Evening Reading: 04-12-24

Today’s Reading

Review: Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War’ Is A Scary Minefield of Apolitical Provocations

A tardy assessment of the Apple Sports app *

Your iPhone has a very useful secret menu that will help you convert any measurement in an online recipe

Amazon virtually kills efforts to develop Alexa Skills, disappointing dozens **

iMessage Not Syncing on Mac After Sonoma Update? Check These 6 Fixes

Today’s Commentary

* It’s hard to believe a company as elegant as Apple released such an unimpressive, half-baked and ugly app.

** If Amazon would simply let me put a clock, the date and the weather on a screen that was static unless and until I asked Alexa something, I’d buy 10 of them. Part of the reason Alexas aren’t more successful is Amazon’s intrusive, inflexible content pushing.

Today’s Emotional Weather Report

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Evening Reading: 04-09-24

Today’s Reading

James and Jennifer Crumbley, a school shooter’s parents, are sentenced to 10-15 years

New York High School Teacher Promised 1978 Class Eclipse Party, Kept Promise 46 Years Later

Sylvester Stallone Allegedly Called ‘Tulsa King’ Background Actors ‘Ugly’

MIT License text becomes viral “sad girl” piano ballad generated by AI

Critically Endangered Javan Rhino Calf Spotted in the Wild

Almost No One Is Happy With Legal Weed

How I plan to capture the solar eclipse with my iPhone — take the best shot possible without damaging your eyes or your camera

MAD’s 1969 “Super Patriot” is MAGA before MAGA was MAGA

Why Omar Little Was the Heart of ‘The Wire’

Today’s Emotional Weather Report

For Kent’s real-time links and reading list, follow him at that abysmal mess that used to be Twitter.

Evening Reading: 04-04-24

Today’s Reading

Superman’s Unusual Hold On Alternative Rock Radio

Apple TV deserves better than tvOS *

Former Fox News head: “Donald Junior is a pathetic, low IQ oaf, who spews ridiculous lies to please daddy”

Another app switches to a subscription model, angering its users **

iPhone 16 dummy units show off Capture button, new camera bump

Why does it seem like everyone has depression and anxiety these days, and doing the most mundane/normal things is a big hassle?

Today’s Commentary

* It’s amazing how much I love most things Apple, yet am constantly frustrated by the underwhelming experiences of Siri (just awful, especially for smart home stuff) and Apple TV (the new navigation structure is a huge step backwards). Apple is nowhere near as bad as Google when it comes to creating something, letting it flounder and then killing it. But Siri and Apple TV should be a whole lot better after all this time than they are.

** I understand the need to move to a subscription model to facilitate development. But if you’re going to ask me to pay a subscription, your product/app better be really, really good. Most aren’t.

Today’s Emotional Weather Report

For Kent’s real-time links and reading list, follow him at that abysmal mess that used to be Twitter.

Evening Reading: 04-03-24

Today’s Reading

Mirsky’s Worst of the Web History: The Internet’s First Hater

Amazon kills “Just Walk Out” shopping tech—it never really worked

All the Amendments to the US Constitution Explained

Most Americans say criminalizing abortion is wrong — and are divided on deportation

Junior Johnson’s Former Crew Chief Once Had A Massive Moonshine Operation Busted Right Outside Of North Wilkesboro Speedway

It’s time for a hard reset on notifications

Today’s Emotional Weather Report

For Kent’s real-time links and reading list, follow him at that abysmal mess that used to be Twitter.

Evening Reading: 04-02-24

Today’s Reading

New Catan game has overpopulation, pollution, fossil fuels, and clean energy

Supporting Trump Means Supporting a Culture of Violence *

Apple is working on AI software that can outperform ChatGPT, which could appear in iOS 18 **

Jon Stewart opens up about Apple interference in his show

Unfortunately, the eclipse forecast for Texas is fairly grim

Hunter Drops 3 Wild Hogs At 1 Time With A Once In A Lifetime Shot ***

What’s Next for The Walking Dead?

