Here is a summary of last week’s writings, musings, and readings. Enjoy!
1. I wrote a post about the Apple / Google contact tracing API.
This software hook, meant to be used by developers (countries, primarily) to facilitate contact tracing for COVID-19, was greeted with a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD). The app won’t track your every move – besides, Google and Apple already have an app to do that. It’s called “Maps”. Look for the timeline feature. This API will help you determine if you have come into contact with someone with the infection – if they upload their testing data, that is.
2. I finished a long-form post about the exercise tech I use.
This one has been cooking for a while, and I finally finished it. It’s a bit of a way to help navigate the world of exercise technology, for those interested. I do plan on putting up a follow-up post on how I use Strava and whether any of the paid features have a place in my routine.
3. I’ve been commuting by motorcycle, again.
Before the lockdown, I was regularly commuting by motorcycle. I’ve been doing so the past three weeks, and it has been wonderful. I never thought I’d miss the commute, but the ramp up / decompression time is pretty amazing, and something you don’t get working from home. Plus, the traffic right now is like Christmas week.
Random Links I Found Interesting.
I think we’ve all heard that our world of work is going to change, with more people working from home, or on a compressed work-week, or both. This article from Property Casualty 360 puts paid to the idea that this is something that the upcoming generation wants. They know they need experience, mentorship and training, and they won’t get it if they can’t interact.
It’s not surprising, but ransomware has been on the rise. It’s getting uglier, and more demanding, with every attack. It just might be that insurance pay-outs are part of the cause. Another great in-depth review from Insurance Thought Leadership.
Remember my post about privacy in the age of social media? The National Post has run an editorial on the pervasive and somewhat insidious nature of apps that use your location data. No one would ever think that Tim Hortons would track someone on their vacation. In Morocco. But there it is…
Following on last week’s roundup of things I found interesting, there’s an in-depth article on Motorcycle.com about what the future will be for Harley Davidson. However, if you want a great – and I mean superb understanding of precisely how H-D got here, watch the following video. I’ll point out that it was produced just weeks before H-D’s woes were really known.
Upcoming articles
I’m hitting a major milestone – I have one last essay to write to complete my Advanced CIP designation with the Insurance Institute of Canada. That is due during the first week of July, so I will be using the next 10 days or so to write that. I may have fewer, or shorter, posts on the blog in the meantime.
Insuriosity – I’ve worked through a number of ideas, and electric vehicles, vehicle autonomy and the future of vehicle ownership and insurance are going to be a long-form series that I will work on over July and August.
Fitness – I haven’t decided on my next fitness article, but I have several ideas that I want to work on. Stay tuned.
Motorcycles – my review, photos, and video of the Pacific Riding School off-road course from Kelowna, BC will likely be posted sometime this week, but that may have to be pushed back into next as I have the essay to write.
