It’s been a while since I’ve been back in this building.

Enjoying the morning out front, sipping my coffee, listening to the birds.

Good morning.

Not Surprising

AHHHHHH!CNBC: “In 2017 and 2018, as some workers sought to form a union at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company was paying a consultancy, MWW PR, to monitor employees in a Facebook group and more broadly on social media, according to invoices and other documents reviewed by CNBC.”

Remember, pay attention to what they do, not what they say.

Musk drones on and on about freedom in the “town square” of Twitter but he sure doesn’t care for his workers right to organize, does he?

Snow White

I have zero capacity to work in the yard and not get absolutely filthy. 😂

Today I’ve been planting some shrubs for my dear wife.

Lucky being Lucky. 🍀

I have no idea who created this, but they’re a genius.

The 12 Seasons of Virginia

  1. Winter
  2. Fool’s Spring
  3. Second Winter
  4. Spring of Deception
  5. Third Winter
  6. The Pollening
  7. Actual Spring
  8. Summer
  9. Hells Front Porch
  10. False Fall
  11. Second Summer
  12. Actual Fall

See Elon Musk’s Crash Course

After watching The New York Times Presents: S2E1 Elon Musk’s Crash Course I’m more convinced than ever that autonomous driving is a near term pipe dream. It seems to me we’re tens of years away, at the least, and I still wholeheartedly believe the way to make it happens includes building roads to help the car navigate properly.

If I were to buy a Tesla I definitely wouldn’t buy Autopilot. It’s just nowhere near being ready.

Sometimes I feel like Dr. Dolittle.

What the picture doesn’t show is our old kitty, Khloe, laying on the other side of me.

Pictured are our puppers, Kolby, and our younger kitties, Flynn. He thinks I’m cat furniture.

Saturday Morning Coffee

Robert Reich: “Decades ago, America’s wealthy backed a Republican establishment that believed in fiscal conservatism, anti-communism, and constitutional democracy. But today’s billionaire class is pushing a radically anti-democratic agenda for America — backing Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, calling for restrictions on voting, and even questioning the value of democracy.”

Our slide toward the destruction of American Democracy is real and it sucks.

I’m shocked! Said no one ever. Musk is just another billionaire bro who gets off manipulating people and systems.

Real piece of work.

Lickability: “While there have always been many third-party iOS apps for Mastodon on the App Store, Eugen wanted us to create a native first-party application that showcased what’s unique about Mastodon while also focusing on bringing in entirely new users.”

This piece is a bit older but it’s worth mentioning if you’d like to move off Twitter to Mastodon. The Lickability built, native, iOS app is really nice.

Rolling Stone - Adam Rawnsley: “As of Tuesday, Truth Social hasn’t even submitted an Android app to Google to review for Play Store approval, an individual familiar with the matter and two Trumpworld sources with knowledge of the situation tell Rolling Stone.”

Trumps paranoia is real and his band of grifters and politicians aren’t serious people trying to do things the right way, like us regular people.

Bloomberg - Mark Gurman: “Apple Inc. delayed a plan to require workers to come back to the office three days a week, citing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, marking the latest setback in its efforts to return to normal.”

Apple has lost some folks and others really don’t want to come back to the office.

It’s gonna be a challenge.

CNN - Marianne Garvey: “Ward, known for his work in “The Right Stuff,” “Short Cuts,” and numerous other films, died on May 8 at age 79.”

This death was a gut punch to me for some reason. I liked watching Fred Ward movies. My favorites are Tremors and Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. Of course those weren’t mentioned in the article.

The Sun Gazette - John Lindt: “On May 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its 2022 almond forecast estimating the California almond crop will be 4% lower than 2021, meaning there will be about 100 million fewer pounds produced in the Golden State.”

I don’t think folks realize how much of the worlds fruits and vegetables come out of California’s San Joaquin Valley. It’s not L.A. it’s not San Francisco or any other well know California destination. It’s the poor part of California nobody pays attention to. It’s hot and dusty and full of hardworking migrants to deliver us the food we need to survive. Crops like Almonds are very popular, they also use a ton of water. The only other nut crop I know of that uses more water than Almonds is Walnuts.

Growing up in California’s San Joaquin Valley water was always an issue. But now? Now is way more extreme than those days and is only going to get worse due to climate change.

Harvard Business Review - Thomas Stackpole: “White created the website Web3 Is Going Just Great, a time line that tracks scams, hacks, rug pulls, collapses, shady dealings, and other examples of problems with Web3. HBR.org spoke to White over email about what people aren’t hearing about Web3, how blockchain could make internet harassment much worse, and why the whole project might be ‘an enormous grift that’s pouring lighter fluid on our already-smoldering planet.’”

