Xavi Smith

Experienced Professional | Transitioning from Tech to Education

Author: Xavi Smith

  • Jabra Move Wireless Headphones

    Audio is important to me. If I’m going somewhere, working, cleaning, taking a shower, or just needing to relax, you’ll likely find me listening to something. Sometimes it’s music with a great beat, and other times it’s a riveting podcast.

    A while back, I was commuting on the train to a co-working space, and needed a good pair of wireless headphones. They needed to take some sweat from the walk, have great battery life, and handle being thrown into my backpack.

    I decided to purchase the Jabra Move Wireless headphones. If you’re in the market for a great pair of wireless headphones, these may be the ones for you.

    Criteria

    • Quality — You definitely want something well built, but when considering wireless headphones, the first question for many is how they sound.
    • Fit — Headphones need to fit comfortably, especially if you plan to wear them for extended periods of time.
    • Setup — The setup of wireless headphones has improved over the past few years, but it’s still an important consideration. Getting them from out of the box to playing audio shouldn’t take forever.
    • Price — Cost comes hand-in-hand with quality. You want high-quality headphones that don’t break the bank. (Well, maybe. Sometimes you do want to break the bank with cool tech stuff!)

    Quality

    Build Quality

    The headphones are very well-built. The band combines a stainless steel frame with a soft material that cushions the top. The ear cups are plastic on the outside and soft pleather on the inside.

    The stainless steel frame and the soft fabric of the headband, make for an aesthetically-pleasing look in addition to a quality build you can feel.

    The Jabra Move Wireless headphones feel light but not cheap or easily breakable. They could definitely handle being thrown into your backpack or bag, and they can equally handle being dropped with minor (if any) evidence.

    I haven’t tried showering while wearing the headphones, but they’ve withstood plenty of my sweat, and everything still works great. They’re easy to clean, but don’t look gross if you put it off for a while. The headphones have “move” in the name, so they’re designed for you to do just that.

    Sound Quality

    Bluetooth audio sucks. It just does. There is no comparison to wired audio. Bluetooth audio performed noticeably worse than wired audio when tested side-by-side. Which I should note is of no surprise. However, in many cases it’s not the headphone-makers fault. Wireless audio technology is not where it should be.

    Still, Bluetooth audio is not created equal. Some headphones I’ve tested don’t sound good at all, even when not compared to a wired connection. Not the case with the Jabra Move Wireless headphones. The audio they produce is full and rich, and they handle a variety of musical styles excellently. Additionally, the headphones manage podcasts and talk radio very well.

    Labeled ear cups help you make sure you have the headphones on right.

    I never felt like I was missing sounds I could’ve heard on other headphones. For me, it comes down to the fact that all Bluetooth audio is compressed — some headphones do a better job of hiding that fact.

    Fit

    I was nervous buying over-ear headphones. In the past I had bought a pair of Beats Solo headphones and was unhappy. Leaving the poor sound to the side for a moment, the fit was uncomfortable and my ears hurt after using them for short periods of time. I have big ears, so I’d sworn to never purchase a pair of over-ear headphones again.

    These headphones changed my mind. Yes, they are over-ear headphones, but they’re comfortable. The ear cups are comfy and soft, and the headband is flexible enough to accommodate my large head. When I first got them, I tested the headphones for two hours straight and didn’t feel any ear pain or discomfort on the top of my head.

    Jabra’s minimal branding helps these look great wherever you have them.

    That being said, I do wish Jabra offered an around-ear option. Headphones like the Bose QC35 or the Sony MDR-1000X still beat these headphones in the comfort department because they don’t apply any pressure to the ears.

    Setup

    Here’s yet another area where Bluetooth fails. Pairing them with a device isn’t simple, and if you want to switch between devices, forget it! However, this isn’t a flaw of the headphones, it’s a flaw of the wireless technology being used.

    Apple made a huge leap in this area when they came out with the W1 chip. This chip can be found in Apple-made headphones like the AirPods or Beats. If you own a pair of these, you’ll know how magical this chip makes the whole wireless experience. Pairing is a breeze, and switching between devices on your iCloud account is incredibly easy. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t license this chip, and while I love my pair of AirPods, there’s no way I’m forking money over for the overrated and overpriced Beats.

