Matisyahu's Blog

I slept in today and when I woke up…it was chilly and it is really chilly at the moment with the temperature sitting at 3°C so I’ve decided that I’ll stay at home, keep myself warm rather than risking the cold weather but end up getting sick as a result. I really was hoping that the weather would get better but it appears to another month to go before things start to warm up. During today I popped down to the local supermarket to pick up some chicken and coleslaw for dinner along with a couple of bottles of milk and some Pepsi Max. It’s funny, since I started walking most places or taking the bus I am forced to consider what I am buying since I’m going to have to carry it home – “yeah, I want it but do I really need it” is the question that runs through my mind when I scan what I have in the trolly and I’m left wondering whether I’ve forgotten anything.

uBlock Origin Lite 2025.718.1921 is now available in the Chrome extensions store – I cannot work out why it takes a little but longer for Google, maybe they can take the initiative and have an app/extensions review team in New Zealand and Australia so then app/extensions can be reviewed and approved in a timely manner. I’ve also realised that I didn’t have a feature enabled in my Workspace Administration area in regards to Search and Assistant so I’ve enabled that which should allow Google Home integration to work a bit better – or at least work a bit better once the Pixel 10 Pro XL makes its way to New Zealand. I’m tempted to also get the Pixel watch while I’m at it since it’ll allow me to keep track of exercise statistics so then I can work to meet my goals.

With each day I’m learning more about Google Workspace – understanding how things are setup by default and how that can cause problems when setting up something like a Pixel Watch. At the moment I’m using an Apple TV but I am tempted to replace the television then give mum my old one. I’ve been having a look more videos regarding the One UI on Samsung televisions and the more I see the more I like with the added benefit that it all integrates into SmartThings (which does a better job than Google Home which is still very much rough around the edges).

Oh, and a spot of good news it appears that the UK is stepping away from demanding Apple to install a backdoor into iCloud which also impact other providers as well (link). As I’ve said in the past, always be weary of politicians who either invoke claims of an emergency or claims of protecting a particular group as a justification of acquiring more power because once that power granted it is very rarely rescinded at a later date but instead becomes normalised. Just as I am concerned about the concentration of capital in the hands of a few who then use that economic power to influence politics in service of protecting their class interests I am also concerned when I see politicians seek more power in the name of ‘the greater good’ whose arguments contain holes large enough that you can fly a A380 through.