Apple has just unveiled the launch dates and pricing of their new Apple Watch. Needless to say, like any Apple product they have gone to great lengths to make a brilliantly well built device. From manufacturing a new type of gold alloy to stronger steel, they have definitely gone the extra mile to make these new devices last a very long time - just as a watch is supposed to be.

A mechanical watch can easily last a century if looked after well enough. Why? Because mechanical watches are timeless. Even in 1000 years they will still be marvelled over. A quartz watch - not so much. That being a watch driven by a quartz crystal and electronics - there just is not the same timelessness to these watches.

Which brings me to my point - Apple is touting the brilliance in the well designed, strengthened watches that was obviously built to last - but it is based on a premise that people would WANT to keep these watches forever. Since an Apple Watch is nothing more than a small iPod, which is 99.9% electronic and actually REQUIRES an iPhone5+ to work at all, in the end the case might last forever but the pressure to upgrade the watch by replacing it with the next model, as is now standard on all Apple devices every two years, would render the timelessness of it void.

About three years ago I purchased a Makita LXT BHP452 hammer drill/driver. This is a cordless unit. I usually prefer cabled power tools simply because of my usage patterns. I use power tools very infrequently, and battery driven units are horrible for this type of usage. One would need to spend half an hour to an hour every couple of months when you want to use the drill, to charge it first. That would be a huge pain. So I never purchased cordless power tools, until now.

I am not using the drill much, in total I have drilled maybe 100 holes and screwed in about 200 screws. The craziness is that I have never charged the battery since I purchased this tool 3 years ago, when I performed an initial charge lasting about 20 minutes. The battery still has enough power to properly drill holes, and it is strong enough that I cannot hold down the chuck - there is still too much torque.

Knowing something about Li-ion batteries, you would realise that this defies physics. Li-ion batteries drain at a rate of approximately 8% per month at room temperature. Coupled with my infrequent usage, at best I'd expect to get 1 year of usage without charging up. It has been 36 months, i.e. this Li-ion battery cannot be draining faster than 2.6% per month. It is the BL1830 18V 3.0Ah Li-ion battery... Incredible.

I recently had a very frustrating time where compiling and running an iOS application with a tethered iPhone works just fine in Xcode, however the moment I switch the target to any iOS simulator I would get linker errors:

... missing required architecture i386 in file

for all internal SDK API's. Turns out the fix was to go to Build Settings in Xcode on the target you are building, search for Framework Search Paths and delete the content of that field. Mine used to contain:

I think you know you love nature for what it is, when you can marvel over the beauty of something that can cause endless headaches when present in your reef aquarium.

Asparagopsis taxiformis algae - autofluorescence by Waldo Nell on 500px

Here is a more natural view of the same algae:

Asparagopsis taxiformis algae by Waldo Nell on 500px

So you go to the store, wanting to buy a pack of Tortilla chips. You see a large pack that draws your attention. You are well liked and have many friends, so you need a large pack.

Once home, you realise the awful truth: The pack is half empty. And it is not a pessimist's viewpoint. It is clever use of transparency and colouring, until you turn the pack upside down: