I’ve started to put the August Photoblogging Challenge prompts into a public Google Calendar as I like to have it available for easy reference. I will update it as Jean adds more words.
Here’s the link if you would like to subscribe: #mbaug calendar
Last weekend Jenni got to go paddle boarding on a cute lake thanks to the generosity of friends and strangers.
Meanwhile, I hung out with Kona. She’s the best.
Uploaded using Mimi.
Farewell, My Brother
Ashish Grover, or Ashu, as we called him endearingly passed away on Monday, 6th July, 2020 in New York City. His passing was sudden and unexpected. It has shaken up our entire family across two vast countries. He was only 48. Now he will forever be 48.
Technically he was my cousin, but we grew up under the same roof in New Delhi, our mothers cooked side by side in the same kitchen, we ate at the same table. I shared his room for a while in the 80s, as our growing joint family was on the verge of becoming a nuclear one. He was my brother.
He was funny, full of life, and shared the joy of it at all occasions. He achieved tremendous success in his career, and would’ve reached higher had he had the time. As we grew older, we grew apart, but only in distance, as we pursued our lives and dreams. I would only see him every few years. Those times were always wonderful. So it was a joy when he moved to the US in 2017 as I managed to see him more often then. I am grateful for that.
His passing was not as a result of COVID-19, but that has certainly impacted all related events since then, including my inability to attend his funeral in person. I couldn’t manage it. Others in our family managed it and showed up to support his grieving wife and daughter.
I attended his funeral service via a video call. There were about 25 people present in person, masked and social distanced as best as could be managed. A few hundred people were on the call. If that number feels large, know that far more would have shown up in person if this vile event had happened in better times, and at the place he had called home for twenty years. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve heard several stories of his friendships, generosities and kindnesses. He was beloved by many.
Our family has set up an online memorial site. If you knew him, I encourage you to share something there if you like.
As someone said, he lives amongst the stars now. Rest in peace bhai ❤️
Last weekend we visited the International Rose Test Garden, a Portland landmark. We try and go each year around this time when the roses are in full bloom. It never disappoints, even with an overcast sky. Of course it was a little different this year, as with everything else.
Photos from morning walks around the neighborhood over the last few weeks.
Apps by developers on my iPhone: 246
Apps by Apple I use regularly: 6
Without developers I have no reason to buy iPhone hardware, or develop for it.
Think about that before you malign us, Apple.
These are not the thoughts and feelings I usually have the evening before WWDC.
A couple of days ago I finished reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was published fifty-one years ago, but feels like it could’ve been this year. A wonderful and timeless story written with immaculate detail, and emotional depth. There were many sentences all over the book that I read more than once because they were worth savoring.
I first heard of Ursula K. Le Guin a long time ago. At the time I thought of her as a Fantasy author, and I used to think of myself as someone that enjoys reading Sci-Fi, but not Fantasy. It was an arbitrary distinction that I hope is behind me. But as a result I didn’t introduce myself to her work even though she was frequently mentioned in the context of Sci-Fi. I hope to read more of her works in the future.
Just saw two great examples of tech activism.
First was an Instagram story where all you had to do was swipe up and that opened a webpage which then brought up an email composer filled out with an email and with email addresses populated. You just had to update placeholders with your info and hit send.
Second is this bot that requests people to update their black square photos on Instagram so that they don’t drown out actual black voices using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag: github.com/char/blm-…
Both are brilliant. My hats off to these folks.
Besties.
Magic Trackpad 2 or: How I Started to Prefer Gestures and Taps to Gripping and Clicking
About three months ago I heard of someone using a trackpad with their non-dominant hand at their Mac. Now I’d heard of such a use before but this time I had a trackpad lying around. I’d gotten it with my Mac instead of a mouse because I already had a mouse, but had stashed it away. So I got it out and set it up for my left hand.
A month passed. I was using it rarely. One day the battery in my mouse ran out in the middle of the workday, so I plugged it in and moved the trackpad over to the right side.
A day passed, and the mouse had long been charged, so I unplugged it, but for whatever reason I kept using the trackpad.
A week passed and I realized that I was liking the trackpad a lot more than the mouse. So I put the mouse in the closet.
Now two months have passed and I can’t think of going back. The gestures are intuitive and I’ve found several operations to be a lot smoother.
I’m a happy Magic Trackpad 2 user 😊.