Matt Birchler
@birchtree.me
🔗 Nice things https://birchtree.me/blog/nice-things/
Nice things
I know it's not totally rational, but I sometimes like to get really nice random tools I use everyday. I've used shitty scissors my whole life, and I decided to get Craighill's Chroma Scissors, and my god, it's so nice. I use scissors a few times every day, and it’
birchtree.me
February 14, 2026 at 11:01 PM
🔗 Nice things https://birchtree.me/blog/nice-things/
🔗 Thank god we shot down that party balloon https://birchtree.me/blog/thank-god-we-shot-down-that-party-balloon/
Thank god we shot down that party balloon
Karoun Demirjian, Eric Schmitt, Kate Kelly, Hamed Aleaziz, and Luke Broadwater (phew!): Border Officials Are Said to Have Caused El Paso Closure by Firing Anti-Drone Laser Top administration officials quickly claimed that the closure was in response to a sudden incursion of drones from Mexican drug cartels that required a
birchtree.me
February 14, 2026 at 11:01 PM
🔗 Thank god we shot down that party balloon https://birchtree.me/blog/thank-god-we-shot-down-that-party-balloon/
🔗 + Is "something big happening"? https://birchtree.me/blog/is-something-big-happening/
February 14, 2026 at 5:31 PM
🔗 + Is "something big happening"? https://birchtree.me/blog/is-something-big-happening/
I can’t properly explain to non-Chicago people why there is no warmer day than a 50 degree day in February. There are hotter days, but nothing else feels this warm.
February 13, 2026 at 9:28 PM
I can’t properly explain to non-Chicago people why there is no warmer day than a 50 degree day in February. There are hotter days, but nothing else feels this warm.
ChapterPod has an update out now with a few nice upgrades!
1. Bring your own SRT for editing chapters
2. Audit page when exporting
3. Nice new icon
1. Bring your own SRT for editing chapters
2. Audit page when exporting
3. Nice new icon
February 13, 2026 at 9:02 PM
ChapterPod has an update out now with a few nice upgrades!
1. Bring your own SRT for editing chapters
2. Audit page when exporting
3. Nice new icon
1. Bring your own SRT for editing chapters
2. Audit page when exporting
3. Nice new icon
🔗 ChapterPod 1.3 is out now https://birchtree.me/blog/chapterpod-1-3-is-out-now/
ChapterPod 1.3 is out now
A new update to ChapterPod is out now, and it includes a couple of nice little features. The first is the ability to import your own subtitle files, if you've already generated them. If you didn't know, ChapterPod can generate subtitles for you, and after it's done, it gives you
birchtree.me
February 13, 2026 at 9:00 PM
🔗 ChapterPod 1.3 is out now https://birchtree.me/blog/chapterpod-1-3-is-out-now/
I'm thrilled to announce the Quick Subtitles 2 is out out, and it sports:
1. Multi-document workflows
2. Transcript clean up
3. Up to 2x performance with a new model
More in the 🧵
1. Multi-document workflows
2. Transcript clean up
3. Up to 2x performance with a new model
More in the 🧵
February 12, 2026 at 8:29 PM
I'm thrilled to announce the Quick Subtitles 2 is out out, and it sports:
1. Multi-document workflows
2. Transcript clean up
3. Up to 2x performance with a new model
More in the 🧵
1. Multi-document workflows
2. Transcript clean up
3. Up to 2x performance with a new model
More in the 🧵
🔗 Quick Subtitles 2.0 transcribes a one-hour podcast in 30 seconds on an iPhone. This is magic (and it's out now) https://birchtree.me/blog/quick-subtitles-2-0-transcribes-a-one-hour-podcast-in-30-seconds-on-an-iphone-this-is-magic-and-its-out-now/
Quick Subtitles 2.0 transcribes a one-hour podcast in 30 seconds on an iPhone. This is magic (and it's out now)
I'm thrilled to announce that Quick Subtitles 2.0 is now available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This update focuses on three key improvements, all of which make the app better than ever, and I believe the best (and most cost effective) way to generate subtitles for your audio and
birchtree.me
February 12, 2026 at 8:22 PM
🔗 Quick Subtitles 2.0 transcribes a one-hour podcast in 30 seconds on an iPhone. This is magic (and it's out now) https://birchtree.me/blog/quick-subtitles-2-0-transcribes-a-one-hour-podcast-in-30-seconds-on-an-iphone-this-is-magic-and-its-out-now/
Meta sold 7 million pairs of smart glasses in 2025, exponential growth over the previous year.
www.theverge.com/tech/878184...
www.theverge.com/tech/878184...
