Starbucks.

We are at the local Starbucks this afternoon. I’m enjoying an unsweet black iced tea while my husband has the same with just a touch more lemon. It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog entry whilst in a Starbucks; I still enjoy the experience.

There is a smattering of iPads, MacBooks, and PC laptops amongst the audience here in this Starbucks. The wifi is very slow. I ended up using my Personal Hotspot on my iPhone to connect as speeds were below 1Mbps when I was connected to Starbucks’ wifi.

There’s a lot of Christmas decorations up in this store because it’s the first week of November. Christmas in the desert is still weird to me, because I’m wearing shorts and the sun is shining brightly. It doesn’t make it any less valid, it’s just different. I’m still used to being under grey skies and in waist deep snow.

One of the amusing things about living in the desert this time of year is the number of people wearing toques and heavy jackets even though it’s 22ºC/73ºF outside. It’s quite pleasant and standing in the sun is still a warming experience.

I spent a few hours working this morning to try to catch up to the chaos left behind by the work week. I’ve been having too many chaotic days at work for the past few months and trying to bring calm to that chaos can occasionally be a challenge. Working a few hours on a Saturday morning, purely for my own sanity, helps keep me grounded.

And now I shall enjoy my iced tea.

5 November 2022 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Caturday.

Truman likes to play ball every morning while I’m in my office. I think he’s the first cat I’ve known to favorite his right paw instead of his left for batting at things. He’s really good at hitting the ball back to me.

5 November 2022 by He's A Feline. 0

Around The World.

This is the type of life I strive for. Who wouldn’t want to be able to travel around the world in 80 hours? With a clever balancing of budgets and airline miles, it can be done. Now, if someone could convince my husband that we need to take this approach to our retirement, that’d be swell.

4 November 2022 by Ponderings and Musings Travel 0

15 Years.

The date stamp on this photo is 15 years ago, but I suspect the photo was taken a few days earlier when we were in Dublin, Ireland. I think this photo was taken in a pub in Temple Bar.

I do enjoy my Guinness.

3 November 2022 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Flashback.

Some days I completely and utterly and without question identify with Tyne Daly’s “Maxine” in this scene from “Judging Amy”.

2 November 2022 by Why. 0

Celsius.

I’ve always been a fan of the metric system. When I was in elementary school the United States was projected to convert to the metric system in 1980, so we focused on kilometers, liters, etc. and reviewed a passing interest in the imperial units. To this day I ask my husband how many pounds are in a quart and he sighs.

Aviation weather forecasts are in degrees celsius, while we fly at feet above mean sea kevel. Inspired by nearby Interstate 19 and its metric signs (“2 km to Tumacacori”), I’ve decided to start embracing the metric system on my own. The rest of the world uses the metric system, there’s nothing really that special about the United States and its archaic use of rods and yards, and I would enjoy a broader world view. I found this little chart online to get me started on adapting to “thinking in metric” instead of seeing a thermometer read that it’s 20 degrees and I do a conversion in my head (20*2+30=70 for a rough estimate), and I thought I’d share the chart with the class. I don’t remember where I found it, but if I do remember I’ll give them proper credit here on the bloggy thing.

1 November 2022 by Geek 0

Increase.

I received word this morning that Apple is raising the price of their Apple One Premier service by nearly 10% effective at the end of November (when my plan renews). This was the first email I saw this morning and I have to admit it really rubbed me the wrong way.

For those not in the Apple ecosystem, Apple One Premier is their online package that includes several components of their “lifestyle” approach to computing: 2TB of iCloud storage, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Fitness+, and Apple Arcade. Oh, it also includes Apple News+. I forget about that last one.

Apple is one of the richest, if not the richest company in the world. I know inflation is taking its toll on us all, but a 10% price hike for this package seems a bit much. While all corporations are focused on profit, in previous years Apple felt a little less like other corporations when it came to meeting bottom line expectations. Over the past few years that feeling has subsided and now it’s all about the corporate dollar.

I’m in the process of figuring out how to get away from Apple Premier One and go back to an a la carte approach. I’m the only one in the family that uses Apple Music, everyone uses Spotify. None of us News+ (the interface is a mess and it’s riddled with ads and really poor content). We have other storage providers in addition to iCloud. The biggies are probably iCloud Storage and Apple TV+. We’ll probably let the others drop away.

I tried to change my subscription this morning but by the 12th prompt to enter my password to get through the same screens over and over again I lost interest. If there’s one thing Apple does poorly it’s their online services and password authentication. Right on cue I had to re-enter my password for each of our HomePods. That was fun.

After all, It Just Works.

31 October 2022 by Apple. 1

No Faith.

I have absolutely no faith in the American public doing the right thing when it comes to voting in the Midterm Elections. None. Not only do I have no faith in the voting public, I have little faith in our voting process. Not because Democrats are going to steal the election, no, they’re really not that clever, but because voting districts are incredibly gerrymandered into forced ridiculous outcomes and there are already election laws in place to make sure the American voter has as little of a voice as possible, especially non-white folks.

Look, the average IQ of American society is plummeting. The young ones couldn’t care less about voting unless it’s going to earn them “likes” and “influence”. The older ones watch the stupidest of the news media outlets (and they’re ALL stupid, quite frankly) and are way beyond their shelf date. We hear both sides of every issue when the other side is so incredibly far-fetched/stupid/ignorant that it’s worth absolutely no air time. The news media doesn’t care about reporting, they care about opinions because it generates controversy which generates ad revenue because of eye balls and pearl clutching. Don’t even get me started on the idiocy of social media. We worship billionaires that were given millions as kids because they work hard(?).

“Idiocracy” was not an operating manual for society, but y’all are hellbent on turning this hellscape into their favorite sci-fi armageddon/post apocalyptic scenario because that gets better ratings.

The likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Bobert wouldn’t get two seconds in any sort of conversation, let alone be taken seriously as a political contender before the 21st century. Never. They’re good for ad revenue for the news media, and therefore we have to hear their uneducated, ignorant, fucked up points of view all the time. They’re STUPID. Why must we elevate and amplify the voices of the STUPID. Let them bark at a carnival or a church or something.

The only faith I have in these midterms is the other shoe is going to drop and it’s not going to be pretty.

I need to go to a shooting range and let my hostilities out.

30 October 2022 by Why. 1

Caturday.

Truman likes to stare at me from his cat tree during work hours. Once in a while he’ll trill in my direction to make sure I’m paying attention to The Feline One. We play ball; I throw a small rubber ball in his direction and he bats it back at me. He does this until he’s bored and then it’s time for treats.

He has a routine.

29 October 2022 by He's A Feline. 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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