Today I restructured my computing setup. For about 2 years I’ve been running a MacBook Air M1 as a satellite device, keeping my 2019 Intel iMac as my centralised ‘home base’. The iMac had a nice screen, 40GB RAM and apart from at boot, never felt slow.

To the iMac were connected a bunch of devices, including a Stream Deck, JBL speakers, an EVO-4 audio interface, and a Time Machine drive.

Today, I got sick of the whole setup. The slow load time and the flakiness it was showing with regard to iCloud Drive sync pushed me over the edge.

I’ve promoted my MacBook Air to ‘home base’ status. I’ve retired the JBL speakers, Stream Deck and Time Machine drive.

For the time being, I have access to a Studio Display, which I’m using as a great monitor. If I lose access to this, I can see myself buying another (perhaps even with nanotexture glass). The MacBook Air feels faster with a bigger screen!

The iMac isn’t entirely retired, although I’ve moved it into a retirement home, setting up a new computer desk in my front ‘library’. Now I can choose my computing location - study or library. It might be nice.

In all the changes, I considered promoting my mac mini to ‘home base’ but the fact that I bought it with only 8 GB RAM, and the noise that its attached 4-bay Thunderbay drive array made meant that idea was short-lived. That machine is back in the closet running as the headless media server once again.

This was bad. What were the contract terms that got Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan on board?

A great reflection on what is truly important in life. Supported by great cinematography and the audio treatment of the dialogue is lovely.

“So it goes”
— Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

I met Hannah Beazley in 1999.

We married on 19 March 2005.

Innumerable highlights (and lowlights), some of which include:

• Establishment of a business, which together we ran for 5 years, then sold.
• Multiple overseas trips. Vietnam, Hong Kong, Italy, USA, Croatia, Singapore, Bali. Each of these trips with their own massive collection of memories and experiences.
• Hannah’s chronic medical challenges, which resulted in near death, as then virtually unknown hypereosinsophilia ravaged her body.
• Two children, when for the longest time we figured that number would be zero because of the aforementioned medical issues.
• Home ownership.
• Political campaigns, culminating in her becoming the Member for Victoria Park.

18 years of marriage.

Now, that chapter comes to a close.

Life is long. People grow and change. Wants and needs change and morph.

I will never have another marriage, or even relationship, like the one I’ve had with Hannah. My heart sings with happiness about the time we’ve had together. I look forward to continuing to work with Hannah on our shared lifelong project of parenting our two beautiful boys. The time for romantic love, however, has come to an end. In its place is admiration, respect and appreciation for a friend who has been there through the highs and lows, and will continue to be there for our children as they experience the highs and lows of their own lives.

Stoicism has been a helpful support over the past few months. Concerning myself with the controllables, and letting everything else be, has been a great help. I thank my friends and family for their support. Emotions are hard and having shoulders has been a blessing.

Despite the massive change this change of relationship status entails, I feel sanguine. A life is long. I have been rewarded with a successful relationship that lasted 24 years. This is a thing deserving of marvellous celebration. An end is not a failure. Our relationship brought two new incredible people into a world that needs more incredible people in it. Now that relationship closes, and I feel appreciation and kindness towards the one I shared it with. I am so grateful there is no domestic violence, hatred, drug abuse, or other negative elements. The relationship ran its course and ended well. That is a good thing.

Now, Hannah and I both enter new phases of our lives, and we work to ensure our children understand that this can be a good thing for us and them.

For me, it’s an opportunity to once more spread my wings. To try new things, meet new people and explore the world on my own terms. There will be hard, lonely and depressing times. I know this to be true. But there is a chance for a recreation, a rebirth.

I look forward to what comes next as I strive to live my best life.

Watched on Friday March 3, 2023.

Here is a screenshot of the edit for Hemispheric Views episode 078. Six audio tracks in play. Lots of edits and adjustments. Ferrite by WoojiJuice makes this possible, combined with a couple of years of editing experience and know-how I have built up.

I’m proud that I have the skills to do this. Not something that generally goes on my curriculum vitae, but maybe it should?

Absolute heart warmer of a movie. I love it.

Me bring me, I wanted more technical details of application.

A gastronomical delight, with acting to die for.

I’m old so I liked cameos by old guys. But this is a movie for the next gen, with a solid development montage.

It’s pretty bad, but it still an iconic 80s movie.

A story of climate change wrapped up in some impressive animation and characters that I didn’t warm to.

Now I have a 64-bit computer. Ho Ho Ho.

1992 really seems a different era, back when you could board a plane because you assumed your parents were on it. Slapstick cruelty is still fun, though.

There are some household jobs that I procrastinate over. Oiling the deck is a new one I can add to the list. Our deck was installed a couple of years ago as part of a backyard renovation. I knew at the time this would be a necessary maintenance job that I would despise. I dutifully entered it into OmniFocus as a task for the future.

That OmniFocus task has been deferred for about 9 months. I did the prepartory work of buying the expensive Cutek Extreme CD50 oil and the fancy Deck Boss applicator. The task of actually oiling the deck, though? That sat for a long time. Most of the time because of my own laziness. Sometimes because of the weather. I contemplated outsourcing the job but knew deep down within myself I wouldn’t trust anybody else to care enough to do it right.

Finally, the time came and I went for it. The first step was to clean the deck a couple of days before the oiling. That went well. I used Cutek Quickclean.

A few days after the clean, it was time to oil. The weather was hot - over 32ºC. I had to do the work in two shifts: one in the morning and one in the evening. The morning shift came to an end when I almost vomited from exertion in the heat. I’m too white, too old, and too unfit for manual labour in the burning sun.

This is how I looked after the first shift — just a touch pink:

I completed the second shift, and the job, with a minimal amount of oil left in the can. Maybe there’s enough to do a second coat on areas that look to need a little more. There is definitely not enough remaining to do a complete second coat. I think I’m okay with that.

Now I have to schedule the next maintenance coat into OmniFocus…

Earlier I posted how happy I was that my wife, Hannah Beazley MLA had been made Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and the Digital Economy; Medical Research; Volunteering, within the WA State Government.

On 14 December, 2022, Hannah was officially sworn in by the Governor. It was fantastic to share the experience with her, and also with her Dad, former Governor of WA, Hon. Kim Beazley AC. It coincided with his 74th birthday, so it was a great birthday gift from his daughter!