Jason McFadden - Archive

2023-03-30: I just started trying out Apple Music (Preview)from the Microsoft Store on Windows 11. First …

2023-03-30: Unclouding The Benefits Of Local Data Storage It’s great when you find something that resonates, like this article I just read. It brings to …

2023-03-29: This article about getting photos from iPhone to computer outside of using iCloud has good timing. …

2023-03-28: Apple is great at integrating apps and services together. Prime example: iCloud Keychain to manage …

2023-03-28: Yesterday, I dusted off my old Canon S5 IS point-n-shoot. After all these years, it can still snap …

2023-03-28: Today’s Tears of the Kingdom gameplay demo from Nintendo did for me what none of the previous …

2023-03-25: As if I have much free time, I’ve been trying Affinity Photo lately, looking for a …

2023-03-25: I finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3 last night, beating the final boss and rolling credits! Final …

2023-03-18: Decoupling From One Computing Platform Being the tech geek that I am, one of my quirks is that I go all-in on a single computing platform. …

2023-03-18: Good piece about browser password managers; they’re convenient but not as secure, …

2023-03-17: As of last night, I’ve logged over 100 hours of playtime in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It’s an …

2023-03-16: From long-time Windows expert, Paul Thurrott, talking about the default PC broswer: “Let me be very …

2023-03-16: Each year, I like to record when the first Texas Bluebonnets bloom in my yard. I noticed today that …

2023-03-15: Loooong ago, I used LastPass. But over time I came to depend on default password managers from Apple …

2023-03-14: Testing iCloud Photos on Windows (PC). Learned: iCloud for Windows app works flawlessly, showing …

2023-03-13: Enjoyed an article today relating to Minimalism (something I lean into more when life feels …

2023-03-13: Cal’s episode on reading hits me as I’ve spent most of my free time playing JRPGs lately. I’m also …

2023-03-12: Just learned: GIMP has an Apple Silicon version (gimp-2.10.34-arm64.dmg) and GIMP (FOSS/FLOSS) is on …

2023-03-12: Yesterday, my wife added the shiny pillow covers I had bought her for Christmas. 📷

2023-03-11: Leaning into cross-platform workflows, I’ve switched from MarsEdit to Obsidian for Micro.blog. …

2023-03-11: Cloud Computing Is About Convenience I’m thinking about cloud computing versus the quaint old way we all used to just keep files in …

2023-03-11: As many will turn clocks forward one hour tonight, please let this be the last time this outdated …

2023-03-07: Great article from The Atlantic on RSS solving algorithmic feed problem. I agree with the other …

2023-03-07: Recent tech setup switch up: Safari -> Firefox Safari Reading List -> Pocket iCloud Keychain …

2023-03-06: Finished reading: Guinea Pig by Audrey Pavia 📚 I learned things. Plan to get two Guinea Pigs in the …

2023-03-04: I tried Bitwarden out a while back and rediscovered it this weekend; I’m a fan! Check these …

2023-03-04: I’m learning Obsidian, moving out of Apple Notes. I can’t get over this fundamental …

2023-03-03: From @matt@isfeeling.social of A Better Computer, This is Obsidian! 🤩

2023-03-03: Started learning about Obsidian for notes. First impression: whoa! 😮 notes are simply plain text …

2023-03-03: Taking Apps Out Of The Apple Basket Somewhere in the universe, a cosmic pendulum must have swung. I’m tilting away from my Apple-centric …

2023-03-03: Excited to be the 2,903rd 😎 on @BackerKit for SacriFire. Thanks @pixelated_milk and @BackerKit This …

2023-03-02: Searching for a reading goal feature, I didn’t realize ’til this eve – weeks after …

2023-03-02: On hyperlinks: "…extolling the virtues of getting lost in that act those of us old …

2023-03-02: Discovered this post from @tracydurnell recently and appreciated the distinction, definition, and …

2023-03-02: Great post from @Aywren today summarizing the benefits of Micro.blog, featuring the Fediverse. …

2023-03-02: Hearing @marcoarment@mastodon.social talk about iPhone passcode insecurity and realizing how much my …

2023-02-28: From RPGSite, interesting thoughts about the term, “JRPG." While lines are fuzzy, …

2023-02-28: Interesting talk from Cal Newport in his recent podcast, “Reimagining the internet.". …

2023-02-28: Nice daydreaming by Cal Newport, from his Feb. 22, 2023 piece: “In the absence of …

2023-02-27: Last night — close to 80 hours playtime — I enjoyed one of the funnest and funniest game sessions so …

2023-02-27: Reminded about this book today! Thanks to Brandon at IBMACIN for sharing. Want to read: Pure …

2023-02-27: I like Day One. The web app may be a good option if you don’t have a Mac or iPad. But despite …

2023-02-27: After switching to Micro.blog two weeks ago, it keeps getting better. The latest thoughtful update: …

2023-02-26: Social internet vs social media: “Slow social media and escaping the walled factories of …

2023-02-26: One of my favorite quotes: ”Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot …

2023-02-25: How I Became A Micro.blogger Something happened on the internet again. A guy who likes to tweak his blog theme totally switched …

2023-02-24: Recommend if you like RPGs and played them in the ’90s. Finished reading back in December: …

2023-02-24: It’s Octopath Traveler II release day. Excited to begin this new JRPG adventure…but backlogging for …

2023-02-24: This short video about Micro.blog’s Bookmarks/Highlights feature on the Premium plan tempts me to …

2023-02-23: Looking for a podcast app to replace Apple’s default, I was surprised to learn my 3rd party …

2023-02-23: Finished ch. 4 in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 last night; awesome and surprising! Story cut-scenes and …

2023-02-21: As of this eve., all posts from my previous blog are migrated to Micro.blog! Some links are busted. …

2023-02-21: Before Octopath Traveler II releases this Friday, here’s my review of the first Octopath …

2023-02-21: Another awesome track! From Octopath Traveler II, releasing this Friday. Yes! 🎮🎵

2023-02-20: Discovered this awesome track today for Sea of Stars (JRPG)! Getting pumped to play this game. 🎵🎮

2023-02-19: Indeed, for me it was rather quick: “By having some rules about what a microblog post is, and …

2023-02-19: Some more Micro.blog features I really like: You can edit your “Tweets” (posts) and …

2023-02-18: Cheers for this commitment! 💯 💬 “I became committed to making Micro.blog the best place to …

2023-02-18: Will keep an eye on Mozilla (Firefox) with its own (pending) Mastodon instance. Today’s social media …

2023-02-18: Migrating former blog posts to my new Micro.blog. Good news: I first exported my Blogger XML into …

2023-02-17: Today, a milestone for me: 500 days of journaling! Credit to the Day One app’s streak feature …

2023-02-17: It’s Tales of Symphonia Remastered release day! Picked up my Switch copy. Adding to backlog. JRPG! 🎮

2023-02-17: Let's Not Quarrel With A.I. There’s always a doomsday scenario of A.I. taking over the world, wiping out humanity, like in The …

2023-02-16: Micro.blog things I like: No ads No likes No brands No metrics No algorithms No influencers No …

2023-02-16: Been using my newest Tom Bihn bag for over a month — love it! Too big for EDC, but great for small …

2023-02-16: I realized links at my former blog home — FullyRendered — are broken since I mapped my domain to my …

2023-02-15: I’m liking Harry McCracken’s weekly Plugged In newsletter. From the latest: “As long as I find a …

2023-02-15: Update: MarsEdit 5 does have Word Count built-in! I found it…View -> Show Status Bar. Word …

2023-02-15: Word Count exists in MarsEdit 5, but I didn’t find it built-in. After reading this article, I …

2023-02-14: I’ve been too busy “reading” the story in my JRPG, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, to …

2023-02-14: My current domain jasonmcfadden.com is at a new blog host/theme; things are different. I plan to …

2023-02-14: Stickers wanted: Micro.blog logo Lego logo Nintendo logo Decepticon logo Wooden cross

2023-02-13: Successfully updated my domain name so it now points to my new blog host at Micro.blog. Woo-hoo! …

2023-02-13: Agree: “The internet’s town square should never have been one specific website with its own …

2023-02-12: Currently on pre-order for Switch I’ve got: Tales of Symphonia Remastered Octopath Traveler II …

2023-02-12: Though I think it’s possible to both title and categorize microposts (less than 280 chars) …

2023-02-12: Micro.blog Is Interesting I’ve been checking out Mastodon lately — decentralized social media — which led me to rediscovering …

