Ready for some new toys? Apple announced that the M5 14' MacBook Pro; 11" and 13" iPad Pros and Vision Pro devices with M5 processors are now available for pre-order.
Experimented with some of the driving settings with the Mazda CX-30. One is the Speed Limit function. Set a speed and you can only exceed that with a vigourous press of the accelerator pefal to initiate kickdown to a lower gear ratio. You have to use the accelerator to maintain speed, unlike the adaptive cruise control which will hold a speed reliably for you. Another setting is Sport mode for the six-speed auto transmission. This allows higher engine revs before upshifts are made, handy for hills and turns. Sport mode will not work in cruise control but will do so in Speed Limit mode.
The centrally-mounted sensors at the top of the windscreen include a camera for recognising street signs and traffic lights, these are shown on the dashboard and heads-up display. In Speed Limit mode as soon as a new limit sign is passed, it registers with the abbreviation "Res" superimposed over it. This means one presses the Resume button on the steering wheel (also used with cruise control).
Sport mode does more than just allowing gears to hold at higher revs: it also stiffens the already firm suspension and sets a more direct steering response for the electric power steering.
Eight hours ago I tried Speed Limit mode and Sport mode together on a hilly road with numerous turns, both sharp and sweeping. I set the speed to the road's posted limit of 80 km/hr and let the beast have its head. Very enjoyable, the steering response and the roadholding were both enhanced with the use of Sport mode. On the trip back home over the same road I used cruise control (which shut off Sport and Speed Limit modes) observing the steering and roadholding to be less enhanced than previously.
There are five trim/equipment levels in Australia for the CX-30: Pure, Evolve, Touring, Astina and Astina X2. Mine with all the features mentioned above and lots of other goodies is the one step above basic level, the Evolve level. The Pure models have a softer ride because they have 16-inch wheels with a higher tyre profile ratio. The others have lower-profile tyres and an 18-inch wheel.
Just back from a shopping trip, 23 km round trip. I tried driving as economically as possible: at the start the expected range remaining was 550 km. At the end, this figure had increased to 560 km. I found at low throttle openings, upshifts happened at around 2100 rpm (redline is 7000). When coasting the instantaneous fuel consumption readout showed 0.0 l/100 km, indicating that all cylinders were shut down, receiving no fuel and with the intake and exhaust valves closed. Interestingly I was still travelling faster than some other vehicles.
Chatting with cousins, etc over a beer and nibbles in a pub over the road from the church where our Aunt’s funeral has just finished.
I wondered why the advanced Keyless Entry feature mentioned in the CX-30's owner manual wasn't working. The front door handles appear to have the lock and unlock touch sensors required for such operation.
I now know why the feature doesn't work. Because the I didn't buy a high-enough specification model. All CX-30s have the same handles but the two lower-spec models sold here don't have the sensors fitted.
@matigo New Government regulations mean folk like me with chronic diseases need to have a Care Plan revised every three months. My revision is on Friday…
Just left the GP. Burn dressing removed, he recommended I use a moisturising cream to help with the dry flaky skin.
I'm having a wound dressing checked tomorrow at a medical clinic. I sustained a nasty burn to my stomach when I spilled a big cup of hot tea a couple of weeks ago. I dashed home and got in the shower and played cool water over the affected area for 20 minutes then tried to relax but the pain as too much and I headed for the ER dept at a regional hospital. Three hours after arrival, a doctor saw me and treated the area with a gel of some kind and put a waterproof dressing over it, telling me I'd be OK in three days, with instructions on how to reapply the dressing in the interim if needed.
Three days later I had NOT recovered. It was very painful and easily irritated. I replaced the dressing as instructed and a couple of days later observed bleeding leaking out of the dressing. Straight to the GP's clinic.
He and the practice nurse were appalled at the type of treatment I'd received, the use of the gel, they said, was something prevalent 30 years ago but had no place in modern wound care.
After cleaning up the discharge and mopping up the blood, they disinfected the area, placed a piece of glycerine-infused gauze over the area, adding an absorbent pad and another waterproof dressing. They also said I should have been instructed to get the dressing chanced at their clinic rather than doing it myself. This was Tuesday last week. I came back on Friday and the dressing was redone as a dry one, no waterproof covering. My skin was reacting badly to the adhesive used on the waterproof dressing, this is related to my compromised immune system.
There's still some pain but now some itching as well, it's [possible the new skin underneath or ready to reveal itself.
I'm very annoyed at the poor standard of care received at the ER, that place has really gone downhill. Seven years ago was a different story, I was presented there via ambulance with shivering, confusion and unsteady walking, the (correctly) determined I was afflicted by sepsis which could have been fatal if I'd been six hours late in getting treatment. They rapidly diagnose the problem and got me stabilised over the next 12 hours before being transferred to another hospital.
Fixed on of the problems I’d had with the entertainment system in my newer car: it only comes with wired Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.
This was rectified today with the addition of a USB dongle that provides the necessare BlueTooth and Wifi connectivity for wireless CarPlay/Android Auto.
And now for something completely different! My M4 Mac Mini running macOS 26 has a different Dictionary app compared to my M3 MacBook Air, also on macOS 26.
