> Notes...

With so many disasters around the globe, so many conflicts, every little bit helps to bring sustainment to those in need. Anyone can do that, through Red Cross, for as little as $10.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission.

Please, considering donating to the Red Cross, and/or the International Committee of the Red Cross.

I am totally in love with Japanese woodblock prints. If it weren’t because my taste and Kim’s collide, I would have them framed around the house, and I would collect them.

Last week I spent 11h 21m screen time on all my devices (a Mac, and an iPhone). The tally goes: 6h 57m on iPhone, 6h 38m on Mac. That’s just macOS and iOS “vanilla” apps almost exclusively. Most macOS apps do not get recorded—perhaps because my Mac runs macOS Monterey. For example, I spend a lot of time on Teams, Chrome, and iTerm2 under macOS during work days, but none of it gets recorded.

A gas station offering a receipt after pumping, and then never providing it and showing a “Please see attendant” message drives me nuts. JUST STOP OFFERING RECEIPTS!

This specific one I use, because it is closer to home, does the same in all pumps—yes, I tried them all to see, on different occasions, of course. Ugh!

I have added a subtle way to provide feedback here, using the very easy to setup, simple, and awesome Tinylytics. Now that I have done it, I am having second thoughts. Do I really want it? I sure don’t know, so they (blue hearts) are here now, but they might not be tomorrow. Yeah, true ambivalence.

Update: 21:21

Feedback is anonymous. I see the same as you see: a number next to the emoji, nothing else. If you have JavaScript disabled you see nothing, and so do I.

Just watched “The Hunt” (★★★★). Though good, that was one upsetting movie—to the point that if it weren’t because I was watching it with the kid, I would have stopped seeing it. Was he believed, and fully accepted back? Think twice.

Does Safari has an offline mode (like Firefox, for example)? No.

By now it is settled that I love fonts. My thoughts have rambled around the topic more than once; my font collection is now at 1102. It might be surprising and, perhaps, inaccurate to say—because I am always discovering new ones that I like—but as of today, my first favourite (and the one currently in use here until further notice) is “IBM Plex Sans”, followed by “Inter”.

Came back from riding the bike with dad. Told Kim we rode around 5 kilometres. “Riding on the road is dangerous!” — she says. “We rode on sidewalks.” “It is dangerous” — she repeats, “Please, don’t do it again.”

Yet, if I don’t do it, she will say “You are too sedentary, need to move more.” Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. 😂

Haven’t played Diablo IV the whole week. Way too busy at work, and I have gone biking each day afterwards, and ended up too tired for anything else. Maybe I’ll play a bit tonight, after the TV is left alone. Right now some Chinese drama plays, I can hear it from the office room.

If you are running iOS 17 (beta, or final, when it comes out next week), and you don’t see “Live Voicemail” under “Settings → Phone”, change your language to “English US”. “Live Voicemail” is only available on that one, for now.

I truly don’t like Outlook, the program that runs on your computer, which started as a mail client, and now wants to do everything, and does it badly. I use it in a Windows VDI for work purposes, because there is no other practical choice. One of the things—amongst the many—that irks me about it is the “Remove extra line breaks in plain text messages” option enabled by default. That’s because—yes, you guessed it—I compose my emails in plain text.

It is simply amazing the amount of high quality, instructive videos, available on YouTube. Most are curiosities, to see how things are made, or to experience how someone else does it. And that’s just scratching the surface just a millimetre—which, in inches, is some other number.

I just got my chores handed to me, so I must hurry up to beat the rain and bike, and then rush home, shower, and get to chop, chop, chop!

If only I was a Horse, and not a Monkey! Damn you, opposable thumbs! 😂

“Their (Beijing’s) policy has been to reunite Taiwan with China. From their standpoint, maybe it is analogous to Hawaii or something like that, like an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China mostly because … the U.S. Pacific Fleet has stopped any sort of reunification effort by force,” he said.

That guy sure is an arsehole.

