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austinwhite.org · American English

I am a Business Analyst, designer, podcast editor and unapologetic Apple fan. I am fascinated with design and user experience. I have been told multiple times that I spend too much time on the little details that no one else cares about.

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Last post: Aug 27, 2026
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In Living Color
Aug 27, 2026 · original
In January 1989 I was playing with a popular local band called The Philtres. We were playing at a well known Providence club called The Living Room . We were the opening act for Living Color right as their debut album Vivid was released. That album had “cult of Personality” and “ Glamour Boys ” on it. We had played there several times before for the Rhode Island Rock Hunt that was sponsored by one of the local radio stations as well as other gigs at the venue. We got there and did our load in of gear and waiting for our sound check after Living Color had done theirs. Seeing Vernon Reid and Corey Glover live even during sound check was amazing. The band was incredibly tight and powerful even during sound check. The Philtres were composed of six members and me. There were two women in the band one playing drums and the other playing keys. After both bands had the soundcheck we were all in
Captain Kangaroo
Jul 9, 2026 · original
A very long time ago I was on Captain Kangaroo, a morning children’s show that was televised from 1955 to 1984. My best friend’s stepfather, Bill Thomas, was a musician who wrote and filmed these videos that appeared on the show. It was like MTV before MTV. My sister and father and grand mother were also featured in other songs. I still remember it vividly because Peter and I both got the day out of school to film the video and build a fort. 1 The added bonus that we included in the video was driving around on my go-cart at the time! I never got to meet the Captain or Mr. Green Jeans so I can’t include it in my chance encounters tag. I am the dark-haired boy in the shot. Luckily, Bill Thomas uploaded it to YouTube about 10 years ago to preserve it. The fort only had 3 sides; there was no back wall. It was propped up. Reply by email
Podcast
Jul 8, 2026 · original
Rock and Roll Confessions As a huge punk music fan and huge fan of The Clash in general, I was surprised and excited to see a new podcast come out from Terry Chimes. He was a drummer for The Clash. It’s called Rock and Roll Confessions “Future guests include Marco Pirroni of Adam and the Ants, music journalist Gary Bushell, superstar drummer Dave Barbe and iconic punk pin-up Gaye Advert.” The first episode is with Paul Simonon, his former bandmate. Reply by email
TV and Movie Tracking
Jul 7, 2026 · original
There is a lot of good television out now. I also get recommendations for new shows and movies. A long time ago I tracked this in an Apple Note. It worked but not always ideal. Another issue I come across is the other TV watchers in my house watching the same programs but at a different pace as my wife and I. So I would open up my profile on one of the streaming services and click play on the current episode and have no idea what is going on because it’s five episodes ahead of where I am because one of the kids did not switch to their profile. Television Time,CouchTimes,Sofa Time,Sofa Some time ago I grabbed an app called TV Forecast . It allows you to track TV shows by episode and movies watched and wish listed. I loved it but it stopped working and was not syncing the shows and updating the counts of shows. It got unusable. So the hunt began again. trakt has an app that I find both ove
Apple Raising Prices
Jun 25, 2026 · original
Tim Cook made the announcement a week ago to the WSJ that prices were going up. This was inevitable. Apple had managed to ride out COVID manufacturing with long-term multiyear purchases of RAM and storage. But the demand for AI everything is driving every price up. Chip and RAM companies are at capacity and building factories overnight is not a thing that can happen. Every company will feel this pain. Apple just came out and warned and put it in place now until they can find a means to keep up with the demand. It’s unfortunate but reality. Reply by email
Chance Meetings: Bill Clinton
Jun 4, 2026 · original
I was on Martha’s Vineyard for the first time in 1998. We had friends there that put us up for a few days. I got to explore the island, take in the vineyard life, and I loved it. I would make many trips back over the years for the [Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby](Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby). On the first trip there, I ended up at the Chilmark Flea Market . It’s a large and semi-famous market and artist community. Walking around the field, there were a lot of really great booths. One that caught my attention was a guy selling old signs: bar signs, gas station signs, antique brand signs. They were laid out across many cafeteria tables. I was standing there flipping through them when several men (with earpieces) in khaki shorts approached as if parting the Red Sea. Then standing next to me was Bill Clinton. He was also looking at the old vintage sig
Chance Encounters
Jun 4, 2026 · original
I was reflecting the other day about random and chance encounters I have had with “famous” or well-known people over the years, so I decided I would start to write them up. None of them were life-changing—often a brief hello or a question or two—but all were special in their unique ways. I am going to try and pull them out and put them here as I remember them. Reply by email
Stop ruining it
Jun 3, 2026 · original
