I do a lot of Apple-flavored freelance writing for TidBITS, the venerable Apple-enthusiast website and weekly newsletter, which is a thrill.
After all, my admiration for founders Adam Engst and Tonya Engst predates any work I ever did for them. I am also a fan of TidBITS’ crack managing editor, Josh Centers. (The titanic trio are shown above.)
This isn’t the first time I’ve sung TidBITS’ praises on this blog.
The feeling, it seems, is mutual.
Social-media impresario Mykl Roventine honored me when he made me the interviewee on the latest episode of the Social Media Boombox podcast (part of Social Media Breakfast – Minneapolis/Saint Paul).
I have wonderful friends.
A few of us have been gathering at taprooms around the Twin Cities. And, since I was the one who had orchestrated these gatherings, one of my friends christened our group the Zap Pack (a play on my surname, as well as a reference to the classic Rat Pack).
In one of my most memorable Minnov8 Gang Podcast guest-hosting gigs ever, I joined Steve Borsch, Phil Wilson and Tim Elliott in a wide-ranging discussion that touched on recent Apple announcements, the thriving Twin Cities tech scene, and a planned documentary about that local tech community.
Cool beans. I make a cameo appearance in a 360-degree video shot by Twin Cities virtual-reality startup Visual.
The company is helping to pioneer a new variety of interactive and immersive video that can be viewed in every direction with the drag of a mouse or finger.
John Hines of WCCO Radio and I discussed impending Apple-product releases, such as upgraded iPhones, a revamped Apple TV, fresh Apple Watch accessories and a rumored “iPad Pro” monster tablet.
I was on KARE-11 Sunrise to discuss warranty options for consumer-type mobile gadgets, such as phones, tablets and laptops.
Backyard movies became a big deal for my wife and me last summer.
This summer, again, we’ve been hosting outdoor gatherings with friends and neighbors to watch movies projected onto a giant screen.
We’ve done two such events so far, one in our big yard and another in our cozier adjacent patio, with at least a couple more in the works this season.
This has been so much fun that I decided to write about it for the Pioneer Press.
Apple Music and Taylor Swift were the talk of the Apple world when Chuck Joiner invited me to appear an episode of the MacJury, his panel-format video show for dissecting the latest Mac news.
From Chuck’s MacVoices blog:
The MacJury takes on the issue of royalty payments for the first three, free, months of the soon-to-be-launched Apple Music service. Who were they negotiating with? Were they negotiating with the right people? Does Taylor Swift really speak for the artists, for the labels, or just for herself? Was their a bad guy in the story, or was it all just a big PR stunt? The panel of Julio Ojeda-Zapata, Neal Pann, Guy Serle and host Chuck Joiner discuss it from every angle, to give you a different perspective on these events.
I have had superhero on the brain in recent months.
I’ve been doing Pioneer Press research off and on about local superhero enthusiasts, including those who dress up as superheroes for fun, and others who avidly collect superhero-related memorabilia.
This is right up my alley since I’m a longtime superhero fanatic (I grew up reading DC Comics).
All my “work” — I put that word in quotation marks because it was pure fun and joy — led up to last Sunday, when the Pioneer Press published three of my superhero-related stories and posted on its site a set of my related videos.
Today's Joy of Tech comic!