About iOS 17 relase on 18 September, make sure to turn off the betas (thanks George!) if you participated. Simply go to “Settings → General → Software Update → Beta Updates”. and turn it off.

I found Webgbcam while browsing Javier’s posts, and I am in love with it! The good thing about pixels is they stretch nicely, and they conceal. A lot! LOL.

As Javier says it (translating it from Spanish), “a website to take selfies in the traditional way: with a Game Boy Camera”.

Via Javier.computer.

Sometime in the very near future I am going to move my Mastodon instance to a new hardware. When that happens, there are two possible outcomes: it is successful, or it isn’t. If it isn’t I am going to be in whole lot of pain. Will keep a “glass half full” mentality for now.

Today was a bad day. Not horrible, as I am alive, but bad. Other than being pretty busy at work, juggling a couple of things that aren’t going the right way, I am having a pain on my neck, extending to my upper back—probably just neck pain, that’s been felt further from it—that’s driving nuts.

Will bike before it rains, and then take a very hot back to see if that makes me feel better.

Such pity to read hateful people’s comments making fun, poking jokes at the new iPhone—I have found them on Reddit, and Mastodon, so far—when they live their sad, pathetic days, with that aberration of an OS that is Android on theirs. Interesting thing is, I have never gone bashing at “the other phones”; it’s always “them” coming to bash iPhones. For me that’s telling.

iOS 17 is releasing 18 September 2023. That is, merely less than a week from today. I have been using it for a few betas now, and it works great! Now, I just want that Journal, but it still reads “Coming later this year”.

Kim has a problem with the pace at which I eat. She thinks—kind of rightfully so—that I eat too fast. “Slow down, enjoy the food!”, she tells me. The truth is, I am enjoying it! That’s just the way I do it.

I have tried to slow down my pace, but she still thinks it is too fast. I like my meal hot. If I were to slow down and eat like she does, I would be eating cold food. Yuck! In social gatherings though, I suffer a bit, and slow down to the group’s pace. After all, I truly am not a neanderthal!

My take aways from the Apple Event:

• Apple works on positively impacting the enviroment. Apple truly is extremely environmentally concious.
• Apple Watch is amazing: from looks, to usability, to saving lives. It has it all!
• iPhone hardware (with A16) keeps getting better (now with USB-C). Together with the best phone OS, iOS, it is a pleasure to use.
• iPhones Pro/Pro Max are build with even more premium materials and hardware (including the A17Pro processor, and much more), and much better cameras (3 vs 2, but this it too simplistic, you must see the video for all the details).
• There wasn’t a “one more thing”. I miss it.

It’s happening! Apple’s event is today at 13:00 EDT and, in preparation, I have snacks ready and handy, and have moved my lunch hour from 12:00-13:00 to 13:00-14:00. I will be able to happily snack while I watch it! Are you ready?

Charles Chaplin’s movie “The Great Dictator” final speech is uplifting, and remains as relevant today (for better or worse), as it was then. That makes me feel sad, but time is on our side.

To those who can hear me, I say: do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed—the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…

The entire transcript is available at his website. I think it’s worth reading.

That far away thundering, and the constant notifications on the Weather app of an impending rain are such a tease! High temps today were 33°C, and currently it is still 29°C. And yes, no rain. Pff!

Update: 21:15

Well, I’d be damned! It is raining right now, with thundering and lightnings, all with a strong wind as if a tornado were nearby.

“Going to mum’s to eat whatever ông (dad) cooked for me.” I tell Kim. “Wish me luck!”

Update: 20:02

Meal was very good! He made sweet sticky rice, and shredded lemongrass chicken. That, and a beer, completed dinner for me today. Stuffed!

At which point a seemingly neverending web page will take too long to load—or it will stutter? I am currently paginating at 80 notes per page, but the original (which entised me to start “Notes”) sets no limit. I figure it will be limited by the operating system, or web browser, or by processor and memory constrains. Or all of the above.

