

Happy 50th Birthday, Apple Apple has another fantastic homepage animation today, its 50th birthday, featuring hand-drawn outlines of its most iconic products—and I do mean iconic: each one is unmistakable even when reduced to its most elemental form. Just gorgeous. (Primary link to Internet Archive for posterity, plusYouTube. See on apple.com, while

Happy 50th Birthday, Apple

jagsworkshop.com/2026/04/happy-50th-birth...

“Once we attach a human being’s name to an institution, we’re stuck with that human’s whole messy story. […] Public institutions should honor the public, not one inconsistently admirable individual.”

First written in 2021, and still relevant.

‘Stop Naming Buildings (And Streets, and Parks, and Ships, and Mountains) After People’ Nancy Friedman, writing at Fritinancy (on Substack, alas): Stop naming things after people, living or dead. No schools. No streets. No courthouses. No fountains. Just quit it. Friedman first wrote this in 2021 and updated it following recent reports accusing labor leader César Chávez of sexual assault and abuse. I

‘Stop Naming Buildings (And Streets, and Parks, and Ships, and Mountains) After People’

jagsworkshop.com/2026/03/stop-naming-thin...

With clear “original public meaning” of the 14th Amendment (so clear, that the racists of the day argued for exclusions in hopes of narrowing its scope), today’s Supreme Court will have to tie itself into knots to ignore history and precedent.

California’s Election of 1876 Is Instructive in Birthright Citizenship Case Brian J. Johnson, writing for CalMatters on the upcoming oral arguments at the Supreme Court “on whether the Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantees ‘birthright citizenship,’” and the “original public meaning” of the Amendment: During an 1866 debate in Congress, Pennsylvania Sen. Edgar Cowan complained about “Gypsies” who “acknowledge no allegiance”

California’s Election of 1876 Is Instructive in Birthright Citizenship Case

jagsworkshop.com/2026/03/california-1876-...

The LaserWriter and ImageWriter consistently rank in the bottom three (despite igniting the desktop publishing revolution), and the Apple //c—my beloved first computer—isn’t even available as a voting option. I’m calling shenanigans.

The Verge Polls for ‘The Best Apple Products of the Last 50 Years’ The (ever-changing) Top 10 products in The Verge’s poll are about what you’d expect: Mac OS X; the original iPhone, Macintosh, iPod, AirPods, and iPad; iconic hardware (like the Bondi Blue iMac and Wedge MacBook Air); and true game changers (like the M1 chip). Via John Gruber, who

The Verge Polls for ‘The Best Apple Products of the Last 50 Years’

jagsworkshop.com/2026/03/the-verge-best-a...

I remember watching Coco for the first time and recognized that the moment of maximum cryitude was coming, knew exactly how they would do it, prepared myself for it… and still blubbered like a child.

“Pixar has spent three decades perfecting a formula: make you laugh, make you care, *make you cry*. This is a map of the exact minute each film breaks you.”

The Pixar Cry Chart A lovely little data visualization from Sheets.Works (“One interactive visual essay, every week.”): Pixar has spent three decades perfecting a formula: make you laugh, make you care, make you cry. This is a map of the exact minute each film breaks you –painted in each movie’s own colors.

The Pixar Cry Chart

https://jagsworkshop.com/2026/03/pixar-cry-chart/

This surprisingly fun game popped up on the socials a couple of weeks ago. My first attempt was acceptable—0.0123—especially for someone who’s colorblind. My second attempt was notably better: 0.0046.

What’s My JND? This surprisingly fun game popped up on the socials a couple of weeks ago. The concept, as described by its creator, Keith Cirkel: You see two colours. Click on the line between them. That’s it. It starts easy. It does not stay easy. Each round the colours get closer

What’s My JND?

https://jagsworkshop.com/2026/03/whats-my-jnd/

I love that these beautiful notebooks are lovingly handcrafted, despite the many machines and mechanical aids. I was especially delighted by the corner-rounding tool. So simple, yet remarkably effective. Cah-chunk! I understand why they’re $79—beyond my notebook budget, but increasingly tempting.

Meditative Video on the Making of iA Notebook I love that these beautiful notebooks (from the creators of iA Writer) are lovingly handcrafted, despite the many machines and mechanical aids. I was especially delighted by the corner-rounding tool. So simple, yet remarkably effective. Cah-chunk! I understand why they’re $79—beyond my notebook budget, but increasingly tempting.

Meditative Video on the Making of iA Notebook

https://jagsworkshop.com/2026/03/making-of-ia-notebook/

Done!

I can add one to my pledge if you’d like….

Clément Sauvage: WWDC is a pilgrimage, a community. Every keynote spark. Every late-night breakthrough. Every handshake that turns into a collaboration. Those moments deserve something memorable. So: Enamel pins—collectible, wearable, emotional.

—

I’m in for the Collector set and Apple 50 pin.

WWDC26 Limited Edition Enamel Pins on Kickstarter Long-time iOS developer Clément Sauvage is back on Kickstarter with his 2026 collection of enamel pins that celebrate the Apple developer community: For decades, WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) has been more than just a conference… …it’s a pilgrimage — a community of builders, thinkers, makers, and friends who share a

WWDC26 Limited Edition Enamel Pins on Kickstarter

jagsworkshop.com/2026/03/wwdc26-enamel-pi...

The first rule of Apple support: Apple will never call you first.

Also: Use a password manager. If you inadvertently click a link that asks for your login credentials, and your password manager doesn’t fill them in, proceed with caution. It's not foolproof, but it’s a good backstop against fraud.