I don’t have a lot to say, other than I’m disappointed. Not just that half the country chose Trump, but I feel like our fight wasn’t enough. This isn’t victim blaming, but taking accountability and reflecting on what our side could have done better — something the other side never does.

I am realizing once again how easy it is to get caught up in bullshit and forgetting what is truly important to me. I am not saying voting, elections, our representation, and the future of our country isn’t important. What I’m realizing is my health, mental and physical, and my family should be more of a focus for me.

Politics and online drama has been easy to become addicted to. I’m taking a break from both and going to focus on my health and my family. I will still fight for what I think is right, and will continue to be informed when necessary. But the obsession that I got sucked into needs to go away.

I’m proud to be an American, and at the same time disappointed in the direction this country is going. I’m still hopeful for the future, I just hope this isn’t the beginning of the end.

I was looking at my App Library and in the corner of my eye saw a cute app icon that I never noticed before. A pumpkin appeared, and was curious what app that was?

It was Castro! An app I have been a little frustrated with, causing me to move back to Overcast, but this app icon change was a special surprise I didn’t expect.

I have no plan to move back to Castro, but I’m happy it is getting some well needed love.

Amazon finally announced a color version of the Kindle and it looks fantastic. The price isn’t great at $279, but with the deal they are offering for trading in my current Kindle, it will only cost around $200 which is the same price as the Paperwhite signature edition.

I have been contemplating upgrading my Kindle. The small size and higher resolution is great, and the USB-C but because the battery is so great I hardly use it, but some little quirks have bothered me for a while.

1.	The backlight is uneven and is bothersome in low light, or no light.
2.	No Auto-brightness so changing it all the time manually is annoying, especially on e-ink.
3.	It also lacks the warming feature so the screen is always white, or blue.
4.	It just feels cheap. There are times where I feel like it is nice that it is just plastic because it is so light, but sometimes it just feels really low quality and scratches very easily.

The Kobo Libra Color is really nice looking and have been considering jumping to that, but because of my huge Kindle library it is difficult for me to jump ship. So Amazon now announcing a new premium Kindle with color is very tempting.

The one thing I really wish Amazon would bring back to their Kindles are physical buttons. It isn’t a deal breaker, but if this new Colorsoft model had buttons it would literally be perfect. For now, I’m going to be hovering over the pre-order button as I reflect on my last post of asking how much… is too much?

I struggle with this question a lot. I want every gadget that Apple sells. I’d like to go on a vacation every couple months. I’d also like to have a savings account with tens of thousands of dollars but also have a full funded IRA and no debt.

When it comes to using my iPhone, like I stated in my last post, I feel I use it too much. Over the past week my screen time usage average is over 7 hours. (It is up 155% because I forgot to turn it on when I got my iPhone 15 Pro Max so this was the first full week with it on)

An average of 7 hours a day is probably too much, so is wanting an iPad Pro, a MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air, a Mac Mini, Beats Studio Pros, AirPods Pro, a Vision Pro, etc. I love technology I love gadgets, not just Apple products either, I also want a OLED switch and a pair of Meta Sunglasses.

I am rereading Ryan Holidays book about the stoic value temperance, Discipline is Destiny, which is a good book and reminder of what it means to have moderation and to temper your desires. I have also been a follower of minimalism for many years that has been engrained in my mind to never want too many things that provide the same benefit.

Having an iPad Pro and a MacBook Air is something I strongly want, but also conflict with it being extremely wasteful and excessive. Many people do it and I am not shitting on anyone else’s choices, this is just me and how I feel about buying things for myself.

So when does it feel like too much? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m realizing that my bigger struggle is identifying what I truly want. I have a hectic life right now, so every opportunity to get something or try a new path seems great and I should go for it.

Having a MacBook Air provides the opportunity for me to code more, but I have yet to do any coding. I want to write more, and the Mac is great for that, but an iPad feels like more of the platform I prefer for writing. I also don’t need a Pro if I want an iPad, but I also like ProMotion and very beautiful displays.

My mind is in a constant loop of wants versus needs and I am starting to realize that I want too much. I need to much, and I find myself consuming too much of the things that I don’t truly care about—like my iPhone usage.

