Chet | A Personal Blog.
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Over the years, I’ve read many articles and books that discussed strategies for minimizing phone use. Really, to even call them phones today is a disservice. Our cell phones are now computers that also happen to be able to make calls. Cal Newport, in his book discusses a sensible strategy of giving each type of device a particular job. Web surfing goes to the desktop, reading goes to the iPad, mobile needs goes to the iPhone, etc. In this type of system, with each device having a discreet role, the theory is that if keep each device in its lane, you can maintain your technology goals. For instance, you’d stop scrolling on your phone in bed because scrolling is to be done on your desktop. Any plan to reduce your dependance on your devices will require at least a small degree of buy-in. Most manufacturers are heavily incentivized to keep you plugged in as much as possible, so the tools to create a “healthy relationship,” even the parental controls, are difficult to navigate by design but easy to break. The device job idea was interesting to me, but the idea that’s stuck even longer is a video that I watched in 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtqhKmotIxI. Personal Technology columnist Joanna Stern did a deep dive on the colors on our phones, and how they use our psychology against us to keep us staring at our screens all day. After six years of bouncing around in my head, I finally did it. I combined Cal and Joanna’s strategies into one comprehensive iPhone redesign. I deleted most of my apps, only keeping the ones that I need close at hand for short duration use. Gone are the games, news, and reading apps. I then set up a simple Home Screen with nine apps, the remaining accessible from a Spotlight search or the App Library. Finally, I turned on color filters and set the whole operating system to greyscale. img I then took things one step further. I finally sat down to understand the Focus modes, and set up several to match the phases of my day. The collective impact of these changes is noticeable. I don’t reach for my phone in the idle moments of the day, and when it’s on, the grey is unbelievably uninteresting. There are times, if I am doing some quick online shopping, where I turn back on the color because color is context. When done, the gray is back on and my phone is back to its designated lane. Technology is a wonderful thing that brings so much convenience to our lives. Regardless of its importance, at the end of the day, it’s just a tool. And it works much better in grayscale.
Trump-Friendly Truth Social Board to Decide When He Can Cash In - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/finance/truth-social-stock-trades-dwac-trump-18a6cd74?mod=hp_lead_pos4 * > Shannon Devine, a spokeswoman for Truth Social’s parent, said in a statement that this article is “clearly the latest in a long line of sloppy, poorly researched hit pieces on Truth Social by The Wall Street Journal.” She didn’t say what was misleading or inaccurate in the current or previous articles. This made me laugh.
At Your Altar - Catholic Husband https://catholichusband.com/index_files/at-your-altar.php * > Benedict and Felicity have attended Mass weekly and, to varying degrees, participated. But there’s nothing like serving at the Altar and seeing the liturgy up-close, physically participating, to make it all possible. Together, in their ways, using their gifts and talents, they served at the Altar, elevating the solemnity of the Mass. ➕
I catch up with White Belt Benedict to find out what he’s been up to at Taekwondo and the big event tonight. 🥋🇰🇷
JetBlue, Spirit Airlines Call Off $3.8 Billion Merger Deal - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/jetblue-airways-scraps-3-8-billion-takeover-of-spirit-airlines-e1d014b0?st=vz6qet8pmhqhgj8&reflink=article_copyURL_share * > Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday that the companies’ decision to abandon the deal, instead of trying to appeal their trial loss, further showed the government was right to challenge the transaction. We’ll see what the AG says when Spirit collapses into bankruptcy and the big 4 pick up all of their planes and slots on the cheap.
President Biden’s State of the Union Address 2024 – Analysis and Updates - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/biden-state-of-the-union-2024 * > Taxpayers at all income levels received tax cuts, on average, with the biggest benefits as a share of income going to people in the 95th to 99th percentiles, according to the Tax Policy Center. More benefits would’ve gone to the 50% of Americans who pay $0.00 a year in Federal income tax, but math.
