It seems like it's been a long desert summer. After months of 100° days, today was the first morning we could open the windows in the house.

So that's what breeze feels like.

Vroom vroom.

So let's see, the 2019 version of this list is probably something like:

Duran Duran
Gary Numan
The Smiths
The Police
Soft Cell

The Police and Soft Cell reunions are done and over and I missed that boat. Partly because I didn't get to see The Police when they played Phoenix. Partly because Soft Cell's reunion consisted of a London gig only.

The Smiths I don't hold out hope for. And let's be honest, Morrissey's recent questionable take on life has left a sour taste anyway. Would I even go? Dunno.

So I hold out hope for Duran Duran and Numan. Both still tour. Could happen.

Did you hear there was an Apple event this week?

A combination of event presentation fatigue and a mature product line have soured the experience somewhat for me. I still read the recaps but I'm certainly not glued to the live stream as I would have been in years past. It's just not that exciting anymore.

That said, (looks down at current phone), this year is likely phone upgrade year. And regardless of how I feel about the events I'm still all in with the Apple ecosystem, so what to do?

My iPhone 7 has stood the test of time. It still does everything I want and does it well. But I'm beginning to glance sideways at the new shiny. Especially the improvement in the camera tech. The iPhone 11 Pro is a little rich for my blood, but going from a 7 to a stock 11 would be a pretty significant upgrade.

And look at that, T-Mobile are already starting their "trade in your phone…" marketing campaign.

Creature comforts from England. Quite simply the best biscuit ever made.

Phoenix, yesterday.

This is not my first desert summer rodeo. Why I thought it was a good idea to walk out to the car in bare feet is gonna be left to science to figure out.

Desert life. 2019.

So, those Ring doorbells, offer a few more features than perhaps you realized.

What has raised eyebrows, however, is the company's push for partnerships with law enforcement agencies across the country, a fact that some feel has allowed police to create informal surveillance networks in hundreds of neighborhoods.

Yeah but you don't have to give the Police the footage though right?

However, he noted, there is a workaround if a resident happens to reject a police request. If the community member doesn't want to supply a Ring video that seems vital to a local law enforcement investigation, police can contact Amazon, which will then essentially "subpoena" the video.

Ah, oh well.

And Apple are but the latest tech giant caught uploading your conversations to the mothership.

I suspect most people don't know, or don't care, that this is all going on? Perhaps this is just the world we live in these days? If you told me 20 years ago that homes would have video cameras and cylinders recording everything said and done I would have thought you nuts.

Yet here we are. 2019.

As a side note I'm a bit pissed off that Apple are doing this. They'd always positioned themselves as holding a higher standard. While you knew the creepy tracking tradeoffs using anything Facebook/Instagram/Google based, Apple were supposed to be better. But I guess not, and everything is terrible.