Richard Akerman
@rakerman.bsky.social
rather obscure personal musings
If you want to do anything with Wyndham Hotels help, in particular Wyndham support contacts, do it on the web on your phone.
It doesn't work the web on desktop on Firefox or Chrome, even with a new profile with no blocking and everything enabled.
It doesn't work in the app either.
It doesn't work the web on desktop on Firefox or Chrome, even with a new profile with no blocking and everything enabled.
It doesn't work in the app either.
January 13, 2026 at 6:27 PM
If you want to do anything with Wyndham Hotels help, in particular Wyndham support contacts, do it on the web on your phone.
It doesn't work the web on desktop on Firefox or Chrome, even with a new profile with no blocking and everything enabled.
It doesn't work in the app either.
It doesn't work the web on desktop on Firefox or Chrome, even with a new profile with no blocking and everything enabled.
It doesn't work in the app either.
Anime where you're inside a book you've read doesn't seem to have a specific genre name other than just isekai 異世界 .
本 異世界 ? "books other world"
異世界 本 ? "otherworldly books"
本 異世界 ? "books other world"
異世界 本 ? "otherworldly books"
January 13, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Anime where you're inside a book you've read doesn't seem to have a specific genre name other than just isekai 異世界 .
本 異世界 ? "books other world"
異世界 本 ? "otherworldly books"
本 異世界 ? "books other world"
異世界 本 ? "otherworldly books"
You can change the three-letter city codes for the World Clock on your Apple Watch.
Changing those codes will have no effect on the city codes in World Clock on your iPhone however.
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
Changing those codes will have no effect on the city codes in World Clock on your iPhone however.
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
January 12, 2026 at 2:51 PM
You can change the three-letter city codes for the World Clock on your Apple Watch.
Changing those codes will have no effect on the city codes in World Clock on your iPhone however.
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
Changing those codes will have no effect on the city codes in World Clock on your iPhone however.
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
Singin' in the Rain (1952) is a joyful masterpiece of a movie.
An American in Paris (1951) is an odd kind of jazz improvisation of a movie with strange themes of power dynamics.
An American in Paris (1951) is an odd kind of jazz improvisation of a movie with strange themes of power dynamics.
January 10, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Singin' in the Rain (1952) is a joyful masterpiece of a movie.
An American in Paris (1951) is an odd kind of jazz improvisation of a movie with strange themes of power dynamics.
An American in Paris (1951) is an odd kind of jazz improvisation of a movie with strange themes of power dynamics.
blog post - How To Train Your Dragon 2025 live action movie manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/h...
January 10, 2026 at 5:43 PM
blog post - How To Train Your Dragon 2025 live action movie manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/h...
You can set Sound Recognition for a custom appliance sound, although at 5 sound samples it is a bit of a pain to train.
You can set a Shortcut to trigger on Sound Recognition.
But you can't set a Shortcut to trigger on a custom sound, only on "Appliance".
You can set a Shortcut to trigger on Sound Recognition.
But you can't set a Shortcut to trigger on a custom sound, only on "Appliance".
January 8, 2026 at 6:50 PM
You can set Sound Recognition for a custom appliance sound, although at 5 sound samples it is a bit of a pain to train.
You can set a Shortcut to trigger on Sound Recognition.
But you can't set a Shortcut to trigger on a custom sound, only on "Appliance".
You can set a Shortcut to trigger on Sound Recognition.
But you can't set a Shortcut to trigger on a custom sound, only on "Appliance".
Your Apple Watch knows when you're asleep, but there is no way to trigger a shortcut (e.g. turn off all lights in the house) when you fall asleep. Plus, time-based sleep shortcuts are only if you enable the Sleep time schedule that screws up lots of other things.
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
Shortcuts User Guide
support.apple.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Your Apple Watch knows when you're asleep, but there is no way to trigger a shortcut (e.g. turn off all lights in the house) when you fall asleep. Plus, time-based sleep shortcuts are only if you enable the Sleep time schedule that screws up lots of other things.
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/...
blog post: Arte アルテ – Japanese TV manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/a...
January 7, 2026 at 6:19 PM
blog post: Arte アルテ – Japanese TV manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/a...
blog post: Snow White with the Red Hair – Japanese TV manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/s...
