A fresh look for your Microblogs, Twitter and Facebook Feeds ā€“ Inoreader

added a custom parser for Micro.blog JSON feeds extensions.

Awesome that Inoreader is specifically adding support for micro.blog. @manton

I watched the first episode of See and liked it. Not sure why it was so heavily criticised? šŸ“ŗ

I bought a UPS for my iMac today. The hardware seems fine but the software is some janky Java thing. I’m pretty sure I have to have it running to enable auto-shutdown though - there’s nothing standard built in to macOS, right?

Money

Day 25 of Blogvember. A full list of prompts for the month is available.

I’m all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack
Money, it’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit
I’m in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet

Pink Floyd, Money

Money is the great enabler. Its presence enables people to climb out of poverty. Others can build their ego collecting it. Some feel good giving it away. In acting as a proxy for elements of human behaviour and achievement, money allows us to communicate status, success and worth.

Money is a human construct. It is a renewable resource. It’s a shared fiction that relies on us to all believe for it to work. Fortunately we well and truly believe in it. In fact, we practically worship at its altar. It is the central and universal element upon which all of us must give consideration. Criminals, office workers, paramedics. Whatever one’s role in life, money is at the core.

Microblogvember: I am glad our kids feel safe and secure in their home. It’s sad that many kids must not.

Infrastructure

Day 24 of Blogvember. A full list of prompts for the month is available.

Many years ago I was employed as an Advisor to our State Governmentā€™s Minister for Planning and Infrastructure. This followed previous work in the State Department of Transport and for a large grains cooperative which built, managed and utilised transport and logistics infrastructure.

Infrastructure is often taken for granted Itā€™s reasonable to suggest thatā€™s when infrastructure is working at its best. When people start talking about traffic or fresh water or power failures it usually means something has gone wrong at an infrastructure level. Not enough road capacity has been built, the desalination plant has failed or the baseload power generator failed to get a steady supply of fuel. There are teams of people across all the various infrastructure providers responsible for ensuring citizens donā€™t think about them or their service. Mostly, these people do a good job. Infrastructure management relies on effective processes driving preventative maintenance schedules. Combined with regular capital works investment to upgrade, improve and stay ahead of the demand curve, infrastructure ideally stays ahead of demand.

The ingenuity of humans, that we are able to build, design and operate infrastructure so effectively is incredible. Additionally we have been able to develop an economic system that incentivises delivery of services. This includes the ability for government to step in as a supplier where market conditions donā€™t support commercial operations.

Infrastructure is also the enabler of unrelated money-making projects. Without basics such as power, water and Internet access, Australia couldnā€™t support the development and operations of companies like Atlassian and Fastmail, to suggest two technology-based business examples. Infrastructure enables these and all other firms to employ people, generate profit, and pay taxes. Infrastructure firms, however, rarely (ever?) are afforded the status that is probably deserving of them. Mike Cannon-Brookes has become a billionaire but I canā€™t find any CEOs of infrastructure firms that have become billion-dollar poster children for their industry. Rather, infrastructure firms are the staid companies that superannuation firms love to buy shares in, as they deliver a boring, regular dividend stream.

So hereā€™s to the infrastructure, and the people that work on it, that makes our lives better each and every day. Please keep up your yeomanā€™s work… even if it goes unnoticed and under-appreciated.

Microblogvember: I used Uber Pool yesterday. It was an enjoyable experience because I was paired up with great people. It’s not always bad to be in the company of strangers.

Toast

Day 23 of Blogvember. A full list of prompts for the month is available.

John Siracusa built an empire talking about toasters, but what about the toast?

I like a slice of toast that is crispy on the outer but remains soft under that toasted exoskeleton. The bread should be a golden brown. I don’t want no black bits.

Onto that toast, slather some butter. It really should be butter. Margarine is a substitute that allows sufficient oiliness to support the subsequent spread of a condiment but in itself doesn’t taste good. A nice piece of toast is one that has butter - and only butter - lathered across it. This toast can be eaten as so and should bring some sweet joy to your morning.

You don’t want two pieces of buttered toast though. That buttered slice is the entree to the second more flavoursome slice. Here you can go two ways. If you want something sweet, run with peanut butter. I think it needs to be crunchy peanut butter and I want it spread on thick. Remember, it still needs butter first. Then get the peanut butter thick and gooey. If you’re going to have it go hard, or go home.

If you don’t fancy the sweet option, then the umami of Vegemite is what you need. The slightly salty, bitter taste of Vegemite is great. Vegemite has had its problems of late, but they do seemed to have reverted back to a better quality more recently. It’s not what it once was, but it is showing improvement.

You need to be careful not to spread Vegemite too thick. This is the mistake visiting Americans always make. Vegemite is the anti-peanut butter. Spread it thin.

