So good I took them back...
AirPod Gen 1
The first thing you understand when using the AirPods is the entire experience will either tittilate you or repulse you. The design choices feel as if they are meant to bring you pleasure or at the very least make a bold design statement. The case, with its delicate magnetic clasp and the slight learning curve of removing the headphones is awkward the first few days; but strangely appealing. By day three I felt delightfully pleased anytime I stopped to take the head phones out, or put them back in. Someone else might immediately think of titillation as a great inconvenience and that is equally true, cause the first few days i worried about how i was going to either rip the lid off of the case, or wouldn’t be able to get the headphones out. This is the whole conundrum of Apple, what makes it appealing to some makes it annoying to others.
Here is the good shit though, the AirPods are really great, easily the best wireless ear buds you can get. If they don’t fit in your ear though you’re out of luck. If you want long battery life, you’re also out of luck, you’ll get a few hours before they need to go back in the charging case. This might be a edge case though, like when i was a carpenter i went 10 hours a day with Bluetooth going in my ear, the AirPods wouldn’t have worked. I’m back working in the office again now, and I think i only had the low battery chime happen once to me. I also charged the AirPod case twice in two weeks. Except for long flights, I don’t think many people will hit that wall often.
The W1 chip is deep intergration, being able to switch from iPhone to IPad is easier than Bluetooth, but not seamless. The W1 does make it easier though and mostly works with out fail. I can go from podcasting on my iPhone to Hulu on my IPad and instead of going to Bluetooth and hitting a button, i just close my iPhone and go to my iPad and most of the time the AirPod knows I’ve switched devices. This is that old apple magic. The acknowledgement is great, a screen pops up and tells you what your battery life is for the two headphones and the charger. But you still have to change your input to the AirPod, it is as if Apple has made the option of adding a saved device a little better, but still not effortless. Now I go to the control center and the audio playback option and I select it there. Is this better than how you do it in Bluetooth? Yes. Is it perfect? No, but speaks to a future that is far more pleasing than the evolution of Bluetooth alone.
I like the AirPods so much i took them back. Hear me out... Every day i used the AirPod it was great. I have the disadvantage of my birthday being a month or so before Apple announces the new product lineup. There are a couple of things I want the AirPod to do that this first generation product doesn’t do. First, I don’t want to tap my headphone twice for Siri. I want to be able to stroke my earpiece up or down for volume adjustment. Lastly, I want to switch between my apple devices and not have to change my input, just have the AirPod know and also automatically switch the input over. Maybe they’ll introduce those features, maybe they won’t. If they don’t, i might just go back to the store and reorder the headphones. If they do add new features, I’ll probably buy the version 2.0, even if they don’t have the new features I want. They’re that good.
I thought the first four people i saw using airpods looked crazy, they grow on you.
Life without Airpods
I’m on day three of not having the Airpods. On the first day I just switched to this mono earpiece that I have, which also has a rechargable cradle. It was fine. I’ve crested into day 3 and I am starting to miss the Airpods. This is tricky cause I traded them in for a Smart Keyboard (which I dig) and have another three weeks before I’ll even know if the Airpods are being replaced. The biggest thing I miss is that they always seem to have a full charge. No really, i use my headphones, probably seven or eight times a day and I’m not usually killing the battery. My mono piece is always accidentally turning itself on, and draining down to empty, while stuck in full pairing mood.
Tech Writing: Intro
What if money had no meaning? What if you could have any computer you want? What if the computer you want doesn’t exist? it almost seems like we are in this new age of the form factor. It used to be the desktop, then the laptop, and now we have hand helds and the internet of things. How some of us work has changed. I used to work in a world where it was common to have a nice desktop and a pretty good laptop. But my 2nd career has really changed my connection with computers as productivity devices to aid me on a day to day basis. In the last year I’ve tried to reimagine my use case for how I integrate with technology.
I have spent the last eight years or so with a few desktop computers, a couple of laptops, a tablet and a phone, sometimes two phones. The multiple desktops spent their time at my office and home. Same goes for the laptop, where it has been common for me to have work laptop and a personal laptop. Ditto regarding phones and if I didn’t have a personal phone and a work phone sometimes I would just have two phones, cause they served different purposes. My use of so many devices didn’t change when i left IT for carpentry, the number went down, but i still found myself puttering around on multiple computers. But I’ve been like this with technology for years. That is another piece to write on i think. Lately I’ve wanted to rethink hardware, software and the cloud. So I’m working on writing a series of pieces which talk about the past and the present.
