Reflecting on the year 2017
Reflection on the year 2017, checking progress of the goals, and some numbers.
Journal
2017
76 posts
Merry Christmas
Over the years my grasp of Christmas has matured. Jesus was born for all who believe.
Christianity
Holy Chants by Gregorian
Gregorian's 2017 album wraps carols and gentle hymns in choral robes, a calm, seasonal record for the dark of the year.
Music
Origin by Dan Brown
Dan Brown’s Origin follows Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon as he investigates the murder of a tech billionaire in Bilbao, Spain, who claims to have solved humanity’s biggest questions...
Books
Monthly update #0331 • November 2017
Monthly update 331 • November 2017 • 2017-11-01 - 2017-11-30
Monthly Updates
Songs of Experience by U2
U2's 2017 album reads like a set of letters to the people they love, an older band looking back with hard-won warmth.
Music
What is wifivelocityd?
If you see wifivelocityd running on your Mac, here is what this Wi-Fi performance process does.
Mac
The Midnight Line by Lee Child
In The Midnight Line, Reacher finds a West Point ring in a pawn shop and tracks its owner, a female veteran caught in Wyoming’s opioid trade.
Books
Modus
Modus is a Swedish crime thriller series. It aired on TV4 from 19 September 2015 to 2017. Based on the novel by Anne Holt. Melinda Kinnaman plays Inger Johanne Vik, a psychologist and criminal profiler whose young autistic daughter witnesses a murder.
TV Series
What is rapportd and why does it want incoming network connections?
If your firewall is asking about rapportd wanting incoming connections, here is what this macOS process does.
Mac
Step Up to the Microphone by Newsboys
Newsboys' 1998 album, the first after a singer change, a bright and bold pop-rock record I came to years later.
Music
What is applekeystored?
If you see applekeystored running on your Mac, here is what this Secure Enclave keystore process does.
Mac
Paddington 2
Paddington 2 (2017), directed by Paul King, follows Paddington as he is wrongly sent to prison after a thief steals the birthday present he planned to give his aunt. Ben Whishaw voices Paddington, now a beloved member of the Brown family and the neighbourhood.
Movies
Asterix and the Chariot Race by Jean-Yves Ferri
It is the thirty-seventh book in the Asterix series. Caesar organises a chariot race across Italy. Asterix and Obelix enter to represent Gaul.
Books
Monthly update #0330 • October 2017
Monthly update 330 • October 2017 • 2017-10-01 - 2017-10-31
Monthly Updates
What is AssetCache?
If you see AssetCache processes running on your Mac, here is what this content caching service does.
Mac
Invincible by Skillet
Skillet's 2000 album, a heavier and more electronic turn for the band, a record I came to long after release.
Music
Swift 4.1 Release Process
Swift 4.1 is a source-compatible update to Swift 4.0 that adds minor language enhancements, improves the Swift Package Manager and Linux support, and includes quality fixes to the compiler and standard library, but it lacks binary compatibility due to ABI stabilisation work for Swift 5.
Development
Starlight by Bethel Music
Bethel Music's 2017 live album, recorded on tour, gathers light and courage into songs built for a crowd to sing.
Music
What is apfsd?
If you see apfsd running on your Mac, here is what this Apple File System process does.
Mac
What is coupond?
If you see coupond in Activity Monitor, here is what this macOS process does.
Mac
Xcode 9.1 Improves Display of Fatal Errors
Swift has features that let you set expectations in your code. If these are not met at runtime, the program stops.
Development
Dictionary and Set Improvements in Swift 4.0
Swift 4 adds new methods and initialisers to dictionaries and sets that simplify tasks like grouping, filtering, and transforming data.
Development
Useful macOS defaults: Keyboard
Handy defaults write commands for com.apple.keyboard and related domains, controlling key repeat, function keys, and input behaviour.
Mac
Monthly update #0329 • September 2017
Monthly update 329 • September 2017 • 2017-09-01 - 2017-09-30
Monthly Updates