Have A Good Day

During yesterday’s Thanksgiving Parade broadcast, nearly every commercial break featured a Facebook ad. It was a good one about real-life human connection supported online through the Facebook friends network. It’s a long shot, but wouldn’t it be great if Facebook cut the nonsense and returned to its roots as a social network? A place where you can stay connected with friends and family around the world. In the late 2000s, you could meet someone, become friends on Facebook, and stay loosely in touch. “Are you on Facebook,” was a less intrusive question than “What is your phone number?” Today, of course, many people avoid visiting Facebook altogether because of the endless stream of useless information they never signed up for.

During the 2020 holiday season, we watched a Christmas movie each day from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day. At the peak of the pandemic, we literally had nothing better to do. Elke chose from old favorites and Netflix recommendations, and while we did start a movie every day, we didn’t finish them all. Some were simply too cringeworthy and cheap to get through. Others were bad, but at least well-made, like Happiest Season with Kristen Stewart, which tackled a real, sensible situation in a very ham-fisted way. On Saturday, we kicked off the season with Champagne Problems, which follows the common trope of a woman and a man attracted to each other but caught up in conflict on the business side. It turned out to be unexpectedly sweet, with likable characters and stunning locations.

I’m all in on the Apple ecosystem. The “It just works” principle remains largely true, and I like having all my data accessible everywhere, all the time. However, it also means putting all eggs in one basket. It also means having fewer choices when it comes to devices. So I’ve been considering the possibility of leaving the Apple ecosystem and replacing its components with open-source alternatives. This is definitely a major effort that could take years to accomplish. The first step is to review my digital assets and see how much they are tied to a proprietary application or data format. For example, even though I like Apple Notes, there isn’t an easy way to export my data from it.

Yesterday, we visited the MoMA to see Pirouette, an exhibition about iconic designs. I had a few interesting aha moments. For example, I always thought that Emojis are just improved, graphical versions of emoticons, like the little character-based ones such as the iconic :–) we used in emails and texts. But no, emojis were created by NTT DoCoMo in Japan for cellphone text messages. Emoji is a Japanese word (meaning picture character) and has nothing to do with Emoticon. The original set (see above) was more functional and didn’t even include the smiley variations we use today.

Eastbound transatlantic travel is a long, exhausting journey. Direct flights to Munich are usually significantly more expensive, and a stopover in Dublin or Reykjavík is also a welcome break from being squeezed into an airplane seat.

Fourth Wing isn’t exactly a discovery: It’s a bestseller that’s being adapted into a TV show. I came across it while taking shelter at the Union Square Barnes & Noble during a heavy thunderstorm and was intrigued enough to try a sample. At first, it read like a crossover between Harry Potter and Hunger Games. The latter I didn't finish because I found reading about teenagers killing each other for survival too depressing. But ChatGPT assured me that Fourth Wing is different: people are dying, but so far, that has only happened in the background._ I also like that, while the story is a classic high fantasy playing in a medieval setting with magic and mythical beasts, it is written in first-person present tense like a modern romance. The characters speak like 20-somethings in the 21st century, including using expletives, and have names you might encounter today. The protagonist, Violet, struggles uphill for her life due to her fragile build. However, she is clever, resourceful, and possesses unwavering self-confidence despite constant death threats. While such a mix of traits might be rare in real life—since high intelligence often accompanies self-doubts—it suits the story well. After all, who would want to read about a heroine who’s always scared for her life?

Last weekend, we wanted to buy a new HomePod mini for the bathroom. The nearby Apple Store didn’t have our preferred color and asked us to order it online. Later, we passed a Best Buy that displayed an Apple logo. At first, we thought it was already closed because only a lonely salesperson was cleaning up. But it was open, and they had a dusty white HomePod fixed to a table. There was a vending machine with electronic price tags and a sign inviting us to buy online or ask a “blueshirt” for assistance. The only two other people in the store wore blue shirts, but they were chatting with each other and had no interest in helping. We purchased the HomePod through the Apple Store online. There is a need for an electronics store similar to the Apple Store that sells non-Apple products. But it needs to have merchandise and knowledgeable salespeople so you can try out products and see if they work for you. Best Buy does not want to be that store.

There was a time before airlines became nickel-and-dimers that try to squeeze every penny out of their customers. Flying was fancy and enjoyable, so some airlines would hand out postcards of planes in their fleet so passengers could tell friends and family about their experience after a flight. As a teenager, I collected postcards like these. My cousin, who introduced me to this hobby, and I would write to the airline headquarters or visit their city offices to ask for postcards. A few times, we sneaked into the office area at Frankfurt Airport and went door to door. Usually, people were friendly and happy to give us some merchandise. There were also other sources. Many airport souvenir shops sold postcards of airplanes, and there was even a mail-order store in Connecticut that specialized in these postcards. We weren’t the only ones. We spent days at Hamburg Airport trading postcards with other kids. Those days are gone, but there are still many aviation enthusiasts around. So, ten years ago, I took the time to scan my 400+ card collection and posted them on Tumblr.

More photos

After a month using the new non-Max iPhone Pro, I can say I don‘t miss the larger screen, and I enjoy the smaller form factor. I guess the main benefit of the iPhone Max is the longer battery life, but for my everyday use, that doesn’t matter too much.