It takes a lot for the truth to come out.
Where does the truth come from?
When does the truth come out?
Today I have begun to find myself on more comfortable footing about the challenges of developing a new skill. It has been hard sitting in a project house just kinda staring at a series of works in progress. And meanwhile i’ve been trying to learn and then also get comfortable with making mistakes and learning; i’m not a perfectionist. I’m also intimidated and indifferent with quirky and high end finishes. I also worry that I don’t yet have a true north about my voice or style.
Getting comfortable with developing the skill of carpentry has run headlong into trying to deal with my anxieties of dealing with my ignorance about new things. I apparently haven’t had to deal with new stuff outside of computers, for a long time-except having kids. Even when i’ve worked in the creative realm it has been via the computer, so the baseline has been comfortable.
The truth is also complicated. Looking at things from a sober perspective i’m now taking a lot of risks. The safe money would be on staying in “The Game” (computers,) but these days i’m either going to have to get deeper into project and program management or upgrade my skills. The baptism of fire that I had with management was pleasing but the commitment was high. The compensation was also high, it got me a house and a pretty decent remodel underway, but quality of life was no good.
The truth is that I’m afraid. This is no call to arms. This is being in the dark with fast dimming light. And i’m nearly certain the only way that i’ll have a chance at success is to run headlong into the darkness of my fear. As a person committed to the long game the voices say that I should run back to carpet and cubicle walls. I should learn my way around another nondescript building and gird myself for having to climb the ladder again. There are always voices.
Being into the long play does not mean you’re conservative or afraid, it means you are going long, you are trying to stretch your resources over a long period of time. On some level I have to admit that I structured my IT career around my own planned obsolescence. I like computer support. I like the access to people, I like fixing broken things. I have no interest just sitting in front of a computer for a eight to ten hour work day. I did not want to be a DBA, or a security analyst. I didn’t want to be a network administrator. I wanted to be the guy who fixed your computer and helped you. And I most certainly didn’t want to be chained to a phone. I can stay in the game, but the corporate IT Administrator is being combined with the Network Administrator. The corporate IT support individual is doing everything, every job is becoming a catch all, it isn’t all bad, but golly... Lastly I loved my job and the mix of support and project/program management was super awesome. I was stretched thin, but it was good, a true challenge to juggle and make everything right.
I was not afraid to leave corporate.
I was not afraid to give up the money.
I am afraid at failing at my new job. I am afraid to be a failure as a carpenter.
Why change careers? I mean, why would you give up your whole segment and do something dramatically different. My experience with remodeling and carpentry is mostly from spreadsheet and shepherding the vision. I can successfully remodel a house, that is troubleshooting. Replace this, paint that, make this bad thing better. I can do that. I’m working with master carpenters now, even in the role of an assistant carpenter it is challenging work and every day there is a medley of new shit we’re doing.
house projects
*2 thoughts on 2 things “2 on 2” *
Two thoughts on Architects
Always use an architect.
Never trust anything an architect says... You hired them to make a pretty picture and specify materials.
Two thoughts on General Contractors
Always use a General Contractor
So there is that adage “You can have fast, good, or cheap, pick two.” it is absolutely true. Have that conversation with your General Contractor after you have honestly decided how you lean.
Writing about writing implements
I think I don’t have anything to write about my 12 inch PowerBook G4. Ok, there is one thing... I’ve been trying to get the laptop to stream Netflix. I have no interest using the laptop to play Netflix. I just thought about it one day. Bear with me. I get totally obsessive about eeking performance out of computers. I also take some odd pleasure in getting equipment to do something it was never meant to do. This habit of “I wonder if...” usually occurs when I have nothing to write about.
So I found myself with nothing to write about and was just curious. And since I know you probably own a Powerbook G4 yourself and want to know the answer, it is possible. I haven’t gotten it to work, but it is totally possible, or at least I haven’t given up on it, yet. I’ve currently been having trouble getting into the osX 10.5.8 package.
