Time Tracker Ticks All The Right Boxes
I bought a dumb-watch. So far I love it. Why? The price was a mere $22. The feature-set is simple. And its battery life is measured in years, not days or hours. It’s a Casio digital. Yet it’s kind of analog.
Eyes Were Blur But Now They See
What I’m about to share will age me. And while a new development with my health isn’t really good, I somehow feel like I’ve advanced or graduated to more maturity. Maybe it’s like I earned a merit badge? Weird. Well, Friday I found confirmation & relief in the discovery of READERS! I could hardly believe my eyes — I could see clearly through reading glasses.
Going More Analog
This post will be short. I’m drafting it by hand — pen & paper! The ink is “Energel” by Pentel (made in Japan). And of course it’s orange. I’ve tried different orange ink pens; this one is a good one.
Analog Attraction
For a techie like me, going analog instead of digital is (or would be) kind of wild. That might be partly why I’ve been bit (just a little) by the analog bug again. What if I switched my digital tools for good ol’ fashioned pen and paper!? Crazy? The utter simplicity and novelty are compelling (plus: stationery, stickers, tactile and tangible interaction). There’s also more security in the analog as AI feels like it’s creeping into every digital space. “High-tech” seems too high on its own supply. Low-tech pen and paper might be a smarter move. Which is just kind of wild.
My wife started a fish tank a few weeks ago. It has come along well. We have some nice pets you can’t pet. Started with a small tank before moving to a big one.
Fun fact: bicycling with a 6.9” smartphone in my jeans front pocket is totally no problem since the Moto Razr flips closed to half-size. It fits comfortably.
My 2020 Apple Watch SE has had battery/charging problems lately. I’m considering Fitbits. Checking Wirecutter, the three top recommendations happen to be the exact three fitness trackers on my radar. I’ve already got the new Google Health app running on my iPhone and Moto Razr with my Apple Health data.
Yesterday, I started a 1-week free trial of a new-to-me cell phone service: Mint Mobile. It’s on my Moto Razr 2024. Unlocked phones for the win! I’m super tired of AT&Ts high prices and am exploring alternatives. Regarding mobile data, it helps that I’m not using cloud backup/sync for photos, so my needs are less.
Return Of The Razr And Local Computing
In my tenacious tech trek, I’m now back to using the Motorola Razr 2024 in Spritz Orange. It’s flippin’ good. The reason? Local-first computing. You know, that thing we used to do before cloud computing put all our files on someone else’s hard drive behind hack-able account credentials and a perpetual subscription fee? Yeah, it’s kind of like sneakernet. I love how my Android phone has an accessible local file system like my PC does.
WWDC26 Keynote Thoughts
Soooooo…what about that dub-dub this year? Like I said Monday in my first impression of WWDC26, “Meh.” , I’ve thought about what Apple announced and remain non-plussed. Two reasons: the new stuff wasn’t really huge, and it doesn’t matter to me like it did before. Let me explain.
Nintendo Software Sells Hardware
A new Nintendo Direct revealed fresh games today, coming in the near or not-too-distant future. And for the first time, I saw some software that tempts me to buy a Switch 2. At least one compelling title is exclusive to the Big N’s hardware. So…will I resist; how long? Yes. I will resist and enjoy the great games (and devices) I already have.
Today’s devotional can easily be summed up with one verse,
“Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.” — Proverbs 16:18
WWDC26 keynote summary — three parts: Overall platform refinements, Trust/Safety, AI. Nice, mostly minor, refinements. Better ScreenTime for kids. New Siri is better. Overall impression: “Meh.” Is all this AI really worth it? I’ll likely post more in the near future.
My tech stack is in flux, trying to settle… Now leaning into local-first computing with a mix of some cloud stuff… Consolidating my files/data at the local folder level… Aiming for simplicity, ubiquity, and digital agency, autonomy, sovereignty…
WWDC26 Pre Thoughts
Apple’s annual developer conference is once again about to happen. It always kicks off with a keynote presentation that aims to reveal exciting new software developments for Apple’s platforms. Anticipation in the tech sector this year seems muted. Apple Intelligence will basically re-launch, following its lackluster 2024 roll-out. There’s not much else it seems, other than refining previous updates, features, and underlying code. As for me, I’m not really looking forward to or hoping for much from Apple this year. But at the same time, I’d not be surprised if Apple revealed something that surprises and delights me.
Recently I wrote an entire blog post and streamed YouTube via phone hotspot on a six-years-old Chromebook with 4GB RAM and a Pentium chip. And it was fine. Everything worked without a hitch. It was easy too. #whatsenough
In A Tech Matrix
I thought I was out; Apple pulled me back in.
At the start of this year, my previous iPad and MacBook were gone. Cross-platform and third-party apps had decoupled me from Apple; I was using my HP Victus gaming laptop — a PC. But my iPhone remained (and was upgraded). And…so…I re-embraced the whole Apple ecosystem. I would settle all-in (I’ve tried!), yet despite my sincere intentions, something always breaks me out of Apple’s walled-garden (at least for a season).