    The Jabra Move Wireless headphones unfortunately have the standard Bluetooth setup process. Nothing too terrible, yet nothing delightful either. If you, or the person you’re buying these for, is not somewhat tech savvy, you’ll need to follow the quick-start guide.

    Final Thoughts

    As of this writing, the Jabra Move Wireless headphones are $69.99 on Amazon. You could spend more money, and get a lesser quality product. Essentially, this is a great price.

    I’m very happy with my purchase. As I described, I do have some complaints here and there, but overall they’re a great product at a great price. If you’re in the market for a low-cost pair of wireless headphones, don’t overlook these.

  • Things 3 for Mac and iOS

    I’ve never been a fan of to-do apps. I don’t use them. People everywhere seem to swear by these things. There’s much talk about the whole GTD mentality, and what app is the best for getting things done.

    The methodology didn’t make sense to me, and I condescendingly felt that the key to getting things done was just action. Then I grew up, and realized that when you’re juggling a plethora of responsibilities, it’s incredibly easy for tasks to fall through the cracks. Writing down what needs to get done is not just smart, it’s necessary.

    I came across Things years ago. I owned the first version of the app, but didn’t end up using it. Someone I know recently started using Things 3 and I was intrigued. I’d been using Trello to keep track of my ideas for articles on this site, video ideas, and jobs that I’d applied to. I have a love/hate relationship with Trello. I feel that parts of the app are very well designed, and others not so much.

    After watching and reading some positive reviews, I decided to give Things 3 a try. Cultured Code offers a generous fifteen-day trial of the Mac app.

    I was in love. Things 3 is the first to-do app that I actually use. The design is beautiful and easy to use, has many of the features I want, and led to a more organized life.

    First Impressions

    • I’m delighted by the big facelift given to the UI.
    • Areas and Projects are exactly what I want from a to-do app.
    • There is a wonderful satisfaction in looking at the Logbook and seeing all the things you’ve accomplished.

    Design

    Cultured Code has hit it out of the park. The design of the Mac app, the iPad app, and the iPhone app are nothing less than superb. The Apple Watch app is excellent too, which I’ll touch on a little bit later.

    Gone are the days of the pale colors, and a design reminiscent of skeuomorphism. The new interface sports brightly-colored icons, revamped typography, and beautiful use of white space. While the aesthetic and experience is consistent across platforms, Cultured Code has done a wonderful job of tailoring each interface to get the most out of each operating system.

    Cultured Code has achieved an incredible feat here. These are four different apps they’ve made you believe are one. And in contrast to some apps where the functionality is drastically reduced on iOS, I could never touch my Mac again and still have all the same control of my to-dos.

    Organizing Tasks

    Where most to-do apps only allow you to create lists, Things 3 recognizes two types of lists: Projects and Areas. You can create tasks in both, but this type of organization has helped my workflow.

    An area can be used to group projects and to-dos based on general responsibilities. For example, I have areas for work, side projects, personal, and family. Inside those areas I have projects for this site, my job search, etc.

    Furthermore, you can organize tasks inside a project with headings. I often use headings to organize the type of tasks that need to be done. When Kelly and I went on a cruise recently, I used Things to organize my packing list.I had headings for my computer stuff, the clothes I needed, and my camera gear. This is one of the first trips I’ve ever taken without that horrible sensation of forgetting something.

    Each person will have their own way of using tags, I tend to use mine for quick bits of information that I can see at a glance.

    For example, I tag jobs that I apply for as either “remote” or “onsite”. This helps me keep track of what types of jobs I’m applying for. I tag YouTube video ideas with the category the video fits into. It helps me plan videos so I don’t do too much of the same.

    Overall, I like the implementation of tags. I wish I could make certain tags limited to a particular project or area, but I understand that most people aren’t using tags like I do.

    Things Cloud

    Any modern to-do app needs some way to sync. Things does this via Things Cloud and doesn’t offer any alternate way of syncing. Thankfully, Cultured Code has a whole page explaining what this service is and how they’ve ensured its security.