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is a 4/5 show wrapped in a 3/5 show. Which may sound kind of odd.
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is a 4/5 show wrapped in a 3/5 show. Which may sound kind of odd.
January 7, 2026 at 11:29 AM
blog post: Snow White with the Red Hair – Japanese TV manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/s...
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is a 4/5 show wrapped in a 3/5 show. Which may sound kind of odd.
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is a 4/5 show wrapped in a 3/5 show. Which may sound kind of odd.
Shirayuki's name 白雪 is literally the characters for
白 white "Shiro"
and
雪 snow "Yuki"
( in Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 )
白 white "Shiro"
and
雪 snow "Yuki"
( in Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 )
January 5, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Shirayuki's name 白雪 is literally the characters for
白 white "Shiro"
and
雪 snow "Yuki"
( in Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 )
白 white "Shiro"
and
雪 snow "Yuki"
( in Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 )
Reposted by Richard Akerman
#NationalBirdDay - The colourful Bird Mosaic from Italica, Hadrian's patria (ancestral city), depicting 33 bird species. 🐦⬛🦆🪿🪿🦚🦜
January 5, 2026 at 4:58 PM
#NationalBirdDay - The colourful Bird Mosaic from Italica, Hadrian's patria (ancestral city), depicting 33 bird species. 🐦⬛🦆🪿🪿🦚🦜
Snow White with the Red Hair (2015) 赤髪の白雪姫 - which should actually be called Second Prince Zen.
It's pretty good, beautifully animated. But Shirayuki 白雪 is definitely not the protagonist. She's more like the Maltese Falcon. She exists to be desired, to be in danger, and to transform lives.
It's pretty good, beautifully animated. But Shirayuki 白雪 is definitely not the protagonist. She's more like the Maltese Falcon. She exists to be desired, to be in danger, and to transform lives.
January 5, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Snow White with the Red Hair (2015) 赤髪の白雪姫 - which should actually be called Second Prince Zen.
It's pretty good, beautifully animated. But Shirayuki 白雪 is definitely not the protagonist. She's more like the Maltese Falcon. She exists to be desired, to be in danger, and to transform lives.
It's pretty good, beautifully animated. But Shirayuki 白雪 is definitely not the protagonist. She's more like the Maltese Falcon. She exists to be desired, to be in danger, and to transform lives.
Good news: Apple supports export of all health data from the Health app.
Bad news: Only all the data in one export, as a .ZIP containing .XML files, and you will have to write your own code (e.g. Python) to parse the XML.
Bad news: Only all the data in one export, as a .ZIP containing .XML files, and you will have to write your own code (e.g. Python) to parse the XML.
January 5, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Good news: Apple supports export of all health data from the Health app.
Bad news: Only all the data in one export, as a .ZIP containing .XML files, and you will have to write your own code (e.g. Python) to parse the XML.
Bad news: Only all the data in one export, as a .ZIP containing .XML files, and you will have to write your own code (e.g. Python) to parse the XML.
Reposted by Richard Akerman
#NationalBirdDay Hellenistic mosaic floor panel from Pergamon depicting an Alexandrine parakeet. 🦜
The Alexandrine parakeet species is named after Alexander the Great, who is said to have brought several birds back from India.
The Alexandrine parakeet species is named after Alexander the Great, who is said to have brought several birds back from India.
January 5, 2026 at 3:45 PM
#NationalBirdDay Hellenistic mosaic floor panel from Pergamon depicting an Alexandrine parakeet. 🦜
The Alexandrine parakeet species is named after Alexander the Great, who is said to have brought several birds back from India.
The Alexandrine parakeet species is named after Alexander the Great, who is said to have brought several birds back from India.
Apple Watch should give Mindful Minutes for using the Breathe watch face, but it doesn't.
The circular watch face animation used to be in the Mindfulness app Breathe section but now there is only one option there, which looks like you're being eaten by a sandworm, which I don't find very calming.
The circular watch face animation used to be in the Mindfulness app Breathe section but now there is only one option there, which looks like you're being eaten by a sandworm, which I don't find very calming.
January 3, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Apple Watch should give Mindful Minutes for using the Breathe watch face, but it doesn't.
