Futurelawyer

What Happens When You Give A Self-Described Apple Fanboy A Samsung Gear S3 SmartWatch?

And, for today's viewing pleasure, an Apple FanBoy Reviewer (if you can stand his voice for the length of this review, he calls himself a Fanboy at the end) is given a Samsung Gear S3 Smartwatch, and compares it to his Apple watch. Throughout the interview, he wears the Apple Watch on his left wrist, and the Gear S3 on his right. He has a voice made for silent movies; but, if you can get past that, the review is actually pretty comprehensive, and shows why the FutureLawyer wears his S3 every day. Enjoy.

Bored? Try Amping Up Your Windows 10 Game With These Tips

52 Windows 10 Tips & Tricks You Need to Master Your PC. It is Black Saturday, and you are in the middle of the holiday weekend. You are stuffed full of turkey, and didn't take my advice not to shop yesterday, so you have no more money. Well, I have an idea. Read this article on Windows 10 tips, and try every single one of them. There are 52, and there are less productive ways to spend your Saturday and Sunday. You really don't want to watch football all weekend, do you? For instance, you can adjust the size of your Start Menu, you can add folders to the Start menu for easy access, you can turn off those annoying live tiles that are using up resources, you can switch speaker systems with a click, you can click the top of an app, drag it to the side of the screen, and make room for something else. There are plenty more where these came from. Have fun.

Before You Go Shopping Today, You Must Watch This Video

This George Carlin video should be required viewing by every Black Friday shopper. In fact, I hereby command that everyone who plans to shop today must watch this video before heading out. 

 

Black Friday- Let's Not And Say We Did

Black Friday (shopping) - Wikipedia. Like me, you are probably waking up to an Inbox filled with ads screaming "Black Friday Sales", and offering discounts on all sorts of goods and services that everyone in our consumerism mad society thinks they need. Perhaps because this Thanksgiving is somber in the FutureLawyer household; and, perhaps because I have reached an age at which I realize that the acquisition of goods, even at huge discounts, is counterproductive to happiness, I think we all need to take a step back. I know; coming from the gadget king, this seems like blasphemy. But, try putting a filter on all the ads you see today. See them through the prism of need and not the prism of desire. Imagine that, once acquired, they will likely not bring you the happiness that you seek. Revel in the fact that you will have more money left in your pocket, and, if you are one of those who normally ventures out of the house today, be happy that you have escaped destruction of life and limb. Play with the stuff you already have that you don't use. That should keep you busy for a few years. Enjoy the holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving - Sometimes You Eat The Bird And Sometimes The Bird Eats You

Don't Be A Spendthrift Of Time. No mindless pablum today. No bland Happy Thanksgiving greeting with a picture of Pilgrims eating with Indians at a wooden table. Some of us will spend today around a big table with our loved ones, giving thanks for our blessings. Some of us will be alone, and won't feel like giving thanks for anything. Some of us will be grieving, some of us will be dying sooner than everybody else. Some of us will waste the day worrying, crying, doing nothing, doing little, or less. Some of us will realize that we should be thankful for all the Thanksgivings we have had, and for the opportunity to have another one. Death, near death, and dying is a wake up call. If everything is going well for you right now, don't be complacent. Your time will come.

"Steve Jobs, in his famous commencement speech, said that "death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent." As he would put it later in the speech, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Smile On The Way To The Graveyard

One of the toughest principles of Stoicism for me is Amor Fati. This quote summarizes the idea:

"From the perspective provided by the cosmic viewpoint, we can learn to love what happens in our lives. The Stoics propose that we should love all events, even those that appear tragic from our human perspective. Why? Because to do otherwise is ‘rebellion’ according to Seneca. It is an act of rebellion against the cosmos because we are claiming more power than we truly have. If we act virtuously with the intent to have result ‘A’ happen, but ‘B’ happens instead, “crying, complaining, and moaning” about it indicates we think we have more power than we have. The truth is that neither ‘A’ nor ‘B’ are ‘up to us’; neither is under our complete control. Only our thoughts and intentions toward ‘A’ and ‘B’ are ‘up to us.’ Therefore, a Stoic can intend that ‘A’ occurs and engage in actions to bring about that result; however, they must do so with a ‘reserve clause’ that acknowledges fate may not cooperate. This attitude is summed up in the old saying, “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.”

Fate (God's Will) is going to happen, whether we like it or not. We can smile in its face, and accept it, or we can rebel against it, and, in either case, it will happen. Is your loved one dying? Have you been given a death sentence? Have you lost everything? Of course, you live your life by trying to influence events to the best of your ability. But, whatever happens is beyond your ability to control. Whining, crying, rebelling, or any other act of denial is a useless act. What purpose does it serve? Sorry to be preachy today; but, this principle is essential to happiness. Struggle with it every day. But, realize that the struggle is worth it.

#StupidTechGifts - WiFi Connected Dog Collar

WiFi Connected Dog Collar. You know your dog wants one of these. Think FitBit for dogs. You can monitor your dog's sleep habits, activity levels, and general well being while you are elsewhere. I suppose the next thing to get the dog is a membership at a health spa. But, that would be expensive. This dog collar only costs $232. Let's see, if you have more than one dog, that could get expensive. And, when the dog is drinking out of the toilet while you are at work, I hope the thing is waterproof. Oh well. Jeez.

#StupidTechGifts - If It's Wednesday, It Must Be The Day Before Trash Day

Genican. It's the day before trash day in our house. Wouldn't it be great if we had a scanner and voice recorder clipped to the trash can so we could keep track of what we use and have a ready made grocery list? And, that cost $149? No? I didn't think so. In our house, it is tough enough to get people to put bags in the trash can. Scan the boxes before they got thrown away? What about all the other trash cans in the house? Hey, Genican, you need a new name: Genican't. Jeez.

#WhyIAmASolo - Nobody Edits My Work But Me

And, I don't own a red pen.

It's 2 A.M. - Do You Know What Your Echo Is Doing?

German police raid flat after Alexa Amazon Echo 'holds party'. An Amazon Echo with a mind of its own got its owner in big trouble while he was out at a pub having a good time. Apparently, it decided to have a party and started blaring loud music at 2 A.M., waking the neighbors. When knocking on the door didn't help, the neighbors called the police, who broke down the door and discovered the partying device. Now, the owner is facing the cost of replacing the door and a fine for disturbing the peace. Of course, my lawyer readers will come up with many good defenses to the charge. Somehow, I don't believe "The Echo did it" will suffice, even though the owner has an ironclad alibi. Just another proof that modern tech will make work for lawyers and we shouldn't worry about becoming obsolete yet. Now that I think about it, the Echo is controlled by the phone app that connects to it via WiFi and the Internet. What a great prank to play on family and friends. Hmmm...."Officer, I've been framed".