sef.kloninger.com (Posts about podcasts)

My Love Letter to ATP

Sef Kloninger — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 01:00:00 GMT

I listen to a fair number of podcasts. The Accidental Tech +Podcast is my favorite by a mile.

It's the one that I look forward to every week. It comes out on +Thursdays, often right when I'm leaving work. It's a sign that +the weekend is right around the corner.

I'll get some of the reasons why out of the way quickly, the reasons +particular to me and my tastes.

The topic, the world of technology and all things around it, + is right in my wheelhouse. It's my profession, but also my hobby. + That's what got me in the door. If this stuff isn't your thing, + then this podcast won't be either.
They talk a lot about Apple products and that ecosystem, which + where I spend my personal time.
But they also cover a lot of issues that touch on the world of + technology: business, law & politics, companies, social media. + I like their descriptions, their take, their rants.
They end up talking a lot about personal tech too. Like how to + manage family photos and backups. The hard, fussy stuff that ends + up taking up so much of our lives. For example, what's the best + way to help parents deal with passwords. Hard stuff!
I especially like tech-adjacent topics like home audio/video, + home automation, and gaming.

But what I appreciate more than the content of ATP are the +hosts and the care and they take to produce a good show.

They are friends. It's nice hanging out with people + who like each other. It's kind of like we have permission + to eavesdrop and be a part of that.
They're not afraid to discuss their lives. + Stuff like families and work/life stress. + This is good stuff for me because I'm in that the same life + situation as them, middle-aged tech dads. + But bringing their whole selves + to the show is a bit of vulnerability that I appreciate.
ATP is exceptionally well produced. I didn't + appreciate this until I'd heard so many other podcasts that + are produced terribly, with bad recordings or poorly mixed. + Usually you have to turn to the corporate, fancy + podcasts, but they also have lots of ads and are + usually different kinds of shows.
And the show is so well edited. They edit it without + losing any of the content or the pacing, and sparing us all the + awkward "um where were we" and technical futzing.
They don't talk over each other. Part of this is discipline, + part of this is just politeness. But also now that I've listened + to the pre-edit "bootleg" a couple of times, I've come to appreciate + how much of this is also fixed in the edit. Nice job Marco.
They are respectful. They don't put people down, they aren't + mean. When they kid each other it's in good fun.
When (rarely) they wade into social justice or + world events, they do so respectfully and thoughtfully. + They understand that as three three cis-gendered white guys, + it's good to have views to share, but also right to listen + and help others.
Their show is reliable. It's great that they keep to a + regular format schedule. It fits into the rest of your life + and becomes something you count on.
Finally, some small things: Yay for proper use of + chapter markers, hardly anybody else does. And I like their + their occasional forays into car talk, just because I like car + stuff too.

Although they joke about how much of the show is devoted to feedback, +it's one of my favorite parts. It shows that they listen and are +learning. And they share that learning with all of us. A recent +example was six minutes or so into Episode 570 when I learned +how home power battery systems, when full, signal this by changing +the frequency of AC power as a signal to solar panels to back off. +Fascinating!

I like the members-only specials. It's OK with me that these are only +available to members. +I like how candid they've been talking about ad revenue drying up +recently and they could use the extra revenue channel. these +episodes are a nice way to reward members. They've managed to +do these without compromising the core show.

The best thing they ever did on ATP was getting a sponsor to send John +toasters to review. And review he did! I didn't appreciate how +many bad toasters there are, and how they can be bad for so many +reasons. My favorite reason was poor knob feel.

Nice work John, Marco, and Casey. +Please keep it up for a long, long time.

The iPhone's SIM Tray Went Away Too Soon

Sef Kloninger — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 01:00:00 GMT

I listen to a fair number of podcasts. The Accidental Tech +Podcast is my favorite by a mile.

It's the one that I look forward to every week. It comes out on +Thursdays, often right when I'm leaving work. It's a sign that +the weekend is right around the corner.

I'll get some of the reasons why out of the way quickly, the reasons +particular to me and my tastes.

The topic, the world of technology and all things around it, + is right in my wheelhouse. It's my profession, but also my hobby. + That's what got me in the door. If this stuff isn't your thing, + then this podcast won't be either.
They talk a lot about Apple products and that ecosystem, which + where I spend my personal time.
But they also cover a lot of issues that touch on the world of + technology: business, law & politics, companies, social media. + I like their descriptions, their take, their rants.
They end up talking a lot about personal tech too. Like how to + manage family photos and backups. The hard, fussy stuff that ends + up taking up so much of our lives. For example, what's the best + way to help parents deal with passwords. Hard stuff!
I especially like tech-adjacent topics like home audio/video, + home automation, and gaming.

But what I appreciate more than the content of ATP are the +hosts and the care and they take to produce a good show.

They are friends. It's nice hanging out with people + who like each other. It's kind of like we have permission + to eavesdrop and be a part of that.
They're not afraid to discuss their lives. + Stuff like families and work/life stress. + This is good stuff for me because I'm in that the same life + situation as them, middle-aged tech dads. + But bringing their whole selves + to the show is a bit of vulnerability that I appreciate.
ATP is exceptionally well produced. I didn't + appreciate this until I'd heard so many other podcasts that + are produced terribly, with bad recordings or poorly mixed. + Usually you have to turn to the corporate, fancy + podcasts, but they also have lots of ads and are + usually different kinds of shows.
And the show is so well edited. They edit it without + losing any of the content or the pacing, and sparing us all the + awkward "um where were we" and technical futzing.
They don't talk over each other. Part of this is discipline, + part of this is just politeness. But also now that I've listened + to the pre-edit "bootleg" a couple of times, I've come to appreciate + how much of this is also fixed in the edit. Nice job Marco.
They are respectful. They don't put people down, they aren't + mean. When they kid each other it's in good fun.
When (rarely) they wade into social justice or + world events, they do so respectfully and thoughtfully. + They understand that as three three cis-gendered white guys, + it's good to have views to share, but also right to listen + and help others.
Their show is reliable. It's great that they keep to a + regular format schedule. It fits into the rest of your life + and becomes something you count on.
Finally, some small things: Yay for proper use of + chapter markers, hardly anybody else does. And I like their + their occasional forays into car talk, just because I like car + stuff too.

Nice work John, Marco, and Casey. +Please keep it up for a long, long time.

The iPhone's SIM Tray Went Away Too Soon

Sef Kloninger — Sun, 10 May 2015 16:30:00 GMT

If you've traveled internationally, likely you've used a SIM card for local data and calls. There is a nice ecosystem around SIMs with a wealth of easy and affordable Pay As You Go (PAYG) options.

@@ -215,16 +298,4 @@ Francisco round-trip. I'd like to work with friends want to do something worthwhile.

You can always get to my resume from the header here, or via this short link. I'm open to a bunch of things, just no kick boxing. Let's -have coffee/drink or take a walk.

Perspective

Sef Kloninger — Wed, 06 May 2015 07:05:37 GMT

-
Test drive of a petrol car - http://t.co/lPQ0xcs7uU
— sefk (@sefk) May 4, 2015 -

- -

Right when I was thinking about writing a post about much we overlook -the sins of the status quo, some Swedes -took care of it for me. Tack vänner!

Tear around town carrying gallons of incendiary liquid just inches -beneath my beloved family? -In a mode of transport that kills upwards of thirty thousand Americans every year? -Sure, that's fine.