Tag: Tech

  • My Computer is Dead (Sort of,) Long Live the Computer

    My computer is not dead yet, but it’s getting close. It’s a 2014 MacBook Air 11” and it has served me well. I have written just about everything on it, used it for work, used it to produce a play, edited videos on it, and who knows what else. I have had it repaired twice, and honestly; the little machine has been solid the whole time.

    But as with all things in life, it is old and just can’t keep up anymore. Pages take a while to load, that “pinwheel of death” shows up all the time now, and it lags. It lags so much. It’s past its prime, and we both know that it’s time to go to pasture.

    Though I know it’s just a machine, I can’t help but feel bad for the little guy. Sure, I put a whole lotta personification on this computer. I feel like it has been there for me whenever I needed it. Been my friend, gave me access to the world, helped me stay on track, and also helped me procrastinate more times than I should admit.

    What I want is to keep my 11” MacBook Air, because they don’t make them anymore. All MacBooks are 13” or larger now, and, well, all the MacBooks look the same. At least the 11” stood out; it was different, unique, and slightly odd. For a company that was all about thinking different, it sure wants everyone to look the same.

    So why am I going back for a MacBook Air? Because I had it for 12 years and it worked solid. And the MacBook Pro I had before that lasted 11 years. I’m not a huge fan of Apple, but I can’t deny that their laptops are worth the money.

    I guess I need to sell some more material if I want to get a new one this year.

  • Power to the Twit

    How does the line go? “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.” I think it was Maya Angelou who said that, and I also hold that she is correct. If I might add a caveat to that statement, and I am speaking only from my personal experience, I never realize that someone is showing who they are in real time; it’s always after the fact.

    I sort of feel that’s what happening with Elon Musk and Twitter. I don’t think he’s as business savvy as he keeps telling us. I mean, there are a bunch of decisions that he’s made that don’t add up to me. Like the laying off of 50% of the Twitter work force. There is a reason layoffs don’t happen the way Elon is doing it. He’s spending a dollar to save a dime, which generally is the sign that the decision was emotional and not logical.

    Deep pockets do not mean you are a genius at business. Deep pockets mean you can afford to make many, many, MANY mistakes until you figure out the right thing to do.

    Also, there is the whole content curation, and what is and is not allowed in the platform. He says he’s all for free speech, unless you are planning on mocking him, then that speech isn’t allowed. But he’s cool with you mocking, and hate-speeching other people. Got that. Just not him. Mocking Elon is wrong. Remember: You are free to do what Elon tells you.

    You are free to do what Elon tells you!

    YOU ARE FREE TO DO WHAT ELON TELLS YOU!!!

    (Full disclosure; I borrowed that line. It’s based off a Bill Hicks joke.)

    In the end, I think he just wants the attention, and he’s getting it. This is what, like the third time I have written about this, because on some level, this whole situation just gets in my craw. Part of it is that I don’t trust uber-wealthy people. The other side is that I have a hard time not looking at the train wreck happening right before me. But at the end of the day, 3,700 people are losing their jobs for no fault of their own. That’s 3,700 families being upended, having their livelihoods, and futures jeopardized, for what? So, some rich guy can be the global center of attention.

    Elon has been showing us who he is for a very long time, and only now some of us are seeing the morally bankrupt fraud he is.

    (Hey, thanks for coming all the way down here. As long as I have you, could I ask a favor of you? We know how this works, so if you could, please, give a like, a comment, a share, or even follow this blog. This is how the revolution gets televised.)