I miss RadioShack, Circuit City, Computer City, CompUSA, Fry’s… all those “old” computer/electronics stores, and what they used to be. No store these days compare. None. Oof, I am getting old.
interesting tech thoughtsI miss RadioShack, Circuit City, Computer City, CompUSA, Fry’s… all those “old” computer/electronics stores, and what they used to be. No store these days compare. None. Oof, I am getting old.
interesting tech thoughtsI have decided to use Apple’s Journal app more. Towards that aim I have placed it on my mobile device home screen. That will not interfere with any of my public interactions, as Journal will simply be that, a personal journal, and thus not for public comsumption.
My aim is to document the mundane, “what did I eat last night?” kind of thing, to recollect, and preserve, daily happenings and thoughts at day’s end.
apple tech
Today, for no reason at all, memories of the many times the kid and I saw “Monsters, Inc.” (★★★★★) when he was growing up came to mind. It was one of our favourite movies, one on which we bonded together. Good times!
movies oobieThis might be quite unpopular, but I truly dislike Wordle. The reason isn’t rooted on any psychological issue, it is much, much more simple: people share their Wordle result(s)—I figure they feel good about themselves—and for me it is only uneven, unaligned, wasteful noise. I don’t even want to show you an example, but I am sure you know what I am talking about.
rants socialDon’t get me wrong, the Atkinson Hyperlegible font is a great font. Like, truly, truly good. I know, I know, there comes the “but”. But I have seeing it on Hacker News many times. Like 9 tailed foxes times.
fontsBased on this Hacker News submission, see below for how long you have been iddle. You move your mouse, it stops the counter. Don’t. Even. Breathe! (kidding, kidding, breathe, damn it! 😅)
You have been idle for 000 seconds.
interesting techMy little experiment with hardcore gaming—as in, if you die you lose the toon, and everything it was in it—has come to an end. In the last three days I created 10 toons, taking the highest one to level 70 (out of 100 maximum possible). Each one of them died at certain stage. I’ve had enough now. 😅
Update: 09 Jun 2026 @ 17:26:21
As Kim just told me, “it is time for you [me] to get a new hobby”. LOL. I don’t think I need to, I just need a break.
gamesFor the first time in 10 years I am paying someone to mow the front lawn, and trim the bushes. All that hard work for $100. I don’t mind doing it, but I need a new mower, trimmer, and blower ($1000+), so, yeah.
Update: 09 Jun 2026 @ 17:26:21
I feel bad for this guy, he is still working on the lawn, and rain is coming. He is doing a good job, though.
lawn lifeThis is good news. I can’t help thinking of my father, as he could have benefitted from a device like this.
apple health tech“Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device, Hearing Aid Feature, intended to be used with compatible versions of the Apple AirPods Pro headphones. Once installed and customized to the user’s hearing needs, the Hearing Aid Feature enables compatible versions of the AirPods Pro to serve as an OTC hearing aid, intended to amplify sounds for individuals 18 years or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment.”
Well, “that” deed is done! 🥳 Now the wait starts. Some will deliver on 20th September, other will not arrive until October! 😩😂
appleThis is also ridiculous. On the Change Healthcare breach they, like all others, are offering free credit monitoring:
“A dedicated call center is available to offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years to anyone who believes they may have been impacted.”
Two years, are they kidding us? At the very minimum it should be 10 years, if not lifetime. And with IDX, better known by no one. An utter rubbish company.
finances rantsEvery single person in the United States—with the exception of those that were born, say, a month ago (and it’s only a matter of time)—has had their PII data leaked. Between the many breaches, everyone, and I mean everyone is exposed, and should have their credit frozen. Those Change Healthcare letters we are getting are part of this. But before those, there was AT&T, T-Mobile, the many banks, the many others. An almost endless list. Did I say you are exposed? Because you are!
finances rants tech“Face with bags under eyes” is the Emoji I didn’t know I needed, and can’t wait to abuse the bejesus out of it once arrives. Though not Emoji, Apple is going to take this to the next level on iOS 18. I am all for rich, international, ways to communicate!
apple techEvery once in a while one needs to read something to makes one feel well. Or something reaffirming what we already believe, and do.
“Listen. You don’t live there. You live here. With your people. Go to work. Get your money. And come on home.”
How often we forget those simple, yet unquestionable, words. Right? What the author of the article understood:
- Whatever the work is, do it well—not for the boss but for yourself.
- You make the job; it doesn’t make you.
- Your real life is with us, your family.
- You are not the work you do; you are the person you are.
I agree.
life philosophy workSimilar to one of my previous notes, this one aims to call attention to a worthy cause.
St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Their researchers and doctors work together to turn laboratory breakthroughs into lifesaving treatments for children from across the United States and around the world. And with your support, St. Jude can provide cutting-edge treatments at no cost to families — so they can focus on helping their child live.
Please consider donating the potential gift of life to a little one.
help humansAs my PDS stopped working for no particular reason, and no feedback has been given to my issue on their git repository, I have disabled it. That means I just “Poof!” myself out of Atproto.
All of the sudden, and without any apparent reason, my BlueSky PDS stopped working. Maybe it’s my VPS telling me to get rid of it.
selfhostI am facing a small dilemma. I don’t feel I have the energy, nor the content, to share my attention across different places. I have a “blog”, to which I write once, or twice a year. I have these notes, which I used to use more often. I also have an ActivityPub server (aka Mastodon, or Fediverse), and a BlueSky PDS (Personal Data Server).
I really need to downsize. What to “cut off” first?
life tech thoughtsI get the automated message from Kim. The same I get each week day morning: “Good morning ❤️! ☕ please 🙏🏻” I know it’s 07:30. Next I know, and I kid you not, I get the second reminder tone about the same message. Two minutes have passed by. What’s going on?! I felt I just blinked, and two minutes passed. Something’s broken.
horsie thoughtsSo that I can remember to create a Gist with this later. Useful if you run GoToSocial, have moved to it from another service, and want to keep your initial Fediverse or ActivityPub “joined date”.
# Find the user ID.
select id, created_at from accounts where username = 'username_here'
# Use newly found user ID to update the "created_at" field.
update accounts set created_at = '2016-10-04 21:27:33+00:00' where id = 'user_id_here';
“Time is an illusion, a construct made out of human memory. There’s no such thing as the past, the present, or the future. It’s all happening now.”
philosophy thoughtsI have been more active on the Fediverse lately, mostly as a consumer, but occasionally replying to posts. If you are on the Fediverse (also known as Mastodon), feel free to reach out (@david@weaknotes.com)!
From the original (and well-received) “Blade Runner” (★★★★★) film, the now famous Roy Batty’s (leader of the replicants) monologue:
movies videos youtube“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe… Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion… I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain… Time to die.”
First time replying to a MastoPrompt (a request for everyone, anyone, to offer a small poem about a certain word). The word was “alone”. My entry:
life socialAssuming forgotten I felt despair,
sat there, alone, among empty chairs.
My child showed up, his smile all wide,
His ask “Talk to me, papa!” broke the divide.
Alone no more.
I have never brought Phanpy (a delightfully opinionated, minimalistic, Mastodon client) to Notes before, so here it goes its first appearance. It is lovely. The way it does threading is really good, and the “Catch-up” feature is marvelous.
If you use Mastodon, or a Mastodon API compatible server, give Phanpy a try. I promise you will not be disappointed.
social tech