2023-02-12: ICYMI - I republished (backdated) one of my recent blog posts from my Social category: Mastodon Is …

2023-02-12: Learning the Micro.blog post editor process, relearning markdown, trying plug-in themes. Interesting …

2023-02-12: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 title screen’s relaxing piano music fits this day of rest. 🎮

2023-02-11: Hello, world. Learning the ropes. I might migrate my blog to host it here. Also contemplating …

2023-02-07: Mastodon Is Interesting As Twitter implodes, there remains the elephant in the room: social media persists. The elephant’s …

2023-02-02: A Groundhog Tradition Again Well it’s Groundhog Day…again…and I’m enjoying my annual re-watch of one of my all-time favorite …

2023-01-28: Backlog Bustin To Xenoblade 3 Finally. I’ve arrived. After months of bustin’ my JRPG backlog, I now begin my first play-through of …

2023-01-23: Journaling On Day One The best time to start journaling is a day far in the past; the second best time is today. Whether …

2023-01-18: Animal Crossing Renewed Horizons This month, I restarted playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons — on a new island from scratch! (I’m …

2023-01-14: Sold iPad And Dropped AirPods As one who is all-in with Apple, it may be surprising that I quit using a few of its gadgets. My …

2023-01-12: Is Meta Pivoting Back To Social Media? Recode published a piece that does not help reduce skepticism towards Meta’s ambitious …

2023-01-11: Return Of The Blogosphere A new article for the new year, this one from the Verge about bringing back personal blogging. How …

2023-01-07: Metaverse Spectacles Skeptical A recent piece from Vox by Shirin Ghaffary on the challenge Meta endures as it races towards the …

2023-01-03: 2023 Foresight With a focus on computing and gaming, here are two things to look forward to this year. One is a …

2022-12-31: 2022 Hindsight It’s time to reflect on 2022. From a computing angle, my rural area FINALLY rolled out fiber …

2022-12-29: USB-C All The Things You may have heard news that the EU is mandating that digital devices use USB-C ports for charging. …

2022-12-28: Need For Speed In one of those Nintendo eShop sales — thanks, Christmas! — I grabbed a non-JRPG title. It’s a …

2022-12-27: New JRPGs In 2023 As the year closes and we look towards 2023, I can already see several video games on the beckoning …

2022-12-25: Merry Christmas 2022! “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that …

2022-12-23: Fight Magic Items Review Done! I finished reading Fight Magic Items and gave it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Bottom line: …

2022-12-20: 3D TV Comeback? By now, maybe most people have upgraded their TV sets from HD to 4K; I finally did last summer. So …

2022-12-17: Big Finally For iPhone? Can I FINALLY just buy a Kindle book (or see its price) in the Kindle app or Amazon app!? That’s all …

2022-12-14: iPhone 11 Thoughts After turning my iPhone up to 11, I have some thoughts. Yes, it was the upgrade I wanted, …

2022-12-10: Game Awards 2022 Winners At first, I wasn’t going to watch the 2022 Game Awards, but I mostly ended up doing so. I hoped …

2022-12-08: A Xenoblade Adventure One of the greatest JRPGs to grace gamers in modern times is Xenoblade Chronicles. The definitive …

2022-12-07: Bravely Default II Review Sweet victory! I finally finished Bravely Default II this past weekend, rolling credits at nearly 79 …

2022-12-05: Fight Magic Items This new book by Aidan Moher was an instant purchase for me! I read a few words of the synopsis and …

2022-12-03: macOS Stage Manager Impression Stage Manager is a marquee new feature in macOS Ventura, which released to the general public this …

2022-12-02: Social Media Twilight Years Do you want a good long-ish read? This great piece from The Atlantic was right up my alley. The end …

2022-12-01: Fully Rendered In Dark Mode A quick update for the blog. My site www.jasonmcfadden.com now has an official new blog name, “Fully …

2022-11-30: Back To Bravely Default II Since I finished Octopath Traveler, a great JRPG, I resumed another one I had paused, Bravely …

2022-11-28: Turned My iPhone Up To 11 A few weeks ago, I had decided to stick with my iPhone 8 Plus and not upgrade until likely next …

2022-11-26: Tracking JRPG Playtimes When it comes to gaming, JRPGs are my fave. This genre of escapism is time-consuming. For example, …

2022-11-25: What Is Up With 5G? Remember a few years back when there was hype that the next cell service upgrade would be …

2022-11-21: Octopath Traveler Review At long last, I finished the gloriously pixelated Octopath Traveler, having first begun around …

2022-11-19: Wired Audio Sounds Winning In my recent post where I asked are AirPods worth their cost, I was only comparing them to cheaper …

2022-11-16: Game Awards 2022 Preview Nominees are out now for this year’s Game Awards. It’s exciting to see which Nintendo games are …

2022-11-15: YouTube Handles More Social A few weeks ago, I noticed that YouTube would be adding Handles to existing accounts and wondered …

2022-11-12: Are AirPods Really Worth It? Apple’s popular white plastic buds spurred the ubiquity of true wireless earphones. Competitive …

2022-11-10: Social Internet Versus Social Media One of my favorite bloggers is computer scientist Cal Newport. I found this great quote on a podcast …

2022-11-07: Sticking With iPhone 8 In 2022 Recently, the dynamic iPhone 14 Pro debuted. With it, iOS 16 released, rendering my teens’ iPhone SE …

2022-11-05: Piling Up The Role Playing Games My RPG game time has been on pause for a while. I’ve been casually playing Minecraft and taking a …

2022-11-03: Not So Simple Apple Product Strategy I generally agree with the sentiment that Apple’s line up of tablets and phones has become more …

2022-11-01: Elon Bought A Pet Blue Bird Maybe you noticed Twitter now belongs to Elon Musk. Some are worried, some cautiously optimistic, …

2022-10-26: Maybe No Room For Tablets As if the previous robust lineup of iPads wasn’t enough, Apple just released more new tablets. The …

2022-10-21: Algorithm Antipathy There’s a good Art of Manliness piece about escaping algorithms and using the social-internet — RSS …

2022-10-20: Countering Consumerism Though almost 10 years old, here’s a great article, Consumerism and its Discontents, with a good …

2022-10-19: Maximizing Contentment Up front, a disclaimer: I’m not a contentment expert. Being contented in life isn’t something I’ve …

2022-10-17: Concerning YouTube User Handles Here’s some new brain-tickling info. Google will soon make user handles on YouTube a thing. I don’t …

2022-10-15: On The Advent Of Ventura I’ve somehow managed to avoid tech and Apple news since early September. It takes mindful …

2022-10-14: Is Twitter Too Toxic To Tolerate? In this Vox piece from Peter Kafka, a few things are clear: Twitter is likely in decline, broken, …

2022-10-07: The Simplicity Of Craigslist I stumbled upon a recent article and enjoyed the intrinsic simplicity behind it as well as some …

2022-10-05: HearPods Sound More Likely I’ve written about my tinnitus, trying out hearing aids, and the ear-pleasing potential of AirPods …

2022-10-03: Google Kills Again In both gaming and tech news, Google is shutting down another service, Stadia, surprising about 0.0 …

2022-10-02: Choosing Blogger In 2022 After several years of blogging on WordPress, I’m leaving to blog on one of the first and oldest …

2022-10-01: Leaving WordPress Hello, readers. A monumental shift is afoot at Jason Journals, announcing both a new name and home …

2022-09-29: Progress To Less Inspired by minimalism and simplicity these past few weeks, I’ve started purging some possessions. …

2022-09-26: Screen Addiction Harms Relationships In the past 5 years of this blog, I don’t think I’ve ever talked about intimacy or marriage. That …

2022-09-24: The Batman Review One of the top movies of this year that I wanted to watch, besides Top Gun Maverick, was The Batman. …

2022-09-23: iPhone Less It’s been a few weeks since I passed my iPhone through a vacuum of minimalism, removing all …

2022-09-22: Reading Challenge Update 2022 It’s September, and I just now half-completed my annual reading challenge: 6 of 12 books read. Looks …

2022-09-16: Is Finding Favorites Futile? While concentrating on purging physical and digital clutter from the nooks and crannies of my life, …

2022-09-15: More Minimalism Please Lately, I’ve been less lasered-into computing and gaming — though I’m enjoying much Minecraft …

2022-09-06: Smartphone Moderation For The Win How often do you check your phone? I compulsively check for new stuff. It’s like a mobile slot …

