Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

An Apple Christmas Wish List for 2023

Dear Santa Tim Cook,

I’m writing you to let you know what I would like from Apple for this Christmas. It’s not new hardware. The amount of Apple gear I own is more than enough and I’m quite happy with it. So thank you for that, and thanks ahead of time because I’m sure Apple’s vision is to keep cranking out new hardware in the future.

This is a wish list about a number of nagging things that I think you and your elves need to pay more attention to in your operating systems and software. Let’s call them fixes. Most of these nagging issues have been around for a while and oft-reported so it’s surprising you’d allow them to hang around for the users who love your products. I, and many others, have been reminding you of them quite frequently and for quite a while.

I know your elves are busy, but if they could find some time to address these things it would be one of those gifts that gives all year long, and for years to come.

So, here’s my wish list for iOS and macOS.

iCloud

This is the big ticket item on my wish list. You’ve tied so many services and functionality to iCloud and a user’s AppleID. That makes good sense for the eco-system and when it works it’s great. When it doesn’t it causes problems for users, your support personnel, and completely diminishes much of the good it intends to provide. I’ve been on the hunt for solutions to my iCloud woes for quite some time now. I won’t go into detail here, but you can follow the links in this article that chronicle my journey.

But just so you know, the issues aren’t resolved, aren’t closed to being resolved, and tend to pop up with some sort of Santa-like omniscience, knowing when we users can least afford a problem.

Your elves I’ve spoken with thought this had been resolved with Sonoma and were quite disappointed to find out that wasn’t the case. So they’re as perplexed as your users.

These iCloud issues affect features like Handoff/Continuity and Sign in with Apple Watch not working. They also include Photos not syncing, Shortcuts not syncing, Mail not syncing, Reminders not syncing, iMessages not syncing, and the list goes on. To be fair, Photos, Shortcuts, Mail, Reminders and iMessages eventually do sync and catch up. But when they randomly don’t and you’re counting on them it’s like receiving a hastily scribbled note in your Christmas stocking telling you the gift you were expecting will be arriving later. Certainly survivable, but disappointing and certainly not magical.

While, at times, the reoccurrence of these issues seems random, there seems to be some predictability about it. They far too often (not always) crop up just before or just after an update is released whether it be the next official OS release or the beta for the next version. My hunch, after months of observation, and talking with other users and your elves, is that each time you issue a software update for devices (beta or official), whatever accompanies that on the back end keeps stacking problems on top of unsolved problems.

To be quite honest it feels more and more like regardless of if we run OS betas or not, (I do not), non-beta users are subject to the same vagaries that any beta can bring and/or fall prey to back end operations that are required by these updates.

Mac Notifications in General

Please, oh, please. We all know notifications are tricky. We all know they are a mess. But please, oh, please give Mac users a way to bail out and dismiss all notifications with one button the way we can on iOS devices. Or at least time them out.

Reminder Notifications

I’m very pleased with the continual progress in the Reminders app. I like using Reminders for shared lists with my wife. But the notifications when adding a shared Reminder to a list need to at least follow the same rule as other Reminder notifications do and disappear after a short time, waiting to be recalled. I used to find it humorous that my wife could add a Reminder to our shared grocery list while I was on the way to the store. But not so funny after I picked up the item and cleared the item in the Reminders app, had returned home and placed the item in the fridge only to find the shared Reminder still showed up on my devices. I let some of these linger for a day once. And they never disappeared until I manually removed the notification.

Stand By

This is a nice new feature that I like quite a bit. Please fix it so the widgets I choose to show stay on the screen and don’t change randomly after I’ve set up my preferences. This feature either needs to be less smart or much more intelligent.

Apple Mail

I use Flags and Rules in Apple mail to help me manage my Mail workflow between projects. Different projects have different colored Flags. That works well most of the time switching between Macs. But not always. In fact currently the counts are so drastically off between my two Macs that it’s a little ridiculous. And it’s always changing.

I watch over a course of days how those numbers can change trying to sync up. When the counts get off so drastically, it tells me something is happening server side on the back end. That doesn’t help when I am attempting to use this organization structure to accomplish a task. By the way the differences in numbers is more often than not off between Mac and OS devices also.

I’d also like to be able to more easily track via color distinction those same Flags in iOS by having another menu drop down allowing access to the different color categories instead of just a list of emails with all of the different colored Flags.

When I’m triaging email I’d like to be able to choose a colored Flag after using the swipe gesture to Flag an email instead of having to go back and choose the correct color later.