Crypto coin values fell off a cliff shortly after this article appeared.

Check out Web3 Is Going Just Great it’s full of interesting reads.

Tiny Apple Core

This is how you work on the front porch.

Took a half day off to do some additional storm cleanup in the backyard.

Now to move that stack of wood to another location and get the lawn started.

It never fails. When I get to the end of a project I get a little down and start thinking of my own little software projects. 🌾

Which makes me wish I could do those full time. 🕛

Every time.

My brain is weird. 🧠

A Good Day

Late Friday afternoon I got my every three month injections of cortisone in both knees. My knees were actually feeling better than they had in a really long time, but I got them anyway, because it’s the final set I can have prior to surgery to replace my left one in August.

This afternoon Kim and I spent time in her garden planting some new azaleas and pulling her plants out of the greenhouse.

I feel amazing. I had about a level two, maybe three, on my pain levels and only had a couple moments of sharp pain.

We finished up and I still feel great. I wish I could feel like this every day for the remainder of my life. 😀

Y’all ready to see the bump Stream got when Musk announced he was buying Twitter!

Drumroll please. 🥁

Yep, I got that nice day of three downloads!

I am greateful folks do take the time to consider Stream. 🙏🏼

Holding hands with Kolby

Saturday Morning Coffee

I’m composing this at 5:30AM, flying down the highway, Mötley Crüe’s Dr. Feel Good on the radio. We’re headed to Durham this morning to watch our granddaughter play soccer. I’m really excited to see her run around the field in a clump with all the other kids.

Where the heck is a Starbucks. I need coffee. ☕️

Richmond Times-Dispatch: “From sassy deviled eggs to a Duke’s heart with an arrow through it, guests can choose from a variety of pre-drawn Duke’s designs. These small and medium sized tattoos – intended for arms and legs only – would typically run $150.”

Not gonna lie. I was ready to do this. 🤣 Lucky for me they were already booked up. No Dukes Mayo tattoo for Rob.

Apple: “Genuine Apple parts and tools can now be purchased by US customers”

If you visit the website Apple setup for this you’re gonna think you’ve landed at some sort of scam site. Don’t worry, it’s not a scam. You’d think they’d have hosted it somewhere at apple.com, right?

The Daily Beast: “Although one senior U.S. official admitted to me (somewhat uneasily) that “Austin said the quiet part out loud,” it soon became clear that the U.S. was publicly willing to own the new goal of turning Russia’s unprovoked, brutal escalation of its ongoing eight-year war in Ukraine into a lasting and meaningful defeat for the Kremlin.”

I have this weird feeling Putin has some kind of terminal illness. Perhaps he just realizes he’s getting older. It seems like he wants to go out in a blaze of glory.

Hopefully that doesn’t include a nuclear cloud.

Daring Fireball: “I know that as a pundit, spending Apple’s money is easy, but UI Browser seems like a tool Apple should have purchased long ago”

I’ve heard the name Bill Cheeseman but never knew what he did. The man is calling it quits at age 79. Wow!

NPR: “He also took issue with the many Biblical references to rape, bestiality, cannibalism and infanticide. “In the end, if Jimmy and Susie are curious about any of the above, they can do what everyone else does – get a room at the Motel Six and grab the Gideons,” he wrote.”

I know some mighty fine people in Florida, but it’s also home of some really crazy people.

Yet another example of authoritarians losing their collective mind because the United States continues its march to become more liberal and they can’t cope with it.

Before you know it they’ll be burning books and recruiting young folks to be an army of tattle tales, complete with little arm bands signifying their importance.

The Ringer: “Saul Goodman had a toupee. He wore colorful suits and a pinky ring. And he drove a boat-sized Cadillac. On the surface, he was a cartoon attorney—the kind that may have even popped up in the ’90s on Mr. Show, the beloved sketch comedy series Odenkirk created with David Cross. Yet there was much more to Saul than that.”

Bob Odenkirk is an amazing actor. I really loved him in Nobody.

Dead State: “MyPillow CEO and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell wants you to know that he finally has the goods to prove the 2020 election was stolen which will lead to the election being overturned as soon as — this Thursday.”

Oh, it’s that nutter again. Dude, give up. There was no fraud.

Tiny Apple Core

The baby birdies behind the wreath on our front door are getting big. 😃

Also, look at all that poop on the door! 😂

Already missing my Exeter Coffee Co family, but happy to be home. 🧡

Home Sweet Home.