I don’t think Kim Jong Un likes to air travel very much (or at all), and as he doesn’t go places that aren’t connected through land mass, he uses an armoured(!) train instead. He is travelling to meet Putin as I type this.

It is rumoured to include at least 20 bulletproof cars, making it heavier than average trains and unable to go beyond 59 km/h (37mph). His journey to Vladivostok is expected to take an entire day.

I wondered why was a train picked as the preferred travel method (it was such curiosity what brought me here to type this note), and Wikipedia provided a suitable, logical explanation.

I can’t believe that it has already been 22 years since the 11 September terrorist attacks. I remember seeing the one on the Twin Towers as it was happening on TV; we all stopped working, and watched in disbelief. I will never forget.

This thing is delicious, and thus very habit forming. I can’t stop eating little pieces of it. The packing description reads “Cơm Cháy Nước Mắm Chà Bông” (Vietnamese), which translates to “Burnt Rice With Fish Sauce”.

Its ingredients are listed as “crispy rice, pork floss, fish sauce, sugar, soybean oil, and chilly”. All I read is yummy! 🤤

And thus, as it came in a whisper, it leaves us the same: weekend is no more. Yet fret not, as it shall come once more just five days from now. Again, and again, and again… Time’s a show in a loop, just enjoy the ride!

TIL that there are around 12kg of gold, and 21kg of silver in 4.2 cubic kilometres of seawater. You can read more about it and, at the same time, learn why the ocean is salty.

Via Hacker News.

This is a good read. The OP makes sure the preamble is set before stating very valid points.

I am a designer because I want to solve problems. I want people to be less frustrated when they use technology. I want to make their lives easier. I don’t want to make anyones life more difficult. These two sentiments sound the same, but they are not. I find both are important to consider.

While driving around the city, or parking, I encounter pretty interesting things that people place on their cars. Normally I don’t take photos of them, but today’s was too funny to pass. 🤣

From this week’s Areopagus Volume LXII, the temples atop Fanjing, their history, and the Cultural Author wrap up on chapter “IV - Architecture” was very interesting, educative, and inspiring. I quote it below, some emphasis mine.

“Architecture is not only a question of style, of whether we want to build in Gothic or Classical, Bauhaus or Constructivist. And nor is it only a question of choice, of what sort of building we want to create, whether a library or school, office block or hospital. It is, even more than any of these, a matter of faith. That which we believe to be true, and to be most important — be this religious, economic, or otherwise — is far upstream of these other questions. It was because of their beliefs that the builders of the Fanjingshan temples decided to construct them on the Red Cloud Golden Summit. For when we believe that something is both right and necessary we almost always accomplish our goal. The process that has led to urban skyscrapers, to sports stadiums, and to cathedrals, is much the same as that which led to the creation of the Fanjingshan temples — in all cases, at all times, it begins with belief.”

I really encourage you to subscribe to his newsletter. They bring joy to me, and I want—very much—to share it with you.

I am having a hard time perfectly aligning the icon at the begining of the timestamp on each note—timestamp that is also the permanent link for it—and it’s driving me nuts. To the point that I am seriously considering getting rid of it all together. Why was I made so fastidious?

I swear that Kim is playing Jenga with the recycle’s bin. Whoever loses takes it out and, boy, she is winning!

Claud wrote, “True, not true: Vietnamese coffee makes me delirious 😅”. I’ll say true! If, and when, I drink Vietnamese coffee my heart wants to get out of my chest, like it doesn’t belong there. And sleeping? Fuhgeddaboudit!

It’s that time of the year again, and I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned Apple’s event. It’s coming! Like, day after tomorrow coming. I will watch it, like I do each year, for sure! If you like Apple, and their products, I recommend you watch it too!

For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess I’m suddenly having a hard time leaving it. Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star. Maybe I’m not leaving… maybe I’m going home.

Just finished watching Gattaca (★★★★★) for the six time, but the first time with the kid. He finally let me rent it to watch it together.

