vlog

though i am a loyal apple customer and think they’re products are generally think they’re products are pretty great. do i think they’re perfect? certainly not. nor would i say everyone should get an iphone, over an android, especially given their cost. there are some cool things androids do that apple doesn’t and i recognize that.

still, whenever apple comes out with a new iphone and it has problems, the media and everyone else freaks out. since i’ve never owned or used an android phone, i don’t know much about them, but i can’t imagine they’re perfect and free of flaws when new versions are released, though i’ve never heard the press say anything about it.

when apple released the iphone 5 to problems with its antenna when the phone was held a certain way, that was a pretty big snafu and to me a legitimate cause for griping.

the things people are complaining about now, to me, are not good reasons to complain. they’re complaints by stupid people and they should be dismissed as such.

 

if you’ve subscribed to my youtube channel, but aren’t getting emails when i post a new video, here are the steps:

  1. go to your youtube channel
  2. click on “my subscriptions”
  3. on your subscriptions page, you should see a link that says “manage subscriptions” click on it
  4. check mark the box next to my channel (regardingfrost) under “send me updates”
  5. then, on the activity drop down, you can either select “all activity” (default) or “uploads only”

if you have trouble, let me know, though i think it’s pretty straight forward. and of course, that’s if you want such notices (i think you do).

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…and the referendum vote in scotland to stay part of the united kingdom.

i do my best to stay up on world affairs, but as the world seems to be spinning out of control at an ever-increasing rate, it’s hard to stay engaged knowing there’s little i can do about it without wanting to give up and set the whole thing ablaze.

still last thursday’s historic vote in scotland on whether or not to leave the united kingdom was particularly interesting. i watched patiently as the votes were counted, while political commentators discussed the vote from every angle imaginable. actually, part of what was so entertaining for me was how much the coverage seemed to mimic election coverage here in the states: reporters camped out at the different watch parties, talking to supporters on both side of the issue, and speculating on the outcome.

in the end, somewhere around 90% of scotland voters decided to continue on as a partner in the united kingdom, with both sides promising there would be positive changes in the future.

i know the politics in europe are different than they are here, but i will be nonetheless surprised if there are any real, substantive changes to the benefit of the scotish people….

laborfest was great fun. and what an inspiring way to spend an evening. the keynote speakers were gerald horne, moors professor of history and african-american studies at the university of houston, and steve early, a labor journalist, lawyer, organizer, and union representative. both were entertaining and interesting, but i have to say professor horne was great. i bought his book, fighting paradise: labor unions, racism, and communists in the making of modern hawaii. my friends bart dame and bill puette also participated, as well as others from various backgrounds.

if you’re interested, you can see the whole event broadcast on olelo:Screen Shot 2014-09-20 at 3.32.16 PM

also, check out hawaii alliance for progressive action (hapa). it’s an organization from which i expect great things. consider getting involved and help make hawaii a better place for all of us and for future generations.

and stay tuned for exciting news about the new collaboration project with my old friend shawn steiman.

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i tried out recording with the iphone again. it worked well, especially with the new little mic attachment i got. unfortunately, i forgot how the video looks when i hold the phone upright. i’ll remember next time to use it in landscape. and to hold the phone up higher, so you’re not looking up my nose the whole time….

so bills 42, 43, and 46 are all pretty awful, though i can’t say i’m surprised by the outcome. instead of focusing on actually fixing some of the root problems that cause homeless, the city council and mayor have bowed (once again) to the concerns of businesses and the tourist industry, rather than really helping people.

i’d be less critical and disappointed had the city fully implemented a comprehensive housing first program before passing these unfair, oppressive, and cruel bills. and built additional public restrooms in waikiki. instead, they’re going to spend something like $3 million to create a temporary camp near a landfill and land that may very possibly contaminated. but who cares, so long as the tourists don’t have to see these people, or realize that we’re a city like any other, with real issues. we’ll sell the idea of paradise even at the expense of our poorest and most vulnerable.

call your councilperson. call the mayor and tell them how disappointed you are.

here’s the link to the pod cast i mentioned. definitely check it out. i’ll also put a link here to the npr town square episode just as soon as it’s posted on line.

 

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i’m not kidding when i say i’m a restless sleeper. the sheet-mattress clamps are real and even with them it’s only a matter of time before sheets are kicked off the bed. it’s been this way for me since i was a child and it hasn’t gotten better as i’ve gotten older.

i have a misfit shine (and previously a jawbone up wristband) that can track my sleep patterns. i’m not really sure how accurate these little bits of technology are at measuring the quality of my nightly rest. my shine tells me that even on those nights when the time between i go to bed and the time when i get up is eight hours or more, i never get more than three or four hours of “restful sleep”. by tracking my movement it seems to be telling me that even when i’m asleep, i still don’t seem to be getting a lot of rest.

to get a solid eight hours of restful sleep, it seems i’d have to have about 15 hours, give or take, every night to devote to sleeping. that doesn’t seem very efficient and is unlikely to happen.

i have contemplated visiting a sleep clinic. at my next regularly scheduled check up, i do plan on talking to my doctor about this stuff. or, at a minimum, ask him how accurate he thinks these little sleep trackers, like my misfit, are at calculating my quality and duration of sleep.

and maybe i’m off and most people don’t wake up every morning remembering their dreams, but i’ve always had the impression that most people do have, at least, a sense that they dream.

i don’t have that sense. not regularly. there are very rare mornings, i’d say easily less than once a month, when i wake up and have a sense that i dreamt the night before. its even more rare that i actually remember anything about a dream i had.

descriptively, the asteroid dream is pretty straight forward and i don’t think i need to say anything more about it.

the other dream(s) is much harder to verbalize, put into words.

what i can say is this; in much the same way the asteroid, house, and backyard in the other dream were always exactly the same, so was, at least for a long time, the girl in my dreams. in the most obvious, literal sense, it was the girl of my dreams, which was kind of nice. however, what i think i used to find the most frustrating, and intriguing, was that the girl didn’t look like anyone i knew in my waking life.

the girl in the most recent iterations is different from those dreams when i was younger. looking back, there’s a part of me that thinks the dream girl from the earliest versions bore a striking resemblance to katie, though i can’t be sure (and it would be equal parts depressing and unbelievable) and instead tell myself that it’s simply the romantic and wishful part of my brain that makes the comparison (i don’t think the earlier dream girl versions were red-headed).

these love-longing-inspired dreams have become both less frequent and less jarring as i’ve gotten older. i chalk this up to not being quite so enamored by the idea of reckless true love and that i don’t look to being coupled as my only chance for happiness (all things being equal, i like my life now). still, even now, I can’t wake up from one of these types of dreams without being a little shaken, a little unsettled. the main difference now is this; in the past these dreams would leave me all but useless, unable to do much other than sit and wallow. now, they may darken my mood and my outlook, but cannot distract me from more purposeful endeavors.

ahh, what a difference therapy can make.

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while browsing (wasting time?) on facebook the other day, i came across a slate.com article about a supreme court ruling having to do with the the fifth amendment rights of individuals. upon closer inspection, i noticed the article was from 2013, as was the court ruling. i’m not sure why i didn’t see this article previously and am curious as to why it’s trending up on facebook now.

to review, here’s the fifth amendment:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

rather than lay out the whole thing in writing, just watch the video…. what it boils down to is this: if you haven’t been arrested and read your miranda rights, you may not have the right to remain silent. if you’re asked questions by law enforcement without having been arrested or mirandized, either decline to answer, or get yourself a lawyer.

also, here’s a link to the court decision, in case you feel so inclined to read it.

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