The circular watch face animation used to be in the Mindfulness app Breathe section but now there is only one option there, which looks like you're being eaten by a sandworm, which I don't find very calming.
The circular watch face animation used to be in the Mindfulness app Breathe section but now there is only one option there, which looks like you're being eaten by a sandworm, which I don't find very calming.
It seems that Apple Watch will only give you Wrist Temperature if you've set a Sleep Schedule. But Sleep Schedule, Sleep Focus, Wake-up Alarm all screw up Do Not Disturb and your regular alarms (if any).
It makes no sense because the watch literally knows when you sleep anyway.
It makes no sense because the watch literally knows when you sleep anyway.
January 3, 2026 at 2:08 PM
It seems that Apple Watch will only give you Wrist Temperature if you've set a Sleep Schedule. But Sleep Schedule, Sleep Focus, Wake-up Alarm all screw up Do Not Disturb and your regular alarms (if any).
It makes no sense because the watch literally knows when you sleep anyway.
It makes no sense because the watch literally knows when you sleep anyway.
Balconies on buildings in Canada is a whole separate discussion about negative utility, but they could at least have one use, which is almost certainly forbidden at provincial, municipal & condo levels.
The Guardian - Dec 2024 - how balcony solar is taking off www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The Guardian - Dec 2024 - how balcony solar is taking off www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘If 1.5m Germans have them there must be something in it’: how balcony solar is taking off
Balcony solar panels can save 30% on a typical household’s electricity bill and, with vertical surface area in cities larger than roof space, the appeal is clear
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Balconies on buildings in Canada is a whole separate discussion about negative utility, but they could at least have one use, which is almost certainly forbidden at provincial, municipal & condo levels.
The Guardian - Dec 2024 - how balcony solar is taking off www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The Guardian - Dec 2024 - how balcony solar is taking off www.theguardian.com/environment/...
In my attempt to move audio to my iPhone I got an error that apparently the Internet has never heard of, as there are zero DDG and Google results:
"Sorry, I can't move music from the house to your iPhone."
As indicated in previous post, solution is Shortcut
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
"Sorry, I can't move music from the house to your iPhone."
As indicated in previous post, solution is Shortcut
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
January 3, 2026 at 11:59 AM
In my attempt to move audio to my iPhone I got an error that apparently the Internet has never heard of, as there are zero DDG and Google results:
"Sorry, I can't move music from the house to your iPhone."
As indicated in previous post, solution is Shortcut
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
"Sorry, I can't move music from the house to your iPhone."
As indicated in previous post, solution is Shortcut
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
You can move audio around Apple Home speakers.
Hey Siri, move this to <Home location>
but you can't move it to the iPhone (not a "Home")
You can do it with a Shortcut:
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
call it e.g. "Set playback to iPhone"
You can then do
Hey Siri, set playback to iPhone
Hey Siri, move this to <Home location>
but you can't move it to the iPhone (not a "Home")
You can do it with a Shortcut:
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
call it e.g. "Set playback to iPhone"
You can then do
Hey Siri, set playback to iPhone
January 3, 2026 at 11:57 AM
You can move audio around Apple Home speakers.
Hey Siri, move this to <Home location>
but you can't move it to the iPhone (not a "Home")
You can do it with a Shortcut:
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
call it e.g. "Set playback to iPhone"
You can then do
Hey Siri, set playback to iPhone
Hey Siri, move this to <Home location>
but you can't move it to the iPhone (not a "Home")
You can do it with a Shortcut:
[Set] playback destination to [iPhone]
call it e.g. "Set playback to iPhone"
You can then do
Hey Siri, set playback to iPhone
The best list for the new Winter 2026 anime season is GameRant, because it lists services, then titles and start dates, often with links.
gamerant.com/where-to-wat...
I'm looking forward to the sequels Trigun Stargaze トライガン・スターゲイズ on Jan 6 and particularly Frieren 葬送のフリーレン season 2 on Jan 16.
gamerant.com/where-to-wat...
I'm looking forward to the sequels Trigun Stargaze トライガン・スターゲイズ on Jan 6 and particularly Frieren 葬送のフリーレン season 2 on Jan 16.