2022-09-02: Avoiding The Apple Advernouncement In less than a week, the iPhone will be 15 years old. Apple is set to announce the iPhones 14 on the …

2022-08-26: Focusing On iPhoneography What’s the best camera? The one you have with you, of course. With that in mind, Apple is on the …

2022-08-22: Stuck With One Computer On a recent Clockwise podcast, a thought experiment got my attention. The question: If you had to …

2022-08-15: Tenet Impression I’m a little late to the show, but my wife and I enjoyed watching Christopher Nolan’s latest …

2022-08-13: Cloud Storage Is Not Backup I recently found an interesting video explaining the differences between storing files in the cloud …

2022-08-07: Making The Most Of My Mac I haven’t posted in over a week…my focus has been elsewhere lately. House projects, work, and more. …

2022-07-30: Tom Bihn Small Café Bag One Year Review A year ago, I finally received my first major Tom Bihn bag. I was ready to embrace Everyday Carry in …

2022-07-27: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Hits Hype Zenith The time has come. How good, or not, is the latest title in the Xenoblade franchise? Does it meet or …

2022-07-26: WordPress Plan Roller Coaster Ends I’m really not sure where to begin with this. Last week, I read two new emails from WordPress …

2022-07-21: Facebook Finally Fixes The Feed Just yesterday, I published my disconnected Facebook status. Then I found a new article stating that …

2022-07-20: Zero Facebook For 3 Months This week I realized that it’s been 3 months since I signed out of Facebook. The thing is, I haven’t …

2022-07-18: M1 MacBook Air 6 Month Review Since the 2022 M2 MacBook Air reviews have hit the interwebz recently, I thought I’d share my own …

2022-07-15: Xenoblade Chronicles X Resume When it comes to gaming, I like to enjoy a good JRPG. One of the more lauded examples of the genre …

2022-07-10: Revisiting RPG Towns A few months ago, when I was a staff writer at RPGamer, I drafted a couple overviews of towns in …

2022-07-09: My DSL Dark Age Reached Fiber Utopia A few months ago, my household finally reached an important and thrilling milestone. Our home was …

2022-06-27: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Preview Nintendo’s recent Direct, a 24 minute bonanza of flashy gameplay and polished cutscenes, aptly hyped …

2022-06-25: Pokémon Legends Arceus Impression Last September, I wrote an editorial at RPGamer about Pokémon Legends Arceus, anticipating its …

2022-06-22: Facebook Feed Gets An F I’m not much on Facebook these days. Logged out in April and haven’t looked back. Might delete it at …

2022-06-20: Bricking In Pokémon Though I’m not always a good loser, I’m pretty good at losing in Pokémon (I’ve had plenty of …

2022-06-18: Final Farewell To Internet Explorer After 27 years, Microsoft’s web browser, Internet Explorer, is retired. That means it might vacation …

2022-06-17: Apple WWDC22 Impressions Part 3 In parts 1 and 2, I discussed this year’s WWDC, iPhone Lock Screen customization, and the …

2022-06-15: Apple WWDC22 Impressions Part 2 Having started with an overview of WWDC22 and thoughts about the iPhone’s new Lock Screen …

2022-06-13: Apple WWDC22 Impressions Part 1 Last week held the annual Apple keynote for its developer conference where the company highlighted …

2022-06-09: Top Gun Maverick Impression Fantastic! Yes, I got to see the movie starring Tom Cruise this week on Discount Tuesday at my local …

2022-06-04: Google Retires An Ongoing Initiative Google is sunsetting…something. The headline of course grabbed me, and it gave me a new …

2022-06-02: Pokémon Pulls Me To Play Lately I’ve been purging things and limiting tasks; less to have, less to do. And over the past …

2022-05-31: Journaling Setup Switch Up There’s been a change — switcheroo — in my journaling setup…again! So I jump between journal tools; …

2022-05-27: Keep Going With DuckDuckGo I noticed news this week saying DuckDuckGo, known for its privacy, was found in an audit to allow …

2022-05-26: WordPress Starter Plan A Good Start Following April’s announcements of the new Free and Pro plans, WordPress has announced the Starter …

2022-05-25: Top WWDC22 Wishes To Note Coming soon is Apple’s WWDC22, showcasing its latest software magic. New impressive features …

2022-05-23: Social Media Or Social Networking Have you seen the terms social media and social networking used interchangeably? I have; I’ve done …

2022-05-21: Unpacking My Bags At WordPress Over the past few weeks, I shared a handful of posts expressing unease towards WordPress. My bags …

2022-05-19: Pressing WordPress Woes There’s a disturbance in the force of WordPress; I’ve sensed it. And now my inner disquiet has been …

2022-05-16: Jason Blogs On Coffee The Jason McFaddenblog is now using Buy Me a Coffee!There are a few links and buttons on the blog to …

2022-05-15: Imagining Apple GamePod This week I happened upon a YouTube video covering rumors or leaks about a potential new device from …

2022-05-11: iPod Had A Long Run The iPod. After more than 20 years, its end is here. The popular line of Apple music players was …

2022-05-05: Who Let The Blogs Out? Review In the heyday of blogging, and the year (2004) Facebook first launched, Who Let The Blogs Out?was …

2022-05-02: WordPress Plans New Middle Plan It’s been about a month since WordPress radically altered the deal with new binary plans. Now …

2022-05-02: A Future With Blogger With WordPress shenanigans in April shaking up my blogging foundation, one alternate platform I’ve …

2022-04-28: How Books Are Better On Consoles What if I told you there is a game console for books? I don’t mean you can shove a paperback into …

2022-04-26: I Deleted Twitter I’ve left the sky where the Tweets fly. Good-bye, Twitter. On April 26, 2022, I deleted my …

2022-04-25: Newest Kindle Ticks The Right Boxes Alright, time to talk Paperwhite. And time to upgrade some tech! Recently I shared that I had …

2022-04-23: Kindle Rekindled Again I’m not reading books on Kindle anymore, because…Apple! I said something like that in late 2020 …

2022-04-22: Social Media Disconnecting Twitter? Signed out. Facebook? Logged off. It started a few days ago after noticing my frequent …

2022-04-20: Checking Out WordPress Alternatives April started with WordPress.com quietly pushing new unwelcome plans with all-or-nothing pricing. …

2022-04-16: Smartphone Addiction Reality Check Mobile computing is a nice modern convenience. It’s also an encumbrance. I’m talking about the …

2022-04-09: RPGamer Editorial April 2022 In my latest editorial at RPGamer, I share why RPGs should have overworlds and why I like them.Ode …

2022-04-08: Jason Journals Launches On Twitter Earlier this week, I took a new step forward with my blog, creating its very own Twitter profile. I …

2022-04-05: New WordPress Plans Do Not Impress WordPress has made its new plan changes official. The announcement covers the radical reduction to …

2022-04-02: WordPress Plan Changes Concerning Surprise! In a non-telegraphed move, WordPress launched a new plan pricing paradigm recently. …

2022-04-01: Backup Your World Yesterday, March 31st, was World Backup Day. Funny thing is, I was already thinking about and …

2022-03-29: Alita Battle Angel Impression For the first time, I recently watched the movie called Alita Battle Angel. Somehow this one didn’t …

2022-03-25: I Am Setsuna Backlogged Thanks to a generous sale, I added another RPG to my backlog this week. I am Setsuna has been on my …

2022-03-23: A Tome About Japanese Role-Playing Games The only game guides I ever bought were thin magazine-like booklets, having stratagems for one …

2022-03-21: Traveling The Octopath Lately, my gaming time has been in Octopath Traveler. I’m looking for a good pause point so I can …

2022-03-13: The Great JRPG Showdown! One way to enjoy JRPGs — when not playing them — is to geek out about them with other role-playing …

2022-03-12: Apple Turns It Up To Ultra This week, Apple showed how it plans to increase its staggering trillion-dollar market cap, by …

2022-03-11: Time To Trigger A New RPG Distinguished developer Square Enix is celebrating the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy. Time …

2022-03-06: Another Xenoblade Arrives What do RPG enthusiasts do when a new RPG arrives? They become more enthusiastic, right? Well, …

2022-03-03: A Word On Wordle Maybe you’ve heard of this thing called, Wordle. I started playing it in January this year, and now …

2022-03-01: Apple TV+ Severance Like Twilight Zone No major spoilers, but there are minor ones. After watching the first episode of Severance, a new …

