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[alexpopescu]

My new blog: Alex Popescu's Jots & tl;dr blog

I have moved posting my often on the Jots & tl;dr blog by Alex Popescu

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This new blog of mine is also an experiment in using static blog generators, a trend that I have missed a bit.

[alexpopescu]

Dobrinka Tabakova - Halle, Delyana Lazarova (Classical music)

Classical music composed by a person who is still alive.

Tenderness and yearning are rarely absent from the music of Dobrinka Tabakova. The composer, born in Bulgaria and resident in Britain, possesses the courage to explore her rich inner emotional world and channel whatever she finds there into scores that speak directly to the heart.

On this album:

Orpheus’ Comet

Concerto for Viola and Strings

Earth Suite

Concerto for Cello and Strings

Musicians:

Halle (orchestra)

Delyana Lazarova (conductor)

Maxim Rysanov (viola)

Guy Johnston (cello)

Link to album on Apple Classical Music

[alexpopescu]

Accidental Tech Podcast #569: Do Grasshoppers Have Tongues? (podcast)

The one in which the hosts are having fun with Alexa answers, provide a 3 bullet points spec for ergonomic keyboards, and disagree comparing the vibes around iPhone and Apple Vision Pro launches.

Link to podcast episode

[alexpopescu]

Saint-Saëns: Symphonic Poems - Le Carnaval des animaux - L’Assassinat du duc de Guise - François-Xavier Roth, Les Siècles (Classical Music)

An incredible album. With incredible musicians. All compositions by Camille Saint-Saëns:

Phaéton in C Major, Op.39

La jeunesse d’Hercule in E-Flat Major, Op.50

Le rouwt d’Omphale in A Major, Op.31

Danse macabre in G Minor, Op.40

Samson et Dalila, Op.47

Le carnaval des animaux, R.125

L’assassinat du Duc de Guise, Op.128

Musicians:

François-Xavier Roth (conductor)

Les Siècles (orchestra)

Paul Bateman (piano)

Michaël Ertzscheid (piano)

Marion Ralincourt (flute)

Link to album in Apple Classical Music

[alexpopescu]

Improved Learning from Podcasts, Boooks, and Videos from The Power Company Climbing Podcast (podcast)

A meta podcast from a climbing podcast on how to learn from other climbing . It wasn’t very bad. Some of the advice would pass like truisms. The rest would pass like two guys talking while having the mic on. There is a part I would’ve cut: the one talking about the changes they plan to make to this podcast. It wasn’t a short part either.

Link to podcast episode.

[alexpopescu]

I feel lost… without VimIdea

I have disabled the VimIdea extension in all the JetBrains products. It’s not because I was planning for it. Or that I have a 2024 resolution to give up on vim.

For the last part of 2023, I’ve seen, almost continuously, in both IntelliJ and GoLand, an error about the IDE not being able to save the configuration.

I have reported the issue and I was told to disable all plugins. I resisted this for a while. Tried some form of bisecting. No results. It was time to disable them all.

The error seems to be gone. Yuppee!!!

Also gone? My ability to navigate the text. I am a bit scared how deep I am relying on Vim keys.

I guess it’s time to relearn the IDE native shortcuts.

[alexpopescu]

TBP #249: How to Brean into 5.11 Climbing with Coach Alex Stiger (podcast)

Mostly a sale pitch for an upcoming course offered by coach Alex Stiger. Indeed, coach Alex Stiger is doing a good job providing details about the course. I haven’t tried any online coaching programs so, honestly, I don’t know what to expect from one; nor what would make one good or bad. Climbing seems to me to be a very a single person sport, like tennis and many others. Group training needs to find the common denominator for all participants?

Link to the podcast episode

[alexpopescu]

Bach: Goldberg Variations Reimagined - Chad Kelly, Brecon Baroque, Rachel Podger (Classical Music)

On the album are J.S.Bach’s Goldberg Variiiations rearranged for ten instruments. It sounds different. It sounds interesting. From the editorial in Apple Classical Music:

Through a diversity of genres – aria, concerto, fugue, overture and trio sonata – Bach’s music is imbued with timbral and textural elegance and profundity. Kelly’s varied instrumental juxtapositions and their resultant sonorities, together with Brecon Baroque’s usual stylish and impeccable playing, make one reluctant to identify highlights.

Musicians:

Chad Kelly (conductor, harpshichord)

Brecon Baroque (Baroque Music Instrumental Ensemble)

Rached Podger (instrumentalist, violin)

Link to album in Apple Classical Music.

