Birds on a Cable | Blog

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As a Spotify premium subscriber, I’ve always enjoyed the ad-free listening and ability to stream to my wireless speakers. A few days ago, however, Spotify emailed me about another perk for those who dole out the monthly fee for premium features: Audiobooks. Not just the free, public domain books that have already been accessible on the platform but an additional 200,000 audiobooks made possible by Spotify’s acquisition of Findaway last year. If you’re a Premium user or a plan manager for a Family or Duo account, you’re already able to stream 15 hours of audiobook titles per month. If you do a search in the Spotify app, you’ll find audiobooks that say, “Included in Premium” and you can play them without any additional steps.

Hey there, Bird friends! Today, let’s take a trip down memory lane and chat about the evolving world of social media. It’s a place where we connect, share, and sometimes overshare. It’s also where we need to be mindful of our digital footprints. 

We are living in an era of green energy. From solar panels powering our homes to cars that run on batteries, we are using electricity more and more to cut our reliance on fossil fuels. But what some may not realize is that these batteries and solar panels must be made of something. And there are only so many nickel and cobalt deposits on the Earth to go around. Researchers are developing technologies to mine deposits on the ocean floor. But this would have immediate and long-term impacts on the ocean ecosystem. But … another source of these minerals exists in space.

Ever talk about a product in the privacy of your own home and then see ads about that product or topic? It’s pretty common knowledge that devices are listening to us. I wrote a blog about it at some point, but recently I’ve been curious about what is listening to us and how to turn it off. These smart devices have “wake words” that hear commands/conversations and instantly start listening. While they are listening, they add the keywords into your algorithm to “help you” when you surf the web or social media. If you’re concerned, that’s probably a good thing. So here’s how to turn off some of those listening features:

If you’ve ever heard of AirTags, or their less-popular brethren Tile or Eufy, the value add is fairly obvious: Put the tag on an item and if you lose it or it’s stolen, then nearby devices can ping the NFC tag on it to report that they’ve seen it. Unfortunately, several nefarious individuals discovered that rather than track down lost items, these tools can also be used to covertly track someone’s location if you can get an AirTag on a person or in a vehicle. Apple was quick to issue a fix that alerts iPhone users if an AirTag is away from its owner and seems to be following them for an extended period.

Almost 4 years ago, my partner and I moved into our new home (our first house purchase together). Never would I have thought we’d be here, transitioning from Portland to Denver, with a pitstop in Chicago. A lot has happened and changed the course of our lives (ahem, *pandemic*). This is the 3^rd blog post I’ve made about moving. Let’s say I’ve grown a lot.

Here are some more hacks/regrets about moving across the country (again):

I’ve had the job of managing a handful of data migrations from Google Workspace, Google’s business email/storage/etc. platform, into Microsoft 365. It’s a straightforward process at its core, but after looking into doing it for my own personal domain, there is a lot more room for nuance if you’ve deeply embedded yourself in their products. A few things that I’ve discovered include:

“WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows.” – Microsoft

Oh, WordPad, simple and sublime,
As for word processors, you stand the test of time.
A humble tool, though oft’ overlooked,
In your simplicity, your charm is unshook.

You’re the underdog, the unsung hero,
Forgotten by many, but I won’t let you go.
With simplicity as your guiding creed,
You fulfill my every writing need.

Basic features, stripped-down to the core,
You may lack flair, but that’s what I adore.
No distractions, just a clean landscape,
Allowing my thoughts to truly take shape.

You may lack the power of Word’s grand suite,
But you’re swift and nimble, oh, so neat.
No bloated software, no endless wait,
With you, I can simply begin and create.

In your simplicity, I find my peace,
Where creativity flows, and worries cease.
Oh, WordPad, though others may scoff and chide,
In your plainness, my words find their stride.

So here’s to you, WordPad, we raise our voice,
In your plainness, we truly rejoice.
For in your unadorned and humble guise,
We find a space where creativity flies.

Hey there, fellow wellness enthusiast! Can we take a moment to appreciate how our smartphones have become our personal health buddies? I mean, seriously, it’s like having a wellness coach right in your pocket! Today, I want to talk about something I’m excited about: Health and Wellness Apps.

Picture this: you’re on a mission to be the healthiest version of yourself, but life’s busyness is getting in the way. Let’s dive in and discover how these apps can make your journey healthier and happier.