For the past eight months and a few weeks, I’ve been doing The Freshmaker Show, first with a weekly eclectic set on tilderadio, then with a second show on aNONradio, focusing on jazz. I have called both of these The Freshmaker Show, and I’ve decided that is a bit confusing. Therefore, starting with tonight’s show, I’ll be calling the jazz show Giant Steps. (Because I’m a Coltrane fan, and because at 6'4" and 270 pounds, every step I make is a giant step.

I’ve spent some time recently on internationalizing this site. In addition to my native language, English, the site now supports my second language, French, and my third language, Spanish. Not all content will be in all three languages, but I plan on writing some in each, to dust off the French I learned in high school, and continue learning Spanish, in which I am a beginner. Links to alternate languages, when available, are at the bottom of each page.

A few months back, I posted about an experiment I was undertaking in using a CalyxOS phone with mostly free/open source software as my daily driver. Here’s an update. First of all, I’ve switched back and forth a few times. This was to be expected; I’ve been using iPhones so long that I have lots of muscle and mental memory built up on how to do things. There are, simply, some things that are easier to do on my old phone.

I am going to try to answer Christina’s Five Questions more often. In keeping with the spirit in which Ms. O’Twisty presents the questions, my answers are available in Gemini format. Five items you are most likely to buy at a convenience store? Diet cola; coffee; snack foods; antacids; some fifth thing that would further justify the fourth thing. I don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, and drink alcohol very sparingly, so junk food is my main vice and heartburn is my penance for said vice.

Like the majority of people who carry smartphones, I’ve stuck to the stock operating system on them over the years. My preference has been for iOS, since I’ve used Apple gear for over 30 years, but I’ve used Android, too. I’ve also come to appreciate that, while I can’t know exactly how phone makers use my information, Apple has less incentive to be evil; they are primarily a hardware company that has a small advertising business, as opposed to Google, which is primarily an advertising company that has a small hardware business.