Chaos Tamer
Pretty much every morning I wake with a song in my mind. Sometimes it’s simply my latest auditory obsession. Sometimes I think it’s my subconscious “telling me something”. This morning I woke with Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on earworm. I’m not sure if my brain has a message for me or this just a song I’ve long loved popping back into my awareness. But it’s not unwelcome.
My main laptop right now is an OLLLDDD MacBook Pro. It’s nearly 10 years old, and it’s starting to really show its age. And we do have need of a laptop. So, it’s time to think of a replacement.
I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen of Apple’s new M1 chip. Also, my wife is most comfortable with Mac OS. And I pride myself on being OS agnostic. Additionally, one of the things I’m considering once I’m done at Edmonds college is UW’s Interactive Design program. They require a laptop and, though they don’t mandate a MacBook, they do highly recommend one. So, with all of that, I’m leaning towards an M1 Macbook Air. I still need to explore more, though. Due diligence and all that. Fortunately, I do get a student discount.
So, I’ve done a bit of research already. Check out these videos below. The first is a review of the MacBook while the second talks about the M1 chip compared to Windows PCs. Both point towards the M1 and Macbook.
As an Information System student, there are a handful of tools recommended to me by my instructors that have been critical. Every one of the tools below is free. Anyway, here’s my list:
Anyway, what tools do you use? That you find indispensable?
Featured Image by Josh Sorenson from Pexels
Today I logged into Amazon and the first thing I see is this ad:
I’m surprised that I missed the announcement for Alexa Frames. Looks like these have actually been on the market for a few years. Though not as feature-rich as the old Google glasses, they are definitely more discrete and attractive.
This got me wondering about the status of Google Glass, and what similar products are on the market. With a little research, I found this piece about Google Glass. Now, I’ve known that the product is far from dead as there’s now Google Glass Enterprise Edition. But it has been more of a niche thing (here’s a post from the Verge from last February about it).
As far as other products, I found this: Focals By North. Looks pretty interesting, but not ready for the mainstream yet. This video is from 2019, so perhaps they’ve updated things in the meantime.
I think that the glasses will hold a significant part of the future of mobile computing. In particular, I’m curious about the ways VR/AR will be integrated into these glasses. Or how they won’t be.
I find this quote by Sun Tzu very apt. Don’t believe you are entitled to success. Seek to earn it. That is the path. Or, as is popular in the current Zeitgeist (which is a bit redundant, I guess), “this is the way”.
This upcoming quarter I’ll be taking JavaScript, System Analysis, and a class on Joomla and SEO. Funny, really, that I never heard of Joomla until seeing my degree plan, and was surprised by that. Thus, I opted to spend a little time learning more. I am trying to be a good student, after all.
My research pulled me to this, somewhat dated, article (2018): Joomla vs WordPress. Turns out Joomla is, essentially, a competitor of sorts with WordPress. Of sorts is important. Joomla has been around as long as WordPress but holds a fraction of their market share. This puzzles me since I’ve been hovering around web design and site creation for years. I’ve created many sites, mostly with WordPress, but I’ve also used HTML as well as tools like Netscape Navigator and FrontPage. So, I’m disappointed I’ve never even heard of Joomla (or Drupal, for that matter). Time to learn, I guess.
I do find it interesting that the class is working with Joomla, and not WordPress. For me, it’s cool to learn new (to me) tech. But with only 5% deployment, vs WordPress’s 60%, along with that 5% share decreasing, I still find it puzzling to focus on a tiny tool. I expect that this will become clearer as the quarter progresses.
As I expect you all know, early in 2020 I returned to school to study web application development (head here if you need an update). I’m not the youngest student. However, I’m not the oldest, either. I have had a few people mention that, as I’m older, I don’t have as much to offer the world and that I’m keeping the space from those who will contribute more. Bah! I have a lot to offer. I bring a lot to my classes, to my fellow students, and will bring a lot to wherever I land, career-wise, next.
First thing this morning I came across this tweet:
My dad has spent the last 4 years getting his PhD while working two full time jobs. He did it because he didn’t want me to be the only Doctor in the family. At the age of 65, world, meet Dr. Emmanuel Uloko 😭 my father, my biggest cheerleader and who I compare every man to. pic.twitter.com/LvBqK1aUmt
— Maria Uloko MD (@MariaUloko) December 5, 2020
Motivates me hard! Who knows? Maybe I’ll go after a master’s (not sure I want to do a PhD…though, in my heart-of-hearts, I want to know EVERYTHING about computers).
This comic from xkcd gave me pause, too.
Ultimately, I need to believe in myself, in what I bring, in what I know. Don’t hold back! I’m investing far too much time and energy to be timid about all that.
Ah, to live a bold life! We’ll see, my friends, we’ll see.
I have a few favorite tools that really make school more effective. One: I get my textbooks on Kindle. I have the Kindle app on my computer, plus I have it on my phone and iPad. Having my books wherever I find myself is great. Plus, I can hit ctrl+F and search the whole book quickly. This has been really helpful when I’m struggling to remember “that one command”.
Also, I have Grammarly’s app installed. Being able to spell and grammar check in the browser is a great time saver.
Lastly, I love using Evernote to take notes. I often use paper, and also the note feature within the Kindle apps. But I can scan the papers, and import the Kindle notes, so all of them are in Evernote. Again, being able to search is powerful, and being able to review whenever I have a few minutes of downtime is great.
I’m a fan of much of Danny Elfman’s work. Oingo Boingo and The Nightmare Before Christmas only touch the surface. Reading in Nerdist that he released a new pop song made my morning wonderful. Perfectly creepy vibe for the days before Halloween. Check it out below! (caveat: there are a fair number of NSFW words).
https://youtu.be/y3xKyWemAr0
Also, as tomorrow’s Halloween, check out my “An Atypical Halloween” playlist. You will NOT find Monster Mash there! I try to keep things trope-free.
I discovered Balmorhea a few years ago but only came across “Masollan” recently (earlier this year). I’ve become very fond of it. The instrumentation is exquisite. Electric guitar and bass with drums, violin, cello, and upright bass? I find it delightful. The ethereal way the melody floats above the harmony vibrates within my soul.
Featured image created with Adobe Spark, font: AcuminPro-Thin. I wanted a sepia styled, warm summer’s day vibe. I hope I pulled that off.