Phillip Winn @pwinn@qoto.org

I'm not being conspiracy-minded on the "more data" part, either. This is from the linked article, which says that switching to the new Google system "will help the automaker capture more data on its customers’ driving, listening, and charging habits. It could also help inform future subscription products, as automakers across the board are seeking to generate more revenue beyond just selling cars."

NOPE!

I bought a 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV, and it's fantastic. One of my favorite things about it is Carplay, which I use daily. Today I learned that future Chevy EVs will not include Carplay, making this the last Chevy EV I will buy. Just an amazingly stupid move by GM!

Apparently they want to collect more and more data from people who buy their cars, which in an amazing coincidence is something I very much DO NOT WANT.

Fortunately, I now have two EVs, so I won't be in the market for quite some time. Maybe they'll have reversed themselves again by then.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/31/23664814/gm-ev-restrict-apple-carplay-android-auto-google

#blog #ev #chevrolet

One of my brothers pointed this out, but the proper experience for listening to Del Amitri's "Roll To Me" is not, as I would have said, as background music in a grocery store. No, it turns out that the proper experience involves headphones. That song is mixed with a *heavy* emphasis on stereo. There are no drums at all in the right channel! Only vocals, acoustic guitar, and I think castanets.

I'm not even going to link to a YouTube video here, because you should listen to it in the music service of your choice using headphones. Not in a car or a grocery store!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

https://youtu.be/oxo-loXdcH0

#blog #music #TinyDesk #u2

If you're trying to find music that is engaging without being disruptive, music you can play during creative work that won't take you out of your flow state, I highly recommend music in a language you don't understand.

https://parannoul.bandcamp.com/album/to-see-the-next-part-of-the-dream

I stumbled on this album thanks to @cambraca earlier this week, and it turns out Korean shoegaze is exactly the genre I needed, and Parannoul is exactly the band to give it to me. I have no idea what they're saying, because I refuse to click the links on the Bandcamp site to show me the English translation of the lyrics. The tone and energy of the music is all I want to know right now. I mean, the first song is called 아​름​다​운 세상, which I'm told means "Beautiful World." That's fine, that's all the info I need.

It's been my background music during work, my driving music, and I've sent this link to a few people already. Now I pass it along to all of you. Happy Friday! Spend your weekend enjoying this excellent Korean shoegaze album from 2021, and maybe next week I'll check out one of the two albums they've put out since--or maybe not.

#blog #bandcamp #shoegaze #parannoul #music

I can’t stop thinking about something @pluralistic said to @adamconover in this one-minute video clip.

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxyH968O4_sh-Is85Uh7l9KglHRb0oLLXz

To paraphrase, optimism and pessimism are both rooted in fatalism, because they presume that nothing we do matters.

Instead we choose Hope. We do things to make life better at every opportunity, to move toward the world we Hope to see, and what we do matters whether it lines up with a big-picture plan or not. We move forward in Hope, and then we see new ways to move forward in Hope, and then we do it again and again.

What else can we do?

#hope #blog