What Do You Love, and How Do You Know?

coffee stain music note

I’m looking for some perspective.

We all have things we enjoy doing. Hobbies, activities, whatever. Some of us are lucky enough to do our favorite things for money, supposedly. And some people have an incredibly long list of things they’re absolutely passionate about.

But I sometimes find myself having trouble naming those things that I like doing. Some of the things I rattle off don’t seem like much fun at that moment; am I repeating them out of habit, or because I think they make me sound cool, or what? Do I really enjoy any of them for their own sake? Would I enjoy other things I haven’t tried, or haven’t invested the time to learn about properly? Do I only really enjoy kind of dull things?

I sometimes fear I am unable to take an accurate stock of my own interests. So I thought I’d ask anyone reading: what do you love, and more importantly, how do you know? What makes your favorite hobby worth doing? Why do you do what you do? Leave a comment with your answer, or write your own blog and link your answer, or write to me privately if you’re shy about being frank.

REJECTED: Press Conference: iPhone 5 Responds to Rumors

Every now and then, I slam out something unsolicited with a particular publication in mind. More often than not, they don’t want it, so it goes here. In this case, it was McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.

podiumThank you all for coming.

I’d like to address some of the rumors and innuendo about me that have been circulating in the press. I tried for a very long time to keep out of the media spotlight, but recent stories have become truly invasive and distracting. I’m here to set the record straight.

First, my screen size: yes, it will be larger than in the past. The lurid fascination with exact specifications has, frankly, bewildered me and my family – as if a diagonal measurement of 4.1 inches rather than 4.3 inches, for example, would seriously affect your purchase decision, or a 1080 x 720 pixel resolution would be acceptable while 1136 x 640 would not.

Of course any change in my screen will alter my overall dimensions. Every previous iteration of my design has been slightly different from the one before, and this upcoming refresh will be no different. Let me assure you, a plethora, nay, a panoply of compatible accessories will be released concurrently with and shortly after my unveiling. There is no need for anxiety on that count.

Therefore, precise numbers will not be provided to the press at this time. I will only confirm the rumor that my screen will indeed be larger. Measurements by the media are more than welcome once I have been officially released.

As for that release date: an announcement is forthcoming in mid-September. As a culture, we have become far too reliant on instant gratification. Instead, I choose to focus on an orderly product update cycle and premium features that benefit the greatest number of consumers. My schedule may not match your ideal one, but it is designed with the common good in mind.

Finally, I must address the curiosity regarding my 30-pin dock connector. The speculation on this matter has been rampant to the point of irresponsible. Whether my dock connector will continue to be one inch wide or be reduced in size to accommodate narrower cables should be of no concern to anyone who claims to hold my well-being as their highest priority.

I hope any further rumors will lay quiet, and my privacy will be respected, until my release. Thank you again.

Hi, I’m A Bug

Just some random photos from around a vacation house.

Grasshopper

Bolt and lock

Wind chime thingy

Autobot TARDIS T-shirt

At the Granite State Comicon a few weeks ago, I got a good look at a bunch of nerdy costumes and shirts while handing out flyers for Play Date New Hampshire. I’m not much one for cosplay myself, but it did inspire a little mashup T-shirt thinking on my part. What would go really well together? And I ended up with this.

Autobot TARDIS shirt

I’m not the first to combine Transformers and Doctor Who, of course; there’s TARDIS Prime by Jason Casteel, for one. But that design required, like, drawing and design talent, whereas mine just took a few minutes combining downloaded images in Paint Shop Pro. I do like the simplicity of it – wasn’t there an episode of the ’80s Transformers cartoon where none of the Autobots could transform? That was because their chameleon circuits got jammed, right?

Photo: Squirrel on Utility Pole

I have no substantive content to offer this morning, so here’s a picture of a squirrel on a utility pole:

Squirrel on Utility Pole