    Syncing works flawlessly. The best type of syncing is the syncing you don’t think about, and Things Cloud achieves this. I input tasks on iOS either via the app or share sheet, then organize those tasks on the Mac. Not once have I arrived at my Mac with tasks missing.

    The vital missing ingredient to the almost-perfect dish that is Things 3 is shared lists. As of this writing, Things 3 doesn’t allow you to share any type of list or task with someone else. Well, technically that’s not true, you can share them as plain text, but why the hell would you want to do that?

    From what I’ve read, it’s a future possibility. I hope Cultured Code decides to include this key feature in a later update.

    Other Features You Should Know About

    • Quick Entry — Things 3 has a well-designed Quick Entry window, but I don’t use it often since my tasks get input on iOS. You can customize the keyboard shortcut for Quick Entry to be whatever you’d. I have mine set to the longest keyboard shortcut ever, ⌃⌥⌘ + space, which might add to the reasons I don’t use it. Quick Entry is incredibly powerful, allowing you to enter almost all the same information you can input in the app, without moving your mouse.
    • Apple Watch App — Cultured Code was very smart when designing the Apple Watch app. All you can do is dictate a new task and decided whether to put it in your Inbox or Today. That’s it. After seeing many Watch apps try to do more and fail, this is exactly what I want and need.
    • Checklists — If you need to go further down the to-do-ception, Things 3 offers checklists inside of tasks. After you begin a checklist, you can hit enter to continue adding items. I appreciate Cultured Code for adding this type of deep granularity without it feeling cumbersome.

    Final Thoughts

    I’m convinced that Things 3 is the best to-do app. No matter what Apple-made operating system you’re using, Things 3 is delightful to use. If you, like me, are unsure of to-do apps, I encourage you to give Things 3 a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

    Kindly edited by TJ Draper

  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

    Into the Spider-Verse is another in a long line of animation films that proves more attention needs to be paid to this medium. Don’t let the fact that this movie is animated or superhero-centric deceive you.

    I found the animation style to be bold, different, and a bit weird. At one point, I wasn’t sure whether my sugar was high, or the screen was actually blurry. Thankfully, Kelly confirmed it was not my diabetes. Eventually you get used to it, but the first few scenes are a bit distracting.

    The movie makes the bold decision to feel very much like a comic book in certain sequences, and it pays off to create a visual style nothing like I’ve seen before. The representation of “Spidey Sense” with bright colors replacing the background are straight out of the panels of a comic. Also, captions are used onscreen to reinforce Miles’ inner monologue, which is yet another tribute to the character’s beginnings.

    Spider-Man needs to be funny, but the careful balance between heart and silliness hasn’t been successfully toed by many a writer. Thankfully, that’s not the case here. This film is riddled with wonderful references, funny jokes, yet important moments with a powerful message.

    The voice cast did a lot to make those lines land. In particular, Jake Johnson’s voice performance was nothing less than spectacular. While he’s most known for his character Nick on New Girl, most of the characters I’ve seen him play are one-dimensional. Refreshingly, I felt he did a great job of playing Peter Parker, a character that calls for complex portrayal. Peter is funny, silly, doesn’t know when to shut up, but deeply loves his Aunt May and MJ, and at his core cares about the lives of the people that surround him.

    Stan Lee’s cameo stole the show for me, and brought tears to my eyes. His appearances have been a delight for decades now, and I even loved his part in DC’s Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. But he’s normally used for a funny one-liner. Into the Spider-Verse instead decided to make his cameo of vital importance to Miles’ journey, which was especially a gut punch after his recent passing.

    At the end of the day, it’s simple: I loved this film. It’s a great story, with interesting characters and a strong theme. I hope more movies follow its lead.

  • Aquaman

    There’s a lot about Aquaman that wouldn’t have ever been possible in the past. Creating a world of underwater people (and making it believable) is a filmmaking feat, but ultimately Aquaman left me underwhelmed.