Those two slices of toast, prepared that way, will get you off to a great start in the morning.

Now I’m hungry.

Microblogvember: A word I never use, but like the sound of, is woebegone.

I’m exploring Receipts that comes as part of my Setapp subscription. I think it could replace my current DEVONthink usage for receipt management. Its OCR smarts are great.

Observations on Android, five years later | Riccardo Mori

On iOS, what you see on the screen are essentially the contents of an Application folder. On Android, the screenā€™s real estate is like a Desktop where you put shortcuts (in the Windows sense)

Iā€™ve never been an Android user but this description finally enabled me to grok the difference in Androidā€™s approach to home screens compared with iOS.

Sport

Day 22 of Blogvember. A full list of prompts for the month is available.

I’ve always watching and playing sport. As a kid, I tried most sports that entered my world view. I can remember playing:

The sports I really enjoyed were cricket and basketball. If I’d had a better experience with cricket, I probably would have stuck at it longer. I loved bowling and would be happy doing it for hours on end.

The sport I excelled at was basketball. I was an athletic white guy. I am 6'3" and was able to throw down some good dunks. Although my mates were always frustrated that I seemed happier firing from beyond the three-point line! I maintain I was ahead of my time - look at how the game is played now.

Unfortunately basketball has taken its toll on my body. I’ve got an ankle that won’t bend properly, hips that are creaking, and knees that have lost their cartilage so they crack and pop as I climb stairs, misaligned fingers and a thumb that strains with the slightest effort.

Despite all those injuries and the awareness that things are going to get worse, I wouldn’t change anything. I loved playing basketball so much. For me it went beyond a sport; it was a lifestyle. I made so many friends; I have amazing memories of playing with some incredible players and I’ve met some impressive people.

The two most famous basketball people I’ve met are probably Luc Longley and Phil Jackson. Ironically, neither of these encounters came because I was a basketball player. Rather, they came about because my father-in-law was Australia’s Ambassador to the United States of America and both me and those basketball celebrities were at a gala “G’Day USA” event.

Now I’m transitioning to the next phase of my sporting life. I am watching my eldest boy try a variety of sports. To date, it seems he is enjoying cricket the most. I wonder what my younger kid will get interested in?

Microblogvember: My wife likes to fall asleep to the hum of some white noise like a fan. I’ve had to get used to it.

Unrequited

Day 21 of Blogvember. A full list of prompts for the month is available.

adjective
(of a feeling, especially love) not returned: he’s been pining with unrequited love.

Who set these prompts anyway? That guy should be put to the sword for this one. I canā€™t think of anything to write about ā€˜unrequitedā€™.

A couple of days ago I wrote some thoughts on love. So this post could be those thoughts, unreturned?

In searching for some inspiration about what to write about, I did discover that ā€˜Unrequitedā€™ was the title of an episode of The X-Files. It was also the title of a low-budget movie that doesnā€™t look very good.

Sorry, thatā€™s all Iā€™ve got.

Microblogvember: I have no qualms about accepting a hollow victory! A win is a win. Nobody ever talks about hollow losses.

Fight

Day 20 of Blogvember. A full list of prompts for the month is available.

You gotta fight
for your right
to party!

My thanks to The Beastie Boys for their guest introduction.

Iā€™m not a fighter; never have been. I recall Jason Bulpitt (may he Rest In Peace) squaring up to me in the school playground one day. I countered by being a smart-arse, running my mouth. Intelligent diatribe was my competitive advantage - not fist fights.

This approach to fighting has probably led to my engagement in politics over the years. A focus on the verbal stoush ahead of the physical kind. The kind of fight I might have a chance of winning. Plus, winning can benefit a lot of people.

Political fights can be hard and deflating. They can also be exhilarating and rewarding. Thatā€™s why we keep coming back for more. Itā€™s good to fight for a better country.

Microblogvember: I’ve got a bit less than an hour, then I’m off to my second meeting of the day.

My kind of beer. šŸŗ

Which gaming system is better for kids and sometimes adults: Xbox or PlayStation? ā“

Love

Day 19 of Blogvember. A full list of prompts for the month is available.

Love is a super-complicated topic. I know I love my wife, I love my kids. But truth be told, I donā€™t know how I know that I love them.

I know that I love, in a technical sense. Yet I only feel it rarely. To be fair, I do occasionally experience an overwhelming sense of affection that pulls at my insides. This is probably the truest expression of love. But I donā€™t get that often. Is that a standard, everyday feeling for others? Am I missing what other people experience?

I wonder if others have a clearer understanding of what love is, or how it feels. Perhaps Iā€™m missing out on the feeling of emotional love. Itā€™s like my rational side gets in the way of my emotional side.

Heavy stuff. A bit too daunting to think more deeply about at this point.