An Apple software update bricked my MacBook Pro, and it ultimately eroded any faith I had in Apple products.
One thing’s for sure: I’m done with Apple.
Gathered Observations: September 2023
Here are some of the things I think I think for the month of September 2023.
Mechanical keyboards (how sweet the noise!)
I’ve had an interest in mechanical keyboards for most of the past ten years. I got my first mechanical ‘board in 2017 and I haven’t looked back. I refuse, unless I have no better option, to type on any other kind of keyboard.
北酒場 (and other enka standards)
Aka: “The Northern Tavern.”
Teresa Teng’s cover of this enka classic, originally sung by Takashi Hosokawa, pleasantly suprised me. I also like the more rock-oriented cover done by visual kei artist Tsukasa Mogamigawa. As in Western music, many enka singers cover other artists’ songs. It all led me down a rabbit hole full of awesome Japanese music without a single idol in sight.
Free
Sometimes I wonder if I should be medicated
If I would feel better just lightly sedated
The feeling comes so fast and I cannot control it
I’m on fire but I’m trying not to show it
Stupid Technical Challenges: The Introduction
I had the idea earlier this year to partake in some silly and stupid technology-related challenges such as purchasing extremely cheap computers, using significantly outdated software, and similar things. I abandoned the idea for personal reasons, but I can’t resist the allure of an idiotic idea. So, here we are today, and I’m going to indulge my desire to do some stupid things with technology over the coming months.
To all who served, thank you.
Love of country transcends political affiliation, birth country, religion, ethnicity, and race. This Memorial Day, please just be American (unless, you know, you’re not). At the end of the day, that’s what unites us all. We spend so much time focused on what separates us, what divides us, when at the end of the day we need to focus on what we have in common, the things that we share. Those are the things that have always made America great, and when we focus on those things, this country becomes even greater as a result.
If you see a Veteran, thank him or her for their service.
Parental Switch: Does video gaming have an age limit?
I lent my parents my Nintendo Switch for a fortnight, which was easier than I expected in the wake of the latest Zelda game. I left them with most of my eShop downloads, my physical copy of Breath of the Wild in the card slot, and my Pro Controller.
What I learned surprised me.
Some musicians I’ve forgotten about
One thing I loved about Google Play Music, before Google killed that service, was that it was ridiculously easy to find new musicians similar to ones you already enjoyed. This is possible with Apple Music, my current music streaming service, but it’s not great in terms of how you have to find the recommendations and I don’t much care for the quality of its recommendations once I do find them.
To that end, here are some artists I’ve managed to forget about until I rediscovered them on Apple Music by going through old playlists – or by digging through music curated by Apple.