Cannonball, 1976 - ★★
I really wanted to watch Cannonball Run! but I got this instead. The 1970s were a simpler time.
Reading Ross Gittins on Economics
I enjoy reading Ross Gittins' articles on economics. He is doing a great job of highlighting the many failures of the neoliberal dogma in Australia.
ROSS GITTINS: What's kept us from full employment is a bad idea that won't die:
Wages have risen in response to the higher cost of living, but have failed to rise by anything like the rise in prices. Why? Because, seemingly unnoticed by the econocrats, workers’ bargaining power against employers has declined hugely since the 1970s.
This is so key. When I was in university, the Phillips Curve was being boosted as the saviour solution. I’ve changed, and economic thinking needs to change as well.
Unions have been neutered. Individualised long-term contracts have nobbled any opportunity for people to achieve meaningful wage growth; unless you’re a CEO in which case your performance bonuses alone will see your income skyrocket year-on-year.
Our major economic problems are that trickle-down economics didn’t trickle—rather it locked in wage growth benefits to the elite—and that the value of capital has been overvalued at the expense of labour. Which benefits the elite, who are the continued proponents of neoliberalism. Wow, who would have thought?
NextDNS or Pi-Hole?
I’ve been using NextDNS for a few years to block ads. Previous to it I used Pi-Hole on a Raspberry Pi. With the terrible AUD-USD exchange rate, I’m contemplating a return to Pi-Hole, but this time via Docker running on a Mac mini. Does anybody have any experience with this setup? I don’t want to have to do a lot of fiddling around and regular maintenance.
Climate Change Stripes for Perth, Western Australia
Depressing; alarming.
This is an emergency.
Today’s Advice: Don’t Get Old
I know, the advice is meaningless because age is undefeated. The world turns, time moves ever forward, and we get old. If you can manage to avoid the process, though, I recommend you do.
My latest ageing problem is a pulled back muscle that has entirely incapacitated me for one day, and three days later continues to prevent me from walking properly, putting on pants, or picking up things I have dropped. The worst part about said back complaint is how I did it… by walking. Nothing crazy; nothing energetic. I was at work walking between locations. If that doesn’t say “ageing man”, then I don’t know what does.
When I was young this sort of thing didn’t happen to me. But I’m succumbing to ageing. Stupid progress of time. Not happy.
Case Study: The Weekly Cost of an iPhone
Hemispheric Views - Blog - Case Study: The Weekly Cost of an iPhone:
During the episode recording I referenced the spreadsheet as I was describing my decision to buy an iPhone 15 Pro. I rattled off some statistics, but Martin (appropriately) suggested I write a blog post that provides the necessary detail. Fun fact: the description of number series are not great content for an audio show.
A blog post written by yours truly in support of a conversation had on Hemispheric Views Episode 094.
I’m going to give Stage Manager another honest try on iPadOS 17, with “More Space” set as the display resolution.
Currently reading: Transforming the Difficult Child by Howard Glasser 📚
Really Specific Stories: John Gruber
My friend and Hemispheric Views co-host Martin Feld was able to interview John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame for his podcast project, Really Specific Stories.
It’s incredible the line-up of guests Martin has been able to assemble for this podcast series.
Let’s fireball the feed!
Dr Drang's Shell Script for Blank Calendars
A shell script for blank calendars - All this:
I wanted a script to help me print out blank monthly calendars.
Oh Dr. Drang, where have you and this script been my whole life?
The steps I have gone to to get blank calendars in the past. Now I can simply run your script.
Thank you!
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004 - ★★
Some nice moments but this film felt like it ran for 4 hours.
Love this end frame quote from Young Sheldon. If this doesn’t describe Trump I’m not sure what does.
My Dad joke for today:
Q: What do you call an extra vegetable?
A: A-spare-agus.
🥁
I’m here all week, folks!
I preordered an IPhone! This will be the first time I’ve had a Pro designation. My history as best I can remember it is: 3G, 5, 5S, 8, XR, SE, SE2, 13 mini. Soon to be 15 Pro.
Today at work I casually sketched out a swimlane diagram as I listened to a colleague describe a process. Can’t decide if I was a good management consultant for so many years, or I’m just a nerd now.
The Apple event was most underwhelming, even with low expectations. Evidence perhaps the iPhone in current form has reached its zenith. While I’m tired of having a too small for me 13 mini, it’s hard to justify the expense (and the environmental impact) of an upgrade.
Heading into another Apple event, and I’m not that jazzed about this one. It’s hard to be too excited when the most impactful development is likely to be USB-C. However, I am still looking forward to moving beyond my too small for my big hands iPhone 13 mini. Great in my pocket; not great in my hand.
I’ve cancelled my Backblaze account. Photos continue to be backed up across iCloud and Flickr. Everything else? 🤷♂️
I’m enjoying Kagi a lot. Am I seriously going to pay for a search engine? I’m not a normal internet user.
The Challenge of Podcast Discovery
This article was originally written for the October 2022 edition of Hemispheric News, delivered as part of the Hemispheric Views podcast member bonus program, One Prime Plus.
A couple of weeks ago I inserted a thread into the Mac Power Users Forum. Part honest question, part hopeful Trojan Horse that might lead people to discover Hemispheric Views.
The topic of the thread was around how people discover new, independent podcasts. This is a problem that I don’t believe has been solved. In fact, I’m not sure the problem has even been considered in any meaningful way. The economics of podcast exploration don’t stack up. Closed ecosystems want to put their money behind their own properties. Independent podcast apps are so often not that independent, because they are “friends” with existing networks.
Overcast is the great example here. Developer Marco Arment has his own successful podcast, and they are tight with Relay.fm. It is a clique and despite their power in the market, they don’t seem to be using it to lift others up.
So how do people discover podcasts? While machine learning might be helpful (other people who subscribe to your shows also subscribe to ‘x’), this could prove to be an amplifier of already successful shows, as well as being a potential negative privacy vector.
I want to find new shows, new voices, but that have high production values. Basically, I want to find other versions of Hemispheric Views. At the same time, I want people to discover Hemispheric Views for themselves. The challenge is the old rule of Dunbar - 90% of everything is crap. How do you get people to wade through the crap to find the good stuff. It’s not exactly an enticing task. How do you convince people that the show you want to promote is not part of the 90%? How do you know it’s not part of the 90%?
It’s a dilemma and I don’t know how to solve it, and I don’t see much appetite from others to do so.
Do our readers know of any great independent podcasts that deserve more listeners?
And can our readers share the good news of Hemispheric Views? I want more people to enjoy our show.