Category: Life

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Life Technology

The Little Things

Sometimes you can make small changes that make your entire setup feel that much better.

In this case, it isn’t even something that I touch every day, but it something that I do see.

The cable modem for the house is currently in our laundry/utility/bathroom in the basement. The reason it is there is so that I can have the shortest run possible of coaxial cable from the splitter to the modem.

I’ve had it sitting on the top of a built-in shelving unit since I evicted it from my office (due to connectivity issues with the longish cable run). However, it has always bugged me that it just sits up there … just sitting.

So today I mounted it on the wall and started routing the cables a little better (that too will be changing, so I didn’t spend much time with that). It took maybe ten total minutes and cost me four screws (since I also mounted a power strip near it as well), but I already feel better about the entire networking setup in the house because it looks … better. It looks like I actually care just a little bit about the entire setup.

Mainly, I need to just remember that even the small things can make a big difference in perception. If it works for cheap networking gear, where else in my life can it make a larger, more meaningful difference?

That’s a rhetorical questions, in case you were wondering.

Categories
Life Technology

What I Want from Podcasts.app

I tried out Podcasts.app again recently just to see if the fixes that have been released make the app easier to use. While it does smooth over some of the rough edges, there are still a few things I would like to see change before I move away from Instacast.

  • Podcast.app for the OS X. You can still sync through iTunes (there would be some hook through there like iPhoto), but a dedicated app would decouple one thing from iTunes and bring a little more sanity between iOS and OS X.
  • Better iCloud syncing. Just make it so that you don’t have to hook it up to iTunes for playlists and the like to transfer over … let iCloud handle that. Subscriptions, current location within podcast, settings, etc. could all be sent between your iOS devices, your Mac, and even the Apple TV. THAT would be cool.
  • Allow subscriptions without taking you out of the podcast directory. This is annoying because you can’t subscribe to multiple podcasts as easily as it would be if the app would just sit still for one minutes.
  • Better library management of played podcast episodes. Right now I just cannot seem to get the settings correct to allow me to subscribe to a podcast, remove those that I have already listened to, and then still get new episodes. Always have issues with that.

The idea of a Podcasts.app that bridges between the iOS and OS X worlds is cool, but it is not there yet.

Categories
Life Technology

My Ideal Mac Setup: Aug 2012

I did one of these back in February, but I thought it would be time for a revision … of sorts.

Back then I was thinking of going iPad-only for mobile computing and tethering myself to a Mac mini at any desk that I might need. Sadly, the Mac mini has languished with no updated to include the architectural improvements of Ivy Bridge, which is what I continue to wait for.

However, Apple HAS released new hardware in the form of the 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina display … and it is quite the looker.

As a quick aside, I find it funny that the portable lineup currently includes USB 3.0 but the desktops do not. I’m hoping that will get rectified soon, but i get the feeling that we’re at an inflection point right now and the desktop hardware is suffering because of it.

I’m still working with only my 13″ MacBook Pro. No additional hardware has been purchased since then, but some new thoughts have crept into my mind, mainly due to the lack of updates for the Mac mini and the complete revamp of the MacBook Pro.

Ideal Setup

So here’s my “ideal” setup right now … which includes some hardware that hasn’t been released yet but it rumored to be incoming.

  • 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina display – I’m not really sure who to believe right now because I was sure they’d never release another 13″ MacBook Pro once they went Retina-only, but the rumor sites keep stating that it is incoming. A smaller-and-lighter chassis sans-optical-drive-and-spinning-hard-disks with that screen would be awesome. This would be my main development machine for at  home along with my portable workstation.
  • 27″ Thunderbolt Display – Sitting at my desk for the web design work that doesn’t need the Retina touch. Would be even better if it WAS a Retina screen, but the more people think-and-talk about it, the less likely it seems.
  • 27″ iMac – This big guy would sit at work and wait diligently for me to arrive so that I can work. The idea would be for the increased performance of the Ivy Bridge chipset and processor to be around for the little bits of video work that I need to do.
  • 64 GB Verizon iPad – There is just so much reading that I do on it that not having it around feels wrong. I’d love to get the largest version just to have the extra storage, but I’m very interested to see what Apple is going to pull out come next year for the iPad. The iPad (3rd generation) pushed ahead a lot, so it will be fun.
  • Mac mini – Home server for backups and media streaming. I still have in the back of my mind the idea of ripping all of our DVDs onto a mini and then using the Apple TV to stream them. Then I can ditch another component in our entertainment center. I’m really hoping for Ivy Bridge soon.

Realistic Setup

Now that I have that out of my system, I’m going to go with something a little more realistic. I’m going to list only the hardware that is currently released.

  • 11″ MacBook Air – I would go with the higher storage and more RAM here. I love the tiny size of the device so it would be perfect for the road. I’d be tempted to stick with the Mac mini … as soon as I gets Ivy Bridge. This is my home development machine.
  • 13″ MacBook Pro – It works well and it ain’t broke … why fix it? Work machine.
  • 32 GB iPad – No cellular internet, but it will do what I need it to (reading and listening to stuff mostly). This is the device I would grab most often when I leave the house (besides my iPhone).

That’s far more realistic. Sadly, I’m not getting anything right now but this Fall/Winter should be fun.

Categories
Life

What Bob’s Listening To 1

I wrote something about this back in June, but I recently trimmed by podcast subscriptions down so that I might be able to get through all of them before the week is out. So, without further ado, here is the list (provided without further comment … yet).

Now, for further comment:

It is a much shorter list than before, but I had to trim it down as much as possible. The only real additions were Mission Log and Core Intuition. I’ll see if Mission Log sticks around, but I’ve liked the first few episodes so far.

I really recommend Hypercritical and Build and Analyze above any other podcasts out there, but Core Intuition is very informative as well from an Apple development perspective (different from Build and Analyze).

Categories
Business Life

A Job Mostly Done

Another short update on the big farm project. Mainly, two images of the main heavy equipment work completed.

You get a good look at the old barn site as it sits now … pretty much empty. Off to the left you will see the remnants of a failed grape experiment, which is the next thing to go (the start of that project was rained out this past weekend). This is the site where the machine shed will hopefully start going up this winter.

Here you get a look at the other side where two pole sheds currently sit. There used to be the foundation for an old hay barn here, but no longer. The semi sits on a concrete slab at the moment and it is actually leveled off instead of a drop off where the dirt had settled over the years. What is going to happen with this area is still up for discussion, but more-than-likely some small cattle operation will be using at least one of the two sheds here which would mean that my dad, brother and I will be reprising our roles of putting up electric fence in the future.

Clearing out the weeds was a huge undertaking and there is still a lot of work left to clean everything up and plant in some grasses to keep the weeds away (and provide foliage for the cattle). That will be for another time. It is a good thing that my dad saved the old disk because that thing will be getting dragged through his area so that the better one can be saved for the fields.