Have you ever heard a story about a veteran software developer who decides a major change in their field of technology is enough, and it prompts them to retire?
This is how I feel about my regular grocery story rearranging the aisles, but instead of retiring from a tech career, I’d be retiring from buying food ever again.
You’ve seen tons of eclipse photos today, but I bet you haven’t seen any of the eclipse projected through a delicious Toppalbles cracker.
My experience with COVID isn’t special or particularly severe, but I did experience two mild side-effects I hadn’t considered: fear and loneliness.
A few days ago I tested positive for COVID for the first time. I’m fine. I feel lousy and it hurts to swallow, but I’m OK.
My entire immediate family had gotten COVID back in 2022, somehow I didn’t at the time (or at least I was asymptomatic and never tested positive).
My symptoms are typical (head cold, sore throat, body aches, foggy head, chills/fever) and not particularly severe — but bad enough, thanks.
I’m sure many (most?) of you have already experienced this, but it was new to me. After living under the cloud of COVID for years, like everyone else, when you actually see those two lines in a COVID test, it feel surreal. It’s a bit scary.
I’ve been vaccinated with every booster available to me, and I realize the risks are relatively low. I’ve also heard the horror stories of long-COVID, hearing loss, permanent head-fog, weeks of low-energy, etc.
I’ve also mostly been alone in a (very comfortable) room for about three days. I miss hanging out with my family.
The isolation and fear also feed each other. It’s scary to be alone and sitting alone in a room is a good time to spiral about unlikely worst-possible outcomes.
So, my brilliant insight on COVID: it is bad and it makes me feel bad.
With all the press the Canadian Conservative party are getting for rhyming Axe with Tax, it’s unfortunate that there’s no similarly quippy counter-rhyme for those that support a Canadian carbon tax.
Nobody likes being taxed, but taxes are a useful tool for our society. I can simultaneously not want to pay more tax, and also support everyone (including myself) having to pay more tax. I don’t see this as an inconsistency.
So, let me add my tiny voice to the din: I do want a Carbon Tax – especially if you give that money back to me in rebates.
Thanks to Chris & Dave for answering my nerdy question on their great web-dev podcast, the ShopTalk Show. The question is brought up around the 10min mark of episode 608 (but you should listen to the whole thing!).
My question was: What are your most and least favourite parts of building websites these days.
My answers:
This is a photo of me doing my taxes this year (getting that Canada Revenue Agency T777 form ready in particular).
Today I learned that if you right click on an image in Firefox on macOS (and only on macOS), you can “Copy Text From Image“. This does what it sounds like: macOS has a system to recognize text in flat/static images like JPEGs and PNGs. You can also select text in flat images in the macOS Preview.app and QuickLook image previewer to copy the text.
The version 14 release of macOS (aka “Sonoma”) added a “Reactions” feature that seems to have been enabled by default.
If you hold up a thumbs-up gesture with your actual hand, the system will recognize the gesture and show a virtual overlay of a thumbs-up graphic in a bubble overplayed on your video. I don’t know why you’d want a “virtual” thumbs up showing when everyone can already see your actual thumbs-up. Other animations include a thumbs-down, a heart, and rain.
I’ve seen these gestures triggered accidentally, and can easily imagine an accidental reaction animation being wildly inappropriate. The animations are often understandably attributed to Zoom, instead of macOS where they are actually coming from.
Apple has some documentation explaining how to turn off these reaction animations. The short explanation is:
in the top right system menu
There are a few other gestures and associated animations. I will admit to using the rave-lasers-background to generate mirth among my peers.
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: This accidental triggering of macOS Reactions happens on the inaugural episode of WikiHole with D’Arcy Carden (around the 17m40s point).
Mike Knott is among the songwriters who had the greatest influence on my life. I discovered Knott’s music as a strange underworld below the depths of the strange world of “Christian music” when I was a kid. As a typically disgruntled teenager, his music was everything that the Christian music industry was not: raw, honest, and sometimes ugly.
I learned today that Mike Knott has died. See this obituary from NPR.
I’m grateful to my friend and personal music consultant, Dennis, for introducing me to the music of Mike Knott.
Among the loads of music he made, the albums that resonated most with me were:
In 2000, when a flight to Ontario would have cost me several months of income, I flew to see Mike Knott perform in London, Ontario. I knew at the time it might be my only opportunity to see him live, and it was. I’m so glad I look the time.
Knott never quite broke through with mainstream popularity, but was deeply influential on those who knew his music. It’s only an accident of history that he isn’t in the pop culture pantheon of rock stars.
At this 2000 show, Mike was mourning the loss of his friends Gene Eugene (another of my favourite songwriters) and Dennis Dannell. He put two paintings up on stage with him, one reading “MISS YOU DENNIS” and the other “MISS YOU GENE”.
Miss You Mike.