My local grocery store is already putting out Halloween candy. It's still August though!
A buddy of mine asked me if I would be interested in adopting a 4 month old Labrador. You know, I've been mulling over the topic of pets for a while now. However, this has always been a topic that I just kept putting off for another day. Now, I was finally pushed against the proverbial wall to make a definitive decision on. It was then that I realized that I am either no longer interested or have the kind of energy to handle a dog that big and that young. My back yard isn't big enough for him either. I don't want to take on a pet when I am not certain that I can provide a happy home for him. So, with some sadness, I declined to adopt him, but I certainly hope he will find a good home somewhere. Also, I am starting to realize I might prefer cats over dogs at this point....
Remember how I said I cancelled the Apple One bundle deal? Well, my subscription finally expired, and now, I am taking stock on how much I miss the service:
Apple Arcade - I don't miss it.
Private relay - I don't miss it.
Apple News - I do read this from time to time, but I've basically replaced it with Reddit.
Apple Fitness - I don't miss it.
Apple Music (iTunes) - I also used this, but I can replace it easily with Amazon or even YouTube.
Apple TV - You know, I don't really watch their shows all that much. There were some good ones, like Severance and Silo, etc, but I don't miss most shows. Also, I still have Netflix.
iCloud - So this is the big button issue for me. I have so many pictures and videos and documents and whatever else saved on iCloud that I knew this is how Apple is getting me. However, for the past two months, I've been diligently transferring my data to my local drives.
I can attest that it was a good service, but it was also costing me $40 a month. I think I can do just fine without it, and I'm about to find out soon enough if that's true or not haha.
Finally, I am also on track to have another very under-budget month. Yay!
August 23rd, 2026 at 06:09 pm 1787508554
Interesting seeing your summary of the Apple services. I replaced my iPhone last month and still have the free offers there for Apple TV. I might activate that one and Apple Music before the offer expires, but I don't know that I'd keep them. I do pay for Apple News because I can read articles from so many other publications there.
And yes, I saw the aisles full of Halloween goods two weeks ago at my CVS!
August 25th, 2026 at 12:36 am 1787618194
I forgot to mention Apple email. That one is kind of important, so I am still trying to figure out what to do about that. Also, I’m getting this constant reminder about my storage being full. I kind of wish Apple would let me get rid of that warning somehow, it’s annoying.
As for Halloween stuff, pumpkin spice latte is back too so I guess maybe it’s that time of the year again, where I try to give it another chance, only to decide that I still don’t care for it.
August 25th, 2026 at 10:58 pm 1787698710
August 26th, 2026 at 05:57 am 1787723852
August 26th, 2026 at 03:57 pm 1787759859
Sounds like a great list of pros and cons as far as Apple. We only pay 99 cents a month for extra iCloud picture storage, but don't have any of the other services.