Consistency Across Platforms

I know things are different between macOS and iOS. And yet, it seems like you keep trying to bring them into more and more into sync. (“Sync” might be a poor word choice there, given all the syncing issues you have. Or maybe it’s just too darn appropriate.) In trying to sync some things up you’ve created some cognitive dissonance and user frustration. These issues cut across Apps and Services like Shortcuts, the Share Sheet, Mail, Notes, Reminders, even Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple News. Features are almost the same, but not quite the same enough.

There are times when using a feature on one platform is just a small enough degree different than on the other that it creates a logjam in getting things done and makes me think I’ve lost track of how to perform the task. At times it makes me wish things were more separate and not less. But I know that’s not the goal much less the desire.

Wrapping Up

So that’s it. With the exception of the issues related to iCloud, I think it’s a manageable list. Here’s hoping Apple’s vision for the future includes cleaning up these longstanding nagging issues before adding new ones on top of the old.

Merry Christmas!

A Moment Appears in Colorado

We’ve hit a moment. A moment where the fissures, already yawning open quite wide, could widen further, into a destable maw beyond anything most could possibly imagine. And it’s all due to a 4-3 decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that will quickly head to the U.S Supreme Court.

The Colorado Supremes saying “Stop” to Trump’s Republican party ballot presence have in essence called the question on and for all of us. Not just on whether he can be on the ballot and thus potentially elected. That’s certainly the immediate stakes. But there are larger stakes that are about to be exposed.

This was always headed to SCOTUS. Depending on which team you root for you probably feel frightened by that or encouraged, given the makeup of that collection of corrupt pseudo-gods in black robes that the constitution enshrines and entrusts as the last line of its own defense.

These nine, for better or worse, are about to make a decision that may just put everything that follows to rest. Or they may just punt and let it linger until the election. Either way there’s going to be chaos.

From what I can tell, (admittedly I’m a bit swamped between work, the holidays and such so I haven’t see everything,) the legal underpinnings of the Colorado court’s decsion are sound. Some even say it’s a decision engineered to make those who use “strict constructionism” as a shield and a weapon to have second thoughts about taking up those well polished and well worn arms. But others say that’s bunkum. Either way, we’re in the slight sliver of the moment when you can say whatever the hell you want because only nine voices matter.

Though the law should be the deciding factor, the stakes I’m talking cut deeper.

Assuming that those who think the decision is legally sound are correct, there is an opportunity to rid us all of this meddlesome miscreant for both his allies as well as his opponents. Set him aside and move on. Us the law to do it. It may be late term, but this is an abortion most would welcome. Although too many will pretend they don’t. Some have had the chance to do this before and let the opportunity pass (U.S. Senate) thinking he’d fade away. We all seem to know that’s not going to happen again.

This is a country that has allowed itself to be bullied and terrorized, while trying to wrap its head around the destruction of cherished concepts (free speech, democracy, etc…) searching for some way out of the mess, hoping for some sort of deus-ex-machina. There’s no way but to go through it. And there’s no savior in the wings. Regardless of what SCOTUS decides, much of what held us together has been taken from us and tossed in the ash can of history. And here we are at another of those moments.

Should the conservative majority of the Supreme Court steer the decision to keep Trump off the ballot, I think we’ll have the answer we’ve all suspected for too long now. Vast swaths of our country, terrified of the demographic changes inexorably coming are willing to do just about anything to propel us backwards. Something about burning down a village to save it, I guess. And if things get lit up, why not just get on with it and get it over with. That’s the fear. And it’s a real one. I hope we don’t see that. I think we will, regardless of a SCOTUS decision now or after next November’s election results.

Intriguingly, I think Trumpty Dumpty’s allies would benefit more than his opponents from a decision that keeps him off a ballot or two. What continues to masquerade as the Republican party would probably find some new life after first stumbling over the reactions to such a momentus descion. Whatever they stumbled into would probably have a better chance of beating Biden, assuming they can actually sideline the orange buffoon, which is indeed questionable. But that’s an argument for a rational world. And we don’t have one of those any longer.

My hunch is that SCOTUS will punt rather than puncture the big orange balloon.

The Catechism of A Christmas Carol

I wrote a few words about my experiences with quite a few productions of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol called The Catechism of A Christmas Carol.

“What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in ’em through a round dozens of months presented dead against you?”