Meta sold 7 million smart glasses in 2025 — that’s triple 2023 and 2024 combined.
Remember when EssilorLuxottica said it sold 2 million and would hit 10 million a year by 2027? 10M seems well within reach. “In 2025, we sold more than 7 million units of AI glasses, posting exponential growth,” said CEO Francesco Milleri. Prices may stay high in the short term, though, they hinted on the earnings call.
www.theverge.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Meta sold 7 million pairs of smart glasses in 2025, exponential growth over the previous year.
www.theverge.com/tech/878184...
www.theverge.com/tech/878184...
🔗 I don't want to answer whether the President partied with young girls https://birchtree.me/blog/i-dont-want-to-answer-whether-the-president-partied-with-young-girls/
I don't want to answer whether the President partied with young girls
Ted Lieu: Here's a video. Like former Prince Andrew, Donald Trump attended various parties with Jeffrey Epstein. I want to know: were there any underage girls at that party or at any party that Trump attended with Jeffrey Epstein. Long pause Pam Bondi: This is so ridiculous. And that they
birchtree.me
February 12, 2026 at 1:02 PM
🔗 I don't want to answer whether the President partied with young girls https://birchtree.me/blog/i-dont-want-to-answer-whether-the-president-partied-with-young-girls/
🔗 The Future is an Empty Room https://birchtree.me/blog/the-future-is-an-empty-room/
The Future is an Empty Room
God damn, Jacob Geller is the best of us. He's an astounding essayist, and his work is consistently amazing.
birchtree.me
February 12, 2026 at 1:55 AM
🔗 The Future is an Empty Room https://birchtree.me/blog/the-future-is-an-empty-room/
🔗 Better Siri is, yet again, a little farther off https://birchtree.me/blog/better-siri-is-yet-again-a-little-farther-off/
Better Siri is, yet again, a little farther off
Jay Peters: Apple keeps hitting bumps with its overhauled Siri Nearly a year ago, Apple delayed planned features for Siri that would let it understand your personal context and take action for you based on what’s on your screen. Apple had planned to launch those features with iOS 26.
birchtree.me
February 12, 2026 at 12:38 AM
🔗 Better Siri is, yet again, a little farther off https://birchtree.me/blog/better-siri-is-yet-again-a-little-farther-off/
My next project is coming along well, and today I added passkey login. It was surprisingly simple to do, and even works for testing on localhost.
Looking forward to being one of the few sites that’s truly password-free.
Looking forward to being one of the few sites that’s truly password-free.
February 11, 2026 at 1:20 PM
My next project is coming along well, and today I added passkey login. It was surprisingly simple to do, and even works for testing on localhost.
Looking forward to being one of the few sites that’s truly password-free.
Looking forward to being one of the few sites that’s truly password-free.
🔗 Don't hold your breath for that 4 day work week https://birchtree.me/blog/dont-hold-your-breath-for-that-4-day-work-week/
Don't hold your breath for that 4 day work week
Aruna Ranganathan, Xingqi Maggie Ye: AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It In our in-progress research, we discovered that AI tools didn’t reduce work, they consistently intensified it. Two quick things on this. First, this resonates with me. Because there are things you can do quicker, suddenly you
birchtree.me
February 11, 2026 at 1:02 PM
🔗 Don't hold your breath for that 4 day work week https://birchtree.me/blog/dont-hold-your-breath-for-that-4-day-work-week/
🔗 I Am Happier Writing Code by Hand https://birchtree.me/blog/i-am-happier-writing-code-by-hand/
Some are happier writing code by hand
Abhinav Omprakash: I Am Happier Writing Code by Hand Yes, coding is not software engineering, but for me, it is a fun and essential part of it. In order to be effective at software engineering, you must be familiar with the problem space, and this requires thinking and wrestling with
birchtree.me
February 10, 2026 at 7:28 PM
🔗 I Am Happier Writing Code by Hand https://birchtree.me/blog/i-am-happier-writing-code-by-hand/
🔗 Memorizing the dictionary doesn’t make you a great writer https://birchtree.me/blog/memorizing-the-dictionary-doesnt-make-you-a-great-writer/
Memorizing the dictionary doesn’t make you a great writer
