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Reblog via harmonicarichard
https://mastodon.social/@jpmens/111532759490595481 I hate the cybertruck for this reason. No decent human being needs a car that can run people over without being damaged. Imagine cycling in a world with bastards driving cybertrucks. It’s frightening enough without the cyberfucks.
The Cow and Pheasant
Today I went for my daily walk and I came across a couple of pheasants. One was female and the other was male. I was actually standing right next to the female and didn’t realise until she flew away from me. I was startled but no more. I was more focused on the male pheasant.
I walked closer, to try to get a clearer photo but didn’t succeed. Instead it went into a field with some cows and when one of the cows noticed it went up to investigate. I thought it was chasing the pheasant and eventually it was. It was an amusing sight to see. A cow running after a pheasant.
it got better. When the pheasant went into the next field the rest of the herd came across to look at the pheasant.
Wearing A Casio GBA-900
For years I have worn Suunto, Garmin and Apple watches. During this time I have tracked hikes, climbing, scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming and more. Recently I felt the desire to wear a Casio watch as I used to do when I was a child.
Over the years these “watches” have given you live information about barometric pressure, altitude, depth, and other information but with time they gave you the chance to track what you were doing by GPS. After this they started to track your steps and your heart rate 24 hours a day, except for when you’re charging. It went from being a watch that you used for the time, and to track acvities. Now they track everything.
The only time they do not track you is when you’re charging the watches.
The advantage of a Casio watch is that you can wear it for years in a row, without ever taking it off, except for when you’re flying, before you need to replace the battery. You get to the end of the day and you don’t need to charge it.
Of course, you don’t need to wear it for three to five years in a row. You can take it off when you’re showering, sleeping or other. You can even take it off for a tan, if that’s what you desire.
What sets the GBA-900 apart from other Casio and smart watches is that it gives an analogue display, rather than a digital one. it gives the time with a digital display but it’s small and hidden behind the hour and minute hands at certain times of day.
The advantage of an analogue watch is that you know the time as fast as a digital watch, once you take some time to re-habituate yourself to reading a less precise time display. I say less precise because you need to re-learn the art of reading analogue time.
Tracking
It automatically counts the number of steps you take in a day and estimates the amount of energy you burned in a day. If you want to track a walk then it’s simple. You start the timer when you start your walk, and stop the time at the end of your walk. It then uses the time information and your phone’s location data to extrapolate the track of your walk. You can then get it to sync with the phone and keep track of your walks over time.
No False Inputs
I found that with the Xiaomi activity Band 7 and the active band eight I would get false manipulations with the touch screen. With the casio that’s impossible, due to it using button presses.
Playing
If you’re playful then, at night, you can charge the fluorescent paint on the hour and minute hands with a flashlight or your phone’s light. At night you can then check the time, by looking at the glowing hands, rather than pressing a button.
Beep Beep
Do you remember that 80s or 90s sound. The Beep beep that we would hear once an hour, every hour? This watch allows you to live with that signal notification. It could be useful, if you want to keep track of time, without constantly staring at your watch. “Beep beep”, time for lunch soon.
And Finally
The Apple watch nags you about washing your hands for long enough. Garmin and Apple nag you about being too static for too long. By using a Casio watch you escape the gamification that makes Apple and Garmin so annoying to use. It was fun, until you realise how unforgiving they are, streak wise, and until you realise that they’re designed to get you adddicted, rather than interested in your own progress. I like wearing a simpler device, especially while I walk more than I cycle, hike, or other.
Yet Another Pandemic Friday Evening
Today is yet another pandemic Friday evening, with no plans for the weekend. It would be easy to throw caution to the wind and to try to socialise, but to do so, when the number of new cases is going up would be silly. The paradox of pandemics is that it is a marathon of solitude, rather than a sprint. I calculated recently that we could have another 410 days of pandemic left. That’s around eight years.
What frustrates me about this pandemic situation is that Switzerland has demonstrated that with soft lockdowns, nothing more drastic, they were able to reduce the number of new cases down to tiny amounts within three to four months. If Switzerland has self-confident, and self-assured politicians, rather than easily manipulated politicians, we could be out of the pandemic and we could be back to a normal life. It frustrates me that there is no end in sight, due to government incompetence, in a number of countries. Switzerland is not alone in not knowing how to handle a pandemic appropriately. I am not using language stronger than this, don’t worry. And now for something lighter.
What I’m Reading
I tried to read Digital Minimalism but it angered me within minutes. My issue with the book is that it treats social media as an addiction, rather than as a way by which people, who do not live together, connect, without sharing the same physical space. I also tried to read How To Break Up With Your Phone and this book is much better because it says “And this is based on my experience” rather than empty words. I am also reading OutBreak In The Woods, but contrary to what you may believe from the title it is a book about hiking during the current pandemic. I am also reading How Google Works. Do you think I am reading enough or should I try to find some more books.
What I’m Studying.
I am currently studying this course. I bought it because it was on promotion and because it is yet another means by which to study the same things, from a different angle. Some of it will be consolidation and some of it will fill in gaps in my knowledge. In theory it’s a 100day challenge course but I aim to finish it sooner, as I have been through many of these topics before. I also don’t like to give myself such an extended period of time.
I am no longer studying German daily, preferring to be more focused on the web development course. I find that splitting the day into German in the morning, and other learning before lunch, or in the afternoon, doesn’t work. I want to be focused now.
The Status Quo
It is hard to keep going from pandemic day to pandemic day, and from pandemic week to pandemic week with the hope of socialising and having a personal life being no closer. Part of my reason for self-isolation, as severe as it is, is because I am between groups of friends, so to meet new people I need society to re-open. With the way governments around Europe are behaving the pandemic looks like it is in a stable pattern for years to come.
That’s why I am studying every single day. The goal is that, through studying, I can be more comfortable with work, and as a result, be more comfortable with the rest of my life.
If the pandemic had happened five or six years ago I would have been fine. If it had happened when I was diving, climbing, hiking and doing other things then I would not have self-isolated as I am doing. It’s because I was between social groups that I had nothing to lose. All I had to lose was several seasons of life at my current age.
It could be worse. I could have long covid. I believe solitude is a price worth paying, to avoid long covid.
Apple Airpods
Airpods are the most comfortable bluetooth headphones I have tried. Over the winter months I tried earphones by Sony and other brands. After months of experimenting I came back to the airpods.
With the Sony WHR 1000 earpods there are a number of issues. The first is that noise cancelling changes noticeably. Several times I felt as if I had changed altitude because it switched from one sound environment to the next.
With all brands I found that I don’t like earphones that are made from rubber in-ear. They feel uncomfortable almost immediately and I did not get used to this discomfort over time. With the airpods it’s easy to wear them for hours without worrying.
Seasonal considerations should be an important aspect of earphone design. Almost all earphones are designed with warm summer weather in mind. They stick out from the ear. This means that you can’t wear hats, rain hoods or other head covers without the chance of either ripping out the earpieces or having the rubber part pressed against your eardrum.
I use my airpods to listen to podcasts via the phone and watch video content on my laptop from Youtube and Netflix. I recently edited a 30 second video using airpods rather normal headphones and it was acceptable.
I need to the noise cancelling features of the Sony earphones on a longer train journey, a car journey where I am not driving or a flight if and when I fly next.