Dilemma.

This is my work Mac. It was assigned to me as my work computer in June 2015. I was a bit of an outlier in the company with this Mac; when I was convinced I should join the company I said I wouldn’t do it unless I could work on a Mac and they relented. I wasn’t the only one using a Mac but the number of us was small. It’s the last generation of MacBook Pro before the new keyboard was introduced to frustrate the masses. I have since been assigned a Dell Windows 10 computer that I don’t use as much as I’m suppose to. My workflow works best on a Mac.

My husband’s iMac is older than this Mac and it’s getting a little long in the tooth. I’ve also been looking for a desktop to use in the same space as my work Mac because I really want to get back into video editing again. I have hours and hours and hours of flight video that I’d like to put together in clever ways to share with the masses. I’m not looking to make money with my flight videos, rather I’m more interested in sharing my passion for aviation as widely as possible.

My husband should have a laptop of some sort. We have tried the iPad Pro route and he doesn’t like the limited experience the iPad currently offers. I know Apple insists that tablet computing is the way of the future, and there are many that use their iPad Pro full-time (in fact, I’m typing this blog entry on my iPad Pro), but in reality, iOS is not there for the average computer user to make the switch to a tablet as their full-time computer. The logical choice would be a 13-inch MacBook Pro with the option of plugging into an external monitor.

Apple’s offerings are so expensive!

So I took a gander through Best Buy last night and I was underwhelmed by every computer I looked at. I typed on premium computers made by Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Toshiba, Samsung, and Microsoft. The closest thing that came to the quality I would expect from a computer in 2019 was the Microsoft Surface line, but there was something I just didn’t enjoy. I don’t know if it was the power connector hanging off like it 2005 or the overwhelming interface of Windows 10, but I was not as impressed as I thought I would be.

Perhaps my expectations are too high.

I was encouraged to see that Apple bumped up the MacBook Pro line yesterday and also announced that they’ve modified the new keyboard design (again) to address the stuck key issue users have been dealing with for literally years. After Best Buy I went to the Apple store last night and played around with a MacBook Pro with TouchBar. It was interesting. I was surprised at how loud the keys were with each press and I wondered if the TouchBar was actually ever used by the average consumer. Looking at the specs of each device I went into geek mode and realized the computers at Best Buy, while not built as well as the Apple devices, had higher specs at a lower price. I really want to make sure this next computer for my husband lasts for a number of years, so I try to get as much RAM and hard drive space as fiscally possible.

I didn’t make any purchases last night.

I think I’m going to end up waiting until after WWDC in a couple of weeks to see what Apple announces in the way of iOS and Mac OS upgrades in 2019. But right now, I feel like the general computing experience for the average user in 2019 is at a weird, uninspiring, lack of innovation limbo of sorts. Prices go up with no real benefit.

We really need the next Steve Jobs, whomever he or she may be, to share their vision and get us moving forward again.

22 May 2019 by Fun and Games Dept Geek Ponderings and Musings 0

Ecofriendly.

My morning walk ended up being an abbreviated event this morning due to the rain that was coming down at the time. I thought I could brave it out but alas, with temperatures in the mid 40s and a decent amount of precipitation, I decided that I would try again to catch up on my step count later in the day.

I did notice that neighbors had their sprinklers running during the rain shower. I’m assuming this is an automated affair; folks just set and forget the sprinkler system to assure a beautiful lawn everyday. This is where I wish folks would embrace sensible technology. We have more than enough ways to determine if it’s raining outside, and an electronic gizmo in the neighborhood of $100 would allow the sprinklers to be smart as to when to deploy. If it’s raining, there’s no sense in deploying the sprinklers for that cycle. Perhaps a more expensive gizmo could determine if the lawn even needs water to begin with.

I’m all for beautiful lawns. I’m all for smart technology. Perhaps the two should be married for a more ecologically responsible union more often.

21 May 2019 by Geek Ponderings and Musings 0

Céline.

I’ve been a Céline fan since hearing her since in French on a radio station out of Kingston, Ontario back in the mid-late 1980s. Here’s one of her latest interviews. She is a couple months older than me. I find her attitude to be very inspiring.

15 May 2019 by Gayish. Ponderings and Musings 0

Unsilenced.

