Everyone is upset with Tim Cook and Apple1 for giving Trump some glass award thing. Meanwhile, there’s this:
I completely agree working with Trump (and giving him the little plaque) is incredibly distasteful. But it’s a mistake to think anything capitalistic is going to go against the grain or save you. ↩︎
Feelin’ Good Friday, #18: Green power for the win!
The United States added 22,332 megawatts of power plant capacity in the first half of this year, and the vast majority of it was utility-scale solar, batteries, and onshore wind.
As I’ve said before, I’d love to own some land and put up a small (or big, it’s a dream you know) solar farm.
This couldn’t be more perfect:
In both cases, the teens were told to create honest portrayals of their lives and the issues they face, but they found out that some people didn’t want to see the full picture.
I don’t run into a lot of younger folks (under 20) anymore. But I do read some, and so many that I run across in that context seem to be so much more mature than I was at the same age. I am so impressed by today’s young folks. I will now stop saying young folks because it makes me feel like I’m about to poof into dust.
Anyway, this is another example of the “Tell me how you are feeling” and then also responding with, “Not like that!”
Flair Doherty said a Smithsonian staff member approached her and the other teen artists and told them she believed the “Free Palestine” slogan was “antisemitic and hateful.” Doherty, who is Jewish, said she told her she disagreed, “We talked for maybe three minutes and did not really get anywhere.”
”We went over the next day and it was completely covered in tarps,” said 18-year-old artist Léda Pelton, who had not yet finished her section of the mural about cars and college acceptance.
Pelton said Smithsonian officials told them they covered it up because they were “afraid that somebody was going to walk by and see ‘Free Palestine’ on our mural and get mad and hurt us. And I’m like, ‘maybe we are not the problem in that situation.’”
Damn right, Léda.1 Those with power will always blame the folks with no power and barely any say in anything. Keep fighting and keep making art.
And the other artists! ↩︎
While it’s not an app that will get any stage time, Contacts is an app that touches so many parts of the system (Mail, Messages) that having an updated foundation would make it all work together so much better.
Features I’d like to see:
I don’t want to delete someone in my Contacts just because they died. I would simply like to add the date. While I could use the notes field, adding the date would give the system more context, help answer questions, and eliminate issues like featuring people in photo memories (or at least know enough to ask me if the folks who have passed should still be included).
The no contact feature would be similar to the date of death, but it would stop the accidental contact of someone you don’t currently want to have contact with. Say you go No Contact with someone in your family, but don’t want to remove them from your Contacts. 1 Offering a checkbox could eliminate the possibility of a fat finger dial or have Siri misinterpret what was said, and then all of a sudden you are on the phone with your narcissistic parent. It would also make it harder to message an ex when you are at your weakest.
Lastly, there is a non-labeled section in the app that lists: Facebook, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, QQ, Skype, Yahoo. Some of those are gone, and it makes the app look confusing and Apple out of touch.
Sorry if that’s paywalled. It’s available in Apple News. ↩︎
I got to see Sierra Hull (or Sierra Hull on Wikipedia) take care of business at the 92nd Street Y on Sunday, July 27 as part of the 92Y’s Midsummer MusicFest. I’m lucky to be going to see Shawn Colvin on July 29, too.
The show was fantastic and she and her fellow musicians went into jam mode several times and it was a real treat. There’s a reason Sierra Hull keeps winning the Bluegrass Award for Kicking Ass. I admit to not knowing her most recent record at all and, in fact, really only knowing her first two records really well. Still, the show was terrific even I couldn’t quietly sing along.
They all even treated us to a few songs in the old style of singing around one microphone which is something I find incredibly charming.
I don’t know how many seats are in Kaufmann Concert Hall, but it wasn’t full and it bummed me out. That being said, there was literally no one in front of us so our seats were perfect. I wonder if her not filling the seats has anything to do with Sierra leaving Rounder Records and therefor having a smaller marketing budget1. I am, of course, making that all up, but I do wonder if it’s related.
Anyway, if Sierra Hull comes to your town, you are in for a real treat.
I see Alison Krauss has also left Rounder Records for Down The Road Records. I just learned that Down The Road Records was started by folks who founded Rounder Records. ↩︎
Joe Rosensteel’s Michelin mess: How Apple Maps fumbles location details article is completely right.
I use Apple Maps all the time, but like Apple Music, I’m frustrated much of the time. Maps is good and Music is good, but come on, Apple. You have all the money and a lot of folks using these products. There’s no excuse for these not to be best of breed at this point.
