It’s been a bit of a week. The Windows laptop has been handed on to my eldest daughter, and the Amazon tablet has been handed on to my other half. An iPad arrived yesterday. We had a couple of iPads in the family years ago, so it’s not entirely alien to me.
Earlier in the week I made the mistake of trying out my other half’s AirPods (Apple’s eye-waveringly expensive ear-buds) while she was working from home for the day. They were very, very good. So good that I’m considering saving up for some to replace the no-name tinny ear-buds I’ve been using for the last couple of years.
I’m guessing the final piece of the jigsaw will be an Apple Watch at some point. I really don’t know though - I’m not sure I would benefit at all from it. I use a FitBit at the moment - one of their lower-end models that looks like a strap around your wrist. It was a novelty in the beginning - tracking sleep and so on - but the Apple Watch probably wouldn’t be doing that even - it would invariably be on charge during the night.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the smooth integration of the various Apple devices. While it was the primary reason for switching, it’s also an unexpected boon after spending so many years using devices that know nothing about each other. Performing two factor authentication and having a code from your phone pop up on the computer screen is kind of wonderful. Adjoining any of the screens and using them with the same mouse and keyboard is also unexpected (you can sit an iPad or a MacBook near a Mac mini, and drag the mouse through the edge of each screen into each device - the clipboard works across all the devices too. It’s very odd the first time you do it.
I’m sure there will be more discoveries along the way - and more frustrations - caused by nothing more than my own lack of knowledge (or talent). Re-learning takes time.
I watched an interesting episode of “Linus Tech Tips” on YouTube this week, where the hosts switched to MacBooks for a month after being life-long Windows users. After a similar journey to myself, they both ended up buying their own MacBooks at the end of the journey - which flew in the face of all expectations at the start of the trial.
I find it amusing that choice of computers or video game machines is so divisive. When I posted about switching, an immediate comment arrived essentially trashing me personally - but it was outweighed by a flood of support from others in similar situations that had ended up making the same choices I had.
Enough about all of that.
It’s the weekend. I woke up this morning with a start, looked at the clock, then turned to my other half and exclaimed that it was already nearly 8am. She murmured “it’s Saturday”, and it took me a few moments to put the pieces together in my head. I’m such an idiot sometimes.
We did the pub quiz in the week with some friends, and almost won the damn thing. We came second. If my other half had written down two of my answers, and listened to our middle daughter for one of her answers, we would have won the entire thing by several points. Oh well. There’s always next time.
It’s funny - even though I’ve escaped for a moment here and there, it feels like I’ve been on a treadmill for the last few months - working, working, working. Everybody I know seems to be in the same boat. It’s an odd feeling. I invariably see others doing things - going out - having fun - whatever it is, and have moments of feeling like I’m missing out - but then realise they’re all in the same boat. Their chance night’s out are similarly stolen from endless days or weeks of working themselves into the floor.
Oh - I started running again!
I finally knuckled down and got on with it - starting the Couch to 5K again. Next week is week 3. I’m deliberately taking it slowly because I’ve not run for about 18 months. In that time I’ve put on weight, which isn’t shifting very easily. Sitting down all day for work doesn’t help. I’ve tried to escape at lunchtime for a walk several times this week, and somehow lost my lunchtimes every day - with calls, or whatever trampling all over them.
Anyway.
I’m going to go cut the grass - mostly to avoid the running argument that’s happening around the house. It’s not going to be easy to cut because I was instructed to let it grow to help the insects…