I’ve been trying really hard to not run my mouth about the state of the States these days. I’ve been purposely avoiding news feeds. I’ve created a new Twitter account to try to escape the gluttony of idiocy spewing all over creation on my timeline. I avoid eavesdropping on seemingly rich, white people conversations while we are out to dinner. I refuse to take photos for tourists standing in front of the Trump building here in Chicago.

It’s mostly because if I were to really say what I feel, well, let’s just leave it at that.

My dreams are nightmares filled with the cries of a planet being destroyed by humans. My mouth is agape when I read things like the Alabama Abortion Ban bill signed by their governor today. Fun fact, the woman impregnated by a rapist will go more time for getting an abortion than the man that raped her. Let that sink in for a moment: uncle rapes 17 year old, baby has complications due to genetics, uncle goes to jail for 10 years for rape but the 17 year old girl goes to jail for 99 years for getting an abortion.

If given the choice between “The Hunger Games” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”, I’ll take my chances with a flaming dress.

My biggest fear is the Democrats are doing everything they can to make this a close, if not lost, presidential election. Common sense would dictate that Trump would lose in a landslide in 2020. But common sense is no longer common here in the States (how can we really call ourselves ‘The United States of America’ these days?), it’ll be a close if not lost presidential election and then Flaming Cheeto will feel empowered to really get his agenda going. That’s if we’re not nuked to death from a war with a nuclear power or the planet holds it together, despite the abuse, to get us to 2020 to begin with.

Remember when people were enraged about a blow job in the Oval Office? Good times.

My pilot insurance policy renewed this week and it came with an addendum that exempts coverage if I’m injured in an airplane during a nuclear attack. I have no idea why this is even being discussed but I guess we have to plan for reality.

Here’s a winner: Elizabeth Warren is suggesting we beef up the military to combat climate change. I hate to be the Debbie Downer in the room, but isn’t the military one of the biggest contributors to Climate Change related pollution to begin with?

I really don’t know what that shriveled old ball of Ivey down in Alabama thinks she’s trying to accomplish with this abortion ban law that is going to be overturned anyway. Thank god I don’t have to go to that state.

So, I guess I’m not going to be silent anymore. There’s just too much crap going on to keep wearing it as it’s flung about.

It’s time to speak up.

15 May 2019 by People Impress Me. This Ain't No CNN. 0

Repeat.

I’m in the waiting room at Northwestern Medicine Memorial Hospital while my husband is having his second colonoscopy procedure in as many years. This procedure is a follow-up to last year’s procedure which discovered the presence of Prostate Cancer. We are hopeful that he will get a clean bill of health today.

I was telling him that Northwestern Medicine has made me the most comfortable as a patient or spouse of a patient that I’ve felt in these circumstances at any time in my life. Everyone we’ve ever been in contact with has been very professional, calm, and seemingly knowledgeable. As a geek I’m impressed with their use of technology. It appears to all be based on Microsoft technology. The presentation is simple to understand and there hasn’t been any perceived glitches. The typography of their information panels as UI is very impressive. The only thing I’m curious about is the lack of walkable computing; there are computers everywhere. I would think folks would be walking around with Microsoft Surface tablets are something. Perhaps we haven’t been in those areas of the experience yet.

A quick aside: When did we move from saying “Hello” to “This is (insert name here)” when we answer the phone? I’ve noticed that folks answering their cell phones here in the waiting room are introducing themselves with their name. Perhaps it’s because of the nature of the call. How did we ever survive without Caller ID? Remember when that was a novelty? Now it’s a given.

I have a couple of hours to wait for Earl to finish his procedure. I’m going to busy myself by doing a little work and just relaxing here in the waiting room. I love the people watching.

I look forward to the good news at the end of Earl’s procedure.

14 May 2019 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Lust.

I might be in lust with Brian Jordan Alvarez. We binged his “The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo” tonight and now I’m really wanting another season of the show.

I enjoy people that live their life honestly. They inspire me.

12 May 2019 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Shower Thoughts.

So in the first half of the 20th century we thought it was a great idea to use asbestos in our buildings. In the last half of the 20th century we decided that wasn’t such a great idea and at great expense we’ve been doing our best to get rid of it.

At one time we thought the Milky Way galaxy was it. We now know there’s billions of galaxies out there.

What makes us so cock sure that we have physics right? We know what gravity does but we don’t know why gravity does what it does. We know it’s there and we know why it’s there but we don’t know how it’s there.

9 May 2019 by Ponderings and Musings 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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