2022-02-21: A Folding iPhone Is Flatly Unattractive A recent reportabout Apple making a foldable phone reminded me: I don’t care for such a thing. That …

2022-02-20: A Fitting New Adventure Most of my gameplay is within the RPG genre; I just love engrossing stories with fun and addicting …

2022-02-17: RPGamer Editorial February 2022 - Two Following recent news of the next version of RPG Maker set to release this year, I wrote about what …

2022-02-12: Facebook Is Dwindling Over the years, I’ve blogged a lot about Facebook and my back-and-forth use of it. I’ve quit and …

2022-02-10: RPGamer Editorial February 2022 - One This month saw a big Direct presentation from Nintendo, featuring many upcoming games. I wrote a …

2022-01-29: RPGamer Editorial January 2022 Recently, I realized something special about modern sprite-filled games. In this month’s editorial …

2022-01-15: RCS Messaging Misses The Point News about Apple’s and Google’s messaging services simmers on the front burner. Two different views …

2022-01-10: Hate To Burst Your Bubble Color Recent news about division stemming from Apple’s iMessage app caught my attention this week. There’s …

2022-01-09: Settling My Setup The past year has been a computer smorgasbord. Last summer, my main computer was a nice Chromebook, …

2022-01-04: New Year New Computer Howdy, y’all, and happy new year! What’s new in ’22? For starters, I did a thing. It’s part of my …

2021-12-29: Managing Task Management My workflow’s been in flux. Until recently, I relied on Apple’s Notes and Reminders apps to …

2021-12-19: A Note On Apple Watch Notes Digital note taking might be pedestrian, but it’s essential to the workflow of many; I’m certainly …

2021-12-18: When The Computing Ideal Is Impractical Happy Holidays, y’all. Blogging from one of my computers, I don’t know if it’s my primary or …

2021-12-06: Eero 6 Overview At last, my atrociously slow home internet finally gets some kind of boost, but not in speed. It got …

2021-11-30: Tales Of Computeria On this last day of November, I’m contemplating the benefits of my under-utilized laptop. Sure, my …

2021-11-03: Metroid Dread Impression Metroid 5 Is Like Super Duper Metroid. For my birthday this year, I received a physical copy of …

2021-11-02: Instagram Challenger Bokeh Canceled Around early Summer 2019, a new photo social network was kickstarted. Bokeh was to be like Instagram …

2021-11-01: Facebook Now Meta Still Problematic Last week, reaping a negative PR blitz, Facebook the company announced its new name, “Meta.” Maybe …

2021-10-27: October Unfriends Facebook This month has been one bad report after another for Facebook, coming to a crescendo this week with …

2021-10-26: Pokemon TCG Is Ever Expanding It’s also ever expensive. A little over two years ago, I started playing Pokémon TCG with my …

2021-10-23: Renewed Horizons In Animal Crossing For most of this year, I’ve played RPGs exclusively, one after another. I only dabbled in the arcade …

2021-10-12: Journaling A Few Days With Day One Journaling is a good habit. It makes sense to support it with a good tool. Some prefer good ol’ …

2021-10-02: iPhone Interactive Widgets Hide In Plain Sight Redesigned Widgets came to iOS 14, but for all their benefits, they still lack perhaps the best part …

2021-09-28: The Safari Browser Refreshes Tab Design Apple’s newly redesigned Safari web browser is now available, so I’ve been trying out the refreshed …

2021-09-25: Giving Credit To Apple Card When Apple Card launched a couple years ago, I was interested but somewhat skeptical. Could Apple …

2021-09-18: About Apple California Streaming This week was the ”Superbowl for nerds.” Apple held its annual September event where it showcased …

2021-09-11: Apple And Gaming Stuff Hello there September blogosphere. While I’ve been somewhat scarce from the blog lately, that must …

2021-08-17: Windows 11 With A Future View Earlier this Summer, Microsoft announced something new and upcoming. The age old Windows platform …

2021-08-07: Here Come The HearPods This week I was happy to hear about a new feature coming to AirPods Pro. Apple is enabling the …

2021-07-30: Tom Bihn Small Café Bag Impression There’s a new man-bag in town. Call it a satchel, cross-body bag, or a tablet bag…or heck, a …

2021-07-18: Apple Watch And AirPods Still Delightful The tech we rely on everyday is sometimes a delight and other times a disaster. When it works how it …

2021-07-06: Day One Has A New Owner Last month, I caught the news that award winning Day One journal app was acquired by Automattic, the …

2021-07-05: A Truly Smart TV Last year, I wrote about Switching to 4K video and how reluctant I was at the prospect. I figured …

2021-06-19: Books Gave Way To Games We’re about half-way through 2021. I figure it’s a good time to check on my annual reading …

2021-06-10: Apple At WWDC21 Inches iPad Forward Apple’s keynote at WWDC21 showcased a wide array of iterative and innovative software enhancements …

2021-05-28: WWDC21 Wishes Apple’s annual developer conference is around the corner, and there seems to be eager anticipation …

2021-05-24: The Edgebook Is Dead A few months back, I got a excited for a new take on an old thing. I was interested in an iteration …

2021-05-18: Of Macs And iPads How’s your month of May going? Mine has been adventurous. The new company I work for turned a corner …

2021-05-07: Contemplating Another Computer I had to take a break for a bit so I could step back from the edge of the stress cliff. My day job …

2021-04-24: Apple Sprung New Announcements Earlier this week, Apple announced a bunch of stuff. The hour long “show” was exciting and well …

2021-04-14: Looking Back And Forward On The Backlog When I was a kid in the 80s and Nintendo became a thing, I knew I wanted to be part of that. Video …

2021-04-10: Big Things Are Still Happening A few weeks back, I wrote about some stormy changes that were really rocking my boat. The storm …

2021-04-03: Apple Watch Is Wrist iPod Not long ago, I dismissed Apple Watch as superfluous. Sure, it’s a cool tech gadget, I thought, but …

2021-03-27: Not Up To The Reading Challenge Today, I’m here to talk about books or the lack thereof. Every year, I eagerly join the goodreads …

2021-03-24: Big Things Are Happening Hey, blog friends. This post is an update on personal things of late because, let me tell you, it’s …

2021-03-17: Games I Did Not Finish Entertainment comes in many forms, like a good book, movie, or video game. Sometimes, the escapism …

2021-03-11: How I Got Into RPGs OK, so you’ve got your hobbies. But have you ever thought about why you enjoy them or how you got …

2021-03-09: Quantity Or Quality In An RPG Would you rather have a good 100-hour RPG or a great 50-HR RPG? Your answer might depend on your …

2021-03-08: Better Gaming Through Broader Story Telling A hallmark of good entertainment is a compelling story. In a video game, a background story is …

2021-03-06: Why Make Apple TV Pro And Mini Apple TV hardware has languished. Apple is in the hardware business and could do better with Apple …

2021-03-03: Fantasian Looks Fantastic A Final Fantasy type game is coming to Apple Arcade! Both the renown director and the legendary …

2021-03-02: Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis Oh, wow! As if I didn’t have enough games to play, Square Enix just announced another must-play game …

2021-03-01: Tom Bihn Portable Pouch Everyday, we have stuff to carry. Mobile Computing requires its own burden of accoutrements. Take …

2021-02-25: Bokeh Will Soon Be Beta Way back in 2019, an alternative to Instagram was kick-started. The name: Bokeh. After some delay, …

2021-02-23: The Great Game Backlog I was prompted to share on this topic thanks to a Gaming Diaries post about what I’m calling the …

2021-02-17: Best Bag Quest Leads To Tom Bihn Back in January, I posted two pieces on man-bags and everyday carry. My quest is near complete; I …

2021-02-15: New Games And Games News Hello from a frigid west central Texas today. Besides enduring a rare Blizzaga, I’ve got cool news …

2021-02-14: A Social Network For Movies The other day, I wondered, “There should be a goodreads for movies.” You know, a niche site that …

2021-02-05: Kicked My Kindle To The Curb Hey, what’s your fave device to read eBooks on? Mine has been Amazon’s kindle, especially the …

2021-02-01: Using The iCloud Web Apps Does anyone really use Apple’s iCloud web apps in a browser? Well, I do! Besides using the default …

2021-01-30: Cutting The Track Review A new year, a new annual reading challenge. As usual, I’m sticking with my one book per month goal …

2021-01-28: Reset Your Digital Self You know the flustered feeling that all your tech devices and social media services can bring? Turns …

