Some random snapshot around Helsinki while taking a day stroll.
September has been unusually warm, which in short term is nice, but long term not a good sign as scientists have been warning about it for the last … well, pretty much the last thirty years or so. But such slow burn threats are hard for humans to react to. I think, I’m not an expert on human behavior.
Puzzles and humanity
Speaking of humans and thinking, I finished The Talos Principle 2. It was refreshing to play a game that ponders the purpose of humankind, its place on earth and how far it should reach for the ultimate truth of the cosmos. We have achieved so much while being extremely dumb at the same time.
Philosophical chats and occasional art admiring in The Talos Principal 2.
The actual puzzles to solve along the way were also just hard enough keep things interesting, though I have to admit it was getting repetitive enough that I didn’t bother with the extra ones towards the end. Decent game, might return to it one day (although this is a thought I have with many other games I’ve finished).
What most of the game is really about, puzzle solving.
MacBook refresh
After serving me for almost seven years, I’ve retired my Intel based MacBook Pro and replaced it with a MacBook Air with Apple’s own silicon chip. The change isn’t actually that dramatic. Sure, everything loads faster now, but the basic usage experience has remained the same. No need to figure things out all over again.
I just hope this model is more reliable than the previous one: I had its motherboard replaced due to some graphics failure, tolerated its flaky battery life for years and during its final months a display that dies due to a cable connector failure if the lid is opened over 40 degrees. At least I have a five year guarantee with the new one now. Guarantees are nice to have. During the summer my Sony Linkbuds started to have battery issues and I got a new pair as a replacement!
Subscription trials
Jumping into the world of streaming subscriptions, my six month trial with Apple Music ends shortly. I’ve mostly been listening to Japanese city pop and video game music on it. City pop for uplifting the mood while hearing some Japanese on the way and video game music to bring back memories of good gaming moments (although the music has to be memorable too).
I’m not sure will I continue the subscription after the trial though, as I feel I’ve thrown enough money towards Apple after my laptop upgrade. I have plenty of music in my own music library, there is always Bandcamp and of course my limited vinyl and even c-cassette collection for some analog pleasure moments.
One subscription I did come back to was Mubi, thanks to a free month for luring another user to the service and then picking up an offer of three months for one euro. I’ve watched a few movies now, but one stand-out was Funeral Pararade of Roses, which was a highly interesting avant garde take on the queer subculture of 1960’s Tokyo.
While I’m on the subject of subscriptions, I also started a three month trial with Apple TV+, but a quick glance through its offerings made me think will I watch anything on it. It simply doesn’t seem that interesting to what Mubi has.
So, lots of mundane, non-unique happenings lately. Such is life at times in a modern western world.