“There really is nothing better than a well-made latté” he said, finishing his second of the day.

I have long been aware that the place in the world where I call home and feel at home is very distant from any salt water. Orient yourself in any compass direction, and despite the abundance of freshwater, I’m quite distant from ocean by any measure.

This week at work, I was introduced to the idea of a Land Acknowledgement. My home and my place of work are on land where other peoples were displaced through trickery and with force.

My last name is a place name, from a tiny hamlet in what is currently Poland. Land that was once called German, and Pomeranian Prussian, and I don’t yet know what before that. My armchair etymology suggests the name means “From the place” or something simpler.

Three or four generations back, my relatives come from places now called England, Sweden, Germany, or Russia

We came by steam ship and steam train, mostly in the early twentieth century, to the middle of the North American continent. To places freshly delineated as Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota.

If doing all of that work to get all of the way away from where-I’m-from was worthwhile, then I have to ask, what was it about where-I’m-from the was so undesirable? How were the fortunes spent on transport seen to be a good plan? It’s not like we got to Boston or New York City and thought that was far enough.

The how part of how I am here is kind of easy to answer. The why, though? That might lead to some hard and possibly triggering conversations.

I am neurodivergent. I think that is an answer, in a way. Because it’s not by random chance. But, ultimately, the idea that anyone can go somewhere else to be more free to be who they are is, ultimately, deeply naive.

If I am not free to be me, where I am, nor are you free to be you where you are, then the problem isn’t geography.

Land Acknowledgement

For me, today, I reside in land formerly of Očhéthi Šakówiŋ and Wahpekute ranges, and close to earthworks.

I am going to learn more.

We Need Critical ADHD Studies Now

“Because the more you think the problem is in your brain, the less you’ll want to change the structures that hold you in place.”

I learn more watching a single episode of The Great British Baking Show than in most other things I see. (Where “Bake-Off” is a trademark owned by Pillsbury, it is called The Great British Baking Show)

That feeling when, as an IT professional, I flunked a phishing test.

We are slowly making permanent changes to our home, culminating in a big bang in coming months. I felt bad today, cutting out some yew from the front of our house to make it easier to re-side later. Most likely the yew were planted by the first family that lived in the home, not long after it was built. One of the branches had 46 growth rings.

This morning an industrial track hit just right as I pulled into the parking lot at work. I turned it up so the baseline and that staccato kick drum made my car shake. And I finished my coffee.

Random speculation for Apple Fans: I doubt Apple is going to release an iPad dock if they aren’t also introducing inductive charging. Using the same charging method as the Magic Keyboad case, it would have to allow for (or be) multiple sizes—not something I expect from Apple.

I think this is a valid question: can’t we make sure the perforations included for sizing a paper towel actually requre less force than randomly tearing bits of paper off of the roll? Toilet paper people, I’m looking at you, too.

I’m worried about home sharing of media via Apple Home Sharing.

I’m running a lot of beta software so this might be premature, but my MacBook isn’t sharing movies I have purchased and downloaded from Apple.

I’m speculating the future will be all cloud and only cloud.

I did not expect the snow. But it is Minnesota so here we are.

Printer wanted yellow ink. Would not print without. Ordered and installed yellow cartridge. Printer still won’t print now because it’s out of cyan and black. So I’m ordering those and magenta.

May I suggest, as your support person, that your project includes discussion of user experience up front? Addressing the user experience after the project is complete will cause pain in your organization.`

Scheduling conference rooms seems like it should be a no-brainer. Introduce any technology, however, and now you have nuance—and long, recurring discussions about who can and can’t, and how to make it as simple as possible, but not simpler.

The plan of Political Action Committees seems to be: put more attack ads in the middle of unrelated programming. It isnt helping. We deserve better. I don’t care about candidate endorsement. I don’t trust the propaganda of any political party. I do listen and watch and vote.

“Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts,” Mead said.

Advocate for your child. It may not be your kid, it might be the system they are in.

It is a sad truth but hard to accept: well-meaning people may be the problem.

I have an irregular habit of building artist discography playlists. Tonight’s quick project was the U2 I have collected. I am consistently and continually amazed at how a series of songs will bring me back to experiences I had forgotten about from times in my life long past.

Complaints aside about picking up where I left on on MacOS, I’m glad I have my MacBook back. Using a Mac is just as lovely as ever.

Getting to engage with a fresh install of MacOS, not restoring from backup as I have been working with and relying on iCloud, iCloud Drive and Music Match. Gosh. Syncing back just the meta data for file archives or music libraries takes a while and is not all automatic

Status

Which reminds me: All progress bars lie.

Grateful for AppleCare replacing a damaged display. Clean start with the hard drive wiped for service, but I forgot how for back the original OS was. Currently hammering my internet connection and watching progress bars

Recommend: Sapiens.org