Just yesterday I was using Maps to go to a library and it led me to the wrong location. I was trying to go to the Brooklyn Heights Library and Maps has it listed as 109 Remsen Street when it should be 286 Cadman Plaza West. Guess which mapping software lists it correctly? You already know.
Apple needs to do better for these services. Read Joe’s article; he’s right.
Ah, yes, Trump’s government efficiency at work.
MacOS’s iPhone Mirroring feature is so, so, so damned good. Of course, I’d rather my most-used iOS apps were also Mac apps, but this feature has really made it a non-issue for me.
Feelin’ Good Friday, #17: Solar! Solar! Solar! I just can’t get enough of this.
Clearly, solar isn’t the future; it’s the now1.
A great example is China. The scale of China’s solar projects is hard to comprehend and yet you can see it all with your own eyes. America could be all over that if we wanted. We have a lot of land and a big need for more power.
Assuming there is political will for it. ↩︎
I wonder how long before Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel are also cancelled. I can’t imagine Jimmy Fallon getting cancelled because Trump is generally fine with him.
On Monday, Mrs. Bob was scheduled to fly out of Newark, NJ, to somewhere in the Midwest. As is our way, we (me, frankly) added the flight number to our electronic calendars because, on MacOS and iOS, you can easily track by right-clicking or tapping and holding on the flight number.
What I found interesting is that because the plane left the gate, it was considered departed. I know that every person who flies regularly is aware this is how it works, but frankly, that’s horseshit. A flight departs once it takes off. There is no way we’d find other systems working this way as acceptable. You have a deadly infection, and the doctor walks in with the antibiotic… “You’re cured!” And an Amazon warehouse worker picks out your ordered item… “It’s delivered!”
As is Mrs. Bob’s luck, her flight was delayed. After some time, the pilot announced their amended flight plan had been approved, and they’d hopefully be leaving shortly. Yay. Here’s the interesting part: The built-in system on the Mac and iOS showed her plane had taken off, and I could track it on a map. But, of course, it hadn’t taken off at all. It was there, in Newark.
Better still, the system showed me her plane was about to land when she messaged, “We’re headed back to the gate to deplane.”
So that tracking system built into MacOS and iOS is just a fantasy. A computer-enhanced hallucination1. Maybe everyone already knows this, but I thought the built-in tracking was at least a decent approximation of what is going on in the real world.
I found this report about life expectancy from Laywers Guns Money and boy is it something.
Gun-related deaths: The death rate for firearm-related homicides and suicides is 13.3 deaths per 100,000 in the U.S. compared to 0.1 per 100,000 in England and Wales. Ninety individuals died from firearm-related causes in England and Wales in 2023 compared to more than 45,000 in the United States.
Motor vehicle crashes: The death rate from motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. is six times greater than the rate in England and Wales—13.3 per 100,000 versus 2.2 per 100,000 in England and Wales.
Guns and giant vehicles define America. We can’t be surprised to reap what we sow. When I was a vehicle-owning person, the ones I purchased weighed around 3,000 pounds (they heaviest, a ’92 Ford F-150 was around 4,000 pounds). In fact, the best-feeling car I ever had was a heavy one at just shy of 3,000 pounds (’98 Saab 900s). Now? EVs are pushing the weight up to well over 5,500 pounds and some topping at over four tons. The amount of energy in an impact is just astounding.
Anyway, all of this will continue because Sandy Hook proved we will never do anything about guns and, as far as driving goes, occupant survival beats everything else (pedestrians be damned).
Feelin’ Good Friday, #16: Solar is taking care of business. One of my never-going-to-happen dreams is to own a bunch of land and have a big solar farm on it. I can imagine the great sense of self satisfaction I’d have just looking at it generating energy without polluting anything.
I recently spent some time in Austria and Italy and now my once good-at-home coffee is suddenly watery and bland. Also, I had my first cappuccino while in Italy and, wow, do people know about these? That was a tasty coffee drink!
Apple is way behind in AI. I mean, they are, but mercy!
Apple should buy Polestar. They already look like cars Apple would make. Also, 1/100 the price of Tesla (company).
The NYC subway is not scary. Amen!
Every once in a while, there’s an idea so obvious once you read it that I honestly wonder what’s wrong with me that I didn’t think of it.
Anyway, Joe Rosensteel’s brain did it, and my goofy-ass brain appreciates his idea that Apple’s Shortcuts should be text.
Well, this is one way to get folks to use their smartphones less.