Those words aren’t mine. They belong to Dickens. But it gives you a taste.

You can find all the words at the link above. Thanks to David Todd McCarty and NatashMH for letting me put those words down in the publication, Ellemeno.

Sunday Morning Reading

Some culture, some politics, some tech, and some fun to share in this week’s Sunday Morning Reading. There’s also a bit of Picasso tossed into the mix. I’m in Memphis starting rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy at Playhouse on the Square so life’s rhythms are a bit fractured currently, but life’s slower on the Mississippi.

Kicking it off, David Todd McCarty in We Could Be Heroes asks what do we do when mystery no longer sustains us after we’ve moved past enlightenment? I’m thinking the answer is either drink more or drink less. Pick your poison. Also check out his weekday daily columns here.

Susan B. Glaser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos explain How The American Right Came to Love Putin. My $.02? It’s simple. It’s not about Left and Right in the traditional sense. It’s about take what you can because the good guys have proven they can’t really stop you.

Ray Naler in Time Magazine has an excellent piece on Artificial Intelligence called AI and The Rise of Mediocrity. We’ve been rising/sinking to that level for awhile now. The pace is quickening.

Speaking of quickening, what was Twitter continues to quickly plunge into past tense. The Verge has an excellent and fun piece called Elon Musk Killed Twitter from a team of writers.

More and more journalism these days seems to be telling us what we already suspected, already surmised, or already knew. Jodi Kantor and Adam Lipton fill in a few blanks on how the disaster that was the Roe v Wade decision came down in Behind the Scenes at the Dismantling of Roe v Wade.

Jason Snell makes a case for Apple to develop its own clipboard manger for macOS. He’s right.

NatashaMH in The Madness of Pablo takes a walk into the wildside with Pablo Picasso.

Continuing on the art beat to wrap things up this week, have you ever asked What’s With Those Hilarious Medieval Portrayals of Animals? Well Elaine Velie did and wrote all about it.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Lehman Trilogy Diaries: First Day in the Books

Nice to feel like a plan is going to work. The first day of rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy is in the books. I’ll call it a success because we accomplished what we set out to do and I feel good about the plan.

Tough not to feel good though, given the cast (Kevar Maffitt, John Maness, and Michael Gravois, pictured with Costume Designer Waverly Strickland) bringing all of their considerable skill to this challenge, married to a tremendous desire brought about by the opportunity to grab these roles and run with them. So my expectation is we’re going to have a blast in the next month. Along with a lot of work.

So many words.

Sunday Morning Reading

It’s a cold and gray December morning at the lake house. But it’s felt like a cold and gray winter morning for quite some time here in America. Maybe somebody is lighting a fire under the collective asses of the media to try and warm things up. That said, it’s time for some Sunday Morning Reading.

I’m in a bit of a sprint this December as I’m prepping to head out of town for the start of rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis. Reading time is reduced as we’re adding mileage to the car heading from relative to relative between prep sessions for the show. That’s why there was no Sunday Morning Reading last week and why this week’s edition feels a bit slim. But it’s not.

There’s just one link. But it contains many you should explore. It’s to the January/February issue of The Atlantic. Two dozen Atlantic writers explore “What Happens if Trump Wins.” Good pieces by some great writers. Well worth your time.

That said, while these writers do an excellent job of essaying out the perils that loom, I’m left with the feeling that most of this could have been written everyday since January 6th, 2021, if not before. Loosely following the media in this crazy month of mine it feels like someone through a switch activating some collective editorial calendar meeting and said perhaps actual coverage of what the real stakes and possibilities might be a good thing instead of just milking the danger for clicks.

Regardless, the articles are worth your time. They are worth sharing. Let’s all hope it’s not to late.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Robert De Niro Claims Apple Censors Award Speech

Not a good look for Apple. Not a good look for anyone involved actually. Actor Robert De Niro says Apple employees removed a portion of his speech from the teleprompter at the Gotham Awards. And according to Variety an edited version of the speech was uploaded to the prompter minutes before the ceremony kicked off by someone claiming they were an Apple employee.

Of course there’s a denial or two with the company claiming they were just responding to the filmmakers trying to keep De Niro’s remarks focused on the movie, Killers of the Flower Moon.

Not one to shy away and play the game, De Niro, in his acceptance speech called out the problem, pulled out his phone and read the original. The text of which is below.

“History isn’t history anymore. Truth is not truth. Even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness. In Florida, young students are taught that slaves developed skills which can be applied for their personal benefit.