2021-01-25: A Month With Apple Watch Since getting my first Apple Watch on December 24, 2020, I’ve worn it every single day for a solid …

2021-01-23: A Periscope iPhone Camera You’re likely happy with your current smartphone. Most phones today are beyond “good-enough.” A lot …

2021-01-18: A Man Bag For Every Day Carry Do you think it’s okay for a guy to carry a man-bag? If so, are there any that you recommend? That’s …

2021-01-16: The Edgebook Is Born Microsoft is doing a thing. It looks interesting and exciting to this tech nerd. A new OS is coming …

2021-01-15: Doubt Befits Google Fitbit So, it happened. After much time, Google officially bought Fitbit; the deal is done. This tech news …

2021-01-14: My Latest Social Media Distancing Okay, here’s what’s up. I’m pausing my social media usage. Why? Lately, Twitter and Facebook have …

2021-01-11: Video Game Music Rabbit Hole A few days ago, I was scrolling the home page on YouTube. I do that. Maybe too much. One of the …

2021-01-09: Easy To Quit Facebook Hi there, web peoples. Recently, there’s been more negative chatter online about Facebook and …

2021-01-07: A Quest For The Best Bag Hello, 2021! Lately, I’ve been searching for the ideal…bag. Yeah I know, sounds boring; it’s just a …

2020-12-31: My 2020 Retrospective Howdy y’all, Jason here at 2020 year’s end for a look back at some personal highs and lows. The site …

2020-12-28: Apple Watch 30 First Impressions Hey y’all, I got my first Apple Watch ever for Christmas this year! It’s the SE version, which …

2020-12-26: Playing All The Roles Hey blog buds and fellow web surfers, I hope your holiday season is cheerful. In my time off, I’ve …

2020-12-23: Convenience Is AirPods Magic Hey blogland, I hope you’re doing well. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on AirPods. I’ve been using …

2020-12-18: Time For A Watch Upgrade After years of iterative updates and advancements, Apple’s smartwatch – finally – has won me over. …

2020-12-13: Figuring Out Photo Sites Again Like me, I bet you take lots of pictures. With your phone…er camera. And they’ve gotta go somewhere. …

2020-12-09: AirPods To The Max Hello there blog-o-sphere! December kind of sneaked up on me. It’s holiday season here in America, …

2020-11-28: Making Room For iPad I’ve been doing some “research” on the iPad, as if I have more money to spend on Apple gear – I’m …

2020-11-23: The Case Of The Lady In The Luggage Review When you go on a cruise, you expect fun and relaxation. Not murder. But for Ellie Tappet, well, it’s …

2020-11-21: All In With Apple Again It’s happening. Again. I’ve been switching up my workflow by using Apple’s apps instead of Google’s …

2020-11-14: New Macs And A New iPhone This week in Mobile Computing, two things happened. New Macs arrived; so did an iPhone. First, Apple …

2020-11-09: I Beat Final Fantasy X! Hey blog friends, I’ve not posted lately because I’ve been focused elsewhere – perish the thought! …

2020-10-30: iPhone Temptation When looking at Apple’s new iPhones, I’m tempted to buy the more expensive versions. I am lured by …

2020-10-24: Your Phone Is Your Computer In the last few years, smartphones have become more expensive. In fact, some phones cost more than …

2020-10-20: Switching To 4K Video Are you already aboard the 4K train? You know, Ultra High Definition (UHD). Despite being a …

2020-10-16: Apple iPhone Lineup 2020 Apple spilled the sauce this week. The mobile devices company revealed its newest iPhone(s). There …

2020-10-13: Spotify Plays Game Music Let’s talk music streaming for a bit. I bet you already have your go-to place for tunes. Me, well, …

2020-10-10: Ready For Ready Player Two This is interesting. Over the Summer, I read many books – ‘twas a season of readin’. Then I turned …

2020-10-09: Three Great Gamecasts These days, lots of folks binge watch shows on “Awesome Streaming Service.” Other fun things you …

2020-10-07: Nintendo Switch Like Apple iPhone When you find something great that truly works well, you want that thing. The iPhone fixed cell …

2020-10-01: The 3DS Was Switched Out After many years, Nintendo officially stopped making their super popular 3DS line of handheld gaming …

2020-09-30: Pokémon Fun Reshuffled This past weekend, I played something besides a video game: Pokémon TCG. My interest was rekindled …

2020-09-26: Evernote Is Ever Better We live in a world of mobile apps. Many companies make different types; pick your favorite! As a …

2020-09-25: HP Chromebook 14 Review It’s been about a year since I started using a laptop full-time to manage my WordPress blog and surf …

2020-09-22: Finding A Favorite Game The other day, one of my sons asked me what my favorite video game is – totally fair question! My …

2020-09-17: Apple Watch Not So Ancillary This week, Apple announced its latest steps in mobile computing, yet it omitted its greatest mobile …

2020-09-14: Geek On Games Lately, since I’ve been obsessed focused on video games, especially JRPGs, I stumbled upon two cool …

2020-09-10: Power Play Review Escapism has many forms, and I can wholeheartedly recommend this next one. With the privilege of a …

2020-09-08: Final Fantasy Role Play Hey fellow web denizens, are you ready for Summer to end, anticipating Autumn and cooler temps? I …

2020-09-01: Game On And Stress Less Life, especially in 2020, is tough at times. Yeah, that might be the understatement of the year! …

2020-08-27: The Assistant Review What happens when you put a young principled person in a shady job? Tension, lots of it. This is …

2020-08-24: Pay More With Surface Duo Are two screens better than one? Microsoft thinks so. You can now pre-order Microsoft’s new device …

2020-08-19: Hatching Twitter Review Ah, Twitter. A cultural centerpiece for controversial “conversation.” Or a minuscule micro-blog …

2020-08-12: Darth Plagueis Review Howdy, readers! It took me 7 years to finish reading a book… So I’m not the World’s Greatest Reader. …

2020-08-05: Zero Feeds Experiment Results On July 1, I started The Zero Feeds Experiment – a 30-day trial, abstaining from all news and blog …

2020-08-01: Star Wars Saga Sentiments Laser-swords and Force-chokes! Star Wars is a cultural force that I’m sure you’ve heard of. The …

2020-07-29: The Social Media Upheaval Review Like many, you’re probably weary of Facebook and Twitter. They’ve taken their toll on society. I …

2020-07-27: The Everything Store Review Do you remember shopping at Sears, K-Mart, Toys-R-Us, Hastings, or another recently bankrupt …

2020-07-25: Moving With Google Fit Lethargy feels like the mayonnaise that won’t squeeze out of the plastic bottle. To get unstuck, get …

2020-07-22: My Delusional RV Dream What’s the difference between a dream and a delusion? It may be a matter of perspective. I’ve had a …

2020-07-20: Dune Review Dune…and done! Finally, I finished reading an epic and classic story of our time. Why did I pick …

2020-07-18: The iPod Still Not Dead In 202 Other than the Mac, what is the longest running Apple product to date? I’m not sure, but it might be …

2020-07-15: New Phone Lacking One Week Later Things change so fast sometimes. You get a new phone – shiny!Then something else new happens. It …

2020-07-13: Is Google FitBit A Good Fit? In a world of tablets, there’s iPad. Then there’s…not much else really. And in a world of …

2020-07-11: Now Playing YouTube Music Premium YouTube Music kicked Spotify’s tail. But it wasn’t a fair fight! That’s because YouTube, the video …

2020-07-08: The Case Of The Floating Funeral Review If you’re missing Summer Blockbusters amidst closed theaters and have binged as much Netflix as you …

2020-07-06: Smart Tech A Dumb Idea? For someone who is into tech stuff, you’d think I’d be all over the trend of making a “smart-home.” …

2020-07-04: Mac Gets Mobile - WWDC20 Apple did their annual thing last week where they announced a bunch of cool new stuff. It’s aimed at …

2020-07-02: The Case Of The Karaoke Killer Review Like chocolate and peanut-butter, cozy mysteries bring comfort and puzzlement together with …

2020-07-01: Zero Feeds Experiment I think I know why our brains hurt. Instead of reading, we’re scanning thousands of text snippets. …

2020-06-30: Summer Blog Theme Revamp Guess what? My blog theme is changing – again – like the seasons. If I found the perfect theme, I’d …

2020-06-29: My First Stephen King Read Is Summer the best season to read books? Because I’m kind of on a reading kick. So I was wondering …

