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I have a 1942 day streak with journaling and I’m kind of proud of that. A few years ago, I started a sort of daily journal using Day One. I had no intention of journaling every day, or forming any kind of streak, it was more that I kept reading various articles about how journaling has a number of mental health benefits and so I thought, why not give it a try? Every day before bed, I started writing an entry: some were long, and some were as short as a single sentence, but always just something to mark the day. Day One has an interesting feature where it automatically can add data about location, weather, and other things that I might not think to actually journal about, but which might be cool to look at later. Anyway, here I am on day 1492. Has it been helpful or useful? I’d have to say it has. Not only does it help me remember what I did on a particular day, but I find it interesting to read about things that, at the time, seemed really bad, or like a really big deal only to now realize that they were hardly anything at all. And of course there are the things that truly were a big deal, but that with time, memory has made seem less than that. So yes, I find it helpful and and am looking forward to writing something tomorrow on day 1943.
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And so concludes another trip to Maine, definitely a wonderful way to spend the holiday. We had an absolutely wonderful time, however, there’s never enough time to see all the people we had hoped to see and to do all the things we had hoped to do. Of course that just means we’ll have to come back again, hopefully sooner rather than later. Because of various health issues and such, Christmas has not always been the best of holidays for me and so I’m glad that this year things were very positive. This has definitely been a very merry Christmas.
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Checked in at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). Landed safe and sound, now to find our stuff and get home. :)
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Nothing gets the heart going quite like seeing a notification like this while in flight, “NBC News, At least 28 people have died after a commercial airplane crashed while landing at an airport in South Korea.” Oh I know such events are rare, but it’s definitely a reminder that mortality is real.
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We have at least two kids on this flight who seem to be competing to see who can scream the loudest. We haven’t left the gate yet. :(
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Checked in at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). It’s been a wonderful trip, but it’ll be good to get back home.
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Checked in at The Friendly Toast. Absolutely amazing breakfast. :-)
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Checked in at Governors Restaurant
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Checked in at Costco Wholesale. Whoever said there’s no place like home, clearly has never been to a CostCo. :)
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Checked in at Panera Bread. Awesome to be able to catch up with friends, I only wish we had more time.
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Checked in at Sam’s Italian Sandwich Shoppe. Can’t come to Maine without getting something from here at least once.
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Checked in at Duckfat. Amazing food, I have no idea how I’ll work off all the calories though.
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Checked in at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). When there’s turbulence, there’s always someone who says, “weeeee” as if we’re on the best ride ever. That guy sat two rows ahead of me. :)
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Wow, when I saw the following linked article, I couldn’t help but wonder, why wasn’t this an important topic for the Presidential debates? :) > The Guinness shortage is real – here’s how Diageo is racing to solve it - The Times of London
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Checked in at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). On my way to Maine for the Christmas holiday. I’m very excited about this. :)
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I’ve come across some weird names for colors, but “heartbreaker rose”? That’s definitely a new one. And yet apparently heartbreaker rose is a thing, at least where Logitech is concerned: www.target.com/p/logitec…
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I’m flying Delta tomorrow and so when I saw an article entitled, “Delta Air Lines to bring Shake Shack burgers to first class," I got really excited. Of course I’m not actually flying first class, but if you’ve ever had a Shake Shack burger, you can probably understand the excitement. And if you haven’t had one, well, now you have another way to get one? I wonder if this will be a one-off thing, or if Delta and other airlines will be incorporating more foods from name brand restaurants on their flights.
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We are having our first significant snow fall. Everything always sounds so different in the snow, more muffled and some might even say more peaceful. I tried to capture that in binaural audio. I wasn’t able to capture that as I’d hoped, but there’s still something special about the first real snow fall, especially when the snow is light, fluffy, and pure. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little walk around in the fresh snow with me.
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CURRENTLY listening to AppleVis Podcast: Personalized Emojis Made Easy: GenMoji on iOS Explained I’d like to say that GenMoji are something I will never ever use, but every time I say such a thing, I wind up totally using it. The thing I find kind of intriguing about this though is the idea that I, as a totally blind person, can use AI to create images. Oh I know, this ability to create images with AI isn’t new, but I still find it fascinating. Also, this is another example of how AI can be integrated into things we already do, such as messaging.
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Checked in at Sonic Drive-In. Try their Garlic Butter burger, you are missing out. Definitely not on my diet, but sometimes, it’s good to walk on the wild side. :)
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Checked in at Unity Church-Unitarian. Here attending a holiday concert where I know two of the singers. Truly amazing.
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Here to see The Little Mermaid, the musical. In related news, yes, apparently it was made into a musical. :)
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I’ve been exploring Bluesky, the relatively new social network that everyone seems to be talking about lately. Still figuring things out, but if anyone wants to follow me over there, I’m @Steves.life bsky.app/profile/s…
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I wasn’t actually planning to watch Silo, but the show I was watching ended and Silo started playing next so I thought, since it’s already playing, I might as well watch it. Now I’m kind of hooked. So far, I’ve really liked everything I’ve watched on Apple TV Plus, even the stuff I was sure wouldn’t be my thing – maybe especially that stuff. Definitely recommend checking this out and if you haven’t subscribed to Apple TV Plus, I think it’s really a neat streaming service, especially for the cost. Oh, also, just about everything has subtitles, captioning, and audio description, so it’s definitely an accessibility win. tv.apple.com/us/show/s…
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Earlier today, I learned that Deque, @dequesystems@mstdn.social published the agenda for axe-con 2025. I admit to feeling a little sad as I read through this because, well, I’m not on it. This isn’t all that surprising since I hadn’t submitted anything for consideration, but it’s a bit of a reminder that I haven’t presented at any conferences in a very long time and presenting is something I dearly miss. Before I sit here and wax nostalgic, let me tell you why you should absolutely register for axe-con:
- Whether you are a developer, UX designer, leader/decision maker, tester, just getting started with accessibility, or just curious to learn more about accessibility, there are sessions and information for you. I love it that the event addresses such a wide diversity of folks involved in accessibility, from those who may just be curious to those who are considered to be experts in the field, and is not focused on one particular group.
- You can’t beat the price, it’s free. Multiple full days of conference and it’s free. Even in this time of inflation, axe-con is still free, only thing you have to pay is attention. :)
- It’s virtual, so you can attend from the office, from the comfort of home, or the comfort of someone else’s home, whatever works for you. As more and more events are taking place in-person and as more folks are returning to the office, this isn’t something to be taken for granted.
- Sessions are recorded, so you can go back and listen to them later, ideal for those times when you might want to refresh your memory on a specific topic or idea. I will say that while the sessions are recorded, attending them live gives you the ability to potentially interact with the presenter(s) and so I would not recommend missing this fantastic opportunity.
I’m a huge fan of axe-con, I love the awareness it brings to accessibility, I love the passion and energy brought by the awesome presenters, and most of all, I love that because it’s virtual and doesn’t cost anything, the barrier to entry is non-existent. This last point is huge, especially with travel budgets everywhere being reduced.
So whether you’re a developer, designer, tester, or just someone curious about accessibility, I highly recommend checking out the axe-con agenda and registering today.
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