Getting into packages changes with each version of osX, which if you’re an apple person isn’t so confusing, but if your a windows person it sounds a bit weird. The part where Apple totally rewrites the desktop and OS underpinnings on a regular basis is also weird. And I cannot figure out the terminal command line to write out that will get me into the package and extract it to a desktop. So I keep going back with different syntax trying.
Carpentry
I have this area in my kitchen where my sink, my dishwasher and oven live. This area (sans oven, which we just bought) was a part of the “remodel” that occurred to the house before we bought it. But by remodel I mean some really lousy remodelers took scrap materials and fashioned a partially functioning counter, sink and dishwasher. Like they literally pulled some discarded kitchen materials and cobbled them together to make a kitchen area. The sink leaked, the dishwasher didn’t work, the carpentry (how dare you sir) is of the worse kinda construction. And all of this work was recently done. It’s pretty terrible. No part of this area is level or plum.
To make matters worse redoing the area would require decommissioning the oven, dishwasher and sink and keeping them offline till I rebuilt the space. Rebuilding the space would require literally taking the area down to the studs and rebuilding everything, so daunting. Any compromise means that I have to pick a place where I take my stand.
Do I take the wall down to the studs? If I do, I might get into a bigger project than I imagined. i have to contend with are some really weird framing choices that were made. The sink had one of those ledges behind the counter, y’know that spot. When the house is for sale it would have some olives and peppers floating in oil, all artfully arranged in a ornate glass bottle. Usually that would mean that the framing would extend out to accommodate the ledge and drywall would go around that framed outline.
I know what happened. They changed the layout of the space and brought in the dishwasher. they also did not want to spend a nickel on any change in the piping they had worked around. So they made one cut and added the breath pipe for the dishwasher and then they hit it in the ledge and also rigged up the electrical. Shoddy. Still with me? So I have framing that is extended past the original drywall and not tied into the wall structure at all and then it was also drywalled. So either I rip out the entire structure, all the framing and both layers of drywall and the plumbing and then start over.
That’s what it all boils down to, how much do you want to spend. How much are you willing to inconvenience yourself and your family. And how much do you have to change to achieve your goal? Otherwise, you have to pick a series of compromising starts and work around the structural issues and still manage to make it look good. Pretty tricky, unless you want to wash dishes in the sink and not have an oven. To be utterly honest with myself i’m doing the same wrong things they did. i’m looking at some really warmed over shit and trying to shape it into something else.
In the heart of remodeling this is the big question; what wrongs do you build on? Indeed. Every day we have to make that call.
Snips
*It would be like if Microsoft made Windows XP and then named the next seven operating systems Windows XP1-7 and then stuck on “Windows XP 7 Banana Peel” and then named the next one “Windows XP 7 Orange Rind” and then “Windows XP 7Almond shell” cause that is what Apple did. *
*After we bought the house the Owner/Agent offered to loan us his man to fix the “minor issues” the house had. That was like having the “buy here pay here” warranty, you’re not getting a quality car and you are not getting quality repairs. We declined the offer and closed on the house and got our own guy. *
*We gutted about 85% of the house, guess what we didn’t gut. *
Mumble mumble
Writing about writing on a computer continues...
*If you told me i’d want to spend a disproportionate amount of time writing about what I was writing on, I would have self criticized myself. Writing about writing is bad enough. Writing about what you’re writing with is * probably* worse. There must be some reason though, outside of just having nothing to write about and just looking down at the instrument and that being all that comes to your mind. *
That said...
*I’m currently writing with Pages 09, it’s lean, has a good interface, feels Microsoft Workish. But it doesn’t offend the “I like Microsoft Word” crowd. There is a very pleasing “full screen” mode. This single tasking function gives you a white screen for your text, bordered by a larger black background. The only information it communicates is word count and how many pages you’ve written. The help function is pretty amazeballs and guides you to what you’re looking up and it does all of this in real time. T*
*I’ve wondered about whether I should maybe get out of traditional entry writing business. Maybe I should build a series of entries that I add to and edit. Then I could just have one gargantuan entry about the 12 inch Powerbook G4. *
Website vs Mobile ready: The quotable madman.