    The dialogue in much of this film feels unnatural and stiff. A movie like this requires a lot of exposition to explain the Atlantean mythos, and unfortunately it’s painfully obvious in many scenes. Instead of establishing the Atlantean people, their politics, and beliefs as serious stakes, the poorly written dialogue makes much of it feel straight out of a badly written children’s book. Sadly, Aquaman is full of fantastic actors who did their best with what they were given.

    The score is all over the place. Some moments have a beautiful sweeping orchestra, and others have jarring electronic music. More confusingly, some scenes are scored with songs that don’t mesh with the tone of the film. Even a Pitbull song makes an appearance, which made me wonder if we were in 2010 all over again.

    The story is also bogged down by a big CGI monster fight, which involves thousands of creatures that you’ve been given zero reasons to care about. Unfortunately, this is a trap that many superhero films fall into, having huge action set pieces without any thought of how they contribute to the narrative. In fairness, the work done to make these creatures come to life is amazing, but a waste.

    It’s not all bad though. The costumes are pretty great, and seeing Aquaman in his traditional outfit is a satisfying moment. Black Manta’s suit (as ridiculous as it might seem to some) is straight out of the comics.

    This film also nailed the mechanics of being underwater. I don’t know how they did it. The way the hair flows, the sound of voices, and the body movements make you believe this is all happening in the ocean, instead of in front of some green screen on a sound stage. That is unimaginably hard, and I’d assume one of the biggest reasons we’ve never seen a live-action adaptation of Aquaman until now.

    The Black Manta storyline is a highlight. Arthur’s decision regarding the character is clearly wrong, and the realization of his mistake set up this classic rivalry perfectly.

    In the end however, Aquaman is a disappointing film that doesn’t do justice to the rich source material. Regrettably, it’ll leave most people thinking the character is just as lame as popular media has made him out to be.

  • 2016: Year in Review

    While it may be cliché to say that the year flew by, it doesn’t make it any less true. In what has become a great tradition, I’d love to share some highlights from 2016.

    Becoming Cat People (Again)

    Two years ago, I had a wonderful cat named RANDY. Due to a string of unfortunate events, I had to put RANDY up for adoption. I was devastated. I loved him. He was so affectionate and loving, in a time where I was sorely lacking that in my life. Fast-forward two years, and life was completely different, filled with love and happiness. But I still wanted a cat.

    My beautiful Minnie. She’s so cute.

    So we got two. We have a wonderful rag-doll that we adopted as a kitten named Pixel. And Minnie, a beautiful polydactyl cat we adopted from the Humane Society. Pixel has picked Kelly as her human, and Minnie has picked me. Would I have liked both cats to have picked me? Yes, but it all worked out.

    Concerts of a Lifetime

    I believe I was 11 when I said to myself that if I ever saw Beyoncé perform, I could die happily. The concert was at TCF Bank Stadium, an outdoor stadium. The day of the show was rainy and right before it was about to start, there was a lightning storm. They emptied the entire stadium to wait it out. There we were, packed like sardines in the concourse, foolishly wondering if this would all be worth it. The Queen B did not disappoint. Beyoncé is a spectacular performer, and her voice—my God, her voice—was magnificent.

    That concert alone would’ve made the year. Then Kelly surprised me with Adele tickets. Adele. People I saw not one, but two mind-blowingly talented women perform in the span of three months. When I heard Adele’s voice, I couldn’t help but cry. Not because it was her, but her voice is unbelievable. Multiple songs gave me the chills and she sang all of my favorites. You see a lot of Adele’s personality during the concert, and let me tell you, she is a delight. I would love to hang out with her.

    Our Trip to California

    We went out this year for a friend’s wedding, but we also had a great time with family. For those of you who may not know, California is where I was born and raised. As much as I dislike my home state (and wouldn’t move back unless absolutely necessary), I do miss my family. We’re a tight-knit bunch of Latinos, and I regret taking for granted how often we saw each other and spent time together. It was an awesome weekend. I took about 300 hundred pictures on a DSLR that I rented. Only kept about 15. Using a DSLR was a new challenge for me, and I look forward to doing it again.