2020-06-25: Top Kindle Wishes The good folks over at the Good E Reader site asked a question this week. What would make you buy a …

2020-06-24: The Case Of The Missing Finger Review Do you ever go on a streak? I’m talkin’ about a season when you find your spare time focused on …

2020-06-23: No Filter Review Who doesn’t like a book that’s unputdownable? I finished reading one (on my kindle paperwhite, of …

2020-06-22: Slow Movement Growing Fast In many stock photos, you see a mug of coffee with a laptop or a book. Computing, reading, and …

2020-06-20: Three Anti Social Media Things I just wanna share a few things about blogging and social media. Because it’s a thing I like to do. …

2020-06-17: Transform Social Media 3 In part 1 of this article, I talked about the bad and ugly side of Social Media that overshadows the …

2020-06-16: Transform Social Media 2 We’re talking about living with Social Media for better or worse. Part 1 of this article showed the …

2020-06-15: Transform Social Media 1 Let’s talk about Social Media. It’s an established part of our culture and daily life, for better or …

2020-06-13: Bokeh To Challenge Instagram Do you wish for a better version of Instagram, not owned and operated by Facebook? Your wish may …

2020-06-08: Blogger Did A Thing It’s hard to believe Blogger has been around since the last millennium! 21 years is a long time for …

2020-06-03: A Word On Writing Tools You like to write, right? Then you want the right tool for the write-job. I’m talking about typing …

2020-05-30: Hit The Blog Refresh Button If you visit my blog regularly, then you likely noticed some big changes around early April. I had …

2020-05-18: Motorola Updates Upgrade Promise You and I both know that smartphones don’t last forever. But shouldn’t they last more than a year? I …

2020-05-16: The Smartphone Spectrum Do you think about what category your smartphone is in? Like, does it really matter to you if your …

2020-05-06: Smartphone Expiration Date When you buy meat at the grocery store, you check the expiration or “best used by” date. Nobody …

2020-04-30: Facebook The Inside Story In late February, we were treated to a new piece of nonfiction about a phenomenon in social media, …

2020-04-20: Moto Phone Mojo You, readers and bloggers, have either an Android smartphone or an iPhone, unless you’ve chosen an …

2020-04-16: Dumb Cameras Died You remember point-n-shoot cameras? Maybe you’ve got an old one tucked away in a closet or drawer. …

2020-04-13: Photo Therapy You know what I did about a year ago? I drafted a blog post pursuing the idea of using photography …

2020-04-06: Animal Crossing Impression You might have heard that a Switch game came out recently – Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’ve …

2020-04-04: Cameraphoning Bluebonnets Guess what, my friends? The Bluebonnets are back! For about three weeks each year, they bloom their …

2020-04-01: Upcoming Moto G Power At long last! Motorola’s newest mid-range and budget-friendly phones are being released in the US …

2020-03-23: Keep Is A Keeper What do an elephant and a light bulb have in common? They’re both logos for jotting down your …

2020-03-20: Animal Crossing New Horizons A year ago, my pleasant pastime was playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf… Now, I’m doing it again in a …

2020-03-16: The Mess In Messaging Communication is hard. Simple, but not easy. In this digital age, you can talk with anyone, …

2020-03-09: Months Of Wireless Goodness Who doesn’t like a good deal? Finding a bargain when shopping feels great! And while it makes sense …

2020-03-02: What Happened To Blogger? When it comes to blogging, there’s one site that always comes to mind: Blogger. My earliest blogs …

2020-02-26: Three Hundred And Counting I enjoy blogging for some weird reason, and I’m happy to report reaching a mile-marker along the …

2020-02-25: Defaulting To Android Well, guess what? You might finally be able to automatically have your iPhone just open links in the …

2020-02-24: Facebook And Instagram And Hunger Games What do Facebook, Instagram, and the Hunger Games have in common? You might think about some kind of …

2020-02-22: Flat Or Fold Or Flip Phone There’s been much ado lately about phones that fold or flip. So what’s the big deal, really? Is it …

2020-02-19: eReaders Are Not Dead An intriguing question popped up fromthe Good E Readersite this week. It asked if tablets (the …

2020-02-14: Hello Moto G Power A week ago, Motorola announced new phones for the US in 2020. Good timing, because I was about to …

2020-02-08: A Switch For Smartphone Computing I found an article related to a feature in Android 10 that surprised me. And it got me thinking. …

2020-02-05: Android Attraction Last Summer, when I ditched my iPad and switched to Chromebook, I started thinking about doing the …

2020-02-01: Ten Years Of iPad This week there were many shared thoughts on the web about the 10th anniversary of Apple’s iPad …

2020-01-25: Time For Gaming And Blogging Hey blogmates, what’s up? It’s been a busy January for me. Indeed, time is flying by fast! Only 334 …

2020-01-16: How Dedicated Things Are Better Hey there, blogosphere! Hope your 2020 is going well. My blog pace has slowed down in the last few …

2019-12-30: Looking Back At 2019 Here we are at the end of the year and even a decade. As always, it’s a good time to pause our games …

2019-12-27: From Flickr To Forever I wonder, have you heard the recent news about Flickr? You’ve heard of Flickr right? The awesome …

2019-12-23: Pokemon Replay The Pokemon bug bit me again. Yeah, must have been a Bug-type Pokemon. Of course. Actually, it was …

2019-12-16: Final Fantasy Forever I’m a bit of a Nintendo geek. Once when I was a kid, I bought my first role-playing game: Final …

2019-12-13: Tickets To Star Wars I can hardly believe it. I bought tickets for the newest Star Wars movie. Episode IX. The Rise of …

2019-11-25: Writing A Work In Progress Is this really only my third blog post for November? Wow. This is tough for me. I knew my blogging …

2019-11-08: November Is A Novella Month You know how sometimes you get busy and your routine is thrown off? Yeah, me too. That happened to …

2019-10-29: Quest For A Music Service Raise your hand if you remember iTunes in the era of the iPod and how game changing $0.99 songs …

2019-10-26: First Days Of Facebook So…last week I re-friended Facebook. I’ve been back on for a few days now. And – surprise – I have …

2019-10-24: Final Fantasy VII Remake I was blown away when I saw that Final Fantasy VII is getting remade after all these years! Why? …

2019-10-22: Taking Note Of Evernote Is it possible to geek out about notes? Would that be nerding out instead? Either way, as I like to …

2019-10-19: Refriending Facebook Alright, guess what? Six months after deleting my Facebook, I rejoined. Again. Resist no more; I’m …

2019-10-17: My 20,000 NaNoWriMo Goal Okay, I did something that might be a little bit daunting. I signed up for this year’s NaNoWriMo …

2019-10-15: Journey To A Journal If you do a little Googling, you’ll find a lot of sites that cover the benefits of keeping a …

2019-10-14: One Year Blogging If you will indulge this self-congratulatory post with me, I’d like to mark a personal milestone in …

2019-10-12: The Social Pressure Is Getting To Me Alright, I’ve got a bit of a confession. After deleting my Facebook account almost 6 months ago, I …

2019-10-10: Story Telling Perspective You know how stories are told from different perspectives: first and third-person. I already knew my …

2019-10-08: The Kindle Rekindled The kindle is back, baby! For months, it was discarded in a drawer like last year’s fashion. My …

2019-10-05: Where Dual Screen Tech Shines Tech devices keep evolving. The latest trend is dual screen folding devices. Samsung released the …

2019-10-03: Subscriptions To Escapism Entertainment abounds. It’s so prolific, you can’t escape from Escapism; it’s everywhere! We unplug …

2019-10-01: About That Blogtober Thing Okay. So there’s this thing called Blogtober. It helps bloggers push to have a post every. Single. …

2019-09-30: Novel, Novella, Or Novelette? I’ve been exploring the real world of creating fake worlds – fiction. Like seeking fireflies at …

2019-09-28: Permanent Record Review Maybe the US government is logging my keystrokes as I type this. Or maybe only Google is since I’m …

2019-09-27: What About Green Texts? The iPhone is very popular, so a whole slew of people chat with the iMessage app. I often hear that …

2019-09-26: Digital Bookstore Conundrum I’ve got a personal problem. But I think others have it too. When you buy an eBook, which eStore …

2019-09-25: A Story Pipe Dream Every now and then, my dream of writing fiction shimmies back up from the crevices between the couch …

2019-09-24: Death By Team Building Review Ah, another good book finished. Feels good to wrap up a good story. I just finished the third cozy …

