Apple — David Hughes

14 January 2024

Weeknote 14th January 2024

I was in the office on Tuesday and Wednesday and had my first social event with my peers and teammates on Tuesday evening. Going in I didn’t really know what to expect, most of them have worked together for 10 – 12 years, but it turned into rather a good night. When I went out I did not expect to be getting in at 2:30am the next morning.

Wednesday morning confirmed that after 30-plus years of not getting hangovers, I do indeed now get hangovers.

I had to head back after lunch as I had an MRI scan later in the day. My last MRI scan had been at the local NHS hospital which turned into an unnerving experience; the scan was of my head so it had to be held still in a, for want of a better term, cage. My nose touched the cage and then my shoulders touched the inside of the MRI unit which freaked me out.

I’ve never been claustrophobic so this was a surprise and not a good one. The operators removed some padding from the cage so my nose no longer touched it and I managed to get through the scan.

It occurred to me that our outer extremities, like our nose and shoulders, must work in a similar manner to a cat’s whiskers – if my nose and shoulders are touching something then my monkey brain is telling me that this space is too small.

The MRI on Wednesday was very different being held at a private hospital and being a scan of my wrist so only my arm needed to go inside the MRI unit. Although I would have been happy to be inside this one as it must have been twice the size of the one at the NHS hospital.

Thursday morning I met my friend Christian for breakfast and caught up on his exciting news and imminent life changes. I must admit to being a tiny bit envious of his impending digital nomad status.

We had a relatively quiet weekend with nothing particular planned which has proved the wisdom of my shift to the Apple Watch. After a relaxed morning yesterday, it was clear that the chance of closing my rings was unlikely unless I got up and got out, so I went for a walk and did the same again today.

The Snoopy watch faces released in WatchOS 10 are great fun, not what I want as my everyday watch face as I like a very minimal watch face, but I’m enjoying what I’ve christened Snoopy Sundays and using them for a change on the weekend.

17 December 2023

Weeknote 17th December 2023

A short weeknote for a relatively short week as I was ill for a few days.

My iMac finally sold and was collected by the new owner, it seems to be going to a good home. The longevity of Apple hardware is unique in the world of technology I feel, I do sometimes wonder why I’ve spent all this money on the Studio Display and MacBook Pro if I’m honest.

My daughter and I popped over Canal Street Coffee for a morning to get a change of scene. The light over the marina was striking as the sun came up to burn off the morning mist.

In May my friends Richard, Simon and I ran the first All Flows Festival, which was an amazing two days of fantastic talks and cool side events. I had thought I wouldn’t be able to give enough time to All Flows for 2024, but I’ve found I need an interesting, creative and rewarding distraction from my day job so I’m back on board.

Richard and Simon have done a great job lining up some fabulous speakers and we made a big decision about the venue at the end of the week – watch this space for more news early in 2024.

26 November 2023

Weeknote 26 November 2023

A week like this week makes writing a weeknote a little challenging as it has been really rather quiet.

I forgot to mention that I managed to catch an Apple Studio Display on the refurb store and it arrived last week.

This week’s nerd action has therefore been planning and executing a cable free desk setup which was completed mere hours ago.

I’m now living the single cable lifestyle and can easily swap between my personal and work MacBook Pro’s simply by plugging in the Thunderbolt cable and choosing the right device on my Logitech keyboard and mouse.

I keep forgetting that I have the flexibility of the MacBook as the Studio Display feels so similar to my old iMac, although it is much slimmer and being the height adjustable model has more space beneath making the desk space feel more open.

On Thursday I had to visit my employers offices in Birmingham. I don’t think I’ve been there since September and I can’t say any part of the experience made me want to rush back. The train was heaving, the office is not designed for tall Mac users and Birmingham is most definitely not London.

I do miss working in London at this time of the year, seeing a dark and cold London brought to life by Christmas lights, popping into a warm pub for quick pint on the way home and meeting friends and colleagues for dinner and drinks.

Despite us having a quiet weekend at home, I woke this morning thinking I needed to drive home, it was a relief to realise that I didn’t in fact have to.

15 November 2023

Weeknote 12th November 2023

Much of this week was consumed by whatever lurgy I picked up in Bristol only returning to work on Thursday.

None More Black

One highlight of the week was the arrival of my MacBook Pro. All I’ve done so far is to set it up, but I can report it’s a thing of beauty and does an amazing job of not showing fingerprints. Phew…

As many have said it’s more of a very dark grey than a pure black, but much of that depends upon the lighting; in brighter lighting it’s a dark grey, Space Greyer if you will, and in lower light it looks closer to black, there’s a pleasing amount of variation.

West Wittering Weekend

I spent the weekend visiting family in West Sussex. On Saturday we took what is becoming our traditional walk around West Wittering, a beautiful beach on the south coast. The weather was perfect – bright, crisp and little wind.

After the walk we headed home and watched Harlequins vs Leicester Tigers in the Premiership, followed by a gorgeous beef casserole and a couple of bottles of good Rioja for dinner – a perfect Autumn day.

I Am Speed

When I returned home I imported some RAW images into Lightroom on both my new MacBook Pro and my trusty old iMac as a test – the difference in performance was extraordinary.

Now I just need a Studio Display to pop up on the refurb store.

6 November 2023

Weeknote 5th November 2023

Another short weeknote after a short week ending with the dreaded lurgy.

Scary Fast?

I picked my MacBook Air up at the end of last week, and must admit I didn’t like it.

The 13″ MacBook Air feels just right, the 15” feels too big and larger than 15”, the proportions just felt off to me.

I had a 14” MacBook Pro when I was still self employed and much preferred the design and feel, not to mention the beautiful screen

Fortunately Apple had their Scary Fast event at which they announced new M3 powered MacBook Pros, so for a few hundred pounds more than the Air cost me I will now get a Pro.

I just need to see whether ‘Space Black’ is a fingerprint magnet or not…

Bristol Once Again

I drove down to Bristol Tuesday evening and had my longest trip to date at almost four hours, there just seemed to be traffic everywhere.

After that drive I didn’t fancy heading out into the rain so ordered room service and crashed out.

Wednesday was a doubly good day as it marked both the kick off of a major project and the first time I’ve had my team together in reality not a glowing rectangle.

I’m a big fan of remote work when deep work is required, but when collaborating creatively you cannot beat being in the same room together. It’s almost as if we’ve evolved over thousands of years to be the social creatures we are.

Sadly I woke up feeling terrible, lurgy not hang over, drove home and collapsed into bed which is pretty much where I spent the rest of the week.

22 October 2023

Weeknote 22nd October 2023

A quiet week, and a quick weeknote.

I finally took the plunge and ordered a new Mac, as my trusty 27″ iMac is now classified as ‘Vintage’ by Apple and isn’t supported by MacOS Sonoma. With no big iMac even rumoured before 2025 I’ve gone with a 15″ MacBook Air and Studio Display.

The MacBook Air will now be my only Mac, so I needed to increase the storage and RAM, pushing the price up to £1999.

£1999!

Now you see why I’ve put this purchase off for so long. I’m hoping a Studio Display will pop up on the refurbished store before the MacBook Air arrives to save me a few quid.

We’re on holiday for a few days now, I’m typing this sitting in a guest house in Bath over looking the Cathedral.

We arrived yesterday afternoon and headed into town over Pulteney Bridge, the river was the highest I’ve seen it with the water from Storm Babet rushing down over the weir.

I find it fascinating that my Dad used to stand on the weir fishing as a child, he wouldn’t have been yesterday.