Samantha Cole: Chatbots Make Terrible Doctors, New Study Finds Chatbots may be able to pass medical exams, but that doesn’t mean they make good doctors, according to a new, large-scale study of how people get medical advice from large language models. I think there’s something to be understood
birchtree.me
February 10, 2026 at 2:37 AM
🔗 Memorizing the dictionary doesn’t make you a great writer https://birchtree.me/blog/memorizing-the-dictionary-doesnt-make-you-a-great-writer/
February 10, 2026 at 1:06 AM
🔗 Just say it, you love when musicians get political https://birchtree.me/blog/just-say-it-you-love-when-musicians-get-political/
Just say it, you love when musicians get political
My dear conservative friends, I know you love to talk about how much you hate when musicians and celebrities get political, but we can be honest and agree that actually you freaking love it, right? How else do you explain your apparent, and sudden love of Kid Rock? A musician
birchtree.me
February 9, 2026 at 11:25 PM
🔗 Just say it, you love when musicians get political https://birchtree.me/blog/just-say-it-you-love-when-musicians-get-political/
🔗 Celebrating record revenue with layoffs https://birchtree.me/blog/celebrating-record-revenue-with-layoffs/
February 9, 2026 at 5:02 PM
🔗 Celebrating record revenue with layoffs https://birchtree.me/blog/celebrating-record-revenue-with-layoffs/
🔗 iPhones need MagSafe https://birchtree.me/blog/iphones-need-magsafe/
iPhones need MagSafe
Hartley Charlton: Gurman: iPhone 17e Launch 'Imminent' With Four New Features Gurman said that the new lost-cost iPhone will feature the A19 chip first introduced with the iPhone 17 last year. The device will also address one of the most glaring omissions from the current generation and add MagSage connectivity.
birchtree.me
February 8, 2026 at 7:17 PM
🔗 iPhones need MagSafe https://birchtree.me/blog/iphones-need-magsafe/
🔗 Dragon Quest and vibe coding (stick with me here) https://birchtree.me/blog/dragon-quest-and-vibe-coding-stick-with-me-here/
Dragon Quest and vibe coding (stick with me here)
I was listening to the latest episode of The Besties, and they said something about the auto-battle system in the new Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined game that really resonated with me. It is funny, as you progress through, if you're just auto battling the whole time, it will, it's just
birchtree.me
February 7, 2026 at 6:42 PM
🔗 Dragon Quest and vibe coding (stick with me here) https://birchtree.me/blog/dragon-quest-and-vibe-coding-stick-with-me-here/
Watch me tier list 67 (uh oh) apps on my Mac, in my now-annual deep dive into what I'm doing on the Mac these days.
youtu.be/lgCmil891e8
youtu.be/lgCmil891e8
February 7, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Watch me tier list 67 (uh oh) apps on my Mac, in my now-annual deep dive into what I'm doing on the Mac these days.
youtu.be/lgCmil891e8
youtu.be/lgCmil891e8
🔗 + Full demo of that new app https://birchtree.me/blog/full-demo-of-that-new-app/
+ Full demo of that new app
I announced a new app last week and have made good progress on it since then. Here is a video walkthrough of everything I've got so far.
birchtree.me
February 7, 2026 at 4:31 PM
🔗 + Full demo of that new app https://birchtree.me/blog/full-demo-of-that-new-app/
🔗 Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show still slaps https://birchtree.me/blog/kendrick-lamars-super-bowl-halftime-show-still-slaps/
Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show still slaps
I don't know if there's a Super Bowl halftime show I've rewatched more than this one. Obviously it helps that Kendrick has a great library to pull from, but I also really love the production value of it. It's unquestionably less bombastic than shows from The Weeknd or Katy Perry
birchtree.me
February 7, 2026 at 4:04 PM
🔗 Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show still slaps https://birchtree.me/blog/kendrick-lamars-super-bowl-halftime-show-still-slaps/
🔗 A year in the life of MKBHD https://birchtree.me/blog/a-year-in-the-life-of-mkbhd/
A year in the life of MKBHD
I think The Studio, the behind-the-scenes channel for MKBHD, is always fun, but this most recent video, a feature-length documentary following the team as they go through all of 2025, is astounding. Amazing work from the team putting this together.
birchtree.me
February 7, 2026 at 1:06 PM
🔗 A year in the life of MKBHD https://birchtree.me/blog/a-year-in-the-life-of-mkbhd/