2019-09-21: The Cure For Upgraditus There you are with your smartphone, holding the “future” in your hands. But then the newest …

2019-09-20: Trying Bionic Ears Last Friday, I saw an ENT Specialist in Audiology for my Tinnitus, that persistent and potentially …

2019-09-19: Race For Broadband In the countryside where I live, we don’t have hi-speed broadband internet: no cable, no fiber. We …

2019-09-18: Angel Has Fallen My wife and I enjoyed watching Angel Has Fallenat the theater last weekend – we got to go out on a …

2019-09-17: Squeezing The Tablet Some have said the tablet is dead. Others thought the tablet would replace all traditional computers …

2019-09-16: Reading Challenge Update 2019 I’ve missed reading! I started off the year doing about a book a month, but things got extra busy …

2019-09-14: Shout Out To Chrome Sites When I was all into using only my iPad for everything, I enjoyed a few websites dedicated to that. …

2019-09-13: Apple Reiterates The Smartphone Earlier this week, Apple had their annual iPhone event and announced some updates. So here are a few …

2019-09-12: Silence Is Not So Golden Living with Tinnitus may not sound like a big deal. But if you could actually hear the inaudible …

2019-09-11: Involuntary Turnover Review If you like to read fiction, you probably have a favorite genre to stick with. For me, it’s mostly …

2019-09-07: Pocket In My Pocket We’ve got a lot of cool little technology solutions these days. There’s an app or website for …

2019-09-06: The Sound Of Hearing Tech It happens to be Deaf Awareness Month, (or week…) and I stumbled upon a tweet from @Android that …

2019-09-04: Cost And Craze Of Pokemon During the past holiday weekend, my family enjoyed lots of Pokemon trading card game action, among …

2019-08-30: The Expensive Halo Effect Living in Apple land was nice and comfy. My sweet set-up consisted of just two things: iPhone and …

2019-08-26: Headphones Rescue Parents Weeks ago, I finally took the wireless plunge and bought my first bluetooth headphones. That act was …

2019-08-24: Blog Post Cramming Some people are good at ignoring certain things. But most of us pay attention to the numbers we get: …

2019-08-22: My iPhone Got Googled Would you believe me if I told you it is nigh impossible to get away from Google? The tech giant is …

2019-08-19: Privacy And Technology Mixed There’s been a lot of bad news in the past several years about data breaches and other privacy …

2019-08-17: Switch To Chromebook If you don’t have the right tool for the job, you try to make the most of what you’ve got. I tried …

2019-08-16: Switch From iPad You’ve heard the saying about the right tool for the right job. Having the wrong tool is very …

2019-08-12: My Dark Deck Got Whooped Today I played in my first Pokemon League Tournament. It was fun even though I got knocked out every …

2019-08-09: Unchained Audio A few days ago, I did one of those “finally” things. For years, I tolerated a tangle of wires, like …

2019-08-06: Unified Minds Two geeks walk into a deli. And play cards… So my wife and I are still on a Pokemon kick; it really …

2019-08-03: 50,000 Words In 7 Months Have you ever wondered what it takes to write 50,000 words? It’s kinda baked my noodle. Every …

2019-08-01: Amwriting And Daydreaming What is #amwriting, you ask? It’s a daydream of mine. It’s one of those someday things. That, “If …

2019-07-30: Going Chrome Until recently, the computery things in my house were kinda simple. My wife and kids used Windows …

2019-07-22: Good Morning My Muse Here’s a little update about my writing endeavors. I’m still plugging away at it. No novel in the …

2019-07-20: Moonshots Of Lego Fifty years ago, Earth witnessed an incredible feat: man walked on the moon for the first time. I’m …

2019-07-19: Two Must Have iPhone Features You might have noticed that new iPhones these days are not as groundbreaking as they were in the …

2019-07-17: Three Things To Buy Apple Watch Apple makes a nice ecosystem of gadgets, but the Apple Watch is one that I haven’t been compelled to …

2019-07-16: Catching All The Pokemon About that thing called Pokémon, yeah, it’s all kinda new to me. So far I like it. Specifically, I’m …

2019-07-10: Nintendo Just Flipped The Switch This here’s a bit of a reaction to Nintendo’s announcement that revealed a new version of the Switch …

2019-07-09: Pokemon Took Over My House Over 20 years ago, a sub-cultural hit was born. Either you’ve heard of Pokémon or you’ve seen the …

2019-07-01: Geeking Out On Lego For the love of Lego!The simple and wonderfully designed building blocks have been part of me since …

2019-06-17: Blogging Is Thinking Out Loud Up front, let me say that this post is meta; I’m blogging about blogging. Sometimes when I start to …

2019-06-15: Apple Evolves New Computer Breed - WWDC19 Since Apple’s recent WWDC19 keynote, I’ve processed many web articles, podcasts, and tweets about …

2019-06-13: The Instagram Alternative Kickstarted Last month, I learned about Bokeh. It’s a cool new photo/social media app that promises to be better …

2019-06-10: Apple Watch Keeps Eye On Ears - WWDC19 When Apple held their WWDC 2019 keynote last week, I tuned in for news on iPhone and iPad software. …

2019-06-08: Apple Makes iPad More Awesome - WWDC19 This week, you might have heard, was kinda like Christmas for Apple developers and fans. The WWDC19 …

2019-06-03: Missing iPad App Beyond Bonkers - WWDC19 Today, Apple did a thing. It was huge, with tons of little things in it. Like, my brain can’t take …

2019-05-31: Your Phone As Awesome As Ever We’ve got these amazing pocket computers that no longer amaze us like they used to. When iPhones …

2019-05-30: Using Ulysses For Better Blogging If writing about a writing app is too meta, then call me guilty. I’m still in my honeymoon phase …

2019-05-25: Ulysses The Right Tool For The Write Job When you’ve got to get work done, it’s great when you have the right tool and super frustrating when …

2019-05-23: Finding Feedly Again You know what it’s like to discover something new. But sometimes, it’s more interesting to …

2019-05-21: Twitter As Anti Facebook A simple little thought popped into my gray matter the other day. Instead of abandoning all …

2019-05-20: Footloose And Facebook Free Today is the day that my Facebook account info is permanentlydeleted. This ends my fourth and …

2019-05-18: Are App Subscriptions Suboptimal? Like death by a thousand cuts, nobody likes to feel nickeled and dimed by numerous subscription …

2019-05-16: A Daily Writing Habit A few months back, I found myself in unusual circumstances. I was able to get a lot of writing done. …

2019-05-13: A Better Instagram Called Bokeh Recently, I deleted Instagram and lamented its downturn from photo sharing app to social-mania app. …

2019-05-11: My iPhone Became My Wallet Years ago, I carried an iPod touch and a feature phone until I finally replaced them with just an …

2019-05-10: Subtracting Subscriptions Have you noticed how many subscription services there are these days? There’s a thing called …

2019-05-07: The Penultimate Marvel Right now, Avengers End Game is killin’ it in theaters. Seems like everyone has seen it already. …

2019-05-06: World Without Mind Review Franklin Foer wrote a book called, World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech. I read it …

2019-05-04: More Star Wars Saga Please Happy #StarWarsDay! At last, we come to it again. May 4th. Star Wars fans can geek out …

2019-05-02: Instagram Was good Until It Wasnt Do you remember back when Instagram first came out? It was not social-focused like it is today. It …

2019-04-30: Bloggers Gonna Blog Can anyone who blogs call themself a blogger? Seems like a dumb question, but I guess it depends on …

2019-04-29: A Chromebook Experiment Chromebooks are interesting computers – all-Google-or-nothin’ laptops. They’re popular because …

2019-04-27: We All Have A Like Button There’s a lot to like out there. Like…pizza! I like sharing my interests with others who are …

2019-04-26: Torn Between Two eReaders I’m kinda stuck. On one hand, I’ve got my beloved kindle paperwhite. And on the other hand, I’ve got …

2019-04-25: Push Button Paradigm Touchscreens are cool; thanks, iPhone! All glass; no real buttons to push. But I got a new device …

2019-04-19: Finally Facebook Free I guess I can keep this post simple: I deleted my Facebook account today. Finally. Of course, I …

2019-04-13: Anxious Dudes Anonymous Something has bugged me for a while. In American culture, men are basically allowed to express only …

2019-04-12: Photography With An Old iPad I’m a bit of a tech-geek, and like a lot of people, I love using my tablet. It’s an iPad Air 2, …

