2021 Week 51/52: Thoughts and Photos

2022-01-03

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Yesterday I posted my first log entry of the year. I use a script to automatically create my log index pages, and when a new year begins, the script is designed to put one link for each previous year's index page on the main index. I hadn't tested this functionality much, so I'm glad to see that it worked as intended.

I pulled out my PlayStation Vita from the closet last week for the first time in a few years. The console runs a custom firmware and has a few Vita, PSP and PS1 games loaded onto it. I'd love to add even more games and turn it into a full PlayStation emulation machine, but the device uses proprietary memory cards that are expensive and purchase and have a maximum size of 64 GB. I know that even in its heyday the Vita had little chance to succeed in the face of the massively-popular Nintendo 3DS, but I feel it still would have done better had Sony decided to use regular microSD cards with the console.

In the wake of digitizing my family's collection of Hi8 video cassettes, we decided it was time to start scanning the piles of family papers stashed in their basement. For Christmas, we decided to buy a gift from all of us to all of us: a bulk scanner that can process a few dozen pages per minute. There are a few documents I want to archive at home, but this purchase is primarily intended for my parents, as I've already gotten rid of most of my physical files.

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Photo of the week (week 51):

Pudding Cookies

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This Christmas my wife and I decided to make cookies as gifts for our neighbors. She has an excellent recipe for soft, doughy cookies made with pudding mix, so we set out to make a half dozen for each each neighbor. In total we baked almost 80 cookies--enough to leave us with over two dozen after all the gifts were dropped off.

Photo of the week (week 52):

Paying More Than Just Cash

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We needed to purchase several items from Ikea, and we decided to make the drive out to an area store to do it. In the as-is section I found a sign stating that the purchase of certain items required registration. The stated purpose was to send the purchaser information about the dangers of tipping shelves, but I don't see a reason why related literature can't be provided at the time of purchase. I suspect it's just another way to monetize buyer information. I am a big advocate for consumer privacy, and I find this kind of requirement quite disturbing--I actually feel somewhat disinclined to shop at Ikea again.

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[Last updated: 2022-01-03]