The entertainment industry isn’t immune to this festering disease. The Duke, John Wayne, famously said of Native Americans, ‘I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.’

Lying has become just another tool in the charlatan’s arsenal. The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office, and he’s keeping up the pace in his current campaign of retribution. But with all his lies, he can’t hide his soul. He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature, and shows disrespect, for example, by using ‘Pocahontas’ as a slur.”

Concluding his remarks De Niro said he had planned to thank Apple and the Gotham Film & Media Institute “But I don’t feel like thanking them at all anymore.”

Not too hard to imagine future awards shows confiscating smartphones before presenters and speakers take the stage going forward.

You can watch De Niro’s full remarks in the video below.

For Want of a Comma

Commas can be troubling things. In legal proceedings, in writing, and in publishing. Apparently we’re going to have a debate over a comma in the upcoming Trump trials.

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In his book, So Help Me God, Mike Pence is quoted as saying, “You know, I don’t think I have the authority to change the outcome…”. Pence has supposedly told Jack Smith’s prosecutors that the comma shouldn’t have been placed after “you know.”

Certainly it changes the meaning.

Smith’s indictment apparently takes Pence’s word over his published, supposedly proofread, account and removed the comma.

I hope this will just be a sideshow. Let’s leave debates about commas to all things Oxford.

Sunday Morning Reading

It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and also the Sunday after Black Friday which seems to have been going on since the 4th of July. To help you recover from the hustle and bustle, both behind and ahead, here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share. There’s not a deal to be had. Just some interesting reads and good thinking.

Kicking it off David Todd McCarty wonders just What Are We All Really Thankful For? There are times when my response would be “You got me.”

Chauncey Devega strings together a list of comments from a few pundits as they headed into Thanksgiving on the dangers they see ahead culturally and politically in Democracy’s Last Thanksgiving: Experts Imagine America in a Year if Trump Wins The 2024 Election.

Denny Henke (BeardyStarStuff) tackles the deepening political and social crisis we’re facing in this post with the looming threat of losing Democracy as we think we’ve come to know it. Here’s a quote: “It has been eroded to a thin veneer with little substance because the substance of democracy is the people. And the majority of people of the US stopped caring decades ago.”

State of play? State of Mind? With 2023 heading to a close that means 2024 beckons and so too does another presidential election in the US. But this one seems a bit, well, let’s just call it divisive. There’s certainly tumult ahead. Some are picking up and moving to safer places. Do those exist? Timothy Noah takes a look at The Red State Brain Drain Isn’t Coming. It’s Happening Right Now.

The bigger they are the harder they fall. But these days it just means they’re landing in a cushion of money. Douglass Rushkoff takes a look at the move fast and break things bunch in ‘We will coup whoever we want!’; The Unbearable Hubris of Musk and the Billiionaire Tech Bros.

Speaking of broken things, what’s going on in the world of Artificial Intelligence after last week’s craziness with OpenAI and Sam Altman? No AI engine could possibly figure it out, much less a human. But Christopher Mims seems to think that ‘Acclerationists’ Come Out Ahead with Sam Altman’s Return to OpenAI.

Apple doesn’t like to admit mistakes and makes us live with some of them far too long. *Cough* *iCloud* *Cough*. Jason Snell lays out A History of Apple’s Mistakes and Failures—and How It Hates To Fix Them.

And from the world of entertainment John Carreyrou takes a look at another episode of not admitting costly mistakes in The Strange $55 Million Saga Of A Netflix Saga You’ll Never See.

Just for fun, here’s another entertainment industry piece, Caity Weaver takes a look at the career of Flo. You know Flo. She sells insurance. But do you know the actress who plays her? Check out Everybody Knows Flo From Progressive. Who is Stephanie Courtney?

And since you’ve read all of this on some screen or the other, take a look at this piece from Scott-Ryan Abt as he wonders What Happened to the Man on the Train? Here’s quote: “Maybe there was a time when people didn’t stare at their screens, but those days are forgotten. Maybe there was a time when you’d have a shared human experience on a train, at an airport, at a coffee shop, or on the street. Screens have changed that.”

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. May you find joy, comfort, laughter and love in the company of family and friends today. If you don’t I hope you find something that floats your boat.

And when the eating and drinking are done, may you find a moment’s peace napping on the couch. (Pictured: My sisters and brothers-in-law getting ready for the traditional post holiday meal nap.)