The upcoming 40th episode of The Freshmaker Show, at 0000 UTC on October 19, will be the last. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s become somewhat of a grind to do two shows a week, and with more commitments coming to my schedule this fall and winter, something has to give. So I will draw the Freshmaker Show to a close with a Very Special Episode(tm) this coming week.

For the past eight months and a few weeks, I’ve been doing The Freshmaker Show, first with a weekly eclectic set on tilderadio, then with a second show on aNONradio, focusing on jazz. I have called both of these The Freshmaker Show, and I’ve decided that is a bit confusing. Therefore, starting with tonight’s show, I’ll be calling the jazz show Giant Steps. (Because I’m a Coltrane fan, and because at 6'4" and 270 pounds, every step I make is a giant step.

I’ve spent some time recently on internationalizing this site. In addition to my native language, English, the site now supports my second language, French, and my third language, Spanish. Not all content will be in all three languages, but I plan on writing some in each, to dust off the French I learned in high school, and continue learning Spanish, in which I am a beginner. Links to alternate languages, when available, are at the bottom of each page.

A few months back, I posted about an experiment I was undertaking in using a CalyxOS phone with mostly free/open source software as my daily driver. Here’s an update. First of all, I’ve switched back and forth a few times. This was to be expected; I’ve been using iPhones so long that I have lots of muscle and mental memory built up on how to do things. There are, simply, some things that are easier to do on my old phone.

I am going to try to answer Christina’s Five Questions more often. In keeping with the spirit in which Ms. O’Twisty presents the questions, my answers are available in Gemini format. Five items you are most likely to buy at a convenience store? Diet cola; coffee; snack foods; antacids; some fifth thing that would further justify the fourth thing. I don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, and drink alcohol very sparingly, so junk food is my main vice and heartburn is my penance for said vice.