Something I never thought I’d say…

I suppose there are a lot of those things.

In this particular case, it’s I’m happy with how long my computer battery lasts. I’m also somewhat impressed with the iPad battery too.

The computer is insane. I’ll use the thing for days. I’ll be surprised when I get a low battery warning and then think, “Oh Yeah, it’s been a while!” This is very different from the older machines I’ve had. I lived by their power monitors and always carried spare batteries or adapters.

I’m still working on settings on the iPad to minimize its power consumption. My Computer and iPad both use the M2 chip but the iPad is more in line with a day or day and a half of use. I think that’s because there are background applications that wake up or are running on the iPad that aren’t as “busy” on the computer.

I believe I can probably trim more of the iPad background applications out of the background and realize more power savings.

The point is, when I started using laptop computers years ago, a 2 hour battery life was considered good. Now I’m talking about 2 day battery life between charges. I’m using the machine as I normally would, I’m typing blogs, surfing the net, working on stories, (although not fast enough there,) attending video conferences or watching lectures. Through it all, the computer doesn’t seem to care or get winded. I don’t think I’ve heard the fans come on, ever.

For the first time I’ll leave the house with my machines in my brief case and leave the chargers behind.

I suppose this is on my mind because today the computer asked for a bit of power. I plugged it in, and it said okay I’m charging to 80% quickly. (That would have actually gotten me through my typical day with ease.) The computer then switched over to a holding pattern at 80% and will finish charging by about 1:30PM.

This means that the machine has figured out my general habits and is using the charging feature Apple designed to extend battery life. It’s cool. I can override it if I want, or need to, but why? I’d rather have a battery that’s healthy in two or three years (like my iPhone 12 Pro) than force the issue. Besides, I’m using the big monitor in the office. I like this monitor a lot but I like working with the computer on the back deck more.

For the past 24 hours the wind has been kicking up to crazy gusty levels. I don’t feel like sitting out on the deck in all the blowing dust and pollen. Even though the sun is shining and the temps are nice.

It’s been all I could do to keep my sinuses open and the poor dog literally snorted a patch of pollen he thought was a food wrapper (I think). He’s been sneezing 5 or 6 times at a go for the past two days. I laugh at him… Then he saunters down the hall trying to look dignified, until another sneezing fit hits and he sneezes himself into a wall or something. My continuing to laugh gets me a dirty look and he retires to his “Room” where he can be alerted about food but doesn’t have to look at me.

All of which is to say that the amount of pollen in the air is so high that getting it into a keyboard would not be such a good thing. So I don’t need to be sitting outside for my sake, the keyboard’s sake, or the dog’s sake. All of us are quite comfortable inside.

I’ve got the leeward side of the house open for the fresh air but every once in a while the wind will shift just for a minute or two and blow a new batch of yellow joy into the house.

I was originally going to use a photo of my hand but when I looked at the photo I realized that you could easily see all of my fingerprints. Probably not a great idea to broadcast that kind of biometric information across the internet! With a little work I could convert the image into usable prints, so you get the swiffer. If the FBI ever needed non carbon fingerprint dust, I can recommend pine pollen.

I hope you all have a nice Monday. I’m hitting the sinus spray again!

We may have a mostly White Christmas

IMG 2525The jury is still out on that.

It’s snowing lightly now. Yesterday all we got was a slushy wet mix that’s turned to mostly ice overnight.

For me, what we got yesterday is the most hated of Winter weather. It’s heavy, and difficult to clear. You’re tempted to just leave it and hope that it goes away. But you only do that once. If you leave it, you’ll need a pickax and wonder if it would be legal to use dynamite.  The slush freezes to the road and driveway and then everything is a skating ring. That stuff takes forever to melt on its own and it typically doesn’t melt until you’ve get many days of sunshine and temps above 40° F.

So I was outside in the rain/sleet/snow for about 2, maybe 3 hours doing the shovel work to clear as much as I could. In a way, doing the work was therapeutic. When I came in I was soaked through but not really cold. I think I was working out frustrations and anger against an intractable force. 

I wasn’t angry or frustrated at the weather or anything, I was just being physical and doing something constructive. 

It turns out that even moderately strenuous physical activity does more to get my head on straight than just about anything else. Sure I can be physical anytime, the difference is, that I always feel like I should be doing something else if I’m walking or working out. Crazy as it sounds, taking that time for me seems selfish and undeserved. Fighting to keep the street and driveway clear is one of the few times when I’m really in the moment. 

I guess it’s a matter of the snow keeps falling, the ice keeps forming and there’s nothing personal about it. It just is.

Over the past two years or so, banging my head against the job market has taken on a personal feeling. “Why do these people not like me? Why can’t I get traction? What is wrong with me?” Those questions eat at you. After a while it becomes personal, frustrating, and super depressing. In part it’s because you have no human interaction and therefore can’t figure out what your’e doing wrong. There’s no body language to pick up clues from. 