    My First Cruise

    I was so nervous about this trip, almost to the point of not looking forward to it. I worried that I’d get sea sick and it’d be a long week. How wrong I was! The ship was nothing short of amazing. Not only is it an engineering and architectural triumph, there is something for everyone on it. We had great food and drinks, watched stand-up comedy, enjoyed Broadway-caliber shows, listened to some insanely talented musicians, and karaoke‑d our hearts out.

    Kelly and I on the catamaran that took us snorkeling

    And that’s only what we did on the ship. Our time on the different islands was a blast, snorkeling was breathtaking, and my Minnesotan-pale skin got the tan it deserved. If you’ve been on the fence about taking a cruise, I whole-heartedly recommend it. I’m positive you’ll enjoy it, no matter what your definition of fun may be.

    Leaving ACL

    In November, I decided to leave ACL after working there 4 months shy of two years. The company was really good to me, but some of our values didn’t align, and I felt that I wasn’t interested enough in the domain to continue doing my best. Still, I had a great time there. I learned so much, and had the privilege of contributing to several applications the company makes. I walked away with more knowledge, and great friends.

    My awesome Adamantium teammates

    What’s next? I don’t really know yet. I hope to have something more concrete to share soon.

    Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

    This was the real blow of the year, but I can’t say I was shocked. I wasn’t feeling good for a while, and I stupidly put off going to the doctor. I was at a point where I just had to go, and after doing a blood test, it was confirmed: I had Type 2 Diabetes. Learning to live with Diabetes has been difficult. I have to watch what I eat, make sure to take my medication, poke myself to test my blood sugar, and plan meals for a set time. I used to be able to skip a meal or postpone it, now I have to eat something or my blood sugar will drop and I’ll feel crappy.

    Honestly, I hate it. I have moments where I cry because of the constant frustration it causes me, and I regret the decisions that got me here. But as with every other mistake I’ve made, I cannot undo it. The past is the past, and I can only focus on the future. I have a fantastic partner in Kelly, and she’s been so supportive and loving with me. I appreciate all her help, and how much she cares for me.

    While parts of this year felt difficult, and anxiety and stress-inducing, it was still great. I lost 15 pounds, traveled a lot, and enjoyed great new experiences. I spent time with family, got closer to new and old friends, and saw some enter exciting new eras of their lives.

    What’s in Store for 2017

    Just like last year, Kelly and I have decided to follow my friend Phil’s tradition of setting a motto for the year.

    Our Motto: Embrace the New.

    Here are my goals for the year:

    1. Dedicate 10 mins each day to learn French
      I want to learn a new language. I’m fluent in both Spanish and English, but it’s not fair because I was taught both from birth.
    2. Lose 40 lbs.
      My battle with weight continues, but I realized I’ve never actually put a solid number that I’d like to lose. My hope is that setting a specific goal will help me accomplish it.
    3. Make $200/month in side income
      I don’t have a specific plan for making this happen yet. I do know I have knowledge I can impart to others and hopefully make a little money from that.

    This year feels like a good one.

  • Rogue One

    Kelly and I went to go watch Rogue One on opening night. I purposely didn’t read anything about the film, and was completely spoiler-free going in. Here are my thoughts, that are full of spoilers.

    • It still felt like Star Wars without the crawl.
    • The score is ok. Michael Giacchino did a great job making it feel like Star Wars within the time he had to do it.
    • Understanding what the Death Star is made with was cool.
    • I don’t think we’ve visited so many places in one Star Wars movie.
    • Felicity Jones and Diego Luna are amazing in this movie.
    • Vader. Oh my goodness. Vader, people. Vader. Vader.
    • I wanted more Vader.
    • James Earl Jones came back for Vader, and it was an awesome… 2 scenes 😭
    • This story adds so much context to A New Hope.
    • Leia’s motion capture face is terrible.
    • The first two acts are a bit slow, and unfortunately don’t use the time to give more information about the supporting characters.
    • Everyone dies. Everyone. That was a surprise for me, but made sense.
    • All in all, I really liked it, but The Force Awakens is still my favorite of the recent Star Wars movies.

