Luciana Miles

a blog.

Month: November 2022

What’s Your Baseline?

Do you know what your baseline is? What your default position/disposition is?
An experiment:
Turn off the television, unnecessary internet (including the news), social media, and music with words for 30 days. Take note of your disposition, energy, state of mind beforehand and after.
You have now gotten closer to your default disposition, you most likely can not only hear yourself, but hear yourself more clearly.
Another variation:
Only listen to positive, uplifting music (no cuss words, uplifting, joyous, no raunch, no violence) and/or music with no words and watch G-rated or PG-rated movies/tv shows for 30 days. (No social media, no unnecessary internet). Take note of your disposition, energy, state of mind beforehand and after.
You now see the effects of media on your mental, emotional, and spiritual health and your disposition.

November 23, 2022
Back On The Road

A couple of days at home, and then back on the road again.

November 22, 2022
Vegan Braised Onion Pasta

November 22, 2022
Daily Bible Readings

Hosea 3-6
Verse of note:
The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me: I will change their dignity to dishonor. They feed on My people’s sin offerings, And so they desire its iniquity.
Verse of note:
And a people that is without sense must stumble.
Evening edit:
Verse of note:
Hear this, O priests, Attend, O House of Israel, And give ear, O royal house; For right conduct is your responsibility!
Verse of note:
Then they will go with their sheep and cattle To seek the Lord, but they will not find Him. He has cast them off: [Because] they have broken faith with the Lord, Because they have begotten Alien children. Therefore, the new moon Shall devour their portion.
Verse of note:
For I desire goodness, not sacrifice; Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings.

November 22, 2022
Impromptu Travel

Away for the weekend.

November 18, 2022
My Problems With Apple As Of Late
I’m in the mood to vent a bit. I have been a fan of Apple’s products not since the beginning but for a long time. I still want a classic iPod, I never wanted an iPhone but I loved my MacBook. I am a fan, but an uncompromising fan.
What I loved most about their products was their ease, they said “it just works” and it did. Everything was seamless and worked in the background, like a kind of second nature. Now it was still tech so it glitched from time to time but for the most part it worked and it worked well.
For a while now, I don’t know when it started, things have not been working this way. Not only that but the designs are uninspired, they are dropping new products when there is no need for it, it seems like things are done just to say they’ve done something new or different—not because it’s helpful or will make people’s lives better, and no one who discusses these things seems to want to talk about it. (I can count the number of thoughtful critical/negative articles about Apple on one hand and they’ve all been on the same site. It’s almost like they’ve all agreed to act like it’s still the early 2000’s and everything is innovative and exciting).
1. Who believes tech writers when they pretend to be excited about the new Apple drop? Which is the same as the last Apple drop? Did your camera that you got 6 months ago stop working? Was it not good enough for you? Was not having the weather app on the Mac really stressing you out?
2. Speaking of the weather app and clock apps: it looks like they just ported it over to the MacBook. There is nothing special about it. They didn’t create it for the MacBook, take advantage of the MacBook’s capabilities, or anything like that. They just ported it over and then acted like it was something special. Am I the only one that sees this?
3. Why do we need another iPhone every year? Talk about sustainability. If you haven’t changed the design or developed some new super amazing technology, what is the point? It’s just incremental changes at higher price points. At least stop acting like it’s something new. And why does my phone not lay flat? That is the biggest eyesore ever—I get mad every time I look at it—I have to lay my iPhone on its face so it looks right. Why not take a break and take the time to develop something truly amazing? (Just because you say something is amazing doesn’t make it so). Why not alternate between MacBook, iPad, and iPhone drops. That way you’re not in a yearly death cycle, it’s a 2 or 3 year death cycle, which gives you more time to come up with something truly fantastic.
4. Please stop trying to make the iPhone the iPad and the iPad the MacBook. They all have their different uses and they complement each other very well (this was something I saw said in another article regarding the iPad and I tend to agree). The iPhone is the iPhone, it serves its purpose. The iPad is the iPad and it serves its purpose. The MacBook is the MacBook and it serves its purpose. And they work well together, why not focus on making sure they’re seamless together and making that more fluid than ever rather than make one try to act like something it’s not ie. make the iPad act like a MacBook.
5. And lastly the nanny tech. I do not need Apple to tell me to turn my headphones down. I should be allowed to turn these types of notifications off, matter of fact they shouldn’t even be on unless I turn them on. Maybe I really need to tune something out. I do not mind Apple giving me options, I do mind them making things mandatory. I do mind the assumption that everyone wants to or should be meditating. I do mind the herding through tech into certain things. If I want them and they’re available great, but that should be a choice I make, not one that Apple makes for me, nor one that I have to undo.
Like I said before I enjoy Apple, and I want no parts of Google. But my feelings and thoughts aren’t purely selfish. I really thought Apple was great. It wasn’t afraid to take chances, it wasn’t afraid of risk, and it was a truly interesting company or at least it seemed that way.
Apple was that rare breed of company that was able to be a visible example of that elusive combination of genius and success (which doesn’t happen a lot). I’d hate to see that go away.
Which is why I can’t just act like it’s 2007 and it’s still brand new, and everything is as great as it ever was.
_{*Yes I know that Apple has done some great things in the past years, I am not diminishing that, ie. the Apple Watch development has been truly fantastic even though it seems to be heading into nanny tech, and there have been a lot of great small changes (there is nothing wrong with small changes, except acting like they’re huge, amazing, brand new, innovative changes). That does not take away from what I’m saying. I’m talking about the overall everyday use of their products, the overall feel of their products, and their subsequent direction.}
November 15, 2022
Favorite Things

I was/am a big fan of internet radio. It’s no longer as easy to listen to (it used to come in iTunes). You could find anything from anywhere in those radio stations, every taste, every niche, even different genre combinations. I almost started a radio station myself.
Well one day I discovered a station that was just so perfect for me, I could put it on and let it rock, there was only one song that I could not stand. And even though it’s no longer as easy to listen to I was still able to find my favorite station (it’s been touch and go a bit lately on their website but it’s still live and it’s still jamming): Beach House Terrazza. (They have other stations, but Terrazza is my favorite).

November 15, 2022
Favorite Things

One day someone said “what could be the most wonderful thing in the world to do?” And the answer came, “create a site dedicated entirely to cozy mysteries. Cozy Mystery List, pair with this.

November 15, 2022
Hot Chocolate

I really do make the best hot chocolate if I do say so myself. Make some coconut milk using this recipe (can use canned coconut milk and even almond milk in a pinch, but the homemade stuff is the best), add the coconut milk to a small pan, heat it up with a a couple of tablespoons of cacao powder (depending on how chocolatey you want it), sweeten it with a bit of maple syrup (according to how sweet you want it), pour it in the mug of your choice and sip slowly.
And if you’re feeling a bit down, it is instant happy juice. I immediately feel better and uplifted when I drink it.

November 15, 2022
Daily Bible Readings

Ezekiel 37-40
Evening edit:
Verse of note:
[The man] explained to me: “The chamber that faces south is for the priests who perform the duties of the Temple; and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who perform the duties of the altar—they are the descendants of Zadok, who alone of the descendants of Levi may approach the Lord to minister to Him.”

November 14, 2022