Author: IBM

Play It Again?

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I have just set up a brand new pair of HomePods, 2nd Generation. I made sure I got all the updates and everything done, and this evening I am sitting on the sofa listening to some music.

It went through my mind how my late grandfather was taken aback by CDs when they first appeared in the second half of the 1980s. I got my first CD player in 1987, and my grandparents had come to visit. I wonder what he would make of this technology now when I don’t have to move off the sofa all evening; where I don’t even have to lift a finger, but just tell Siri what I want to hear next.

OK, it’s not perfect. Apple Music might state that they have 100 million tracks on offer these days, but there are still a few old favourites that the streaming services have passed by. Nevertheless, it’s a fun evening, and, for me, mostly preferable to the TV!

Read It Later

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I often see a website or email article that I would like to read. I don’t have time, or inclination, to read it at that moment, but I know I want to at some point. Way back, I would simply set a bookmark in the web browser, and come back to it later. It quickly became messy though, and there pretty much wasn’t any way to tag articles so I could easily find the information later if I couldn’t remember the name or even the URL of the website that I had found it on.

Evernote came along and with it, the ability to forward emails to it. Great it works fine. Instapaper came along with the ability to do a similar thing with web pages, as well as Evernote too. I never really got into Pocket a great deal, but there are some things stored there too.

A few months back I downloaded Readwise, which allows me to save highlights from books that I read. I find that useful as some passages in books can be very inspiring and it’s good to save them in one place. Now, though, Readwise has brought out Reader which allows me to save web pages, emails, PDFs, RSS feeds and even YouTube Videos in one place as a single library and feed source. I’m going to go with this, and we’ll see how it pans out over time.

If it works out, then I’ll only be paying £7.99 a month for Readwise instead of paying for both Instapaper and Evernote, so I’ll save a few quid too.

Coffee

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When I was a younger kid, I wasn’t allowed coffee. All that caffeine is bad for you, said, my mother. Never mind there Is often as much in the cup of tea I WAS allowed. it was My first venture into coffee was around the age of about 12, and it  was made with hot milk and something instant. I quite liked it, along with a couple of spoonfuls of sugar.

How times change. In my early twenties, and having left home, I purchased a cheap electric coffee maker – drip filter with an electric hotplate, that rapidly burnt the coffee if it wasn’t drunk soon after brewing.

Wind on to the present day. I get freshly roasted coffee delivered which I enjoy black and definitely with NO sugar or sweeteners added.

Is it more expensive than instant? I guess it is, but the expense isn’t everything; enjoyment counts too. Oh, and as one goes through life, tastes change.