Seth Godin posted this yesterday and it really spoke to how I feel about a lot of products and services today. By forcing things into a product to create Customer delight most of the time we are achieving the complete opposite. Paul McGowan makes stereos . To paraphrase his insight: The musicality isn’t a feature you add to an amplifier. It’s what’s left when you stop ruining it. To expand: Customer delight isn’t something we add to our projects. It’s what’s left if we don’t ruin it. Curiosity isn’t simply what’s left after a complete education. It’s still there if the system doesn’t ruin it. Or perhaps: Satisfaction in our work isn’t created by the boss. It’s what’s left if they don’t ruin it. And one last one: Trust isn’t something a brand builds with an ad campaign. It’s what’s left if the marketers don’t ruin it. Via Seths Blog Reply by email
Maclock or AppleTV Clock
May 14, 2026 · original
When the Maclock was released every nerd in the world, including me, went out and bought the cute nostalgic machine that functions as a clock when they became available. Maclock AppleTV Clock I had an idea for something similar a long time ago to turn an AppleTV first generation into a clock. Why? No idea but I thought it would be a cool display piece. When I moved many years ago my first generation AppleTV was lost or accidentally thrown away. I was not using it as they had moved on to the streaming boxes instead of the models with the hard drive in them that you had to download your show prior to watching it. I started searching eBay and found a used one for $19.00 and I bought it. I went to iFixit to find a good set of directions on how to disassemble it. 1 I wanted to take it apart and make sure I had enough depth to put a basic clock mechanism in it. Once I had a good accurate inter
Operating Systems
Apr 28, 2026 · original
Cleaning out my basement office, I have been finding odd bits of tech specific to operating systems that I have used including old manuals and discs or CD’s or operating systems I have used . I stated taking an inventory of all of them that I have used over time whether they are for desktop or servers. 1 This is the list I have been able to put together so far: DOS Mac Classic 3-8 Windows 3 Windows 3.1.1 for workgroups Windows 95 Windows 98 Windows XP Windows NT OS/2 HP-UX SCO Unix Open Desktop Solaris 1 Solaris 2.4 on Intel Mac OS 10.1 to current Oddly never any pure Linux systems like RedHat or CentOS etc. Reply by email
Blog Posting to Pika via Drafts
Apr 21, 2026 · original
Yesterday, there was a big update to Pika to allow you to write and post directly from Drafts to Pika using the Micro.blog endpoint. As someone who has created their own hacked-together drafts action to copy the headline and then paste it into the title field and then repeat the same for the body field, it worked, but was very inelegant. I used it primarily when I wanted to post from my phone. This method is so much better. Actual Post in drafts and the drafts posting action For one, it’s a one-step action to do everything and not have to copy and paste. It also has the ability to post the drafts tags as post tags for the piece. The other thing I just tested is it is able to carry the footnotes over as well. Prior to this, I had to add my footnotes inline as I typed or add them after. Also if you have an image on a post already and you copy the pika URL into your draft and in markdown im
My First Apple Computer
Apr 8, 2026 · original
Many people have been writing about the first 50 years of Apple and their first experiences with the computers. My first computer technically was a Commodore 64 and I would use it to type in some programs from a computer magazine and run them. But I did not feel like I was learning how to use the computer even though I was. There was nothing wrong with it but it did not click for me. Mac SE with dual floppy drives My next computer was the one my uncle gave me as he was upgrading to a more powerful Mac. I got it in July of 1988. It was a Macintosh SE. It had two 800K floppies and an external 20 meg hard drive that was attached via a SCSI cable. This was the computer I really dug into and loved using. I used it for playing games, making drawings and running applications. It was such a different experience than using the Commodore. Perhaps because I am a visual learner it made all the diffe
Losing a Friend
Mar 16, 2026 · original
Last night I was reading through my RSS feed of my favorite sites and I saw a new post on jarunmb.com which I was thrilled about since it has been a few days since Michael had posted. From the great beyond… - jarunmb.com Hi everyone, I have no idea if this is the right way to do this, but wanted to update that Michael has passed. He was surrounded by his family when it happened and lots of friends and family were able to come and say goodbye prior to his passing. I didn’t know much about his blog, but he deleted his Facebook and Instagram last like two weeks ago, so this was the best option to inform any online friends. I hope some of you got some joy from reading his posts, I think he really enjoyed writing them. If you want to do something in honor of Michael, please make a donation to St Jude, I believe he has it linked on his homepage. The post was written by Michael's daughter, Kati
Please Can We Address This
Mar 9, 2026 · original
Pun intended. ZIP Code First A US ZIP code is 5 characters . From those 5 characters you can determine the city, the state, and the country. That’s 3 fields. Autofilled. From one input. But you don’t do that, do you? No. You make me type my street address, then my city, then scroll through a dropdown of 50 states to find Illinois wedged between Idaho and Indiana, then type my ZIP, then — the pièce de résistance — scroll through 200+ countries to find United States, which half the time is filed under “T” because some dipshit thought “The United States of America” was the correct sort key. It’s 2026. What the fuck are we doing. This type of programming has always made me crazy, filling out web forms and making them for several companies I worked for. This is a clear user experience improvement. Try the form on the page yourself. But the pushback is always “well, it does not make sense to t
