Happy Sunday everyone! What a fantastic week to be a Canadian hockey fan. The 4 Nations Face-Off provided some of the best hockey we’ve seen in decades, with talent, speed, and strength oozing from every player on the ice. Add in a dash of patriotism, fisticuffs, and politics, and you have a national moment akin to the Canada Cup tournaments from the ‘70s and ‘80s. If the world should have learned anything at this point, it’s that you shouldn’t bet against Sidney Crosby — Crosby hasn’t lost a championship of any sort that he’s played in since 2008, and he hasn’t lost internationally since the 2004 World Juniors. His international record is an astounding 48-6. He is the greatest hockey player to ever wear the Maple Leaf.

We are entering into the home stretch of February, which means Canadian tax season is around the corner. It was easily the worst year to be a tax professional that I’ve experienced and, in speaking with others, it may well be the worst year in decades for our industry. Proposed legislation enacted by federal agencies but not actually passed into law. Federal announcements that never made it into a vote. And an odd GST/HST holiday that ended just last week that saw excise taxes removed from PS5s, beer, and Christmas trees. Of course, the folks in the East benefitted more than the folks in the West because of the HST application. But that would be too divisive to bring up.

I am very excited for the thousand or so people to walk through the front doors of the office this tax season. I wouldn’t trade too many things to share a smile, a moment of encouragement, and high five with that many people. Tax season is a grind, but it is the most rewarding professional event of my year.

Josiah was gracious enough to create a big sign-up bar below each Sunday Edition if you’d like to receive this blog post to your email inbox. Take it for a spin and see if you prefer that medium. If not, hopefully you can return here and find a few links to fire up your Sunday morning.

On the Space Black vs. Silver M4 MacBook Pro

Two things can be true at once — the Space Black MacBook Pro is the best looking, sexiest MacBook colour Apple has ever created, and it’s also the colour you should probably avoid. You’ve probably heard this before, too — fingerprints are much more evident on the Space Black variety, scratches are quickly visible with the raw aluminum underneath, and more.

I can get over fingerprints, though. I can also treat the MacBook well and avoid scratches altogether.

Something I’ve struggled with, however, are dust particles getting into the speaker grilles beside the keyboard. These drive me crazy. They’re present in silver MacBook Pros too, of course, but you can’t see them as easily as on the Space Black MacBook Pro. And if you’re unlucky — which I feel I’ve been — even using some forced air hasn’t done the trick.

There’s no doubt I have babied this MacBook more than any prior MacBook I’ve ever used. I also really love the colour and think the nano texture display with the Space Black chassis provides the best impression ever from across the office or coffee shop.

But those dang dust particles.

Parallels Desktop 20

I’ve written on and off about Parallels and running Windows on a Mac for the better part of five years now. Parallels is an extraordinarily powerful app for the Mac, enabling you to run Windows 11 on a virtual machine (or Linux, if you’d prefer) and enabling you to run Windows software and workflows right from your Mac. In our small office of seven people, I’ve successfully converted half the office to running Windows on a Mac — you gain the benefits of macOS (all the benefits of Apple’s walled garden) and you gain the majority of the benefits of a Windows system, all in one sleek computer. In the accounting industry, there’s nothing quite like being able to service every single kind of software or file, all from the power of one computer.

There are some hiccups when operating Windows on a Mac through Parallels, though. There’s the reality that you’re running two computers in one, effectively siphoning off half your computer’s internal hardware for the Windows side and half for the macOS side. If not handled correctly, this can feel like you’re getting a half-assed version of both worlds. And worse, the latest ARM chips in the Mac (and in the Surface Laptop, for that matter) simply do not properly interact with many of the old x86-built pieces of software, creating unnecessary needs for workarounds to get my job done. Rosetta and Apple’s ability to emulate apps built for the old Intel chips to run on their M-chips is truly something to behold.

But you know what? Those emulation issues exist on Windows laptops as well. In my testing of the Surface Laptop 7 back in September, every single hiccup I run into when running Windows on a Mac is present when running the same software in Windows 11 on a Surface Laptop. The simple fact is that Apple has done a better job with emulation and Rosetta 2 than Windows has done with its emulation software.

Other than the wonderful built-in keyboard in the Surface Laptop 7, I will say wholeheartedly that the best Windows laptop in the world is a MacBook Pro with Parallels installed. If you have any need to use Windows software daily — and yes, that includes Excel and Word, as both are better experiences inside Parallels on a Mac than they are natively for macOS — I cannot recommend Parallels enough.

Andy Matuschak’s Note-Taking Advice

I’m attempting to build out a more robust knowledge management system that is ready for the coming AI age. I don’t know what the heck I’m doing. It’s truly difficult to know which app to use, which file-type to save, and which storage system to use, across three or four different devices and ready for input at the oddest of moments (does anyone else solve the world’s problems when taking a shower?)

But if there’s one incredible place to start, it has to be Andy Matuschak’s working notes. Seasoned note-takers and PKMers will be well aware of Andy’s work. For newbies though, this is one of the deepest rabbit holes for folks seeking clarity on note-taking. Each page is full of great insight and is linked densely to keep you reading and coming back for more. Andy’s writing habits and capabilities are impressive.

If you’re attempting to build out your own note-taking system of sorts, I’ll share several links to Andy’s working notes that I’ve saved and highlighted in the last week:

The above should surely get you started, and may take you down a rabbit hole I can’t promise you’ll escape from.

The Second Cup

  • Hasselblad X2D 100C Review — (Roman Fox)
    – Roman is an incredible photographer and I appreciate his deep-dive into the X2D 100C. Of course, few of us can afford this camera, but it certainly looks like one of the best cameras on the market.
  • Nymzo Stanton Series 01 Chess Set Review — A Modern Take on a Classic Design — (minimalgoods)
    – minimalgoods is chock-full of fun items for your home office or home living room. Give the rest of the site a once-over when you’re done with this chess set review.
  • These accessories helped create my dream MacOS & iPadOS desk setup — (9to5Mac)
    – My favourite addition here is the Sotsu Elite 16. It’s a bit expensive for a portable display, but this fits perfectly on any Apple desk.
  • A drone flight through TD Garden in Boston — (Joe Pompliano on X)
    – These drone flights aren’t particularly new anymore, but I still find them truly fascinating. This is especially notable given the fun week at TD Garden.
  • Active vs. Passive Learning — (Morgan Housel)
    – So much good advice in here. But also many questions that arise. Like how do I, as a boss or manager or leader in the office, ensure a colleague’s newfound skillset obtained through passive learning is both discovered and utilized properly in the office (if the skillset is applicable)?

Happy Sunday. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.