The Strip on the left side of my phone is beginning to peel again. I sure hope they start lasting longer than 2-3 days. This is not great.

I'm not sure it's still a Daily Edition if you send me three every day.

Today I learned that, once every year, the Queen of England takes members of Parliament hostage.

So to ensure the monarch’s safety whenever he or she visits Parliament, there’s a hostage situation built into the traditions of the day. Specifically, before the Queen leaves Buckingham Palace for Westminster, three members of Parliament come to the Palace — the Treasurer, Comptroller, and a government whip titled the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household — to bring honorary white staves to Her Majesty. And typically, the Treasurer and Comptroller are free to go. But, as Parliament’s official website notes, the Vice-Chamberlain remains behind, his or her fate tied to that of the Queen’s.

Traditions are fun.

My first pair of Strips fell apart. They started the peel - the grippy part separated from the stick my part. Fortunately I received plenty, and they're easy to replace.

Hopefully the second set lasts a lot longer.

Bruce Schneier on data:

What all these data breaches are teaching us is that data is a toxic asset and saving it is dangerous.

Well put.

Bruce Schneier on data:

What all these data breaches are teaching us is that data is a toxic asset and saving it is dangerous.

Well put.

Strip started life as Lil Grit - little anti-slip strips that you stick on your phone to keep it from flying out of your hand and across the room. The Kickstarter campaign¹ didn't fund, but no worries. Lil Grit was reborn as Strip, and the campaign funded.

Two days ago, my Strips arrived.

The thank you note was a nice touch.

The strips are pretty much exactly what I expected. They were simple to apply, and now my big-ass iPhone doesn't feel like a big-ass bar of soap.

For the first time since I upgraded to a big-ass iPhone, I brought it to work without a case or PopSocket. My phone is thinner, feels nicer, and it's much easier to swipe from the edges. I don't feel like I'm going to drop it constantly, which would be the norm without a case. And unlike with a PopSocket, my phone lays flat on a desk.

I don't know if the Strips will stick². But for now, they're great. You can pick up a pack for $7. No, I don't get any money out of it.

Yes, it's coming.

As I've teased a bit earlier on Twitter, I'm working on a version of Pythonista that is based on Python 3.5.1 instead of the current 2.7.5. I've made pretty good progress recently, and the app is already in a completely usable state with most custom and third-party modules working.

Here's the most important part:

Lastly, this will be a separate app, or "paid upgrade" if you will. This is, by the way, one of the reasons I did not charge for the 2.0 update. It'll co-exist with Pythonista 2.x for a while because there are still valid reasons to prefer Python 2.7, and I don't want to force people to upgrade to a version that is not backwards-compatible.

Free stuff is great. But do you know what's better? Apps like Pythonista existing. This is what I like to call an insta-buy.

Bruce Schneier on sites blocking browsers with ad blockers:

For the past month or so, Forbes has been blocking browsers with ad blockers. Today, I tried to access a Wired article and the site blocked me for the same reason.

I've noticed this a couple times at Forbes. And guess what? Their plan works.

Well, their plan works, but only if their plan is to get me to tap the back button and go on with my life without reading the article. That's the plan, right?

Dr Drang wrote about how Panic's awesome iOS apps saved the day. It's a good post, but this is my favorite part:

Speaking of dark, if you have any thoughts of telling me that dark themes are better than light themes for terminal emulation, don’t waste your—and especially my—time. I hate dark themes, and no amount of patient explanation or citing of studies will get me to change.

Dark text. Light background. Everywhere.

The Good Doctor has spoken.