@mcnees it's a pretty sweet telescope that I've never quite worked out how to correctly use: A Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ.

What better way to celebrate #macintosh's 40th anniversary than by using BitCam https://iconfactory.com/bc.html to take a pic of your current Mac? 😛

@PadraigOCinneide I spend a remarkable amount of time cleaning the robot vacuum because our house is full of dog hair. I'm uncertain if this is saving any actual time. 😛

Things are getting entirely out of hand.

I normally use my mac in clamshell mode. Today was the first time since upgrading to Sonoma that I unplugged it and used it as a laptop for awhile.

I just now plugged it back in to my monitor while it was closed. An action that has always worked before. Except today no picture would appear! I tried unplugging and replugging. Nothing.

Eventually I opened the laptop to see if it was still on. It was. I logged in. And macOS popped up a permission prompt asking if I should allow LG Ultrafine. wtf?

I mean, I kinda get it... I'm just saying I don't really like it.

I remember maybe 15 years ago or so it would be a dead obvious thing to recommend a Mac to someone who wasn't super into computers. They were generally easier to use because things just did what you'd expect.

That is 100% not the case anymore. It feels increasingly like you have to be a super nerd to use macOS.

Heck, it feels like that for ALL of Apple's platforms these days, to be honest. Too many prompts. Too many options.

Another situation that happened:

Unplugged my laptop from my hub. Plugged in a USB mouse directly to the mac. Opened the lid on the mac. The mouse was seemingly dead - couldn't move the pointer, etc. and I thought maybe this was a bad mouse or USB-A to C adapter. I used the trackpad to click to login and only then saw the prompt asking permission to use my mouse.

Sigh.

Generally I've never been very nostalgic, but I feel like that's been changing in the last few years and I'm not sure why. I've woken up from dreams where I had a complete Commodore 64 setup again, for example, and got super disappointed when I realized it wasn't real. Another where I got that Amiga I always wanted to get when I was a kid but could never afford. That sort of thing. Kinda weird.

@mcnees I think that kind of use-case is fascinating, but it's also kind of the thing that bugs me - you could collaborate with people far away, but not easily with people right next to you! You can't really do both, I think, unless maybe everyone involved had their own devices sitting in front of them, too? There's a weird isolation with Vision Pro, I think, that somehow rubs me the wrong way even though I'm a dedicated introvert.

I complained a lot about the price of the Vision Pro yesterday and I still stand by that, but it's true that if I had the money (or end up somehow having the money when they actually become available), I'd totally get one just to experience it and live with it for awhile. I'm not convinced it solves any real problems (currently), but it looks like a damned impressive thing and I'd rather not miss out on it if I could. It just doesn't seem pragmatic yet.

@mcnees I’m glad to have confirmation from a professional.

I apparently put enough vodka in my orange juice to affect the direction of gravity? Gonna need a physicist.