The Dann Chronicles: June 🫧
A possible Apple gaff, an entertainment treasure, my sandwich obsession, awards all around, and a way to stay squeaky clean.
June 2024
Hey all,
I’m writing this intro section from sunny San Diego, California. I'm currently sitting in my hotel room with a little bit of time to kill before heading to the airport after a wonderful work-related conference. I want to take just a few moments for reflection.
Some people know what they want to do with their lives from a very young age. Their natural inclinations, motivation, and discipline point them in a specific direction and those early interests carry them through adulthood.
I've never been like that.
As a result, my career path has been circuitous. Creative writing, retail, journalism, and website administration are just a few of the ways I've earned money over the years. It wasn't until much later that I turned to technology, a career move that was a combination hobby/interest and right-place-right-time.
It was a much larger stoke of luck that landed me into the niche I now find myself in: FinOps. It's a blend of engineering and finance, specifically focused on the cost of cloud infrastructure.
It was here that I finally found my home. I started hosting a monthly virtual meetup in 2020 that I ran continuously for about three and a half years. And it's that experience that I'm currently bringing to the FinOps Foundation in the form of regional virtual monthly meetups all across North America.
One of the things I love about the FinOps Community is the people. Everyone is so friendly, so willing to share, and so welcoming to people of all types.
I'm looking forward to returning home with a newfound drive to create even more in this space. This next year is going to be great.
-Dann
🍏 Apple-ficial Intelligence
Let's kick off this month's newsletter with some Apple thoughts. This month was Apple's annual WWDC keynote, one of two major Apple product release "events" each year. This June event is traditionally focused on software (iOS, MacOS, iPad OS, etc) and the second event (usually in September) is all about hardware (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, etc).
Of these two, I usually find the software announcements to be much more interesting. I don't really care if my phone gets a little slimmer, a little lighter, and a bit faster. Really, it's the software—what your phone can do—that features the real technical advancements.
The big news out of Apple Park in California is (surprise surprise) artificial intelligence. Because of course it is. This new suite of services is being referred to as Apple Intelligence (tagline: "AI for the rest of us"), and will be available in Beta later this fall on many newer Apple devices.
Honestly, I feel like it's just sort of...a lot.
As someone who frequently uses AI in several different workflows, I know exactly how unreliable it is. Artificial Intelligence lies, behaves in unexpected ways, and needs constant human revision. Once that initial surprise and delight wears off, AI (in its current form) is revealed to be an imperfect tool with very real limitations.
And that's why I was so surprised to see that Apple is embedding AI so deeply and so thoroughly pretty much everywhere.
Apple usually isn't first to market with new technology. Instead, Apple learns from the mistakes of others and uses that knowledge to create products that push the technology forward. That’s why people are so excited when Apple announces a new product: it's usually best-in-class.
Apple Intelligence doesn't feel like that to me. It feels rushed and hurried, and I have my doubts on what the quality/reliability will be.
I guess we'll see what Apple Intelligence is like when it's released. I just hope it's not another flub like v1 of Apple Maps.
📱 An app a day
I'm a self-described "app addict" (just look at my iPhone), which is why I've been enjoying Lou Plummer's App Addict post series. He mostly writes about MacOS apps, rather than iOS, and his short, practical descriptions of creative, niche apps is a great way to find new solutions to tech problems you might not even know you had.
For me, probably the best discovery was from his review of FreeTube:
FreeTube is a privacy lover's dream, using no trackers and allowing you to subscribe to your favorite channels without an account. All user data is stored on your machine and is never sent to or stored on the Internet...FreeTube is open source and THERE ARE NO ADS.
Of course, as a YouTube creator myself, I can't say I fully support skipping YouTube ads entirely. But as for me, my YouTube consumption is 70% AppleTV and 30% laptop, which means I'm only skipping ads using FreeTube 30% of the time. I think that's okay...
At least, that's my justification and I'm sticking to it.
🥪 Freezie Breezie
I was today-years-old when I discovered the magic of Uncrustables. Yes, I'm talking about those small round crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I'm obsessed.
Honestly, it's a genius invention. They're PB&J sandwiches that live in the freezer, meaning they store really well. When you want to eat one (or two) you just take the packages out of the freezer and set them on the counter or toss them in your bag. They're ready to eat in 30 minutes and stay good for up to 12 hours.
They've somehow perfected the science of freezing the jelly inside a layer of peanut butter inside two pieces of bread so that it defrosts at room temperature to a perfect sandwich. It's genius.
I definitely go through phases in terms of what I like to eat. Right now, I'm deeply in an Uncrustable phase. And the technology just blows the mind.
🏅 A Major Award
Going back to Apple for a brief moment, another annual event that happens at WWDC is the Apple Design Awards. As the name implies, this is where Apple acknowledges (what it views as) top tier apps in a variety of different categories.
I'm always surprised at how few of the apps I recognize from this list. But it's also a delight because I often get to discover something new I didn't know I needed.
As always, there are several new apps from this list that I plan to download and try. I'll let you know if any are life-changing.
🚿 So fresh and so clean clean
One of the things I miss most when traveling is my bidet. What they say is true: once you go bidet, you never go back.
That's why one of my favorite travel hacks is to always carry a portable bidet with me whenever I'm away from home. It makes travel just a touch more comfortable and I don't travel anywhere without it these days.
If you, too, have hopped on the bidet-train at home but find yourself missing it on the go, this little device might also become your best friend.
End note
If you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.
I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.
Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.
Thanks for reading. Until next time,
Dann