I write this on what I think is the last day of my quarantine in Abu Dhabi. I have had the worst time with this quarantine, as my sleep schedule has been completely screwed up. I start to get tired around 4 PM and reach a point of no return at around 7 PM, where I have fallen asleep watching television for the last five nights. It’s not fun, because I end up waking up at 2 AM, bright and chipper and ready to go. Luckily, there is basketball happening at that time, but let us not talk of the Oklahoma City Thunder and their dreadful first two games in the playoffs, nor shall we talk about the abomination of basketball that is James Harden. Those things are better left unsaid.

So, today is an experiment, as I am attempting to write this letter from a new newsletter program called Substack. Substack allows you to write newsletters without clutter. It’s a nifty little editor, but shifting my newsletter is a daunting task, as it means that I am not sure if everything will go through correctly. I have used Mailchimp up to this point, but Substack allows anyone who clicks on the link to the original post of this email to add a comment. I like the notion of building a community on the internet that does not involve facebook or instagram, so let’s see how this goes.

SO FEEL FREE TO GO AND ADD A COMMENT. I will delete you if you’re a jerk. I’m looking for conversation here, not simply, “Awesome post!” or “MAGA”. Let’s see if the experiment works.

MEDIA DIET

If you haven’t watched “Sing Street” yet, then you should drop everything that you’re doing and put it on your calendar. I have seen it several times and each time I watch it, I like it more. It is not a film without problems, but those problems can be easily overlooked because of the genuine intent of the filmmakers. For those of you who don’t know, it’s the story of a kid in Ireland who forms a band. That’s it. But the movie is just a wonderful tale of confidence, creativity, and overcoming the circumstances of one’s life to be better than what they are. It’s directed by John Carney, who also wrote and directed a film about buskers in Dublin called “Once”. You may not have heard of that film, but you might have heard some of the songs from it, including “Falling Slowly”, which became fairly famous. You should watch that film, too.

“Sing Street”, for me, is just a delight and genuinely hilarious. I even like the songs that they wrote for it, which are basically pastiches of popular songs at the time. Take some time out of your day to watch great filmmaking and be uplifted.

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

I follow Brian Krebs on Twitter and he usually posts some fairly interesting things in regard to security issues online. This is something that everyone should read, especially in regard to this digital age.

As a side note, if you’re not using a password manager, then you should take the time to download and learn to use one. They cost money, but it is worth the time and expense to get one going. I currently use 1Password for the whole family and I would highly suggest you do the same. Again, it takes some time to set it up and learn how to use it properly, but I’ve been using password managers for almost six years now and have found them invaluable.

TO BE SORTED

I’ve always wanted to paint something like this, but never had the time. Now, I can get someone else to do it for me. There is a whole market for these things. And I want one.

OPEN TABS

I don’t care what the recommendation is, if I’m attacked by a bear, I will push my slower friends down in order to escape.

Maybe this is romantic, but I find it to be incredibly creepy.