[alexpopescu]

Back to Work #636: Honoring My Pivot Table (podcast)

The one I’m not quite sure what was about; description says task management apps. Same topic was also discussed on Cortex #148: State of the Apps 2024 with similar conclusion.

Link to the podcast episode.

[alexpopescu]

(Podcast) Cortex #148: State of the Apps 2024

The one about tons of apps, and widgets, and workflows, and ideas. I’ve learned about the Timelines iPhone app which is too expensive for me. At the time of recording this episode, OmniFocus 4 was not out yet; CGP Grey has reviewed the space of TODO apps and decided to stay with OmniFocus at that time even if the future of OmniFocus was not clear; OmniFocus 4 was release since.

Link to the podcast episode.

[alexpopescu]

Cortex #150: 2024 Yearly Themes (podcast)

The one from which I’ve learned more about Yearly themes[1]. This really got me thinking what my 2024 yearly themes could be. I oscillate between two and too many.

Link to podcast episode.

Tumblr makes me sad every day I have to use it. It has become a piece of ...

First time I’ve heard about yearly themes though was in the ATP #568 The Year of Romance ↩︎

[alexpopescu]

What a list of comics! Ritesh Babu's Comics I Loved In 2023

A list of 28 comics out of which I’ve only heard of one title. I don’t know where Ritesh Babu is picking his comics from, but judging by the enthusiasm of the reviews and the covers, these are looking absolutely fabulous.

[alexpopescu]

Éventail - Heinz Holliger, Anton Kernjak

I liked some pieces. Others sounded very complicated. Heinz Holliger, playing oboe, is born in 1939. Many of the composers on this album are new to me.

Compositions on the album:

Ravel: Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera, M.51

Saint-Saëns: Oboe Sonata in D Major, Op.166

Jolivet: Controversia

Messiaen: Vocalise

Messiaen: Morceau de lecture à vue

Ravel: 2 Mélodies Hébraïques, M.22

D.Millhaud: Vocalise, Op.105

Debussy: Syrinx, L.129

Koechlin: 11 monodies, Op.216

Jolivet: Chant pour les piroguiers de l’Orénoque

Debussy: Petite Pièce, L.120

Saint-Saëns: Le rossignol

R.Casadesus: Oboe Sonata, Op.23

Artists:

Heinz Holliger (oboe)

Anton Kernjak (piano)

Wikipedia: Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss virtuoso oboist, composer and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Classical pieces, but he has regularly engaged in lesser known pieces of Romantic music, as well as his own compositions. He often performed contemporary works with his wife, the harpist Ursula Holliger; composers such as Berio, Carter, Henze, Krenek, Lutosławski, Martin, Penderecki, Stockhausen and Yun have written works for him. Holliger is a noted composer himself, writing works such as the opera Schneewittchen (1998).

[alexpopescu]

Podcast: "Upgrade #490 The Cat Has a Team of Lawyers"

The one I listened to as John Siracusa was a guest. The most interesting section discussing the default apps on a Mac, based on Jason Snell’s article On macOS, it’s best to start with the default.

I use a clipboard manager. It is now the Clipboard manager in Better Touch Tool as it provides the most extensibility: defining shortcuts, adding filters, transformations, etc. I really love it ❤️. Except the bug related to the Universal clipboard usage.

Link to podcast episode

Pour les connaisseurs: Siracusa Says.

[alexpopescu]

Podcast "Huberman Lab: How to Prevent & Treat Cold & Flu"

A seasonal podcast episode. I’m listening to it as I post this. What I’ve learned:

cold and flu are both viruses

I am not the only one not able to differentiate between the two

most often the virus makes it into our body through the eyes

why is it through the eyes? We tend to touch our eyes very frequently, particularly after meeting people, shaking hands, hugging.

Link to podcast episode

[alexpopescu]

Classical album: "Louise Farrenc: Piano Trios, Sextet - Linos Ensemble

Peaceful. Nice. I don’t remember listening to much Farrenc before.

Louise Farrenc was a French composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher of the Romantic period. Her compositions include three symphonies, a few choral works, numerous chamber pieces and a wide variety of piano music. — Wikipedia

Compositions on this album:

Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op.33

Sextet in C Minor, Op.40

Clarinet Trio in E-Flat Major, Op.44

Link to album in Apple Classical Music

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[alexpopescu]

Comic book: "The Riddler - Year One"

The story line is a common one. Artwork is very attractive with many unique touches. It’s the origin story of The Riddler, a character from The Batman. A six issues series that I’d definitely like to finish.

Writer: Paul Dano

Art by: Stevan Subic

Published by: DC, 6 issues

Link to comic book