2019-04-11: My Facebook Relationship Is Complicated As I sit here typing on my iPad, my thoughts spill over with uncertainty. I feel conflicted – over …

2019-04-04: Nothing But A Smartphone Not long ago I wrote about pros and cons of devices designed to do only one thing well versus others …

2019-04-01: Exercise Against Anxiety Anxiety is not my favorite subject to talk about. I kind of avoid it. If you’ve had anxiety or panic …

2019-03-30: The Blog Turns Two Jason Journals has arrived at its 2nd anniversary! Yeah! It only took two years to get here! …

2019-03-28: An Awesome Blog Designer If you’ve ever blogged, then you know there are super choices when it comes to themes. The design of …

2019-03-25: Demise Of Facebook Newsfeed You and I won’t need to tolerate Facebook’s privacy woes much longer. Recent news about The Social …

2019-03-23: Finding Gems On The Open Web As one who likes to blog, I try to embrace and promote the “Open Web” or the “Indie Web.” So when I …

2019-03-21: Gaming With My Girl Did you know playing board games with your significant other can release the feel-good bonding …

2019-03-18: Let Facebook Age Out Facebook is ubiquitous. If you need to find someone, chances are they’re on Facebook. And most …

2019-03-14: The Matrix Turns Twenty One of the awesomest sci-fi movies ever came out in my life-time; it literally had people saying, …

2019-03-11: We Play Nintendo Last year for Father’s Day, my wife surprised me big-time with a refurbished Wii U! I hadn’t gamed …

2019-03-08: Deleted My Instagram Account Today Another day. Another deletion. This time it was Instagram. I had almost deleted my account back in …

2019-03-05: The Yarniest Hero Ever Superhero movies are the thing. You’ve seen them. Bombastic special effects depicting classic good …

2019-02-28: Humble Blogging Milestone In this last week of February, I reached a small but welcome marker along the path of blogging. I …

2019-02-23: Console Wars Review I just finished reading Console Wars by Blake Harris. It was Sega versus Nintendo all over again. I …

2019-02-16: Single Versus Multi Purpose Tech A Swiss Army knife is known for being this one thing you can stick in your pocket and have all the …

2019-02-10: Digital Minimalism Review Two months ago to the day, I posted thoughts on social media. It was a general look at my social …

2019-02-02: A Groundhog Tradition It’s Groundhog Day here in America. Kind of a weird holiday on the calendar when you think about it. …

2019-01-18: Blogs Back In Style Being a blogger, I really like the open and independent web. So when I read a recent article that …

2019-01-17: A Music Subscription Sounds Good Lately, I’ve had a lot on my mind. Work has been busy and somewhat stressful. Outside that, my …

2019-01-10: Tinnitus And Technology For quite some time, I’ve had tinnitus. There are 3 or 4 different tones continuously ringing in my …

2019-01-10: The Grip Of The Smartphone A thought-provoking idea was posted recently on Cal Newport’s Study Hacks blog. It asked, “Are …

2019-01-05: Computers Are Like Cars Unlike my previous post, which specifically talked about how iPhones and iPads last a long timethese …

2019-01-03: The Longevity of Apple Tech Thanks to Apple’s recent news about slowing iPhone sales, it’s apparent that people don’t upgrade …

2019-01-02: Reading Challenge 2019 People like to set goals and make resolutions at the start of the new year. But not me. Well, except …

2018-12-22: Being An Introvert On Twitter This year has seen a lot of bad news concerning Facebook and online privacy. The drum beat of …

2018-12-20: A Tech Hero Quits Facebook Venerable tech veteran Walt Mossberg announced he’s quitting Facebookafter 12 years of socializing …

2018-12-20: The Web Itself Is The Social Network Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about social media versus the blogosphere. To help distinguish …

2018-12-18: Anxious To Read Before last night, I’m pretty sure I had never heard of bibliotherapy. I discovered this term in a …

2018-12-15: Online Networkings Future In The Past Social media was supposed to be awesome. Until it wasn’t. In another recent act of backlash against …

2018-12-13: The Blogosphere Can Thrive One of my favorite blogs is Study Hacks by Cal Newport. After reading his latest post, “On Blogs in …

2018-12-10: Thoughts On Social Media Some of my thoughts lately have dwelled on Social Media like Facebook. I often re-think my personal …

2018-12-05: Reading Books Is Awesome Lately I’ve been reading a lot of books. It’s sort of becoming a habit. And I think that’s a good …

2018-11-30: What The Church Wont Talk About Review I recently read a book that I just loved! I want to write about it, but I’m not that good at book …

2018-11-28: Making It Through The Week It’s been a challenging week so far. It started with my anxiety flaring up severely. My work at my …

2018-11-15: November Is A Novel Month We are smack dab in the middle of it. The 30 day stretch where many aspiring novelists commit to the …

2018-11-14: Ebb And Flow Of Anxiety You know how thoughts and feelings come and go. My general anxiety is like that. I have long …

2018-11-12: On Writing Review In all my years, I’ve never read a Stephen King book. Until this year. I also never believed in …

2018-11-09: Anxiety And A Weighted Blanket Alright, I’ve struggled with anxiety, and many others do too. It’s no easy thing, and I don’t think …

2018-11-05: Blogging Your Best Blogging has always been something I’ve liked doing. I’ve had various blogs over the years with …

2018-10-28: Taking The iPad Further In a few days, Apple will have an event where maybe they’ll reveal new iPads. And since my iPad is …

2018-10-23: My iPad Is My Computer Not long ago, everyone had a boxy beige desktop PC, or maybe a thick clunky gray laptop. Those were …

2018-10-19: Anxious For Nothing Review A few days ago, I started reading a book by Max Lucado called, Anxious for Nothing. I first heard it …

2018-10-14: 1984 Review I’m glad to say that I finally read one of the books that’s been on my Want-To-Read list for a long …

2018-10-14: A Friend With Facebook Again I’m not sure how to say this. This is a post that I’ve felt I needed to share but I’ve been …

2018-10-13: The Busy Summer Of 2018 It’s been a while since I’ve blogged here. No excuses, really. I’m cyclical like that I guess. But I …

2018-05-11: The Magic Of Reading Books Some say there is a magic to reading books. Maybe you know what it’s like to have a real page-turner …

2018-05-04: Take Time To Make Time I was going about my normal day recently when a familiar phrase came into my mind, “So little time…” …

2018-04-06: Why I Quit Facebook I quit Facebook. I chose the nuke from orbit option: deletion instead of deactivation. The recent …

2018-03-30: Celebrating The Blog The Jason Journals blog survived its first year, so now it’s time to review the past, preview …

2018-03-23: The Matrix Of Social Media Billions of people are going about their lives every day, oblivious to the truth: just like The …

2018-03-16: Rest Works Review You don’t always know where your next good book is going to come from. You may search for one, but …

2018-03-09: The Online Photosphere When it comes to photos: snap it, edit it, share it, repeat. But where do you share it online? If …

2018-03-02: One Bathroom Is Enough In my house, seven people share a bathroom. My wife and I, with our five sons, made a big move last …

2017-12-31: The Fight And Flight Of 2017 A few months ago, I summarized my summer as one that was very anxious. Now I’m wondering how to best …

2017-12-09: Is Flickr Still A Thing? Recently I was bit by the shutterbug again! Being outside and collecting pecans, the vivid fall …

2017-10-13: Living With Less Is Enough A notion struck me about a year ago. I don’t know if it could be called an epiphany or not. But it …

2017-10-07: The End Of Newsfeed Distraction Several weeks ago, I found myself once again mindlessly scrolling the Facebook Newsfeed with my …

2017-10-06: The Anxious Summer Of 2017 After a long hiatus, I’m dusting off the Jason Journals site. Blogging is something you’re supposed …

2017-04-24: Why I Like Republic Wireless After years of buying into 2-year contracts with cell phone carriers, I finally broke free! I must …

2017-04-16: What Is A Shutterbug? Shutterbug – an amateur photographer, especially one who isgreatly devoted to the hobby; a …

2017-04-16: Flower Bugs Made Me A Shutterbug A photo I took of a single Texas Bluebonnet with bugs on it is the picture that made me become a …

2017-03-31: More Than Enough Is Not Enough It may seem a bit counter-intuitive at first, that “more than enough” is not “enough.” …

2017-02-15: Dumbify Your Smartphone A dumb phone may be a smart idea. “Too smart for your own good.” Maybe that should apply to our …