Eurobloat #0044 • December 2013
The month Brussels built a bank-rescue machine no voter understands, signed off a 960 billion euro budget, and saw its own lawyer admit the data-hoarding regime was illegal all along.
Eurobloat
2013
127 posts
Reflecting on the year 2013
Reflection on the year 2013, checking progress of the goals, and some numbers.
Journal
Eurobloat #0043 • November 2013
The month Brussels signed off a 960 billion euro cheque, told sovereign nations how many women their boards must hold, and explained that you cannot stop welfare tourism because it does not exist.
Eurobloat
Merry Christmas
Christmas continues to shape my adult life. The birth of Christ brings lasting peace and purpose.
Christianity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013), directed by Peter Jackson, continues the journey of Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves as they press towards the Lonely Mountain. Martin Freeman plays Bilbo, who must face the dragon Smaug alone.
Movies
Multipeer Connectivity
Multipeer Connectivity (introduced in iOS 7) lets nearby iPhones, iPads, and Macs talk directly to each other using Wi-Fi, peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. No internet, no server, no central service required.
Development
De Cock en tranen aan de Leie by A.C. Baantjer
On a summer evening a young woman reports that her father is missing. The man is the president of the court.
Books
Privacy Roundup #0088 • November 2013
November 2013 saw the Snowden revelations widen from American programmes to the surveillance of allies, while a run of password breaches and a wave of corporate encryption pledges reshaped the privacy landscape.
Privacy
Take Me to Your Leader by Newsboys
A 1996 Newsboys record I found years later, the sixth album, bright Christian pop rock with a playful heart.
Music
NSNotification & NSNotificationCenter
NSNotificationCenter acts as a central hub. Any part of an app can send notices or listen for changes from others. Observers sign up for certain events and get a callback when they happen.
Development
Useful macOS defaults: Mail
Handy defaults write commands for com.apple.mail, controlling how Apple Mail looks and behaves.
Mac
Monthly update #0283 • November 2013
Monthly update 283 • November 2013 • 2013-11-01 - 2013-11-30
Monthly Updates
Never Go Back by Lee Child
Never Go Back sees Reacher return to his old Army unit in Virginia, only to face false charges and a conspiracy, plus a possible daughter.
Books
Eurobloat #0042 • October 2013
The month Brussels discovered it was being spied on, was outraged, and promptly resolved to spy on the rest of us more efficiently, between handing itself the keys to the banks and a prize for its own conscience.
Eurobloat
Grandezza by Jan Mulder
Jan Mulder's 2003 release, calm and patient instrumental writing. I reached it late and it has stayed with me.
Music
What is sysdiagnose?
If you see sysdiagnose running on your Mac, here is what this system diagnostic tool does.
Mac
Asterix and the Picts by Jean-Yves Ferri
It is the thirty-fifth book in the Asterix series. A frozen Pict washes ashore. Asterix and Obelix help him return to Scotland and fight for his clan.
Books
Nothing Is Wasted by Elevation Worship
Elevation Worship's 2013 live album about a God who wastes no part of our pain, recorded with a roaring crowd.
Music
Privacy Roundup #0087 • October 2013
October 2013 was dominated by fresh Snowden documents that exposed mass NSA surveillance across allied nations, alongside major data breaches at Adobe and Experian and a wave of legislative pushback.
Privacy
De Cock en een dodelijk rendez-vous by A.C. Baantjer
De Cock and Vledder are drawn into a murder in the red light district. The crime happens on their own ground, but it proves to be a complicated case.
Books
What is iconservicesd?
If you see iconservicesd or iconservicesagent running on your Mac, here is what these icon management processes do.
Mac
What is postupgraded?
If you see postupgraded running on your Mac, here is what this post-update cleanup process does.
Mac
What is usernoted?
If you see usernoted in Activity Monitor consuming CPU, here is what it does and how to fix it.
Mac
Monthly update #0282 • October 2013
Monthly update 282 • October 2013 • 2013-10-01 - 2013-10-31
Monthly Updates
Iceland Day 11
Day 11 of 11 to Iceland together with my brother.
Trips