The Blog Question Challenge
Mar 5, 2026 · original
I know this was created elsewhere but I first saw this on It’s Craney… Q) Why did you make a blog in the first place? I think it was in a graduate school assignment where we had to create a log of some kind. While I was fine writing, it felt limiting, and I decided to create a blog and share it with the class and anyone who wanted to read it. Q) Why did you choose your current platform? Since moving to Pika , I find myself wanting to post more. It has everything I need, does not feel heavy, and, for the first time in a long time, just feels right. I love Pika. I have only been using it for a little over a year, and I love seeing the changes that being added as they grow. Q) Have you blogged on other platforms before? I started my first blog on Blogger, like many others, and moved to TypePad for years. I then tried WordPress because I used it at work, but found it too heavy and too much o
Tell Me Its Going to Be Expensive…
Mar 4, 2026 · original
Roto-Rooter Team … without telling me, it’s going to be expensive. Like many people on the East Coast, we were buried in snow last week. Rhode Island, and specifically South Kingstown, received 33 inches (.84 meters) of snow. It started Sunday evening and finished Monday night. Trying to semi-clean the driveway was hard enough, but our town plows couldn’t clear the streets until Wednesday, around 2:00 pm. On Monday afternoon, my wife noticed the drains were gurgling. I tried clearing the bathroom drains of debris, but the problem worsened: toilets flushed poorly, and the drains stayed slow. Since my septic tank is serviced twice yearly–the last time on January 7th – I wasn’t concerned about it. Once the roads were plowed, I called Roto-Rooter 1 to assess the situation. A guy came out, checked the tank, and it was full! No idea how that happened. I paid him, and he said that if I get the
My Doctor Fired Me
Feb 12, 2026 · original
In 2018, I had a cardiac event. Not a heart attack. My heart rate had not come down after taking my dogs for a walk. In the end, I had a random blood clot in my right coronary artery that required it to be dissolved, and I had a stent put in as it had attached to the artery and made the opening smaller. The procedure was fine, and I have had no problems since. As a result, I was advised to see a cardiologist once a year for checkups, bloodwork with my primary care physician, and an EKG and a stress test every few years for good measure. My original cardiologist retired, and I was referred to another. I have been very happy with the care in general. I had an appointment to see him in 3 weeks. I received a call out of the blue from someone I had never spoken to 1 , asking me if, based on my new cholesterol numbers (which were better than before), I wanted to take an additional medication e
Solar Power and the Northeast
Feb 11, 2026 · original
About 9 years ago, I added solar panels to my house. Due to the size, position, and roof alignment of my house, I was able to add 17 panels in total. Originally purchased from SolarCity and now owned by Tesla. I have been very happy with them, and on average, I get between 30% and 38% of my power from the sun each year. Obviously, more in the summer and less in the winter. While I would love to generate more and sell it back to the grid, it was not an option for me. When I signed the contract, SolarCity guaranteed X% of power, and if not, they will reimburse you for the difference. Each year, I get a check based on their original estimate. It could be $54 and has been as high as $435. Overall, I am extremely happy and doing some small part in addition to saving money on my regular electric bill, which continues to rise. It should be apparent, but what they do not tell you is that when it
Live Music is Always Special
Feb 3, 2026 · original
While a punk through and through, even to this day, I have grown to really appreciate singer-songwriters more and more as I age. The other night, we went out to see Gregory Alan Isakov at the Providence Performing Arts Center. I had purchased these tickets months ago as a Christmas gift for my wife. The theatre seats about 3,200, so not tiny but not a club either. It was built in 1928. I have seen many shows at this location; the sound is great, the stage is good-sized, and the overall visuals are strong, no matter where you sit. Fun fact: I also saw Public Image Limited (PIL) there in 1989. 1 Originally built as Loew’s State Movie Palace, it was designed to impress with gilded ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and sweeping balconies. Decades later, that original grandeur is still intact, but behind the scenes, PPAC is a state-of-the-art performance venue. Gregory Alan Isakov with the Rhode
With a little help from friends
Jan 25, 2026 · original
I moved to Pika about 15 months ago and really enjoy it here. When I switched over, I spent a lot of time copying posts from my old blogs to bring everything together in one place. It took a while, but I’m glad I did it. Still, I never made a backup directory of all my posts from over the years. I probably should have done that during the move, but I was more focused on writing again, and just getting everything into Pika was slow enough, so I skipped it. Lately, I’ve been using Drafts more often. When I start a post, I tag it as “blog.” Once it’s finished, I add the “published” tag and move it to the Archive. Thanks to Idstephens , I also export a copy of the markdown to an iCloud folder, so I have all the raw text saved. I only started doing this a few weeks ago, though. Now I’m wondering how I could get a list of all the files on the site. I did not want to cut and paste each post bac

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