This time I’m arriving with some cool projects: hosting a multicultural event in Kyoto, recording a new album in Yamashina, and continuing to meet great people along the way.

I’ll also be available for performances and festivals en Kyoto and Tokyo—if anything comes to mind, I’d love to hear from you

I’ve spent much of this past year writing, researching, and documenting those experiences—moments that, I can now say, changed my life and reshaped the way I understand my connection with Kyoto.

From that journey comes Dances with Ghosts, my upcoming book. I’m currently in the final stage of revising the Spanish manuscript, and I hope to soon announce an English edition to share with the world.

Algorithmic influence, surely. But it’s also possible to draw a parallel between difficult times—pandemics, wars, moments of global uncertainty—and a rise in its listening.

It’s only a hypothesis. Perhaps it’s nothing more than coincidence.

Either way, it brings me a quiet sense of joy to know that the album—and its music—is always there, available to anyone who might need a moment of calm within themselves.

Back then, it was just a hobby to me.

What I didn’t know was that this creative process was opening a new timeline in my universe, one filled with great moments, beautiful people, and unforgettable experiences.

Since then, every time I’m about to start creating something new, I can’t help but wonder:

**how far could this one take me?**

PS: I don’t use AI for my music, I don’t like AI-generated music but I can understand people enjoying it, either creating or listening.

Still, the fact that this is public opens up the possibility that maybe someone, someday, somewhere in the world, will read these lines.

And thats what makes the game magical.

The same thing happens with my songs. I published some of them many, many years ago and no one listened to them at the time. But now, every so often, I see they get some plays.

And thats what makes playing magical.

If youre reading this, thank you for being part of the magic

Take your picture, but don’t forget to enjoy what’s real…

Wells, anyway, here is mine:

A little air in the tires, a bit of WD-40, and it was ready to ride.

How could I have forgotten the beautiful feeling of the air on my face?

Note to self: don’t put beautiful feelings into storage.

My first Macintosh was an iMac G3 “Flower Power,” running Mac OS 9 — even long after Steve Jobs had officially declared it dead. Before the iMac, I spent hours playing with Macintosh emulators for DOS like Fusion or Executor. And inside those emulators… I ran System 7.

For many years, I had dedicated hardware for the “true” Mac OS Classic experience: iMacs, a Mac mini G4, iBooks… but sooner or later, hardware always fails. Let’s be honest — we’re talking about machines that are 20+ years old. Emulation never felt attractive to me. I always preferred the real hardware… Until I installed Basilisk II on my iPad Mini 4.

Suddenly, I found the perfect system for me. In this article, I’ll tell you how it works, what I use it for, and why it turned out to be the ideal setup — at least for my kind of creative life.

But first things first.

How do you install it?

Step-by-step installation Guide

1. Install AltStore on your iPad

AltStore allows you to sideload apps (.ipa files) without needing to compile them yourself in Xcode.

2. Download the Basilisk II .ipa

Get it from here: https://github.com/zydeco/macemu/releases/tag/ios-v1.0.1

3. Install Basilisk II via AltStore

Open AltStore and load the downloaded .ipa file to install Basilisk II on your device.

4. Download a ROM

You can get one here: https://www.redundantrobot.com/sheepshaver

I personally use the Quadra 900 ROM.

5. Download and install your favorite version of System 7

You can find different versions here: https://www.macintoshrepository.org/1185-mac-os-7-0-7-0-1

Why AltStore?

Because it allows me to install a precompiled .ipa without having to build it myself using Xcode. The downside? Once a week, you need to “refresh” the certificate so the app keeps running.

Alternatively, you can compile your own Basilisk II package. Here is a good tutorial by Matt Sephton.

Why the iPad Mini 4 Is the Perfect System (For Me)

I wasn’t looking for the “most powerful” setup. I was looking for the right one. And for my particular way of working, the iPad Mini 4 turned out to be strangely perfect.

1. The Screen Resolution

The iPad Mini 4 has a resolution of 2048×1536 pixels — which is exactly 4× the classic Macintosh resolution of 512×384. That means System 7 scales beautifully. When I run it at 512×384 inside Basilisk II, everything looks sharp. Clean. Balanced. The interface feels natural on the screen, almost as if it was meant to live there.

2. Battery Life = Portability

Old Macs are beautiful. But they are not portable in 2026 terms. The iPad Mini 4 gives me hours and hours of battery life. I can open it anywhere — a café, a park, an airport — and I instantly have my classic Mac environment ready. Just tap the screen, System 7 appears. That kind of portability changes the relationship you have with a machine. It becomes a notebook, not a museum piece.

3. Pencil + Bluetooth Keyboard

Using a generic pencil as a pointer is surprisingly natural. It feels more precise than a finger, more intimate than a mouse. Almost like using a stylus on an old Newton — but with a Mac interface. And when I pair it with a Bluetooth keyboard, the experience becomes complete.

4. The Hidden Superpower: iOS Interoperability

This is the part that changed everything for me. Classic Macs were isolated machines. That was part of their charm — and their limitation. But running System 7 inside iOS means I get the best of both worlds.

I can:

• Share files in and out of the emulator with ease
• Use iOS cloud storage
• Share internet connection seamlessly
• Move documents between modern apps and System 7 without friction

What Do I Use It For?

• Writing in AppleWorks
• IRC with Wallops
• Journaling with EZ Note
• Vibe coding in HyperCard
• ChatGPT via LegacyAI
• Usenet archaeology with MT-NewsWatcher
• Browsing the old web / indie web with iCab, Internet Explorer 4, and Protoweb
• Classic gaming in my spare time

And then… things got interesting.

With a bit of help from ChatGPT and Gemini, I was able to build:

1. HTML 3 RSS reader that runs on my webserver and works perfectly inside Internet Explorer 4 — allowing me to read my feeds from a 1990s browser without breaking layout or compatibility. It even supports images!

2. Terminal-style publishing tool that lets me post directly to my WordPress blog from inside System 7.

3. A homepage where I can see the latest posts from my feeds, search the web through FrogFind, and even watch a live webcam from Kyoto!

All of this was developed entirely in ChatGPT using a few simple prompts. It runs on my own web server thanks to PHP.

How? When?

At the end of the day, I shut down my work MacBook. I leave my phone charging in another room. And I open System 7. No Slack. No analytics. No dashboards. No feeds optimized to capture my attention.

Sometimes I write. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I tinker with a HyperCard stack. And sometimes… I just play a round of Shanghai

This setup is my “digital space,” for everyday life. In a world of infinite scroll I voluntarily chose a system with some “limits”.

All of this isn’t a matter of nostalgia for me, but rather a way of designing a healthy relationship with technology — in an environment that inspires me and helps me focus on what I want to do.

Happy Marchintosh, everybody.