TipBITS: Enable the Startup Chime on New Macs – TidBITS

TipBITS: Enable the Startup Chime on New Macs – TidBITS:

When Apple disabled the startup sound by default in 2016, it was discovered that a Terminal command could bring it back:

sudo nvram BootAudio=%01

Unfortunately, that approach stopped working with Mac models in 2017, presumably due to Apple removing the option in a macOS update, and since then, new Macs have started up silently. Now, however, Twitter user DylanMcD8 has discovered a new NVRAM parameter that brings back the startup sound, even on the latest Macs.

sudo nvram StartupMute=%0

Also, the associated video is delightful.

William McRaven: If good men like Joe Maguire can’t speak the truth, we should be deeply afraid – The Washington Post

William McRaven: If good men like Joe Maguire can’t speak the truth, we should be deeply afraid – The Washington Post:

As Americans, we should be frightened — deeply afraid for the future of the nation. When good men and women can’t speak the truth, when facts are inconvenient, when integrity and character no longer matter, when presidential ego and self-preservation are more important than national security — then there is nothing left to stop the triumph of evil.

This statement from any military official is terrifying, more so when it comes from a retired Navy admiral and commander of U.S. Special Ops who oversaw the raid on Osama bin Laden.

Coffee, Cocktails, and High-Speed Pursuit

On my way to enjoy some time downtown I was passed by a burgundy sedan weaving through slow traffic in a gentrified residential neighborhood going something like 100 in a 30 with a screaming state trooper trailing about 70 yards behind.
I hope the trooper got him. That driver deserves some time for “reflection.”
Cortado and waterAnyway, I’m enjoying a Cortado at our awesome local shop while waiting for a gin tasting hosted by Castle and Key at our favorite bar. I’m looking forward to learning more about gin, how it’s made, and the best ways to enjoy it.

RIP Neil Peart

Neil Peart, Rush Drummer Who Set a New Standard for Rock Virtuosity, Dead at 67 – Rolling Stone

Neil Peart, the drummer and lyricist for Rush, died Tuesday, January 7th, in Santa Monica, California at age 67, according to Elliot Mintz, a family spokesperson. The cause was brain cancer, which he had been quietly battling for three-and-a-half years. A representative for the band confirmed the news to Rolling Stone.

There will never be another as great.

Exploring

Considering I used to write for a living, it surprises me how difficult it is to find my flow again. Granted, my decade as a newspaper journalist wrapped up more than a decade ago. In those days I would rattle off 400–1,000 words on some assigned topic after traveling, interviewing subjects, photographing subjects, and taking notes.
Lacking an assignment sucks away the drive to write; therefore, I need to take on the role of editor and some assignments for myself. Two things immediately come to mind and just as quickly get pushed out of mind.

  1. Technology – I love it, but the market for that seems saturated and with no audience there is little point to it.
  2. Politics – Sakes alive. There is plenty of cannon fodder strewn about to take this on, but anything I say paints a great big divisive target on my back (and front, sides, just one big target).

That leaves a third option more daunting than the first two. Fiction. I just need to set off down a path, follow it, and see where it leads.