Today’s Commentary

* If you’re a decent person, there is just no way to reconcile that with supporting Trump, and it has nothing to do with his political affiliation. If you support an awful human being….

** I’m really not sure how anyone believes this, given how bad Siri is at anything other than simple dictation, which Apple and others have had forever.

*** Anyone inclined to object to the killing of these “cute little animals” has never experienced feral hogs. They are dreadful creatures, and should be killed by any reasonable means available.

Today’s Emotional Weather Report

For Kent’s real-time links and reading list, follow him at that abysmal mess that used to be Twitter.

Evening Reading: 03-31-24

Today’s Reading

The Clock Is Running Out on Migratory Birds

Zach Bryan Invites Fan & Aspiring Artist On Stage For Stellar “I Remember Everything” Duet

AT&T’s customer passcodes, personal info compromised in breach

40 Years Later, Jeremy Brett is Still the Best Sherlock Holmes

Today’s Emotional Weather Report

For Kent’s real-time links and reading list, follow him at that abysmal mess that used to be Twitter.

Evening Reading: 03-29-24

Today’s Reading

William Gedney: Watching America At Night (1960-1973)

27 Drought-Tolerant Perennial Flowers for Dry Gardens

What Happened with Koe Wetzel’s Surprise Show at Sam’s Town Point…

Mercy me: Photos show what humans have done to the planet in the Anthropocene age

The price of endless energy: The prescription Adderall epidemic

15 Mac Settings To Make Your Mac More Secure

Today’s Emotional Weather Report

For Kent’s real-time links and reading list, follow him at that abysmal mess that used to be Twitter.

(Some of) Rural America Dislikes Trump Too

Rural Americans posting on social media in six swing states are getting through the coronavirus pandemic with humor, clear-headedness and, surprisingly, by dissing Donald Trump, according to a rural-focused Democratic organization.
from The Daily Yonder

I’ve been saying for years that there are a lot more progressives, and progressive blends, in rural America than many city-dwellers think. I’m pretty far to the left, yet I have guns, spend much of my time in the woods, and hunt and fish. There are a lot of others out here with similar views, and combinations thereof.

There are a lot of Republicans and conservatives, as well. But not a ton of obvious Trump supporters. Sadly, the ranch one over from mine has a giant Trump flag on constant display. I cannot imagine why anyone would do that, other than as a giant middle finger to those of us who value everything Trump is not (logical, mature, Presidential, coherent, that sort of thing). I suspect they’d say it’s because he’s some combination of Republican, conservative, and Christian. He’s none of the above, but whatever.

But that’s sort of the exception. I see a smattering of Trump signs on fences and in yards, but not all that many.

Rural America is a complex place. We don’t all see things the same way, and we aren’t all glued to Fox News.

Thank goodness.

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BlueJeans Blues

In a classic example of trying to strike while the iron is hot, the business unit of Verizon is acquiring BlueJeans. If you’re not familiar, BlueJeans is a video conferencing app like Zoom.
via Engadget

More: Verizon, WSJ

My firm uses BlueJeans as its default video conferencing tool. At first, I really didn’t like it. I found it unreliable and non-intuitive. I still don’t like the user experience, but it seems more reliable, at a time where I’m sure its traffic has skyrocketed. Still seems to me like chasing another train that already left the station, but time will tell.

I’m a Verizon wireless customer (much better reception at the farm and surrounding areas), so maybe there will be some beneficial integration, though at the moment I can’t imagine what that would be.

For more tech news and Kent’s real-time reading list, follow him at Twitter.

Better Screenshots on Your Mac

Of course, you could also just hit Command + Shift + 5 in macOS Mojave or later to pull up its screenshot app, which gives you plenty of options for customizing what you’re taking a picture of, where the resulting file will save, and whether you’d like to enable a timer or not.

More: Customize Your Mac Screenshots With These Hotkeys

I use Command + Shift + 4 multiple times a day. But, somehow, until the other day I did not know about this screenshot app. Very handy!

For more tech news and Kent’s real-time reading list, follow him at Twitter.