Archives From The Desk of CJD
My first foray into NFT and cryptocurrency trading has begun. I have just minted two digital images for sale on the OpenSea market for .25 ETH coin. This translates to a lot of USD$ for only two images. Will they go to an earnest collector/curator? Time will tell as they are up for a three day auction. If not, I’ll try again for a month long auction.
It’s different, and I’m learning as I go but the speculation is fun!
What was I thinking ten years ago? What’s funny to me is I now have a deconstructed iPhone 4 mounted on the wall on display. This makes me wonder what else I am currently wrong about and what to change.
Because I am almost never content with leaving well enough alone thinking there is always a better way of doing things, this site has been redesigned. Ample white space and clean fonts give site visitors a distraction-free reading experience.
Images will be larger and fit better into the page template. This is important to me since I enjoy creating imagery.
Of course this will probably change next month, but for now, I am digging it.
An Airtag is an easy way to keep track of your stuff. Attach one to your keys, slip another in your camera bag or in your car if you can never remember where you parked. . And just like that, they’re on your radar in the Find My app. I just picked one up and inserted into a custom key ring just because.
I am not a big fan of television programming these days with a few exceptions.
Fortunatley these exceptions have alternative means of distrubution other than a cable or satellite service.
I’ve alternated between Netflix and Amazon Prime. Someday I’ll have to decide.
What about news and sports, however?
I’ve been testing out a new service called Aereo that is in slow release. $8 a month with up to 60 hours of DVR, all online.
That just solved a lot of issues for me and sealed the deal.
With that, I’ve cut costs by cutting the cord.
I was listening to a podcast the other day, and I cannot remember which one or even credit the source (apologies) but it really got me thinking about some of the unforeseen consequences of digital sharing. Everyday most of us put ourselves out there with various posts, tweets, pictures and comments.
Let’s not forget photos and social media. We can snap someone and with facial recognition as advanced as it is, locate who it is and their entire social media personas without speaking a word to them.
We don’t realize is that anything shared online rarely goes unnoticed or permanently deleted.
The speaker goes on to compare this to a tattoo. For those of us who have ink, it is a conscience choice. For others, they add this to their bodies without thinking of future considerations such as relevance, appropriateness or regret.
Will I regret some of the content I put out there for the world to see? You betcha.
Do I make conscience choices to avoid such embarrassment? Oh yeah.
In light of these, I’ll just have to make smarter choices on what what is public and what is private.
I’ve seen a lot of people on the net share both their desktop workspaces and what is in their bags. Over the years I have whittled down and secured only the essentials needed for portable computing. I’ve waited for technology to give me what I needed.
Today I am sharing my minimalist setup in the bag.
The Chromebook- I’ve already documented what a simple and effortless device this is. It weighs next to nothing and syncs everything.
The Nexus 7 tablet- This is my portable library. I also stream music, videos. If the mood strikes I’ll play games on it and more.
Galaxy S3 Phone- Wake me up when the iPhone is ready to compete, will you?
Bluetooth Mouse- Operates all 3 devices if I desired.
Moleskine Notebook- In case my thoughts go analog instead of digital. This also doubles as my mousepad. Sharpie pen is thin and doesn’t bleed through the pages.
Timbuk2 Bag – Excellent size, light and very well padded. One compartment for the chromebook and another for the rest.
All together the contents are equal to a hardback book in weight, and all three device’s data are synchronized.
This blows me away
This year’s Google developer conference revealed quite a few more reasons for me to swoon over and enjoy. There were also a few items I wish were addressed but was disappointed.
Google+
Completely redesigned social network and hub for almost everything Google. Love the new “Google Now” cards interface. A lot cleaner and they brought in the Roboto font from Android in too. The photos section got some new tricks up it’s sleeve as well.
Hangouts
Code named “Babel” while in development this cross-platform app when done will unify the G+ video hangouts, the IM client formerly known as Talk, and Google Voice for phone. Even the iSheep can use it.
Google Music, Books
The redesigned Google Music beat Apple to the music streaming game. I signed up for the $7.99 a month service (called All Access) for unlimited music that compliments the music I already own and interfaces with each other.
The Books offering allows me to upload my own content such as PDF documents, share them, etc. I’ve accumulated tons of self-published books and can now enjoy them in location.
Google TV
My Google TV player will be enjoying more frequent updates and is scheduled to upgrade to version 4.2 Jelly bean soon. w00t.
Disappointed In…
After it was announced that everyone’s favorite RSS feed reader was killed off, we had all hoped there would be a much improved alternative. Not so. At least we would have a more robust and user-friendly Google Currents, right? No.
Blogger. Google bought this company years ago and it has been a bastard ever since. Unloved and unwanted. If they ever focused on this service I would be all over it right now.
More
There is of course so much more announced at IO but these are the highlights for me. Redesigned Maps, developer tools, Google Glass etc. are all coming soon so there is plenty to look forward to soon.
Did a little more urban exploration (Urbex) around Tulsa today. Using nothing but my mobile phone I found hidden treasure, hacked portals for the Resistance, hiked a trail or two, tracked it with a fitness app and documented it all with photos.
Whew!
Sitting here smugly knowing the iPhone 4s is obsolete compared to my HTC Evo. Still, iOS DOES have better apps.