  • Jehovah’s Witnesses Finally Join the Australian Redress Scheme

    Looks like Jehovah’s Witnesses will join the redress scheme in Australia finally, but don’t think it’s because god somehow inspired them to do the right thing:

    The organisation says it will sign up because of new rules introduced by the federal government, which mean it would lose its charity status — and subsequent tax exemptions — for continuing to hold out.

    “Now that the law requires charities to join the scheme, Jehovah’s Witnesses will comply,” it said in a statement to AAP on Wednesday.

    Ah! Okay! Well at least the organization is being honest about being rotten. It can’t lose its precious tax status! The organization still takes absolutely no responsibility for the abuse that’s happened under its watch, but don’t take my word for it:

    “Jehovah’s Witnesses did not voluntarily join because we object to the assertion that the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses assumes responsibility for children,” the group said.

    For an organization that micromanages every aspect of life for members, this is certainly an interesting twist. But hey, a win is a win. I’ll take their hand being forced to do the right thing for victims, over nothing, any day.

  • How to Rename Your Git Branch

    I have to look this up so frequently that I decided to write my own blog post to remind myself. Here’s how to rename a git branch.

    git branch -m new-branch-name

    Since I can’t seem to commit (haha!) this to memory, I’ve decided to add the following alias to my dotfiles:

    # ~/.dotfiles/git/aliases.zsh
alias gbr="git branch -m"

    Then I can use the alias in my terminal like this:

    gbr new-branch-name

  • It’s Ok to Be Wrong

    Chris Hannah encourages people to share their perspective:

    By sharing your outlook, you’re opening yourself up to others. Which helps everyone keep a bit more of an open mind, and reinforces the fact that not everyone thinks the same.

    There might be the risk of offending people, but that shouldn’t necessarily be a sole reason to stop doing something. Because by taking that risk, you’re expressing yourself. You might not necessarily be right about something, and you might not even agree with yourself in the future. But that’s fine, because opinions evolve, and perspectives shift.

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, and Chris’ article gave me that final push to get my thoughts organized on the topic.

    For as opinionated as I am, I fear sharing those opinions most of the time. Because of the religion I was raised in, I got really good at sharing opinions on “safe” things. As you might know, I’m never shy about giving my perspective on technology, design and development, or things like movies and TV shows.

    It’s fairly new for me, however, to have and express opinions about politics, LGBTQ+ issues, or even criticize my former religion. These are things I was raised not to talk about. I used to believe that God’s Kingdom was the solution to humanity’s problems, and therefore had never voted in an election before the 2020 primary.

    I used to believe that LGBTQ+ people were practicing something that God hates, and would be destroyed because of it in God’s coming Judgment day. Up until two and a half years ago, I hadn’t stopped to ever question these beliefs.

    I guess what I’m trying to say is that it scares the shit out of me to ever have beliefs like this again, so I’m naturally a bit fearful of expressing my opinions publicly. I also know that family and friends sometimes read these words, and aren’t happy to learn my new perspective on things.

    But what I’ve learned in therapy, and Chris confirms above, is that it’s ok to offer our perspective. And it’s ok for that perspective to be wrong. For most of my life, I’ve seen many things as black or white; either something is right or it’s wrong. But life isn’t like that. Nuance is everything. Maturity in life is not having the “right” perspective all the time, it’s being open to changing that perspective when presented with new information.

    My purpose has never been to offend or hurt people. This blog’s purpose is to be a record of me, how I’m feeling, and what I think about things for myself. It’s the journal I keep for future Tim to read. Sometimes our perspectives will align, other times we’ll disagree; and that’s ok.

  • Join Me on Discord!

    Something I’ve struggled with a lot since leaving the cult, is finding new friends. I didn’t know that my friends and community were conditional, but such is life. No one seems to talk about how difficult it can be to find friends as an adult. Especially as a cult survivor where my friends and community were forced upon me.

    With that in mind, I decided to create a discord server to help me build my own community of sex-positive and inclusive people. I’m not sure what this community will turn out to be. But if there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s my ability to bring people together. If you’re a geek, stoner, or queer like me, let’s be friends!