On the Eve of a New Year

Here it is, the last day of 2024. Of course, when a year turns over is a pretty arbitrary thing in the grand scheme of the universe, but I take a pause anyway, because the rest of the planet does. Some years back, I learned the technique of making New Year’s Commitments, rather than Resolutions. The different being, resolutions are typically ditched after the first or second week of the year. One workout at the gym, and that’s it. One run, one turn on the new treadmill. You’ve just got higher priorities… A Commitment, on the other hand, carries the weight of something you can’t escape just after the first try. You’re committed, it has priority, you’re not going to let something else muscle it out.

So, what are my commitments?

I am committed to cleaning up my digital security stance. I mean, how many hundreds of websites have I visited, created some random account, and used the same password I’ve used on other accounts? Well, the ‘passwords’ app in the apple ecosystem will gladly tell you. How many re-used passwords, how many are too simple, how many have been found in one data breach or another. These last ones, in particular, are nasty, because it means they’re out there already, being used and abused. Better change those first! And I mean, right now, like stop reading this and go look.

I’m committed to using Apple ID where possible, and not using my email address, and standard passwords, as much as possible. I will often just thrown down my email address and memorable password and move on. Well, no more. I’m going to be more diligent about using some other form, like “Sign in with Apple”, and ‘one password’, because when I use my email, that makes it easier to track me to other sites, and try the same password.

I am committed to reducing my digital footprint. There are so many accounts that have been created to use some service or another. Every time I need to park in a city, they have their own parking app. If I want to rent one of those scooters, there’s Bird, Uber, Lime, it goes on and on, and every city has a different one, so more multiple accounts. Then there’s streaming services. Curiosity Stream, Disney+, Peacock, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu. I mean, if you want to watch any sports, you need multiples, but it adds up, and how much of that stuff can I really watch anyway.

I am committed to reducing the number of random accounts, and streaming services I have. My strategy is, if I haven’t used it in the past 6 months, it must not be that important to me, so it can go. Disney and Netflix seem to be what we use the most. So, those will likely stay. I ditched my Audible subscription a while back. I was a heavy user during the pandemic, but not so much recently. I still have prime, but I’m even considering giving that the boot. I mean, I don’t get Amazon shipped that often, and when I do, sure, ‘free’ shipping might be tantalizing, but the prices compared to going directly to the manufacturers, isn’t that much difference, considering how much I’m paying Amazon as an annuity.

I am committed to reducing the number of random computers, laptops, tablets, keyboards, mice and lcd displays, that haven’t been turned on for years. It’s time to own up to my eWaste debt and pay it down. These items take up valuable real estate, and they’re not delivering any value. Time to move on. There are going to be some tears shed at what could have been, but it’s time to move on and face reality. Besides, getting rid of all this old stuff makes room to get newer more modern stuff…

And a more additive side, I am committed to learning new things. I want to write programs in the apple ecosystem. I have the Apple Vision Pro goggles, and I want to use them. I want to transfer my SVG work to the Mac. I want to play around with robotics and the like, and I want to use this modern hardware to do it.

Well, that’s enough commitments. I’m committed to having a good time, and living a less cluttered, more digitally secure life.