I think that’s why so many people may have stopped even trying to find a “real job”. It’s easy to sink into depression wondering what the point is. Sure, you’ll maybe get a job but you’ll have to deal with a large group of people. Many of those people are looking to be offended about something all the time, and some of those are looking to cash in on a nice lawsuit retirement plan. For someone like me, walking on eggshells all the time is exhausting. The vagaries of human interaction just complicate getting the job before me completed. I prefer to do what we’re paid to do and go home at the end of the day.

Snow and ice are pure. You can see what you need to do, and what you need to do better. For me it allows the opportunity to direct any frustration and anger in a constructive direction and if I call the snow a name there’s only the whispering hiss of ice meeting ice. Mother Nature isn’t going to be offended, no one’s feelings will be hurt, and the snow keeps falling.

I actually prefer to be outside alone when I’m clearing snow. I don’t have to speak, or interact with anyone. There’s a purity about it and when I come in, there’s satisfaction in a job well done.

Because the neighborhood is calm and quiet right now, I can see rabbits and squirrels wandering around fearlessly untroubled by humans. The scene is serene and peaceful. One of the neighborhood dogs just ran by, she’s a shorthair and bundled up in a nifty yellow sweater. She’s more interested in catching snowflakes than chasing the bunnies or squirrels. Her exuberance makes me smile. I wish I could always live in the moment like dogs do.

The local forecast says the snow should stop in an hour or so. After that the likelihood of snow drops to 30% for the rest of the day. I’ll have another cup of coffee and some breakfast. My dog is still being sleeping beauty in the middle of the bed. When I start working in the kitchen he’ll be up trying to mooch something, then he’ll notice the new snowfall and be a 2 year old running in and out all day long.

My day is going to be busy, I’m sure there’s going to be at least one game of “Chase the snowball” in the yard. Then I’ll head out to shovel snow and close my exercise and activity rings.

Maybe the snow will hang around to add to the holiday cheer

What’s with all the hand wringing about Twitter? OH! Right…

I admit that I’m still on the fence about Twitter personally. I did enjoy it and participated in some great discussions with people, in its early days.

Dead Twitter Bird

That being said, I’m “Meh” about it going the way of MySpace. Nobody ran in tight circles or lit their hair on fire when MySpace wound down to whatever it is now. (Is MySpace even still around?)

Celebrities, Pundits, Wags, and all kinds of other people appear to be having a melt down over Twitter “Melting Down”.

Elon Musk probably went too far with his email asking for, (or demanding) fealty to the company long work hours and whatever else he asked for. Clearly he pushed too hard too fast resulting in a lot of his staff resigning.

This makes me wonder though if he’s “souring the milk” just to get rid of self important dead weight.

It’s long been a tactic of employers to make a place a tough work environment that forces employees out the door rather than have a mass layoff. Especially with the WARN Act and all of its constraints, having a mass voluntary exodus works for Elon and the company.

Now he can hire employees to replace those that have quit, and not have to pay unemployment either. This is financially better for the company rather than have to keep those employees around for 60 days and pay them to screw him.

I’d imagine that he’s looking very hard at the H1B1 workers who remain, and considering simply not renewing their H1B1 Status. I don’t know all the ins and out of the visa system but I do know that without sponsorship the H1B1 Visa expires. At that point, the individual is supposed to return to their country of origin unless they’ve become citizens of the US.

Elon may be trailblazing in showing how H1B1 and other visas can be cancelled while limiting liability. I don’t know.

I know that there are a lot of American software engineers that can certainly do the job, who’d be willing to take on the challenge of working at Twitter. I’d guess that American software engineers would be willing to ensure freedom of speech as long as they were from outside the Silicon Valley bubble.

That so many people not involved directly with the company are commenting and wailing about the changes at Twitter is interesting to me.

Journalists specifically seem to be making a lot of noise, and I couldn’t figure that out.

I began to wonder if these journalists are realizing that they’re actually going to have to research what they say instead of relying on “Tweets” to write a story. That could explain why they’re so up in arms.

Are these people saying, “My God, I’m going to have to actually do research!

Once that realization sinks in, I’m guessing they’re going to be pretty pissed off that they’re going to have to pick up the phone and speak to someone, vet their sources, and at least partially verify their facts before running off to write a one sided hit piece on someone or some event.

Social media is hearsay not fact. It’s always been hearsay, rumor, innuendo, and in some cases complete bullshit.

When so called journalists began using platforms designed for social media and conversation as their journalistic sources we got Journalism that looked like social media, instead of fact.

Funny how that works isn’t it?

So journalists… Get to fucking work!

I’m going to be waiting for the want ads to come out to see if there’s a position for me at the new Twitter.

If I could work from home, or in an office outside California I’d work pretty damn cheap. If I have to move to San Francisco, well the job is going to have to be really “Cherry” and the pay will have to be significantly more.

That’s because I don’t see the need to live in a Studio Apartment for 5K a month, to be in a place where I have to step over shit in the streets to go to work.

I absolutely love the thought of all the rainbow colored hair social justice warrior types finding that their “playpen for pay” is being taken away. I’m half tempted to drive up to near San Francisco, take BART to Twitter headquarters and ask for a job application.

I’d fill out the application in the lobby and laugh my ass off watching the tearful goodbyes as the children left the building.

It would be very hard for me not to say to them, “Welcome to the real world, parasites!”