At the end of the movie I told my kid that I saw the movie in its opening year (1997), and that I associated myself with Vincent having been born when my mum was 42, and having had my fair share of issues. That’s the reason I watched it so many times, I think. It is also a good movie.

Half of the weekend is almost over, half of my chores are finished. Next true worry is what to eat and, later on, what to watch on TV. I have no idea on either, so I will read some news while I cool down a bit. It is past 19:00, and still around 30ºC.

I believe one can’t experience death. One can only experience that that one can live to talk about. A near death experience? Of course. Yet, I think I understand what Mu-An is referring to.

After finding a font I liked online today, and checking which one was it, and downloading it, and saving it to my “fonts” directory all neatly organised with the rest of them—which is something I often do—I had an existential thought. “Why am I doing this?” Will anyone “inheriting” my collection care about them like I did?

I often find myself second guessing what I do, or a direction/decision I am heading/taking by simply going over and over my thoughts on the meaning of life. Latent depression?

Not a day goes by without hearing on the radio about global warming, and how we aren’t doing anything—or very, very little—about it. Our lack of action is nothing but the reflection of who we are. We smoke, even though we know for certain it is bad for us. We indulgue with unhealthy foods; we don’t exercise. We insist in hating, and hurting each other. Our lack of care for our planet is just a continuation of our own stupidity.

Mental note: no matter how bad you might feel, try not to fall asleep during day time (avoid taking that medicine that makes you drowsy) because then it will be 02:00, and you will still be sleepless. Time to chew on some melatonin. Ugh.

Just finished watching “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” (★★★★½), the movie. It was pretty cool! I am thankful for having watched the series before the movie, otherwise I would have been lost.

I am liking the redesign of Google Fonts, which was announced on the Material Design Blog. I will still use the google-fonts-helper to get the fonts I choose to use, and host them locally.

I like honey, of all kinds. I always have one or two jars of it at home, and I take—at least—one teaspoon of it each day in the morning. Yet, I always feel guilty that I am enjoying the labour of bees. Double guilty because I can’t help it. I really like honey!

The first one who told me about the 10,000 steps per day was my friend Martin. He has, almost religiously, walked that amount per day ever since I met him, sometime around 1986. It seems he was right all along:

“The first company that produced pedometers came up with the 10,000-step benchmark without any data, as that was considered an auspicious number,” says Lieberman. “Since then, plenty of studies have shown that steps a day is a reasonable way of measuring physical activity. As you increase your step count, you reap increased benefits, but it tails off between about 8,000 and 10,000.”

Hutchinson agrees: “There’s nothing magic about 10,000 steps a day, but it is pretty good advice. In general, the best target is probably ‘a little more’ than what you’re currently doing.”

Via Kottke.

That I am getting old, I can take. That the people I love is getting old, that hurts. Both out of our control, I know. Still.

Message to child, regarding upcoming nourishment situation, and potential remediation.

Mamá just announced to me—because she is an actress, and likes to make an entrance—that she will not be cooking, nor helping to cook, tonight. I know it might be early, but start thinking what would you like for tonight. Providing some options (non-exhaustive):

• Publix sub
• Macaroni and cheese with bacon
• Spaghetti and meatballs
• Don Julio’s chicken fajitas
• Pizza Hut

I am good with anything. Let me know.

Not long ago I wrote about leaving LinkedIn for good. Truth be told, I created yet another account (so much for that “final time”, right?), because work based relations with LinkedIn, and the training they offer through it. I was, pretty much, forced to it, being part of work. That doesn’t make me despise it less.

After just a few months, I am now starting to receive UCE through it. Am I an arse if I just simply send those to junk?

Of course, Global Warming isn’t happening, it is all a myth invented “by the left”. Let us not care about the environment, cancel our participation on all accords, and live like we don’t care. Because it seems we don’t.