Every Winter 2026 Anime and Where You Can Stream It
A complete guide to where to watch Winter 2026 anime, with full streaming lineups from Crunchyroll, Netflix, HIDIVE, Hulu, Amazon, and more.
gamerant.com
January 2, 2026 at 8:44 PM
The best list for the new Winter 2026 anime season is GameRant, because it lists services, then titles and start dates, often with links.
gamerant.com/where-to-wat...
I'm looking forward to the sequels Trigun Stargaze トライガン・スターゲイズ on Jan 6 and particularly Frieren 葬送のフリーレン season 2 on Jan 16.
gamerant.com/where-to-wat...
I'm looking forward to the sequels Trigun Stargaze トライガン・スターゲイズ on Jan 6 and particularly Frieren 葬送のフリーレン season 2 on Jan 16.
Arte アルテ is very good. 4.5/5
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is beautifully animated, but it is not about the title character (Shirayuki 白雪 with the red hair). It's about the prince. It should be called "Second Prince Zen and the attractive commoner".
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is beautifully animated, but it is not about the title character (Shirayuki 白雪 with the red hair). It's about the prince. It should be called "Second Prince Zen and the attractive commoner".
January 2, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Arte アルテ is very good. 4.5/5
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is beautifully animated, but it is not about the title character (Shirayuki 白雪 with the red hair). It's about the prince. It should be called "Second Prince Zen and the attractive commoner".
Snow White with the Red Hair 赤髪の白雪姫 is beautifully animated, but it is not about the title character (Shirayuki 白雪 with the red hair). It's about the prince. It should be called "Second Prince Zen and the attractive commoner".
At some point recently websites gave up on passwords and just want to email you a one-time verification code.
January 2, 2026 at 8:43 PM
At some point recently websites gave up on passwords and just want to email you a one-time verification code.
iPhone: Do Not Disturb with Favorites breakthrough enabled
Apple Watch: Theatre Mode
If a favorite calls, a locked iPhone will still ring, which is very good.
The Apple Watch however will only give haptic feedback, it won't ring.
This is consistent (Watch is "silenced") but not ideal.
Apple Watch: Theatre Mode
If a favorite calls, a locked iPhone will still ring, which is very good.
The Apple Watch however will only give haptic feedback, it won't ring.
This is consistent (Watch is "silenced") but not ideal.
January 2, 2026 at 8:42 PM
iPhone: Do Not Disturb with Favorites breakthrough enabled
Apple Watch: Theatre Mode
If a favorite calls, a locked iPhone will still ring, which is very good.
The Apple Watch however will only give haptic feedback, it won't ring.
This is consistent (Watch is "silenced") but not ideal.
Apple Watch: Theatre Mode
If a favorite calls, a locked iPhone will still ring, which is very good.
The Apple Watch however will only give haptic feedback, it won't ring.
This is consistent (Watch is "silenced") but not ideal.
1/ Siri's two solitudes.
iPhone:
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music [on <Home location> speaker]
e.g.
Hey Siri, play Enya on Apple Music on Mars speaker
no problem
HomePod (with Personal Requests turned on):
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music
"I couldn't find <> in your Apple Music library"
iPhone:
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music [on <Home location> speaker]
e.g.
Hey Siri, play Enya on Apple Music on Mars speaker
no problem
HomePod (with Personal Requests turned on):
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music
"I couldn't find <> in your Apple Music library"
January 2, 2026 at 8:37 PM
1/ Siri's two solitudes.
iPhone:
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music [on <Home location> speaker]
e.g.
Hey Siri, play Enya on Apple Music on Mars speaker
no problem
HomePod (with Personal Requests turned on):
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music
"I couldn't find <> in your Apple Music library"
iPhone:
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music [on <Home location> speaker]
e.g.
Hey Siri, play Enya on Apple Music on Mars speaker
no problem
HomePod (with Personal Requests turned on):
Hey Siri, play <> on Apple Music
"I couldn't find <> in your Apple Music library"
blog post - Recommended anime by Tatsuo Satō manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/r...
December 17, 2025 at 8:39 PM
blog post - Recommended anime by Tatsuo Satō manifestomultilinko2.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/r...