Trying Out This Vance Glance Thing
So, I heard about this thing called ‘vance glance’ the other day. A buddy mentioned it, said it was supposed to simplify how you see your day’s stuff. Sounded alright, you know? Always looking for ways to cut through the noise on my screen.
Decided to give it a whirl this morning. First step, had to figure out how to even get it running. Wasn’t immediately obvious, spent maybe ten minutes poking around before I found the right setting or download, whatever it was. Finally got it activated.
It popped up. Supposed to give you that quick ‘glance’ at your important bits. Calendar, maybe messages. Looked clean enough, I guess. But setting it up? A bit fiddly. Had to link accounts, choose what I wanted to see. Felt like more work than just opening the apps themselves.
- Tried connecting my work calendar.
- Tried adding my main message app.
- Fiddled with the layout options.
After maybe half an hour, I sat back and looked at it. Okay, it showed my next meeting. And the weather. Was it revolutionary? Nah. Did it feel faster than just checking my phone or the usual apps? Not really, not for me anyway.
It actually reminded me of something else entirely. Years back, when I first got into woodworking as a serious hobby. I saw all these fancy jigs and specialized tools in magazines. Stuff that promised perfect dovetails every time, or ultra-precise cuts with zero effort. I got sucked in. Spent a fair bit of cash on gadgets I thought would make me a master craftsman overnight.
What really happened? Most of those fancy tools ended up collecting dust. They often required complicated setups, specific conditions, or were only good for one exact task. I spent more time learning the gadget than practicing the actual skill. My neighbor, an old timer who’d been working wood for fifty years, just used a few basic hand tools. His stuff looked amazing.
He saw me struggling with some complex jig one Saturday. He came over, watched for a bit, then just said, “You know, sometimes the long way is the short way.” He showed me how to do the same task with a simple chisel and marking gauge. It took practice, sure. But once I learned it, I could do it anywhere, anytime, without relying on some specialized piece of kit.
That stuck with me. It’s not always about finding the fanciest tool or the quickest shortcut. Sometimes, it’s about mastering the fundamentals. Understanding the process. Being patient.
So, this ‘vance glance’ thing? I turned it off after lunch. It’s probably useful for someone. But for me, it felt like another one of those ‘shortcut’ gadgets. It just added another layer, another thing to potentially tweak or worry about. Sometimes, just opening the calendar app or checking messages the old way is simpler. Like my neighbor said, sometimes the long way is the short way. Just gotta do the work.