Mainstream Media Warn If Trump Is Elected He Might Indict His Political Enemies, Imprison Detractors, And Rig Elections In His Favor - Babylon Bee https://babylonbee.com/news/mainstream-media-warn-if-trump-is-elected-he-might-indict-his-political-enemies-imprison-detractors-and-rig-elections-in-his-favor/ * > “We have to bend or break every moral and ethical rule in existence to keep Trump from breaking the rules.”
John Kerry Is Stepping Down as Climate Envoy at Age 80. He Isn’t Going Quietly. - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/john-kerry-is-stepping-down-as-climate-envoy-at-age-80-he-isnt-going-quietly-1bfe7444?mod=mhp * > Then Kerry plans to hit the road as a private citizen, dropping in on a major oil-industry conference in Houston to press energy executives to join the ranks of other business leaders throwing their weight behind the transition. He’ll continue to travel by private jet, one assumes.
Supreme Court Rules Donald Trump Can Stay on Colorado Primary Ballot - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/supreme-court-ruling-trump-ballot-colorado-092852fe?mod=mhp * > The court unanimously agreed that Trump should appear on the ballot Illegitimate court. * > The group behind the challenge, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that Trump won on technical grounds. “It will be up to the American people to ensure accountability,” said CREW’s president Noah Bookbinder. As it always was, until CREW attempted to use the courts to substitute their viewpoint for the American people’s.
Talent - Catholic Husband https://catholichusband.com/index_files/talent.php * > … these parables put on full display the genius of Jesus that can only be attributable to the omniscience of God Himself. In a backwater, dusty, hot town 2,000 years ago, Jesus crafted a parable that was readily understood by his illiterate followers and is equally understandable by me, in the most technologically advanced society in the history of the world. ➕
IRS puts 125,000 high-income individuals not filing tax returns on notice, to recoup millions owed - WTOP https://federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-oversight/2024/02/irs-puts-125000-high-income-individuals-not-filing-tax-returns-on-notice-to-recoup-millions-in-taxes-owed/?readmore=1 * > IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on Thursday that notices are going out to 25,000 individuals with more than $1 million in income, and 100,000 notices to people with incomes between $400,000 and $1 million between tax years 2017 and 2021. WOW! Big, bold action by the IRS after up to 6 years of not so much as sending these people a letter? * > Werfel said the IRS non-filer program has only run “sporadically” since 2016, because of “severe budget cuts and staff limitations.” The high cost of postage is a burden on us all.
I will occasionally get behind on posts for Catholic Husband https://catholichusband.com, but I always catch back up. Unfortunately, that means some posts don’t get the attention they deserve. Here are two recents that I enjoy that were published slightly behind schedule: ⍟ 6,570 https://catholichusband.com/index_files/6570.php (February 19, 2024) ⍟ Contend https://catholichusband.com/index_files/contend.php (February 12, 2024)
Pentagon Finds It Properly Handled Austin’s Hospitalization - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-finds-it-properly-handled-secretary-austins-hospitalization-863d0c08?mod=mhp * > The Pentagon found it did nothing wrong in deciding to not immediately inform President Biden or legislators of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s whereabouts when he was hospitalized earlier this year, finding in an internal review that staff followed existing guidelines and sought to protect the defense chief’s privacy. Job well done, then.
More Important Things - Catholic Husband https://catholichusband.com/index_files/more-important-things.php * > My children need to complete their school assignments, but they don’t have to do them between set hours or certain days. School is essential; so is being outside, imaginative play, and family exercise. ➕
AT&T to Reimburse Customers Struck by Outage - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/business/telecom/at-t-to-reimburse-customers-struck-by-outage-73d82f2e?mod=mhp * > A $5 credit to eligible accounts will appear within two billing cycles, the company said. Mindblowing generosity…talk about paying it forward!! * > The cost of reimbursement is “fully manageable while achieving the 2024 business objectives we have set for ourselves and our stated financial guidance,” Stankey wrote. 90 million subscribers x $5 = $450M. AT&T won’t even feel this…and maybe that’s the problem.