I don’t need every Apple product. I need to reestablish what my goals are for the tech that I want and need and go from there. My life is a whirlwind and it’s better for me to address what it is I’m striving for before I keep buying things thinking it is going to solve all my problems.

I’m tired. Being a parent to two kids, one an infant and one toddler, sometimes I feel like my life is too chaotic to make a decision on what device I want, let alone have time to use it.

My wife recently got a job, and after selling all of my tech and starting fresh I have been in a prime position to decide what direction I want to go with my tech stack and the gadgets that I want to have and use.

I transferred from Visible, which I moved too from Mint after having such bad service, to AT&T with my wife and got myself a iPhone 15 Pro Max. It is the device I use most in my life, sometimes to a fault. I’m addicted to my iPhone and the 15 Pro Max model is fantastic to use.

My next step was deciding on a “computer”, a term that can spur some silly emotions for me sometimes because I categorize a computer as a piece of hardware that I want to do something on that is not my phone. A Chromebook, iPad, MacBook, desktop, or even a Samsung phone with DeX would qualify as a computer for me.

I have used a 8th or 9th generation iPad, my MacBook Air 11-inch running ChromeOS Flex, a MacBook Pro, and a iPad 11-inch with and without a Magic Keyboard as my computers. Most recently I have been using a MacBook Air and I’m struggling.

I love the MacBook Air, but I’m struggling to use it. It isn’t the MacBook itself, nor is it macOS or any app that I am using, it’s being able to sit at it for longer than 20 minutes at a time to get shit done.

As I mention before, I’m a parent of two young kids and both my wife and I work. So my schedule is insane. Having a versatile setup is imperative for me and is why the iPhone has become my most used device.

The problem is, what I am doing on my iPhone has not been productive for me. I just sent a Thread today explaining that I am going to take a break from social media which is what I have mostly been doing on my phone — I also deleted all those apps.

Even if I were to transform my iPhone into the most productive phone ever, it’s still not the form factor that I prefer to do things like write and work on things. It can be done, I am currently writing this blog post on my iPhone right now, but even the size of the Max isn’t enough for what I want.

So where does this leave me? I think a laptop is fantastic. The form factor makes sense having a keyboard and mouse (trackpad) available all the time connected to a large gorgeous screen. I have now used a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Pro this year, and all I can think about is the few months I used the M4 iPad Pro.

The iPad has become my favorite computer of all time. The form factor, hardware, iPadOS, and versatility are all reasons I keep wanting to go back to the iPad as my main computer. I haven’t decide what I am going to do yet, this is just me throwing out my thoughts but it’s interesting how much the iPad has transformed my mind in what a computer means and how I want to use one.

I have mixed feelings about The Fray continuing without Issac Slade. It wasn’t just his iconic voice either, the piano that he brought to so many songs was one of the reasons I loved the band so much. 

I will admit that their last album wasn’t my favorite, but the first three albums and the EPs before that are still some of my favorite music of all time. I am constantly listening to those albums on repeat. 

This new EP isn’t bad, and I have always liked Joe Kings voice and always thought he would be great going solo and did try for bit going as just King but as The Fray without Slade and only King’s voice just doesn’t feel the same. 

I have listened to it a few times already and I will say that my first impression is that it is a good album, but it just doesn’t feel like The Fray to me.

Both songs are great in my opinion. They both don’t shy away from each rappers style which I appreciate and enjoy regardless of the beef.

But the beef makes it that much more interesting. Now that Kendrick has responded I am curious to see how this whole thing plays out. I have feeling it is going to get pretty brutal going forward.

Push Ups
euphoria

Things are ramping up in the rap war that Future and Kendrick started in Metro and Future’s first album together. Leaked audio of Drakes rebuttal, J. Cole’s response (then apology), and now Rick Ross’ drop is causing a rumble in hip hop right now.

It’s exciting but also interesting to see where all this goes. I think I like Metro and Futures 2nd album more than some, but the drama of it all I think is what is making all this more enticing. It is causing many to revisit all music by all these artist and scrutinize every line to see if their were and subliminal or sneaky disses that many have missed.

I’m excited to see where this all goes, but sad to also think another What A Time To Be Alive album may never happen.

Good times on iOS with Apple now allowing emulators on the App Store. Check Delta on the App Store now available.

