A quick note on today’s format
I wanted to address why I'm posting this as a blog follow-up to my podcast video. If you watched Episode 004, you probably noticed some annoying video "warbling" throughout the recording. The image kept shifting and distorting in a way that was pretty distracting!
After some investigation, I discovered the culprit: Apple's Continuity Camera feature, which I've been using to turn my iPhone into a webcam for these recordings. It turns out the warbling was likely caused by either my iPhone entering a low-power mode during recording or Wi-Fi connection instability between the phone and my Mac. Both issues create intermittent communication problems that manifest as that annoying video wobbling effect.
The fix, as it turns out, is embarrassingly simple: connect the iPhone directly to the computer via cable instead of relying on the wireless connection. This provides stable power and eliminates any Wi-Fi-related hiccups. Lesson learned! For anyone else using Continuity Camera for content creation, consider this your heads-up to go wired when recording anything longer than a few minutes.
Since the audio came through fine, I decided to turn this week's content into a blog post instead of subjecting you to more wobbly video. Sometimes the old-fashioned written word is the better medium anyway. Full transparency: I used AI to create more detailed distillation of my podcast comments into this written format. It's fascinating how these tools can capture the essence of spoken thoughts and reorganize them into coherent prose.
The following was written by AI. Can you tell?
Now, Back to Our Regular Programming
Welcome back to another week of musings from this Retired Techie! I'm finally back home in Portland after our trip to Marsha's childhood home in Seattle. This week brought a mix of completed projects, health challenges, and plenty of food for thought about technology, politics, and life in general.
Stuffed Animals Find Their Purpose
First, an update that many of you asked about: those stuffed animals you saw in the background last week have found new homes! After Marsha went through her own little ceremonies to say goodbye to her collection, we donated them to Jubilee, a fantastic local non-profit that distributes groceries to hundreds of families, fixes bikes, and now will give these beloved toys to children who need them.
There was a slightly embarrassing moment when we arrived with our massive donation—one of the volunteers assumed we were representing some organization and asked which one. Marsha had to sheepishly admit that all those stuffed animals were actually hers! But honestly, after watching Toy Story, I felt good about this ending. Those stuffed animals needed children to love them, not to sit gathering dust in an empty room.
The Great Vinyl Project: Mission Accomplished
I'm thrilled to announce that my project of digitizing all of Marsha's legacy vinyl collection is finally complete! While the 45s were straightforward, the 12-inch dance mixes proved more challenging since many weren't available on Spotify. But we found a system that worked.
I created a detailed spreadsheet tracking every song on every record, noting which mixes were on Spotify, which had radio versions available, and which weren't streaming anywhere.
For tracks already on Spotify, I simply added them to a playlist (which, I'll admit, has quite a bit of questionable music on it).
The real work came with everything else. During our drives to and from Seattle, I subjected Marsha to listening sessions where we sampled songs to decide if they were worth the effort of recording the extended dance mixes. Many tracks that were barely tolerable at 3-4 minutes certainly didn't merit preserving their 8-minute club versions!
But we did uncover some true gems: Erasure's "Chains of Love" Fetter Dub Mix, Electronic's "Get the Message" DNA Sin Mix, Information Society's "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" Club Mix, and Noel's "(Silent Warning)" 12-inch Club Mix. These are now safely uploaded to my Apple Music library.
We also found some historical curiosities, including a New Order track remixed by Quincy Jones that came on a disc designed to look like a floppy disk—now somewhat of a collectible!
Health Challenges and Medical Adventures
Unfortunately, this week brought some significant health challenges. My new nephrologist, who's been great to work with, introduced a new medication called Kerendia as I approach a threshold for kidney disease. I'm already on several medications—Jardiance (an SGLT-2 inhibitor), Losartan (an ARB), and Ozempic (a GLP-1 receptor agonist that also helps slow kidney disease progression).
Kerendia can cause potassium buildup, so I was also prescribed Torsemide as a diuretic. Within just a couple of days, this new regimen knocked me flat. While my blood pressure dropped (perhaps too much), my pulse rate shot up in response.
After consulting with my doctor, I'm taking a break from the new medications until things normalize, then we'll restart with half doses to properly titrate the drugs.
The weakness has been profound. Marsha and I usually walk everywhere, but even our regular stroll to Abigail Hall—less than a mile away—became exhausting. It's a stark reminder of how medication changes can dramatically impact quality of life.
Update: Good news! Now that it's Monday morning, I'm happy to report that the adverse effects from the medication have completely worn off. I'm feeling back to my normal self again—sometimes our bodies just need time to reset and recover.
Small Pleasures: National Cheeseburger Day
With my health issues, I skipped my usual beers this week, opting for Great Notion root beer instead when meeting friends—and it was surprisingly excellent! Fortunately, my low blood pressure meant I could still enjoy solid food, which proved perfect timing since Thursday was National Cheeseburger Day.
