My First (And Unexpected) FaceTime Moment on My Apple TV!

I just had my first experience with FaceTime with one of my sons on my Apple TV. My son called me on FaceTime. I picked up the call. A few seconds later into the conversation, my iPhone suggested putting the call on my Apple TV. I really didn’t expect that. The iPhone instructed me what to do with my iPhone so it could catch me on camera. It was such an “Apple” moment! Flawless. Barely no lags. 🤯

My iPhone runs iOS 17 beta 3, and the Apple TV tvOS 17.0 beta 3.

Using Day One for Travel Journaling

When I decided to use Day One for my travel journal, I had the following requirements:

  • Data portability is paramount (markdown, text, or textbundle);
  • It must work offline;
  • Integration into my existing workflow to share travel moments on Micro.blog;
  • Easy data entry with as much metadata automatically filled out for me as possible;
  • Look at my current toolset before using something entirely new.

I tried Craft last year, and it wasn’t up to the task. Apple Notes was a candidate, but it was dropped since notes’ metadata is nonexistent. Day One met all requirements. I’ve been using Day One for more than five years. It worked wonderfully for my last trip. Sometimes, the solution is right in front of our eyes.

I’m Still Liking HEY Email But…

I’ve been using the HEY email service since its introduction. This week I had to search extensively in my email history to find transaction receipts and contracts. HEY email client has a unique take visually on emails and the inbox, and you either like it or hate it. I still like it, but I feel let down by the software for operations like searching, content rendering and attachment processing. This is where I wish HEY had a more standard take on email display and attachment preview. There is a lack of information density in this app which annoys me.

If there was another similar service but with a native client, I think I would switch.

We Must Do Something About Meta’s Monopoly

In my mind, every new platforms should start from 0 user base. Meta, just to name that one, have a monopoly of social graph. This is anti-competitive. Should Bluesky sue Meta? Should the open source community sue Meta? Yes. And yes.

Remember Microsoft and Internet Explorer back in the days? Remember Apple and the App Store?

We are not ready to accept this but here we are. Meta is a monopoly in my book. Time for regulation. I casted my vote: no Threads for me.

Bad News for Weather in Canada

Yesterday, weather report summary for June in Canada was released and it is ugly. Much higher temperatures in the wrong places and at much earlier time this year. Many records broken by wide margin (since 1871). Lot’s of discrepancies in rain distribution with lack of rain in the north of Quebec which then allowed much widespread forests fire than usual.

One month is not a trend but when you look far back, there are many worrying trends.

Hunting vs ChatGPT

Hunters are not allowed to use drones to locate their prey. It is seen as an anti-competitive measure or an unfair practice. While “real” hunters who chase their future prey for fun aren’t allowed drone usage, what about those who hunt to eat meat because it is their way of living? Is it still forbidden?

Now, let’s do a parallel with LLM-derived tools like ChatGPT. Is it ok for fun but not ok for actual work? When are the lines crossed? Is the content the only determining factor?

The Bad Side of All Inclusive Resorts

I have spent the last two days at an all-inclusive in Agadir, Morocco. It’s quite busy here with a lot of people everywhere. People are from Morocco and mostly Europe. I don’t see many Russian (none actually).

The worst part of our experience here is at the buffet. People are eating way too much, because, it’s free or because they “paid for it”, so they are entitled. Yet, the amount of wasted food is astronomical. I would argue that 80% of people here are fat, 20% in advanced stage of being fat. Many people are rude with the personal (because they paid for it?). It’s sad. Many people lack the basic sense of why “waiting in line”. They skip, they bypass and they don’t give a damn. It’s a circus.

Long Day Spent Visiting The Big Medina of Fez

Date:	June 21, 2023 at 5:54:55 PM GMT+1
Weather:	29°C Mostly Clear
Location:	Derb Salaj, Fes, Fès-Meknès, Morocco

What a strange, busy, surprising place. Strangely, I didn’t take as many pictures as I could. I guess I was too busy looking around me, up, down, everywhere. 🤯

Visiting this Medina was like reliving the past, like going back in 800. Our guide told us that not that many things has changed since the early years. But man, everything is so coupled with the Islamic religion. I’m not used to that.

The Medina is a city in a city. You’ll find everything from food, clothes, and fake Apple gear (a lot). Oh, and, the young generation of sellers are all tied to their smartphone, all the time. I’m not sure this helps do good business. 🤔

Oh and boy we eat too much in Morocco.

Leaving Rabat

Date:	June 18, 2023 at 7:28:55 AM GMT+1
Weather:	22°C Mostly Cloudy
Location:	Rue Jamaa Mourino, Rabat, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco

Great city. Many photo opportunities. Like this wall and door. Unprocessed image.