Makes me wonder if I still need my RG35XX. 🤔

Future & Metro Boomin’s new album is the first album I have bought in the iTunes Store in many years — at least 10 years or more. For a while I was buying CDs and burning music instead of buying it digital.

Since I wanted to listen to this album on my iPod Classic. The easiest options was to just pay $9.99 to get a digital copy and sync it to my iPod through the iTunes Store.

It was worth it. I don’t mind supporting artists directly too. Especially for this amazing album. It will definitely be on repeat for the rest of 2024.

It’s annoying how Apple products seem to always suck me back in. I wrote about how it’s a hard decision right now to choose a Mac with the Air and Pro being so good right now.

I think if I could have anything I wanted, it would be a desktop Mac and a MacBook. But my life right now doesn’t permit me to have a single workstation location. I need to be mobile.

I’m happy with my Asus Zenbook and I am also happy with my 2012 MacBook Air, but the desire for a Midnight MacBook Air or Liquid Retina XDR MacBook Pro is so strong.

It’s hard to resist the Apple cravings. But I want to buy the right thing next time, not just what I can get and regret it later.

I was surprised how much I loved MOTM 3 and Entergalatic. Kid Cudi was embracing change and loved the direction. But Insano was a huge disappointment for me. Not only that, but his interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Musicwas gross.

Kid Cudi I feel has lost his sense of perspective on what his music has inspired. I don’t blame him wanting to make more happy music, but Insano was a mess, and his cocky attitude in the interview really turned me off. I miss the humble and more introspective Cudi. Trying to be like “Kendrick Lamar” as he stated in his interview and his actual attempt in making Insano fell flat for me.

Insano (Nitro Mega) feels different though. Some old songs by Cudi are welcomed, but the songs feel more thoughtful. The production isn’t as all over the place, and it truly feels like the album we needed unlike Insano.

I hope Cudi continues in the direction of (Nitro Mega). It’ll be on repeat for me all weekend.

My wife received her Doctorate in Quantitative and Systems Biology yesterday and proud is not a strong enough word for how much I look up to her and her achievements. After sitting through her dissertation defense last week and seeing her walk across the stage this week, it is amazing to see her reach the goal she decided to go after over five years ago.

Not only am I honored to have her as a partner and coparent to be a role model for our son, and new son on the way, but she has always been someone I look up to as well. It was amazing to see her walk onto that stage and earn something that less than 2% of the United States has; a Doctorate Degree.

I’m indifferent to Kanye West and Ty Dollar $igns new album dropping this Friday. So far it seems like this is Kanye’s first album that feels more complete compared to the Donda releases, which is exciting.

But I feel like the world has forgotten what Kanye has said and done in the past. People deserve forgiveness, but with the Israel and Gaza war and all the other anti-Semitic behavior in the world right now, it feels wrong to be so excited about Kanye’s new music without recognizing his part in spreading bad rhetoric.

I believe in free speech and believe in people having differing views. Consequences of doing certain things are non-trivial, but government involvement is never the answer. I just feel icky being excited about new art by someone I am also still disappointed in.

Kanye was my favorite music artist for years. I defended his behavior in the past feeling like it was necessary to make the amazing work he has made. Since his remarks on Alex Jones, and other instances, I no longer can defend him.

Vultures might be amazing, but it will never be the same for me as it was in the past when new Kanye music dropped.

I wanted to create a process to be able to blog shorter or linked posts from my iPhone. The great thing about Blot.im is that all you need to do to post a new blog post is drop a .md file into a folder.

So after setting up Alvalog, my new personal blog, on Blot.im all I needed to do was setup a process to write and drop the files into the Dropbox folder that Blot.im is connected too.

I created a Shortcut called Post To Alvalog and decided to just you Apple Notes to write and then run the shortcut from when I was ready to post. I could probably use another app that natively supports markdown, but it was easy enough to just convert the text file to markdown in Shortcuts.

www.icloud.com/shortcuts…

The process is super simple and now I can post on my blog easily from my iPhone. I can add links, photos, and markdown formatted text and everything just works!

The future is awesome!

I don’t want, but need a personal blog. I want a place for me to write thoughts and link interesting stuff on the internet. It’s important today to have a place for yourself on the internet and that is what Alvalog plans to be for me.

Welcome!