“Multiple natural disasters are occurring simultaneously across different parts of the world, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of people being displaced. The World Meteorological Organization has declared this summer the hottest ever recorded, with August being the warmest month ever recorded.” — Paraphrased by AI.

Sony’s PlayStation Network is increasing the price of all their plans. The PlayStation Plus Essential (the least expensive plan, which I have because without it some online games cannot be played) will go from $60/year to $80/year. They are justifying it by saying that it “will enable us to continue bringing high-quality games and benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service.” I get absolutely nothing, just paying for the ability to use my Internet connectivity on the console. How ducked up is that?!

Suffice it to say, I will not be renewing my subscription. Duck Sony (yes, duck it)!

Here we go again. Hurricane Lee, forecasted to “rapidly intensify into a powerful Category 4 by this weekend”. Not even mid-September yet, and we are at L already. As in lovely.

This is a powerful documentary and article, about how a Sharia courtroom works. It really offers an incredible insight—at least for me—on how the system process claims, and imparts justice. It is backwards, yet fascinating.

“Our demand is that the world should let us live with our Sharia law.”

For me my child will always be my responsibility. That doesn’t mean they will not be responsible on their own, no. Yet, in my mind, it was my choice—well, a united, shared one—to have a child. It became my responsibility then, for life.

This guy, Linus, he is some sort of a genius. He truly is! No, he isn’t Torvalds—though that Linus is also a genius. I mean, look how prolific he is! And he sure does write, at length. But don’t take my word for it, just go check it out. Oh, and he composes music, and does art, I mean… is there something he doesn’t do?!

Now, what brought me here today was his “short” notes, which he describes as “brief memos on ideas, musings, inspirations”. Pfff, Linus, mate, I admire you a lot. You don’t know me, but I do. Now, let me tell you something: you can’t write “brief” anything. Well, almost.

Trying not to succumb to the temptation of buying yet more domains. Because I don’t need them. Because I will buy them, and a year later let them go. It is better tossing the coins in a fountain, right?

Maybe it is the fanatic in me, but Apple doesn’t need to run advertisements. This was prompted by this, which I found on Mastodon.

Via Dan Gillmor.

First day of back to doing some cardio—biking this time, because my running shoes suck, and I don’t want to buy new ones… yet. Did 2 miles, constant pedalling, which ought to be enough for a first day. Had noodle legs when I dismounted so, yeah. Slow and steady, that’s the plan.

Our engagement with Canonical to deploy and manage Ubuntu with MAAS and Landscape is over, and now the “fun” begins. So much to customise, and tune! I have spent the entire day tunning and rebuilding images, back and forth. I am hoping to work on post-install scripting tomorrow.

My closest work mate is on vacation this week. Though it is a short week—having had the day off yesterday for Labour Day, and all—it is going feel like a long one.

I am on the day before the last free day, before having to go back to the cyclic routine. Everything tells me that I must make the most of it, yet I fail to know what that is. I will peruse technical news, for now, whilst sipping a made-with-half-and-half hot chocolate.

Let the House Hunters International marathon start… now! 📺

The feeling I get when I pull out my identification in advance at Total Wine & More, when buying beer for mum, anticipating I will be asked for it, and when getting to the cashier she says “Oh, you are fine” after trying to show it to her. 😩

Kim laughed at me, of course.

I subscribe to the Areopagus, and if you like to learn about many different things, you should too. I have been meaning to mention their “Volume LIX”, and how much I liked it for some time and, well, here I am.

There is an old story about the King of Persia or, in some versions, the Sultan of Baghdad. In all cases it runs thusly; that this great lord, who was an enlightened ruler, wanted to know if there was anything he could say which would always be true, whenever and wherever it was spoken. So he gathered the wisest men in the land, calling poets and sages and philosophers from far and wide, to help him find an answer. They formed a great congregation and conferred for weeks on end until, eventually, they had agreed upon the solution to the king’s problem – they had a found a sentence which would always be true:

This too shall pass.