I’ve been thinking about getting back into code again, just some simple HTML and maybe a little CSS. It seems overwhelming and overkill for blithering on about random shit. Squarespace seems fine for the more static image centric and self promoting elements I need to have on hand. I’ve also been thinking about bringing back the old KFO, even bringing back the 3.0 interface, but that interface is not mobile friendly and that is the kiss of death now. How do you make a mobile friendly zine that also houses a blog? Should my energy be about trying to figure out a mobile friendly solution which is appropriate for the time but completely abandons the web site model?
And do I go back and touch my old entries? Do I maybe make them bite sized, or quotable? Do I repackage the stream of conscious into tweet era style writing? Yesterdays deep is todays rambling mess, right?
At the mall
Rosie and I went mall shopping today. Rosie isn’t much of a fan of clothes shopping, but she has a gala event coming on and we all agree her wardrobe is not up to snuff. Shopping for clothes can be fun, as long as your goal is to just hang out and trying things on. If your mission is that you have to walk into a store and absolutely must walk out with your required garments, it can be a downer.
We went to a half dozen stores. This was my first time taking her to Nordstorm Rack. Think Marshalls, with clothes at Marshalls prices and in addition to that a rich selection of ludicrously priced stuff that has been lowered to just absurd prices. We did find one piece, matte, non tapered stretch slacks, out of Indonesia. They need to be altered, so next up is establishing a relationship with a local tailor. We now have five days to find a shirt and shoes to go with it. I think we can do it.
Bug Out Bag: Writing
The concept of the bug out bag is that you have a satchel packed for emergencies. When said emergency occurs you’re then ready to BUG OUT!
I have to break in and say that I have two running thoughts going on here. One is about bug out bags as it pertains to writing. The other thought is the impracticality of the bug out bag in a true survival situation. I don’t know if I can merge the two or not.
As it relates to writing I’ve started to think about maybe carrying one computer all the time, but how I should also feel comfortable with maybe having a second computer that I bug out with. The whole reason for this mind exercise is that I have two computers well suited to the experience of writing, with minimal internet distraction. But both computers have strong points.
The Toshiba Portege is strong. The Portege battery is good for about 70 minutes. It wins hands down in lightness, as I think it weighs about a pound and a half. The downsides is that the mouse click button is hidden in plain sight and my thumbs just can’t find it. This next trait is bad and a negative. The linux operating system is lean and stable, the standby mode is good. The choice in word processors is not awesome and i’ve hit some walls trying to get other packages to properly expand on the build. Slightly above my paygrade-and annoying. The Windows XP build is rock solid, with a near perfect hibernate state and has word. I have no complaints about windows xp, it kinda messes with my head, like i’m in the way back machine, but otherwise it is all good. The deal breaker is quite possibly the lilliputian mouse pad and button.
The Apple powerbook is totally... Ok. I don’t know about the titanium powebooks, but all the apple laptops bother my forearm; what’s up with the sharp edge? Part of me thinks i’m allergic to aluminum, but the polycarbonate macbooks are also annoying and hurt my wrist. That is the first downside. Battery life is a bit better on the powerbook, like an hour and a half. Standby mode is nearly magical on the apple, though if i’m going to be honest, Apple standby feels better, Windows hibernate though maybe is more stable, by a hair. The Apple has the glowing apple, the screen feels really great on the eyes, it isn’t retina, but it feels damn nice. And I have every port I’d ever want. I suffer from faberge egg syndrome though when I carry the apple, i totally hate the thought of scratching or messing it up.
So I think I can benefit from both computers. On a day to day basis I seem to be picking up the power book and not the Toshiba. But I have this cute baby messenger that the portege and not much more can fit in and I just really think i can grab it and go. I can’t grab the powerbook and just go.
If i had to bug out in real life, the portege would be more practical.
If we have to bug out we are dead. Bugging out... Dude. There is no up side to it. My survival instinct is strong, but outside of my will to live, do I really have any interest running from place to place?
From a concept of writing though, bug out for me translates to just being able to write anytime. I mean, what i’m trying to do is build back my writing voice. This entire exercise is all about finding a voice to to convey my thoughts. I’ve lost so many of the things which made my previous perspective and defined my voice, time to build something new. I attempted poetry a few nights ago, no luck. The role that technology plays in how we express ourselves, now that is a interesting conversation piece. I grew up desperately wanting a computer, as we were people of humble means my first computer ended up being a smith and corona word processor. All I wanted to do was write and that is all I think I want to do these days...