Portland went all-out for the occasion. The Mid-City Smash Burgers food truck outside Uptown Beer offered double smashburgers for just $5. Killer Burger had a 2-for-1 deal, Portland Burger featured an $8 special, and I heard Burgerville was doing $1.99 burgers. Sometimes the simple pleasures matter most.
Technology Frustrations: Microsoft's Passkey Problem
Being stuck at home gave me time to reflect on the current state of identity security, and frankly, it's a mess. Everyone has their own system: LinkedIn defaults to app verification, MIT requires Duo Push, and most old-school MFA techniques demand you have your phone handy.
Google handles this elegantly with passkeys that store on your hardware device and use biometrics like fingerprint or Face ID.
Microsoft, however, is doing their own thing where they don’t let you store a passkey for Microsoft 365 on each device.
While Microsoft 365 supports passkeys, they don't let you store one for each device—you still need your phone with Microsoft Authenticator.
And it doesn’t let you sync it to other devices.
Ironically, they won't let you store other passkeys in that same authenticator app. It's a perfect example of platform providers claiming standards compliance while doing whatever suits them.
Speaking of platform lock-in, I also upgraded to the new Apple Watch Series 11 this week. My Series 6's battery was failing, and with the Series 5 now obsolete, I didn't want to risk the 6 following suit. Apple got another $55 trade-in and my money for a new device I didn't really need new features from—but that's the cycle we're trapped in.
Political Reflections: Free Speech and Platform Choices
The recent shooting of Charlie Kirk has sparked considerable debate about political violence and free speech. While I didn't agree with Kirk's positions, violence is never the answer, and I don't think it's fair to categorize any political movement as being behind the attack without more information.
This situation reminds me of historical parallels—like Galileo being punished by the Catholic Church for promoting a heliocentric model and making fun of the Pope in his writings. He was banned from publishing and confined to house arrest for the rest of his life. That decision didn't age well, but it shows how societies grapple with challenging ideas.
We're facing similar questions today as we navigate modern social experiments that have resulted in eroded family structures, community bonds, and faith, while economic liberalism has created crushing inequality and concentrated wealth and power. There's an argument for larger institutional roles in fostering stronger communities and equality—ideally without the white supremacy, corruption, and zero-sum thinking we're seeing in current leadership.
On a practical level, when Marsha asked if I'd cancel Disney Plus over ABC firing Jimmy Kimmel, I said no. ABC's broadcast TV business is increasingly irrelevant—Jimmy Kimmel only gets 1.77 million viewers per episode but has 20 million YouTube subscribers. I subscribe to Disney for Star Wars and the MCU, not their broadcast decisions. The same applies to Paramount and South Park despite CBS News issues. I don't watch network TV anymore anyway.
Family Challenges in Modern Times
Speaking of societal changes, I'm glad not to be raising a family right now. I've had conversations with millennial friends in their late 30s with young kids, and the challenges they face seem even more complex than what previous generations dealt with.
My mom used to say she didn't envy Gen X because life used to be simpler. Women of my generation faced difficult choices between work and family, often feeling like they were sacrificing one for the other or doing both inadequately.
Today's dilemma is even harder. With blurred family roles, both parents typically working, crushing housing costs, and the prevalence of what David Graeber called "bullshit jobs," the modern family faces unprecedented pressures. Add global instability to the mix, and you have a perfect storm of stress.
I suspect some of this pressure stems from the demographic "bulge" we're seeing in both housing and job markets. Perhaps things will ease as millennials age out of these peak pressure years.
Financial Notes: The Alaska Airlines Atmos Card
Finally, a quick update on the new Alaska Airlines Atmos premium card. I had until September 18th to take advantage of a limited-time offer for an extra 5,000 points as an early adopter.
After much consideration, Marsha and I decided to stick with our current $95/year card. The $99 companion fares, early boarding, and free bag checks when needed make the annual fee worthwhile for our travel patterns.
The new $395/year premium card is intriguing though—it offers 25,000-point companion fares usable on any OneWorld partner (including those with fixed award charts instead of dynamic pricing), 8 Alaska club passes annually, 3 points per dollar on international purchases, and a $50 travel voucher for delays over 2 hours or cancellations (much better than our JPMorgan card's 6-hour requirement and claims process).
The card pays for itself if you use it heavily—there's a 100,000-point bonus for spending $60,000 annually and status qualification at $20,000 spend. But since we only use our Alaska card for Alaska purchases and consolidate points with Chase, it doesn't make sense for us. However, anyone using Alaska as their primary card should definitely consider the upgrade!
Looking Forward
This week reminded me how interconnected our physical health, technology choices, and daily routines really are. Whether it's finding meaningful homes for cherished possessions, preserving musical memories, navigating medical challenges, or simply enjoying a good burger with friends, life continues to offer both complications and simple joys.
The editing and posting process for these reflections takes more effort than my old blog posts, but I appreciate the opportunity to share these thoughts with you. Thanks to everyone providing encouragement to keep this up—your support means more than you know, especially during weeks when I'm not running at 100%.
Here's to better health and more discoveries in the week ahead!