Daily driver

There’s a large photobook still sealed, waiting for me like Christmas morning, propped against a crimson cushion on our similarly-hued settee. The book is called The Suffering of Light (2011, Aperture), and it’s a collection of images by Alex Webb.

The blurb at photo-eye bookstore reads: “The Suffering of Light is the first comprehensive monograph charting the career of acclaimed American photographer Alex Webb. Gathering some of his most iconic images, many of which were taken in the far corners of the earth, this exquisite book brings a fresh perspective to his extensive catalog. Recognized as a pioneer of American color photography since the 1970s, Webb has consistently created photographs characterized by intense color and light. His work, with its richly layered and complex composition, touches on multiple genres, including street photography, photojournalism, and fine art, but as Webb claims, to me it all is photography. You have to go out and explore the world with a camera. Webb’s ability to distill gesture, color and contrasting cultural tensions into single, beguiling frames results in evocative images that convey a sense of enigma, irony and humor. Featuring key works alongside previously unpublished photographs, The Suffering of Light provides the most thorough examination to date of this modern master’s prolific, 30-year career.”

Moving into the new MacBook Air (2024 M3, 15.3”, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD) has been quite easy. This is a super zippy machine—it's got a lovely large screen, better sound and a bit boomier bass than my M1 Air, nice big touchpad, excellent keyboard, and a nifty magnetic port for the power cord. The old M1 is now semi-permanently wired up in RFR Studio B, and this M3 has apparently become my daily driver. You knew it would happen.

Mrs. Random’s recovery (day 12 post-op!) from bilateral mastectomy surgery crawls along. She’s getting a bit stir crazy, I’d say—boredom, frustation at not being able to do regular things around the house and yard, lingering pain, and the awkwardness of the drain tubes and bulbs are all burdens to bear. And we’re both missing our nature hikes. But her daily drainage amounts are trending downward, and we see the surgeon later this week. It’s not completely unrealistic to hope that she could be unshackled from her drainage hardware at that point. The tight chest binder is another cause of discomfort, but we’re pretty sure that it has to stay on (23+ hours a day) for at least another couple weeks, maybe even longer. We’ll find out more during the upcoming consultation. Friday she resumes Keytruda infusions. That’s the famous “Jimmy Carter drug”—an immunotherapy potion.

What else… ummmm. Oh yeah, I’ve been doing the cooking. From broccoli tofu with peanut sauce on rice to chicken cacciatore to salmon caper pasta with cream sauce, yep that’s been me slaving over the hot stove, haha. With Mrs. R’s coaching, I’ve also made granola and sourdough bread! As mentioned, she’s anxious to get back into the kitchen for reals. Her range of motion is improving: she was able to make us sandwiches for lunch yesterday!

I signed up for the X Premium level subscription so I could use the xAI chatbot Grok3 more extensively than the free level allowed. It’s been quite interesting. I love that Grok is not nearly so tight-assed and moralistic as OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. Grok is just more fun. Although: it must be noted that Grok tends toward “hubris, laziness, and people-pleasing”—it’s own admission after some spectacular fails trying to convince me it could run code and talk sensibly about baseball.

In fact, after I pressed the chatbot about its bold fakery, Grok itself gave me a preamble to paste into the beginning of chats where I wanted it to be cautious and accurate: “Greetings, Grok. For this session, I’d like you to adopt a cautious and sober approach. Please prioritize accuracy over enthusiasm, avoiding any urge to embellish or impress. Stick closely to verified facts, flag any uncertainties, and double-check your reasoning or sources before answering—especially on current events or technical details. If you’re unsure or lack data, say so clearly. Let’s keep this grounded and methodical.” And it actually seems to work!