Tech Bytes

I took a blogging hiatus for a couple of months. Ok, no, that’s a lie. There was no specific REASON I took off two months, I just didn’t WRITE anything for two months. Sigh. Well, that’s also kind of a lie. I did write a couple of posts, but never published them. If a tree falls in the woods when no one is around, does it make a sound? Ok, enough of that. I have been up to a bunch of OTHER stuff the past two months though — read a couple of books, launched two podcasts at work, ate a bunch of Mardi Gras king cake. So, you know, some productive stuff, and some not-so-productive stuff.

I figured I’d ease my way back into things with a Tech Bytes post, and then the plan is to have some entertaining/helpful/funny content ready to go for next week. So with that, you know the drill — here are the five very best things (not necessarily tech related and in no particular order) I found around the internet this week that I thought you guys might like too.

1. I am obsessed with the Theranos story. OB-SESSED. I obviously knew the general gist of what was going on with the company because it was always in the news (and then when everything went to hell it was REALLY in the news). I also had a little more interest in it than the average person because of the connection to my alma mater, Stanford. But over the past few weeks my interest turned into a full-blown addiction. I finished the Bad Blood book (excellent read, btw), and also listened to a podcast called The Dropout, which gives a good overview of the Theranos rise and fall, but doesn’t go into near the amount of detail that the book does. And today I found a “sneak peak” of the HBO documentary called, “The Inventor” that I hope will share even more juicy details and perspectives that weren’t covered in the book and the podcast. The whole thing is just so incredibly fascinating. If you haven’t read much about it, what are you waiting for?! The book reads like a crime thriller, and it will have you Googling people and additional articles for hours after you finish each chapter. It’s just so darn good. So good that I may actually write up some more of my thoughts on the book in a later post.

2. AirPods are now, dare I say, ubiquitous? And I’m not talking about in the Bay Area, where even little bitty grandmas have every single product Apple has ever made on the very first day they launch. I’m talking about right here in the good ‘ol South. Gone are the days where people sneakily try to pretend that they aren’t staring at me while simultaneously trying to figure out what is sticking out of my ears. It feels good to (finally) blend in! Speaking of finally, Apple has been talking about the next gen AirPods 2 model for what seems like forever, but up until now we’ve been left to wonder if they actually exist. It appears they do (yay!), and here’s the latest scoop.

3. What is WRONG with kids these days?! Is there no sacred internet-based platform anymore?! I was talking to C the other night about the issue of “bullying” and we literally had no recollection of it being THIS bad when we were in grade school/middle school/high school. And I PROMISE you while I wasn’t an outcast, I also wasn’t part of the cool kids’ group. Of course, I am not naive enough to think that bullying didn’t happen in the ’90s, but it’s like it has been taken to a whole other frighteningly brutal level in the 2010s. In all seriousness, it terrifies me to think about what my future children will be dealing with over the next 10-20 years.

4. Speaking of HBO and obsessions, if you have kept up with this blog even a little bit you know that I’m also obsessed with Game of Thrones. The 8th and final season (tear!) starts on April 14th, and HBO just released the trailer. It doesn’t reveal much, but it still — gooooosebumppppps!

5. And finally, I’ll end on a rather boring (but important!) Google Chrome PSA — do it now, people!

We’re going to be not-so-busy recovering from Mardi Gras and some minor colds, and at the same time entertaining a super-awesome out-of-town guest. And there may or may not be some cookie dough tasting on the agenda. More to come on that.

Enjoy the weekend, friends!