Xenoblade Chronicles X On Switch

WHOA! Thrilling huge news: Nintendo and Monolith Soft officially announced that the awesome Wii U game, Xenoblade Chronicles X, is porting to the Switch! YASSSSS!!!

RSS Lets Me Actually Read The Web

A few months ago, my brain was overwhelmed by too many feeds. Unlike Johnny 5 in Short Circuit, I couldn’t process all the input. The YouTube homepage, Threads, Mastodon, and my RSS reader all combined to frazzle my 3-pound gray matter. So I cut them off for a break while enjoying long-form book reading. Since then, I resumed social media. And just a few days ago, I rediscovered the bright side of RSS.

Why I Plan To Buy Kindle Colorsoft

When Amazon announced the new Kindle Colorsoft earlier this month, many people said, “Finally!” I’m one of those people. But some folks pointed out they’d stick to the Paperwhite because, you know, text is black-on-white (or white-on-black in Dark Mode). Color is cool but not necessary for long-form reading. I agree. But I plan to buy a Colorsoft anyways. Here’s why.

How Apple Can Reinvent The iPhone

In 2025, Apple can easily reinvent the iPhone. Forget folding screens. Apple doesn’t need to do anything crazy or fancy to catapult iPhone capability. While it’s adding buttons to the once button-eschewing device, it can and should add One More Thing. It’s time for iPhone to get a stylus.

MacBook iPad Kindle Pick Two

Screens. They’re everywhere. On your wrist. In your pocket. You name it. Could we do with maybe a little less? Probably. Let’s entertain Minimalism for a moment. Say you’ve got a laptop, a tablet, and an eReader. Nice. But now, one must go. Which one? For me, the answer is pretty easy.

Kindle Finally Gets Color E-Ink

Folks, they did it! Amazon finally brought color to the Kindle. Not the casing, the display. We will all be able to finally enjoy reading black text on white backgrounds - with a splash of color. It's not necessary but it sure is nice. I for one will pay the premium just to bring book covers to life in living color and to have my highlights colored. I might even start enjoying comics or manga.

iPhone Lacking USB-C Not A Big Deal Maybe

When the iPhone 15 debuted last year, I thought, “Finally, USB-C!” Both my MacBook and iPad charge via USB-C, as do all my other non-Apple gadgets, so the iPhone holdout has been a drag. But there’s no telling when I’ll finally afford an iPhone with the ubiquitous port that isn’t Lightning since I typically buy older iPhones refurbished. That said, I've realized in my day-to-day routine that I almost never-ever use the port to charge, so no USB-C is no big deal really. Maybe.

More WordPress Woes

In the past few weeks, many words have been typed about the controversy that is WordPress versus WP Engine. Up front, let me say I don't fully grasp the issues involved. But I can say it seems bad since many of the vibes I get from various articles and comments cast a grim shadow on the whole thing. It makes me glad to have left WordPress.com for the simpler and apparently more stable blog platform that is Pika.

A Post About Posting Posts

Okay, this is a little, er, meta; hear me out. With my previous post yesterday about Transformers One, I initially started to share the photo with a short blurb directly on Mastodon — you know, a social micro post thing. Simple.

Six Years Of Regular Blogging

Today happens to be a milestone for me. Six years ago today, I restarted my blogging with a main goal: consistent, steady blogging. No more going for a few months and then disappearing for a few months with a defunct blog. Since that recommitment, I’ve stayed the course for six consecutive years.

Transformers One Fun

Today I took my two youngest kids to the movie theater cinema to watch the new Transformers One film. Yeah!

Social Media Musing

I totally unplugged from social media for two months, enjoying a good break from it. Now I’ve resumed — mostly Mastodon, a bit of Threads — for sharing links to my blog posts. I’m also drawn into the social aspect and by the behaviorally addictive mechanics. So moderation should be the name of the game, but that’s easier said than done.

Octoberful

It’s wonderful October! Yes, to me it’s worth being excited for. It’s the month of my birthday and Halloween (which is also the theme I’m using on Pika). Best of all, it’s full-on fall (Autumn), my most bestest-favoritest season of the year.