The entire volume is wholly filled with interesting stories revolving around that simple, yet everlasting, truth. It truly is worth reading.

You can tell I am feeling nostalgic. Maybe it is the rain, that falls constantly, and gently. Maybe it is the feeling that time is steadily slipping through my fingers.

My very first access to the Internet was via Prodigy. Then CompuServe, eWorld, and Holonet. Finally The Microsoft Network, AOL, and broadband providers (wich I use till today).

Went to mum’s to have coffee. I do this whenever I have time, because I like spending time with her, not so much for the coffee. That’s just a bonus. Of course, soon after I arrive I get this…

It never fails! Yes, I order it with extra whipped cream. And yes, it will never be enough of it. “Did you ask for extra whipped cream?” — “Yes, I did.” — “It doesn’t look like having anything extra at all!” 🤦‍♂️

“I can’t remember the name of the first girl I had a crush on in kindergarten. Can’t remember the name of my first love!”, I tell my partner. “Good, you should only remember me!”, she replies, half-kidding. “It’s not about the girl, silly Horse. It is about my memories fading away.”

Growing old isn’t fun. 😩

Where there is smoke, there is fire. Little sparks are starting to flare out on Clarence Thomas. There must be more transparency, Justices are not above the law.

“Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed Thursday that Republican megadonor Harlan Crow paid for private jet trips for Thomas in 2022 to attend a speech in Texas and a vacation at Crow’s luxurious New York estate, as ethics questions continue to rock the Supreme Court.”

But Clarence is not alone. Samuel Alito has also shed some light.

Having anyone from either side (Democrat, or Republican) covering expenses, or otherwise doing anything with the purpose of gaining favour, or swaying a Justice should be considered illegal, unethical, and disqualifying.

This dilemma came to mind. Should I enjoy an uninterrupted weekend (well, I still must fold clothes, but that’s unavoidable, unless I find a wish granting genie), or should I use tomorrow to mow the lawn, and forget about it for the entire next week?

If I were to find a wish granting genie, then I will ask more than having the clothes folded, but also to mow the lawn. If you are reading this, genie, don’t cross my path! You already know what awaits…

My weekend starts in around 45 minutes from now. Work closing for game day, taking tomorrow off, and then Saturday, Sunday, and Labour Day Monday! Ohhhh yeaaaah!

As someone with a few Indian friends, I have always been puzzled by the concept of caste that exists in India. My Indian friends, however, are not prone to talk about it. Yet, all of them are of a high caste, and none are Dalit or OBC. This prompted this note.

Via Hacker News.

Barely a little rain, brought to us compliments of Idalia, and power goes off. Granted, only for a few minutes, but why?! What kind of third world country—or Banana Republic—is this state?

Update: 11:04

As if it heard me, now Idalia’s outer edge is giving us quite a show, downpouring with winds. It is kind of odd to see and hear a storm without any lighting. Thunderstorms are a brand around here, but rains brought by hurricanes come with few lightings, and thunders. Just more wind.

Sooo sleepy! Alarm set to 12:55, will power nap during lunch because I don’t know if I will, otherwise, be able to make it. Mental note, do not take allergies medicines after 18:00, but at noon instead.

This is quasi-horror story of a spouse the got a medical bill for her deceased husband, a year after she had paid the final bill—or so she thought. The takeaway:

“In the United States, medical bills and insurance statements create a burdensome puzzle for patients to sort through to determine what is actually owed. The first rule of thumb is: “Don’t pay the bill before you’ve gotten the EOB,” which is the insurer’s accounting of what you owe and what the insurer will pay.”

Looks like Idalia will not pass close enough to merit a university close down. Local colleges are doing so, though. Experience tell us that is a best to err on the safe side.

Update: 13:55

And UCF is following the rest; it’s closing! Woot!

I found this phrase from Frank Herbert’s “Dune” posted on the Fediverse by MrBadger42 to be, perhaps, perennially true.

“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”