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    šŸ˜® Oops, I didnā€™t take my watch off

    Remember my video about why I chose a Garmin instead of an Apple Watch? I was sending and painting for a while when I realized I had forgotten to take off the watch. If you look closely enough, you will notice that there are paint drops on my arm. Some of them ended up on the watch, but that’s alright. All you had to do was wash it, and everything worked out fine.



    Why not an Apple Watch or Wear OS?

    Before the Apple Watch, there was the PebbleĀ (image below). I loved that smartwatch, but the end was inevitable, the company eventually went bankrupt, andĀ was sold to Fitbit. The final nail in the coffin was the watch being discontinued, and the servers turned off.

    Without the servers, many features would stop working, and the experience wouldn’t be the same. To save us, aĀ group of enthusiasts created Rebble to bring life back to the Pebble. I appreciate what they did, but it’s not the same. Our watches would inevitably get old and parts would break.

    Long story short, I could never find a smartwatch alternative that would check all the boxes: waterproof, buttons instead of touch screen, e-ink display, long-lasting battery, health sensors, and good quality build.Ā I ended-up moving to a G-Shock, that I absolutely love. However, it was not a complete experience. I was constantly missing the health sensors.

    It was only recently that I came across an alternative from Garmin. Yes, I completely missed the original Instinct release. But that’s ok. I recently got the Instinct 2, and I’m thrilled. Not only it checks all the boxes, it looks like the G-Sock I was wearing.

    A Pebble smartwatch with a rectangular face displays a charging icon and the text Fully Charged, while connected to a charging cable.


    A new old Apple IIe

    TheĀ Apple IIĀ was the first computer I ever used. This is aĀ IIe I recently got on eBay, but unfortunately, it is not working. When I plugged it in, I saw smoke coming from what, I think, is a capacitor on the C15 position on the board. Next step, figure out what that part actually is and order a replacement.

    A disassembled vintage computer with its circuit board exposed is placed on a workbench alongside a tablet displaying information, a multimeter, and other electronics tools.

    I have no experience with electronics, multimeters etc. This is definitely going to be a long-term adventure.



    Apple IIe keyboard layout

    To able to put all the keys back together, I took a picture of the Apple IIe keyboard before taking it apart to clean it up. I hope that the picture below will help someone who forgot to photograph the keyboard before disabling it. The layout is European, from Germany. However, if you look closely, you will see that the US layout letters are also on the keys.



    Apple IIe RIFA Capacitors

    There are two RIFA capacitors in the Apple II power supply unit, a.k.a. PSU, that are prone to blowing out and a fuse that may or may not need to be replaced. After watching so many restoration videos, I came to the conclusion that replacing these capacitors should be the first repair done if you intend to embark on a restoration journey. You’ll find below the specifications and a video from lmull3 explaining how to do it.

    Specifications

    • 0.1uF 100nF 275 Vac CLASS X2 CAPACITOR
    • 0.47uF 470nF 275 Vac CLASS X2 CAPACITOR
    • GLASS FUSE F2A 250V




    Human Driving

    I lived in this world where most of the cars were self-driving. So much so that I was one of hardly any people still actually driving. For some reason the awake me can’t understand, I was not happy with all those autonomous vehicles and commissioned a bumper sticker to protest:

    HUMAN DRIVING

    When I woke-up and was proudly sharing my brilliant sticker idea with my wife, it occurred to me how silly that was. After all, no self-driving car would ever read it.

    By the way, I love the idea of a world where no humans drive. Or at least I thought so.



    Getting away from the problem for a while often leads to new insights

    Taking a break is as important as getting into the flow

    Itā€™s my belief most people come here for the free Wi-Fi. Not me. I have an office, that is also my studio, and even a comfortable home office. But I do my best to come to this Starbucks at least once a week toĀ edit a video.

    Why?

    I call it my Coffee Office Day. And last Friday was a special one. The city streetsĀ are not empty anymore. On contrary, everything is getting back to normal. Iā€™m hearing people speaking English, French, Spanish and some other languages I have no idea what they are.

    Welcome back, Porto!

    Randomness

    Have you readĀ The Click Moment, from Frans Johansson? One thing Iā€™m looking for when I come here is getting away from my comfort zone.

    You need to take time, even schedule time, to explore things that are not directly related to your immediate goal. You need to take your eyes off the ball in order to see and connect with the possibilities around you. ā€”Frans Johansson

    The Flow State

    There’s more. When Iā€™m here, I seldom ask for the Wi-Fi password, or connect my phone to the computer. My goal is to avoid online distractions, and, at the same time, enjoy people speaking a multitude of languages. I love to edit here. As soon as I sit down and open my computer, I enter the Flow State. Itā€™s magical.

    Flow is great, but one has to escape from it once in a while to avoid exhaustion and to break the blind alleysā€™ paralysis. At my office I have a different strategy, but here I do it by raising my head and looking around for a while. It never fails. In essence, this is how theĀ Pomodoro TechniqueĀ works.

    During that moment, I try to guess what a person is doing. Is he working? Is she messaging a friend? Where are they from? Iā€™ve seen it all. From job interviews to friends from different countries meeting accidentally.

    It takes no more than a couple of minutes. Suddenly everything becomes background noise again, and I’m back to the computer.

    Something tells me I developed this ability when I lived in Boston, back in 2015. But this is a story for another day.

    Have a nice week!



    Spring 2022

    As in so many other countries, the first of May is Labor Day in Portugal. However, there’s also an old tradition linked to this date. It’s known as ā€œDia das Maiasā€ (Maias' Day).Ā In fact, it all starts on the 30th of April, when people put yellow genisteaeĀ bushes outside windows and front doors.

    A bouquet of vibrant yellow flowers is arranged in a vase against a backdrop of greenery.

    There are several theories that explain the origins of this tradition, most of them connected to religion. As an amateur gardener, what resonates with me the most is the symbolism of the end of the winter.

    šŸŒ± I love the way plants respond to spring. It feels so magic

    Unfortunately, we don’t haveĀ giestas amarelas (yellow genisteae) bushes, but my wife picked-up some yellow flowers early today when she was walking our dog.



    It feels like driving on a highway not wearing a seat belt.

    When I arrived at the checkout counter, all the other cashiers were teasing him.Ā I only understood all that buzz when I looked up. He wasn’t wearing a mask.

    A white protective face mask is sitting on a wooden surface.

    I was aware that the government was discussing new measures that day, but my brain took a while to assimilate that a store employee, that person right in front of me, wasn’t wearing a mask.Ā He had this wonderful happiness face, replying to his friends:

    ā€”No, I’m not going to wear it anymore

    That was a great smile. Made my day.

    Starting on the last last 21st, masks in Portugal are only mandatory on public transportation and health related situations, like hospitals, home care, etc.

    It’s remarkable how we humans get used to new habits.Ā It’s a week after the new rules, and it still feels like something is not quite right when I enter a store without my mask.

    šŸ˜Æ Feels like driving on a highway, not wearing a seat belt.



    Will the world ever get back to how it was before?

    Last month, after so many months in lockdown, I finally got fully vaccinated against the Corona-19, and now Iā€™m gradually starting to enjoy simple things again. My wife and I went to some of Portoā€™s popular touristic sites the past weekend, but something was off. No busy people walking around, no crowds on most streetsā€¦

    Blue fabric sculptures are suspended above a cobblestone street lined with shops and historic buildings. ā€‹



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