Our One Prime Plus members have received their bonus episode! @hemisphericviews @martinfeld @burk
Is Discord the New Online Meeting Place?
Thursday, April 28, 2022
With the probable demise of Twitter, it will join other social networks that have already met their demise (MySpace, Facebook, Instagram) with me, I am not that worried. Micro.blog will remain my generalised blogging location, allowing me to post whatever I like (and optionally cross-post to Twitter if I feel I must). What I’ve also found more recently is that Discord has become an unexpected surprise hit for focused communities. I only participate in four, and I wouldn’t want it to grow much beyond this, but they have each delivered an excellent place for virtual gathering, without anybody portraying negative behaviours, trying to sell NFTs, or undertake any other annoying actions that one sees elsewhere online.
It’s great to see so many new (and returning) people posting to micro.blog following the Musk Twitter news. I hope they stay and build this great community.
Commentating NBL1 Perth Redbacks Games
Saturday, April 23, 2022
This season I have taken the job as a commentator for the NBL1 West’s Perth Redbacks. The NBL1 is the league directly beneath the national NBL competition and is broken into State-based divisions. I had to miss the first couple of games due to COVID protocols, so last night was my first behind the microphone. The games are streamed via the league’s website. The direct links to the videos of the games I called last night are:
Thanks @jean and @manton and @burk - I love being a part of micro.blog!
Despite owning the PowerPack, I’ve switched away from Alfred and back to Launchbar.
I had to buy a subscription for Microsoft 365 today. That was an unexpected event. I appreciate the Home Use Program discount though.
A day of IT disaster. Firstly corporate IT decided to lock down all access from machines other than their own, then by the end of the day my iMac reached a point where a ‘nuke and pave’ installation was the only choice.
The Profit Paradox at play with the iPhone mini 14
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
The Looming Demise of the iPhone mini - MacSparky: The part that gets me is that they really shouldn’t be forced to make a decision. Isn’t Apple selling enough iPhones that they could afford to sell small, medium, and large versions of the pro and non-pro phones? You’d think they could make that work, but, for whatever reason, they are choosing not to. David Sparks take the customer-centric Apple question, but the answer is business-centric.
I finished the game Disco Elysium tonight. More akin to reading a book than playing a game, it tackled interesting concepts from politics to economics and the meaning of life.
If, like me, you’ve been searching for the ultimate OmniFocus “Complete and Await Reply” automation script, we may have finally hit gold with Autocar.
High School Musical, 2006 - ★★
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Lip sync is bad, fade to black transitions and an incredibly well-resourced High School. What’s not to love?
Finished reading: My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout 📚. A short story that initiated self-reflection of how my own childhood experience resulted in the life I have today.
Well that’s just great. COVID-19 has entered our household. 🦠
Severance Unboxing
Sunday, April 10, 2022
It was a lot of fun to host another Hemispheric Views live event this morning. This time, Jason was unboxing an official AppleTV+ Severance gift box he had acquired. The event featured Severance talk, Severance sound clips and music from the show - even some Defiant Jazz. There were many amazing goodies in the box. You can see some photos of the items at the Hemispheric Views photo album.
What Am I Nostalgic For?
Thursday, April 7, 2022
This article was originally written for the November 2021 edition of Hemispheric News, delivered as part of the Hemispheric Views podcast member bonus program, One Prime Plus Since it’s Nostalgic November, I figured I should write something that fits the theme for the November issue of Hemispheric News. What is nostalgia, however? According to Apple’s dictionary, nostalgia is defined as: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past.
Can we Have Some Modern Software as Well?
Monday, April 4, 2022
Riccardo Mori really nailed it with his latest post, Raw power alone is not enough where he talks about how Apple has left its software to wither, while it has been busy beefing up its hardware offering. The article is full of juicy content, but I’ve pulled out the parts that resonated with me: Without innovation in software, all we’re doing with these new powerful machines is essentially the same we were doing 20 years ago on PowerPC G4 and G5 computers, but faster and more conveniently.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 2022 - ★★
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Jim Carrey is fun for the adults and the characters are fun for the kids. I was disappointed with the soundtrack after really enjoying that of the first movie.
Autism & Adults
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Hannah Gadsby on her autism diagnosis: ‘I’ve always been plagued by a sense that I was a little out of whack’ | The Guardian I leave crowded spaces. I switch off discordant music. I wear headphones at restaurants. I openly express my hatred of the saxophone and electric guitar solos. I don’t allow important emotional conversations to take place in cafes with polished concrete floors. My son has an autism diagnosis.
I’ve bought Disco Elysium - The Final Cut because it was on sale on the Steam Store. Friends tell me it’s good. 🕹