Author Archives: Steve Mays

Organizing videos

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I posted my first video to YouTube in February, 2006. Just a year after YouTube launched in 2005. (Yes, it was lame)

Since then I have embedded or linked to YouTube videos 713 times. That’s a lot, particularly if I wanted to see videos by category. For example, all videos on the topic of CONSCIOUSNESS. Or, all videos of my Land Rover. While I have a Land Rover category, many of those posts don’t include a video. The 6,400 posts here at smays.com are organized in 41 categories with 256 tags. 

While most of those 713 videos were created by someone else, I created 167 of them and 73 of them are YouTube selfies (me talking to the camera.)

Are you confused yet? It gets even more complicated. I created a category for videos not hosted on YouTube. These include .mp4, .mov, with a few Vimeo and TED Talk videos.

The goal here to make it easier to find videos by topic. Watch this space.

Quiet quitting

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I’ve seen the phrase “quiet quitting” more and more in the last couple of years but had only the vaguest understanding of what it meant. ChatGPT explains:

Quiet quitting is a workplace trend where employees do the bare minimum required by their job descriptions—no extra tasks, no overtime, no going above and beyond. It’s not about actually quitting but about setting boundaries and disengaging from the traditional “hustle culture” mentality.

This concept gained traction as a response to burnout, low pay, and the expectation that workers should always be “going the extra mile” without additional compensation or recognition. Quiet quitting isn’t necessarily about laziness; for many, it’s a form of self-preservation and work-life balance.

Critics argue that quiet quitting leads to a lack of ambition and weakens company culture, while supporters see it as a necessary pushback against exploitative labor practices. The phenomenon reflects broader shifts in attitudes toward work, particularly among younger generations who prioritize well-being over career-driven sacrifice.

Murderbot TV series coming May 16

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Martha Wells’ award-winning sci-fi book series will soon be a streaming series, co-created by Chris and Paul Weitz and starring Alexander Skarsgård. Murderbot is described in an Apple TV+ press release as a “comedic thriller,” which matches up with the books; Skarsgård plays the title character, “a self-hacking security construct who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients … Murderbot must hide its free will and complete a dangerous assignment when all it really wants is to be left alone to watch futuristic soap operas and figure out its place in the universe.”

This is pretty much how I pictured Murderbot.

Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries is a science fiction series centered around a self-aware security android that has hacked its own governor module, allowing it to act independently. Rather than fulfilling its assigned duties, it prefers to binge-watch entertainment feeds and avoid human interaction. However, when its human clients face danger, Murderbot reluctantly steps in, often grappling with its own identity, autonomy, and the moral implications of its actions.

The series begins with All Systems Red (2017), where Murderbot protects a group of scientists from corporate sabotage. As the series progresses, it embarks on a journey of self-discovery, questioning what it means to be free while uncovering deep corporate conspiracies. The series blends action, humor, and existential reflection, making it a unique and engaging read. Murderbot’s dry wit and awkwardness make it a relatable and beloved protagonist in modern sci-fi. (ChatGPT)

Photos: Title, caption, keyword

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Just finished adding captions to the 2,490 photos and 33 videos in the Photos app on my MacBook. I’ve been diligent when it comes to giving a title to each photo and have waxed and waned with keywords. But not so good about captions because I really didn’t understand their function in the Photos app.

In the MacOS Photos app there are three primary pieces of information. The title appears in the Photos app, but not on the iPhone. I used to go a little crazy with Keywords but started over with this update. Since I have every photo in at least one Album, Keywords are not as important. I’m still thinking about how I’ll use them.

The Caption (the red rectangle above) is probably the most useful metadata and what I omitted on most of my photos. I think of captions like those descriptions people used to write on the back of a photo or in the margin. “Uncle Ernie and Aunt Betty at the State Fair in Des Moines on their honeymoon in 1937.” Captions can be as long or as short as needed with each word or phrase searchable. Where there is a corresponding post here, I include a link in the photo caption.

When I tell friends what I’m doing most are quick to point out that the Photos app has enough intelligence to find all “trees” or “flowers” or “pickup trucks.” What they’re really telling you there is no way in hell they’re going to put captions on thousands of photos. And I don’t blame them. If you save every photo and are willing to endlessly scroll/search when you want to find one… okeydoke.

I am much more intentional with my photos. Having half a dozen nearly-identical photos is just clutter because someone was too lazy to select the best and delete the rest. Keeping a poorly composed or blurry photo makes no sense to me. Just delete it. Which is easy to do… unless you wait until there are hundreds (or thousands) and the task becomes too daunting.

Who, you might ask, is ever going to look at those photos 50 years from now? Or read these blog posts in the unlikely event it’s still here? My answer: ChatGPT or one of her decedent’s. For the same reason archeologists sift the ashes of Pompeii.

Zap Car

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(Wikipedia) “ZAP was an American company that specialized in electric vehicles of various types, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, watercraft, hovercraft, ATVs and commercial vehicles. Its name was an acronym for Zero Air Pollution. It was based in Santa Rosa, California, but it is no longer active.”

I spotted this beauty on the floor of MacWorld in 2008.

“You are who you hang with”

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Singer Sheryl Crow, 63, waved goodbye to her Tesla as she sold the electric car and blasted billionaire “President Musk” in a viral clip. “There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla,” Crow captioned an Instagram post rebuking Elon Musk’s intensifying political power as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency as well as President Donald Trump. Crow pledged to donate the money generated from the sale to NPR, “which is under threat by President Musk,” in hopes that “the truth will continue to find its way to those willing to know the truth.” About her decision to sell the car, Crow wrote, “My parents always said … you are who you hang out with.” (The Daily Beast)