I understand now why the post-apocalyptic fiction tends to focus on the aftermath of an apocalypse - especially of a pandemic. The period when the world lives through, fights and struggles gets tiring, I guess. Though this is the poignant period, there’s nothing dramatic.
I like what I see in the new iPhone SE. First the perfect name — the “smaller” SE brand did not die (4.7” is now the new small). It is exactly what the old SE was — the proven externals with the latest internals. But personally, I can’t go back to the small, bezeled screens.
Almost all the core features of Github are free now. It’s so refreshing to see the approach of this new Microsoft towards the open-source software. They have been wonderful custodians of all the services they have recently purchased. I respect this Microsoft under Satya Nadella.
Some day, the world will be free of the effects of the current pandemic we are living. All would then switch to live a normal life again. But, most experts agree that this switch is not going to be easy. A vaccine, when it is found, “is expected to take at least 12 to 18 months to bring to market”. It is not that our brilliant scientist may not bring the treatment early. The challenge is to make it reach the millions of people affected by the virus. What that means, according to this brilliant essay in MIT Technology Review, “we have to prepare for a world in which there is no cure and no vaccine for a long time”.
There is a way to live in this world without staying permanently shut indoors. But it won’t be a return to normal; this will be, for Westerners at any rate, a new normal, with new rules of behavior and social organization, some of which will probably persist long after the crisis has ended.
In recent weeks a consensus has started to build among various groups of experts on what this new normal might look like.
One thing that Corona pandemic hasn’t managed to change - media, social or otherwise, is still full of cynicism. The environment outside is already heavy, laden with negative thoughts. It tends to affect your mind more than it regularly did. You do not want more fed externally.
I heard about another “simpler” service aimed to replace Medium - Typehut. Of course, I gave a try. It took everything from Medium — good and bad. Simplified what was already good and simple - editor. Kept all that was bad as is. No RSS. No title-less posts. No custom styles.
Apparently, Google plans to charge for using reCAPTCHA. Looks like we have trained Google’s algorithm well enough now that they do not need to run the service anymore. Best way to kill it is by start charging for it.
I cut my hair at home today with “some” help from my wife. Then I helped my dad with his hair. He looked satisfied. He stressed and did so many-a-times, how close his hair looked to those cut professionally. Funny how some services deemed essential are not so in reality.
I find it ironic that “the everything store” has found it extremely difficult to serve customers in India. I haven’t managed to order anything from Amazon. The specific stores for groceries or vegetables, on the other hand, have managed to thrive. I do wonder why.
I have been winding every day down with this playlist on Spotify — Calming Acoustic. It relieves me of all the stress accumulated throughout the day. Allows me to focus on a few things that matter the most. And to spend some quiet time with me.