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Tech Stuff

iCloud vs Google Stuff

I’ve been using iCloud more and more the last couple of weeks. I’m pretty addicted to Google Drive and Docs, but for most likely completely ridiculous reasons I consider Google to be worse than Apple in the “doing evil in the world” department. Both are big evil corporations. I get that. For whatever reason I feel like Apple is “the evil I can live with.”

Using Notes and even Pages from iCloud works really well. The challenge is that so many people are on the Google platform while relatively few are on iCloud. That makes it harder to share documents with, for instance, podcasting partners.

Hardware

I’m sitting at the car dealership writing this post on my very nice Asus C34 Flip Chromebook. It really wasn’t much less expensive than a MacBook Air. I’m kinda determined not purchase any new computers for the next year. The Chromebook honestly gets the job done, and I can use iCloud from it no problem.

It just occurred to me that what I’m actually struggling with is consumerism…read on…

So, I LOOOOVE my iPad Mini. A couple of weeks ago, for the first time, I plugged my Apple Keyboard (that I normally use with my MacBook Pro in my home “office) into the iPad and tested it doing some writing. It was actually a really nice experience. The iPad just makes everything look great, and the keyboard worked so well with it. So I’ve been shopping for wireless keyboard/mouse combos for the iPAd. But here’s the thing…that’s dumb for me. A laptop (like this Chromebook) is much better for on-the-go writing. Having a keyboard like that just for my iPad would be a waste of money even while it might scratch my consumerist/materialist itch.

It’s weird the things we (I) attach value to. Do I get more personal gratification from working with what I have, or from buying flashy new stuff and being the guy with all the cool stuff? I’m not really sure. This is what happens when someone has disposable income. Yes? Yes.

Also on the hardware front…my $5000 ridiculously maxed-out late 2019 MacBook Pro has been declared by Apple to be obsolete, as they will not longer support machines with the old Intel chips going forward. A couple of months ago I stupidly “upgraded” to MacOS Tahoe and my computer immediately starting having problems with things like charging, waking up properly, etc. Power management issues. There were some other odd behaviors too. So over the last two weeks I 1)downgraded back to Catalina, the OS it came with, and 2)upgraded back up to Sonoma, which is 2 OSs behind Tahoe. It seems to be working well again. We’ll see. I and a bit skeptical, as there is still one thing it is doing that seems wrong. Will have have to re-downgrade to Catalina and leave it there? Maybe.

I bought this machine when it was clear I would be working at home during the pandemic and I needed a badass machine for video/audio work. It was the right decision at the time, but I’ll never spend that much on a computer again. In a little more than a year I hope to be retired, and I will not need a powerhouse machine for work.

Also – just to let y’all know – Tahoe is stupid. Most new OSs are stupid. Bloated, stupid, useless things — like Trump. No one needs the UI to be animated. No one needs fucking AI built into their shit. All this has me seriously taking another look at Linux, which of course I’ll abandon after expending some energy fretting about it.

Speaking of AI

I still see no valid use for AI outside of extremely technical uses, like medical research or something like that. Using AI to edit one’s writing is simply weak. Using it to “brainstorm” ideas for anything is weak – use your own brain. I understand that the genie is out of the bottle with regard to this, that the Tech Bros have already managed to infect the educational systems with this rubbish, but that won’t stop me from hating it. I have become that guy. I have a friend who is very into AI art. He’s a trained artist and has a degree in digital art. I understand why he finds this all fascinating. I just don’t think it is needed. Give me a shitty hand-drawn picture with heart any day.

This blog

October 6, 2026 will be the 2oth anniversary of this blog. Honestly, I am kinda tired of WordPress. I’m tired of the theme(s) I’ve been using for many years, but all the new themes available are…shit. And I don’t feel like creating my own theme. That’s not how I want to spend my time right now. The advantages of WordPress are…

  • I can log in from any computer and work on this blog, and publish
  • Since WordPress installation runs on my virtual server space on dreamhost, it is independent of any other hosting company. I like that. I have access to everything, and that means I have real control of my stuff.
  • It works

The downsides of WordPress…

  • The theme suck, and they are really hard to change. They are much more complex than they were 20 years ago. This one I’m using is one of about three that look like blogs and not like catalogs.
  • Since WP is based on PHP and MySQL it isn’t simple to move to another host, should I wish to do so. YES – I could. I am technically adept enough to do it. But still it is nice to just drag and drop static files.

At this point, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I’ll keep with it.

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Yet another new web project

A couple of friends and I are working on a web-zine. The idea is to create a website as the homepage of the zine, and each zine is done as separate issues. Not an ongoing blog. A zine, with discrete issues. I’m fiddling around with it here…

The Cookies of Discontent

As part of this project I am building the site “old-school.: No content management system. No commenting system. Not even an RSS feed. Just hand-coded html pages done in a text editor, server-side includes, and CSS. An email address people can use to comment if they choose to do so. I feel like interactions like “likes” are bullshit. They’re cheap. If someone really wants to comment, then email us. No associate social media sites. We’ll notify a few friends of the project, and that’s it.

It’s been a lot of fun to work on this.

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Thankfullness Report 2025

I am thankful (or whatever) for…

  • My wife, who makes me happy in more ways than I can possibly ever articulate
  • Out cat, Lefty, who at the now-tender age of 16 is loyal and also driving me crazy
  • Our dog, Riley, who is just such a good boy
  • Aikido – which reminds me to try to be a better person every day
  • Skateboarding – without which I’d be a very different person
  • Libraries – which gave me a career I am proud of
  • My gaming group – surely the best group ever and really my closest friends
  • Growing up in a peaceful home that provided security and love
  • Medical science for saving my wife’s life
  • My community, which is diverse and wonderful
  • My extended family
  • My extended in-law family
  • My situation in life, most of which was simply a matter of luck
  • Music, which we enjoy seeing live and on the big stereo
  • The fact there this is something, rather than nothing. It didn’t have to be that way.
  • My other friends. I am lucky to have so many. They are all valued.
  • Books and reading
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Carl Sagan Day

Today is Carl Sagan’s birthday, and as always I am posting this video and his reading of the Pale Blue Dot.

Also, given the stupidity of Trump, Trumpers, MAGAs, and morons in general, who have way too much influence in this country and the world, I’m posting this link about his book, The Demon-Haunted Word.

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Voting

Today we went and early voted in a Texas constitutional amendment election.

Voted against all the bad things and in favor of the good. Example: Vote in favor of funding for dementia research. Voted against the “parents rights” amendment what is essentially just a badly camouflaged anti-trans bill. We get stuff like here with the republiKKKans in charge of things in the state. Fucking lunatics.