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Life Is as Fun as You Make It

So make it fun.

Here is something fun:
neave.tv

iPhone 7 Annoyances

I upgraded to the iPhone 7 a couple weeks ago after realizing that would only cost me sales tax + $1 extra per month. This was because they would reduce my bill by $20/month and finance the purchase of the new phone for $21/month. So I walked out of the store paying $21 (3% Colorado sales tax) and had a brand new $700 phone. I'm not sure why Verizon lowered my bill by $20/month, but I wasn't too eager to ask questions.

I really like the design of the iPhone 7, it is very consistent with very few asymmetries. Previous iPhones had those asymmetric antenna lines, on this one the antenna is invisible. There is, however, one major exception; the giant camera protruding out of the back. This prevents the phone from lying down flat on a flat surface, just like the iPhone 6. And just as annoying. In my opinion, it would have been much better to make the rest of the phone thicker and increase the battery size as well as keep the 3.5 headphone jack. Which brings me to the most annoying part of the iPhone 7.

The iPhone 7 headphones do not work with a Macbook. It's not possible, not even with a dongle. Owning a Mac and iPhone used to feel like being part of a metaphorical club where everything worked together really well. The new headphones are a pretty stark deviance from that seamless ecosystem. I really hope Apple figures these usability things out better in the future, it would be even more annoying to have to learn Android :p

Complaints aside, I still really like the iPhone. As of late it feels just a little bit like Apple has lost their way. Investors might be thinking that too, which could partially explain why APPL is trading at only 15 times earnings. Where almost every other major tech company is more than double that (Microsoft 30x, Google 30x, Facebook 45x, Amazon 170x, with the notable exception of Samsung at only 13x).

Haiku Monday

1/2/2017

in the mountain sun
able to take a deep breath
calm before the fray

Monday's I am going to write poems. I will vary the poem type week to week. Next week I'm taking inspiration from Isaac Asimov and writing a limerick.

Leadership is Influence and Policy

To me, the Trump win does not say that most of Americans are bigots, misogynists or filled with blame and hate. It says that many Americans are not happy with the system.

Our sensationalist media made this election out to be a status quo seasoned politician Hillary vs the evil Donald J Trump. I believe that most people's support for Trump does not come from a bad place. It comes from a deep dissatisfaction and frustration with our government and they support the man who is breaking the mold. Supporters see Hillary and know she will be like other politicians, but see Trump as something new. While not being sure what type of new, his supporters see him bringing change.

My main dissatisfaction with the election result is on the basis of our leader as an influencer, not a policy maker. It's too early to comment on what type of policy maker Trump will be.[1] As an influencer yes, many children will grow up with a president they should not strive to act like. No, I do not believe trump is evil. I believe he wants to help this country. He is a flawed person, he will make mistakes. He will be selfish at times. But I do not believe he has bad intentions. What is best for this country is probably at least priority number two for him. Just like every other politician.

Edit:

This post is my thoughts on why Trump won the election.

[1] My hope is that many of the extreme policies he ran on were campaign rhetoric.

Remember Feeling Bored?

Do you remember the last time you felt bored? I don't, it was a long time ago. Now with the first hint of boredom, I pull out my phone without even thinking about it. It has become a habit for boredom avoidance. Even during a lull in a conversation, it's possible for me to pull out my phone without thinking twice.

I remember reading, but can't find a source, that Zynga the creators of Farmville claimed their main competition was pornography. While this was probably a joke, their point came through; we [Farmville] are competing for your time against other activities that you do when you are bored. With always being connected to work through email and everyone else through facebook, it's clear why boredom is now so rare. There is always something to check or interact with.

In becoming more connected life has become more of a whirlwind. In the same 5 minutes last week, I started by working on a spreadsheet. Saw a text from a family member across the world, excitedly replied. Was notified that the State Government charged my credit card for the toll road I took the day before. Saw and ignored a facebook notification inviting me to a party in another country. Took my turn in Chess With Friends. And finally, reopened the spreadsheet to write another formula. By being absorbed with the whirlwind I was taken away from focusing on what I set out to work on. This happens all the time if I let it.

Another example is when having dinner with a friend. It is so important to me to do nothing but have dinner with that person. Not keep up with anything else in my world. Just be present and enjoy the time together. Presence means being in a particular place and existing now. This used to be automatic if you were in a place, you were automatically experiencing that place. Today, with so many other things competing for attention it's a choice to be present. A choice I'm doing my best to make more often.