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.
Screen Time for 10/6 - 10/12
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.
My Tumultuous Relationship With Tech
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.
The Fray Is… Back?
The Fray Is Back - EP
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.
This Beef Is Getting Real
euphoria by Kendrick Lamar and Push Ups by Drake
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.
Good Times
Delta Emulator
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. 🤔
We Still Don’t Trust You
WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU
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.