Kim and I laid our heads on our pillows at 4AM EST. Pooped out but really happy to be home.

Saturday Morning Coffee

Puck News: “While Zaslav and his team were quietly signaling their desire to pump the brakes on CNN+, sources familiar with the matter said, Kilar told Zucker and Morse—and, in the final weeks, just Morse—to proceed apace for launch in Q1 2022. He seemed to believe, some said, that if he could force CNN+’s launch before the merger, it might actually get a chance to fly.”

One. Month. In. Everyone involved must be reeling. Scott Galloway had a show on CNN+ and he’s been so quiet about the whole deal, which is really surprising given how vocal Professor Galloway can be.

UPDATE: Saw this after posting.

In the end there’s not much to tell, I suppose. One brand wanted a separate streaming service, the new parent didn’t.

Freaking Rectangle: “A typical coding interview starts out something like this: “Write a function that reverses letter order of words in a string.” Then for the next half hour or more, the candidate scratches out something on the white board (or a shared text document if they are lucky). This approach is weak for a number of reasons”

I really like this idea. Writing code on a whiteboard or in a text document is super stressful. I absolutely hate it, truth be told.

Actually looking at a hunk of code and doing what amounts to a code review feels really nice to me. When I interviewed at WillowTree, part of the process was reviewing a pull request. Knowing how you interact with other folks on your team through a code review can be very telling, not only from a technical perspective, but speaks loads about how you treat and interact with others.

Can you review a hunk of code and keep ego and opinion out of it, while teaching and showing empathy? That’s critically important. Building people up, not tearing them down, is a gift.

TL;DR - If you’re a dick in your PR comments, I don’t want to work with you.

TechCrunch: “Twitter says the idea to feature the Toolbox apps on its platform came from its discussions with the developer community. Developers told the company they wanted to improve users’ experience on Twitter, and, more critically, they wanted distribution so people were aware of their product.”

Twitter has a lot to make up for. In 2012 Twitter decided it hated developers of client applications.

This doesn’t feel like it’s built for client code as much as it is for folks who want to integrate into Twitter. That’s not a bad thing.

I hope they allow client developers to go deep with their new v2 API’s.

Raw Story: “On Thursday, writing for POLITICO, Kyle Cheney outlined how the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have already dropped “bombshells” about the events of that day and the state of U.S. democracy — even before they deliver their final report.”

We’re really gonna kill democracy. I have no idea how to fix all the damage done by the GOP and TFG.

TechCrunch: “Brian Armstrong, the chief executive of Coinbase, believes Apple’s App Store rules have hampered the company’s product roadmap, accusing the iPhone-maker of banning features from their app and generally not being friendly with the cryptocurrency industry.”

What could a phone need to make it better for crypto currency?

I can’t imagine Apple doing anything specifically for it until it is as accepted as the coin of the realm.

Building a special phone seems like a more likely outcome. Let them build one or two on top of Android and see how it goes.

Early days.

The Cut: “Fuentes, now 20, says she and Daisy De La O had been inseparable ever since they met as high-school freshmen in Huntington Park, just outside Los Angeles, where they grew up. By the time she posted the emotional montage, it had been more than three months since 19-year-old De La O had been found stabbed to death and wrapped in a roll of carpet outside her Compton apartment complex.”

Such a sad story. Our government institutions fail us and folks find a way.

Tiny Apple Core

SFO 🛬

Now, we wait. Flight to Dulles boards at 4:01PM.

By the time I arrive home it’ll be 12:45AM Sunday. Then a two hour drive home.

Looking forward to seeing Kim and sleeping in my own bed.

FAT to SFO 🛫

DIY Podcast

A wonderful bouquet of flowers.Bloomberg: “The Obamas are each willing to commit to appearing in an eight-episode program, which for some bidders isn’t enough of a commitment to justify a deal comparable to those for shows like “SmartLess,” “Call Her Daddy” and “My Favorite Murder.” Those shows appear weekly, or with a frequency to close to that, while Higher Ground’s programs featuring the Obamas have been limited series.”

This is kind of a no brainer to me. You don’t need much to produce your own podcast and sell ads.

Hire a couple people and get to recording. Seriously, it really is that simple.

A couple good mics, recording software for your Mac or PC, a quiet room, and something to talk about.

There. You have a podcast.

As for ads. I’d bet folks would line up to give you money for a few ad reads.

I can hear it now! President Obama doing a read for ED meds!

Instant hit.

Grandpa’s Airborne patch on his Army uniform.